March 8, 2012--Misspeaking

In recent days Rick Santorum and Rush Limbaugh have gotten themselves in trouble for, it is claimed by them, "misspeaking,"

Santorum for saying and repeating that listening to John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech about the inviolable separation of church and state made him want to "throw up." and within the same week calling Barack Obama a "snob" for wanting to require that everyone go to college.

Limbaugh, more infamously, got into big trouble for calling Sandra Fluke a "slut" and "prostitute" for wanting health insurance to pay for medically-prescribed contraception.

When they each realized how much political and financial damage they caused themselves--Santorum arguable lost the Michigan primary and Limbaugh is hemorrhaging sponsors for his radio show--they both attempted to dial back what they had said.

First, here is what Santorum said about JFK's speech:

I don't believe in an America where the separation between church and state is absolute. To say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes me want to throw up. What kind of country do we live in where only people of non-faith can come in the public square and make their case? That makes me throw up. And that should make every American throw up.

When he realized that his comments had unleashed a firestorm he backtracked, indicating that he had been careless in his choice of words.

So, let me clean up his language and then see how the rest of what he said sounds:

To say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that upsets me. What kind of country do we live in where only people of non-faith can come in the public square and make their case? That makes me feel upset. And that should make every American feel upset.

This emendation has him and every American just feeling upset. Fine. That's better than becoming nauseous and throwing up when hearing our first Catholic president affirm the original intent of the Founders Santorum so claims to revere. But what remains of the content, Santorum's main point?

That all remains intact. He does not see the Constitution as calling for a clear separation of church and state. In other words, he is all right with America becoming a theocracy where religion guides public policy. This is not exactly Jeffersonian.

And what about his comment that Obama is a "snob" for wanting everyone to go to college? In Santorum's words:

President Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob!

There are good, decent men and women who go out and work hard every day and put their skills to the test that aren't taught by some liberal college professor trying to indoctrinate him. I understand why he wants you to go to college. He wants to remake you in his image.

Under fire and realizing these comments were costing him votes, Santorum again claimed that he misspoke. So let's extract the offending "snob" quote from his comments. In place of it, how about, "What an elitist"?

He remains on shaky political and historical ground. We also still find him not telling the truth. In his first State of the Union address President Obama was careful about the details of his call to extend post high school educational opportunities for students, including vocational training.

Here are Obama's exact words--

And so tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country — and this country needs and values the talents of every American.

And now for Rush Limbaugh. On February 29th, about Sandra Fluke, he said:

What does it say about the college coed Susan Fluke [sic], who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. . . .

Can you imagine if you're her parents how proud of Sandra Fluke you would be? Your daughter goes up to a congressional hearing conducted by the Botox-filled Nancy Pelosi and testifies she's having so much sex she can't afford her own birth control pills and she agrees that Obama should provide them, or the Pope.

On March 1st Limbaugh added that Fluke is . . .

. . . having so much sex, it's amazing she can still walk". He also asked "Who bought your condoms in sixth grade? . . . So, Ms. Fluke and the rest of you feminazis, here's the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it, and I'll tell you what it is. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch."

Like Santorum, as Limbaugh saw sponsors slipping away and realized that this might cut into his income, he too apologized for using two inappropriate words--"slut" and "prostitute." I will leave to you to do your own emending.

I have no suggestions. However, attempting to be as generous as possible, what can one do about his perverted demand that since taxpayers will allegedly be paying for Ms. Fluke to have sex she should film herself and put the tapes on the Internet?

Thankfully, from the look of things, Limbaugh and Santorum are slipping toward deserved rejection and ultimate obscurity.