Friday, February 17, 2012

Where Rick Santorum Fits into the American Tradition - Conor Friedersdorf - Politics - The Atlantic


A criticism I made of Rick Santorum is generating a bit of dissent. It all started when the former Pennsylvania senator pledged that if elected president he'll speak out against the use of contraceptives. In his opinion, it isn't ever okay to use condoms or birth control pills because he regards procreative sex as the most "special" kind, whereas non-procreative sex is "simply pleasure." That's problematic in his view because sex "is special, and it needs to be seen as special." He concluded his remarks by saying that "most presidents don't talk about those things, and maybe people don't want us to talk about those things... but these are important public policy issues."

Here's a part of my retort: 

Any politician who regards the adult use of contraceptives as a matter under his purview cannot lay claim to the limited government label, nor can he credibly invoke a tradition rooted in the pursuit of happiness.

---SPSmith

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