I just got this feeling in the pit of my stomach that makes me horribly ill

[hyphenate]

I think I would rather die than live under a Santorum presidency. I know, on a rational level, it probably will never happen, but intellectually, it's the same kind of dread I felt in 2000. And, as we all know, that was the most horrifying thing to happen to our country since Pearl Harbor.

[quinnox]

1. don't even think about it

that is one nightmare that will never come true, unless 2012 really is the end of the world!

[DCKit]

2. What kind of power do you think a Santorum pResidency would have?

Unless he were to get super-majorities in both houses, it'd be another four years of deadlock with moderates and progressives calling for impeachment at every insane turn.

I don't think we're ever going back to the unitary executive of the W*/Rove/Cheney years.

[Scootaloo]

13. Well, with all the dumbasses preaching "The parties are the same!"

And "Don't vote, send the Democrats a message," the sad truth is, we're probably not destined for an age of reason...

[jberryhill]

14. The power to launch nukes

And Supreme Court appointments.

[DCKit]

16. Thanks for the reminder about the Supremes.

If there were 10 other excellent reasons, this would still top the list of why we all need to vote for President Obama in November.

A few more corporate RWers on the Supreme Court, and we're done as a Democracy.

[TheKentuckian]

25. We can fix that, filabuster any and all nutjobs. If they want someone more right wong than Kagen is

left then they can sit and spin.

What that means in reality is present a moderate or no go, aka the same rules we live with.

[DCKit]

26. Then you have the ones who lie about their positions on any given subject...

to get appointed.

Roberts and Thomas are prime examples.

[Populist_Prole]

3. I know they say "never say never" but

IMO he's so extreme that enough "independents" ( slippery term, that ) will dislike him enough to at least stay home, despite any in their ranks dislike for Obama.

Let us assume the worst and imagine for whatever calamitous reasons he gets in. As soon as he tries to make real moves to make the USA a theocracy he'll be blunted and stonewalled. It might take an election or 2 to alter the house and senate, but the pendulum swinging schedule is fairly reliable.

[Zalatix]

4. Voters' remorse is in full effect now. Wait'll someone like Santorum comes along.

If he wins the Presidency it could spell the end of the GOP.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. My dear hyphenate...

Please don't worry!

He will NEVER be President...

Never.

[hyphenate]

8. Thank you, Peggy!

My imagination takes control when I contemplate the worst.

[Firebrand Gary]

12. Peggy,

I think you could post a thread with nothing but exclamation points and I would still enjoy it. You are always so nice to everyone.

You always make me and everyone else smile! Have a great week!

[Ecumenist]

6. He ain't going to be elected so, don't worry about having to live under a santorum

regime. He's just the latest bubble to rise to the top of the swamp. It'll be alright. Really it will.

[Old and In the Way]

7. Could it be any worse than under W?

Hmmmm...I have to think about that one.

Really, if Santorum "wins" it's not going to because he was elected by popular vote. It will simply confirm the suspicions that our elections are fatally flawed. This country will be truly screwed if this moron with a God complex stumbles into the White House.

[lovemydog]

9. I know how you feel

but it's not gonna happen!

[JI7]

10. i feel the same way about any republican, unless it was huntsman

but i feel the same even with Romney.

[LisaL]

11. It is a very scary proposition.

One can only hope it never happens.

[lunatica]

15. No Democrats or level headed people were involved in any way in these votes

Please remember that only something like 5 religious fanatics voted in these States. It's not like everyone in the States voted and Santorum won against all odds. Only his fans came out to vote because it's a Republican primary.

Relax. Take a deep breath.

[countingbluecars]

17. I have to admit

I got that same feeling in the pit of my stomach this morning. This thread is making me feel a bit better.

[hyphenate]

20. Glad to know it

It reminds me that the RR has more influence than most of us realize. Santorum would certainly resurrect the Neocons and their power.

It also reminds me that women's rights are the weakest link in politics--pols barter them and use them against Dems and progressives in a very destructive manner. Having a bunch of intolerant and control freak assholes carrying the kind of power they do, and being as hard as coal to the women in the world as they are, make them criminals in my view.

There ae a lot of people whose views are twisted and evil, but it's those on the extreme right, like Santorum, that are pushing our country into the Dark Ages.

[PA Democrat]

18. I don't think Santorum has a chance of winning the general election.

Pennsylvania served him an astounding defeat in his last Senate reelection campaign. He lost by 18 percentage points, more than 700,000 votes. It was one of the largest defeats for an encumbent Senator in history. He'd never win PA in a general election for president because PA realized how corrupt and hypocritical Santorum is.

[hyphenate]

21. His views are utterly contemptible.

There is something seriously wrong with him, mentally. I know that conservatives like him are also stupider than some people, but ther is a sociopathic air about him that I find incredibly foul.

Pennsylvania has a very diverse population--Santorum's is unlikely to become the presidential nominee, I know, but my imagination has blown this way out of proportion to a point where I can almost see the future destruction of our rights and our country. It's not a pretty sight.

[NNN0LHI]

19. Did you think Romney would be better than Santorum?

Because if you did you were wrong.

Don

[hyphenate]

22. I live in Massachusetts

and I don't think he's anything except a Repub. But he was far more liberal than almost anyone else in this race from the right. But he didn't destroy this state as Governor. That makes him a lot saner than most people think.

[Initech]

23. A Santorum presidency would be the Christian Taliban's wet dream.

And that scares the shit out of me. Imagine the fucking dumb-ass "values voters" getting to appoint Ruth Bader Ginsburg's successor and permanently tipping the scales to the right for several decades... That will be more horrifying than any act any terrorist could committ.

[hyphenate]

24. That's my thought too

While things wouldn't change for a little while under a RS prez, the repercussions would be loud and deafening.

We thought Bush was bad, but he didn't go half as far as a sycophant like Santorum would. Even if he got nothing through in a first term, voters would begin to think that an ultra religious government would get more through than being blocked all the time, and the RR would help put other extreme right pols through, and they would be able to use their power to change an awful lot of laws and rules to make the US their bitch.

It's not important to only consider the near future, but to determine what could--or would--come with someone like Santorum in a farther looking scenario. I guess this is one of the reasons I've had ulcers. ...

If we elected someone like Santorum, this country would soon join the third world countries and countries run by despots like Khadafi, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, and face diminishing fortunes. Our educational standards would plummet, the dangers of theocratic rule, and scientific projects would be halted.

There are a lot of problems this country has to face, granted. And this all started when the religious right began to interfere in our political process. Santorum is one of those burrs that breaks down the machinery of a well honed engine.

We need forward looking politicians, not backwards looking ones.