Ever heard of Homer Tomlinson? No? Well, his is an interesting and instructive story.
The Rev. Tomlinson was the 1952, 1960, 1964, and 1968 Presidential nominee of the Theocratic Party. He advocated union between church and state, abolition of all taxes and the establishment of two new departments, The Department of Righteousness and the Department of the Holy Bible.
He was also a certified coo-coo who thought God had crowned him King of the World.
Remember: this guy actually ran for President - four times. If any of his platform sounds familiar, raise your hand.
I am not saying that Rick Santorum is the same as Reverend Tomlinson. I do not think he's nearly as nutty. However, I'd be very interested in learning his views on union between church and state. We know from his speeches that he considers climate change something with which we have nothing to do. We know he feels strongly that God should have a voice in United States foreign policy. We know Rick Santorum's views on homosexuality, abortion and other things he considers unGodly, but nobody has actually asked him whether he endorses a union between church and state or if, in fact, he thinks a Department of Righteousness might be a good idea. The same goes for Newt.
We really don't know a hell of a lot about anyone running for president. This is not an accident. The "debates" were laughable, consisting of carefully screened opportunities for each candidate to attack the views of the others as "too liberal." What I didn't hear was any carefully thought-out plan for the United States of America. I suspect this is because there aren't any outside of giving more tax breaks to the wealthy and less power to anyone who speaks for anyone else.
So this diary isn't an attack on Mr. Santorum or Mr. Gingrich; it's an attack on the spineless media who won't risk alienating advertisers by asking honest questions such as "Do you believe the Founders really meant for America to be a Christian country?" or "Should religious values be written into the laws of the land?" or "Do you feel that one religion is innately superior to others and should be taught as such?"
Or, "Was Reverend Tomlinson on the right track?"