COMMENTARY | Winning both the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire Primary generally indicates a candidate will win a party nomination. Mitt Romney won in Iowa by a hair and needs a strong New Hampshire win to secure front-runner status. Two obstacles remain: the GOP and Rick Santorum. The GOP seems to have an "anyone but Romney" stance and Santorum is pushing hard to upset Romney in New Hampshire.
Santorum has been called the "best anyone-but-Mitt choice" in a Bloomberg article. While Romney has strong funding and infrastructure there's a perception that he's not the candidate the right wing powers-that-be want squaring off against Obama.
For Santorum's part he's trying to distinguish himself from Romney. The biggest way he wants to reach the hearts of the voters is not through their stomachs, but through their wallets. He promises huge tax cuts for families with children, tripling the deduction per dependent child, according to ABC News. While other candidates visibly support big business Santorum is trying to show he supports working families.
The problem is that Santorum is still a candidate with some extreme views. The most notable is that he places his religious beliefs ahead of his civic duty. It's one of his campaign mottoes: Faith, Family, Freedom. In other words Santorum places religious values and family ties ahead of civic rights.
That tax break for families with kids sounds great but it gives little benefit to married couples who have no children. It also says nothing about single people. Santorum is minimizing the financial burdens of anyone other than reproducing heterosexual couples.
The L. A. Times reports Santorum said, "I believe we are made the way God made man and woman, and man and woman come together to have a union to produce children, which keeps civilization going and provide the best environment for children to be raised."
Keep in mind Santorum said that in New Hampshire, a state that permits gay marriage. Clearly he favors setting civic policy according to his religious beliefs.
As a New Hampshire voter who plans to cast a ballot next Tuesday I find that disturbing. First, his stated policies directly contradict the policies of my state of residence. Second, it's my belief that if one seeks an office in civic authority it should be with the goal of fulfilling civic responsibility. Injecting one's personal, spiritual beliefs into the mix and giving them precedence over civil law seems like a recipe for disaster. Third, I am married with no kids, but have a foster parent license and feel like his tax reform will ignore people like me.
If the GOP wants a candidate who can take on Obama and win, and seeks a candidate to replace Romney in the lead, a different candidate might be needed. Santorum will be opposed by large voting groups purely for his civil rights stance.
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