Chris Christie: Rick Santorum's social agenda is a distraction for Republicans

Mitt Romney surrogate Chris Christie earlier this morning on ABC:

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's talk about these comments about religion coming up right now, this 2008 speech from Rick Santorum saying that "Satan has his sights set on America and is making progress." Now Santorum is not backing down, but he also says it's not relevant. Is he right?

CHRIS CHRISTIE: Well, listen, I think anything you say as a presidential candidate is relevant. I mean, it's by definition relevant. You're asking people to be President of the United States. So, I don't think he's right about that. I think it is relevant what he says. I think people want to make an evaluation, a complete evaluation, of anybody who asks to sit in the Oval Office, so I think it's relevant in that respect. Now, do I think it's the things that we should be as a party talking about and emphasizing at the moment? No.

Sorry, bub. It's too late for that. The train has left the station—the ship has sailed. Even Mitt Romney, who has Chris Christie's seal of approval, can't stop talking about religion (though he does have the discipline to avoid talking about the Planet Kolob). As Joan points out, just yesterday, Romney opened the door to a theocratic agenda by attacking President Obama for having a "secular agenda," as if secular has suddenly become a dirty word. Romney went so far as to claim the President had "fought against religion" in America and posed a threat to religious freedom.

So the pork rind, as it were, has been eaten. But there's still a party for people who don't want to debate the policy implications of Satan's attack on America ... and it's called the Democratic Party.