Former PA Senator Rick Santorum illustrated his concerns about the prospects for Arab democracies with an analogue to the early history of the United States.
While discussing the democratization of countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia on the C-SPAN2 program “After Words”, former Sen. Santorum suggested that at the time of America’s founding, the Founding Fathers acted practically in establishing limitations on who could vote.
“They limited the people who could vote in an election,” he said. “Now you could say that’s horrible, that’s terrible. Well, maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. But it was a decision that was made to make sure that there was some continuity and stability within the government that was consistent with the values that the government was founded upon.”
He used the example to support his argument that rushing into free elections in previously undemocratic countries is not a responsible or appropriate solution, and that democracy will emerge on its own “when it’s appropriate to come.”
Santorum did not suggest in any way that limitations on who can vote should exist in the U.S. today.
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10 Responses
Little use as I have for Mr. Santorum, there are two separate issues in his comment.
First, his questioning of whether the founding fathers were wrong to limit voting to property-owning white male: of course we regard that as wrong, but that is because we have evolved as a society; it is silly to expect a new society to spring into existence already fully evolved (in fact, we are still not there).
Which leads to the second issue, the American assumption that a western-style democracy will emerge when benighted theocracies are taken down and everyone gets to vote freely, a western-style democracy will quickly emerge. That is a pleasant but silly notion.
Rick Santorum – former senator, professional troll, and longtime butt of a joke (literally and figuratively)
Why are liberal democrats so filled with bitterness and hate?
Can we PLEASE stop referring to this putz as being from PA going forward? He hasn’t lived here for 12 years or more. He is an embarrassment to the state every time he opens his ignorant mouth. Call him “former politician” or “right-wing loudmouth” – ANYTHING except being from PA!
Bullshit. The founding fathers didn’t limit voting for the purpose of stability, they limited it because they felt only white male property owners were smart enough to vote.
This guy can’t elected to anything so he has nothing else better to do. What a waste of space he is taking up.
Santorum? Is that a person? I thought it was something you would hear in an R-rated movie.
Yeah no Women or Blacks voting. Makes it easier for Rick to win.
Get him out of here!!!!!
Interesting that the former Senator doesn’t mention that the group whom the Founding Fathers allowed to vote was basically limited to THEMSELVES, and similar property owning white men!
Had Santorum’s immigrant grandparents been present in early America, they would have been viewed with suspicion and not allowed the franchise.
Under his logic, I guess that Santorum could also justify the Jim Crowe laws in the pre Voting Rights Act South as necessary to maintain the continuity and stability within those state governments that was consistent with the values upon which they were founded.
Once again, Santorum proves that knowing a little history is a dangerous thing.