Santorum and the New Know-Nothings

by DAVID ROSEN
Money matters, in politics as in other aspects of American life. The March 6’s Super Tuesday Republican playoffs in 10 states were one more round in the political-Nascar crash-dummy derby. And for all his money and organizational muscle, Mitt Romney’s campaign yet again failed to win a decisive victory and secure his party’s presidential nomination.

Romney’s squeakers in Ohio and, earlier, Michigan, were slim, unconvincing showings. While he will keep juggling, trying to be everything to everyone, the rest of the primary campaigns may well witness the same degree of fierce contestation. Big money, and the media buys and organizational follow-through that it pays for, gives him an undisputed advantage. However much the Romney candidacy may stumble on its way to the Republican convention in Tampa, FL, the fix seems in.

Unfortunately for Romney, the Republican establishment, the corporate and country-club set, is facing a fierce (and apparently uncompromising) hardcore “radical right” insurgency. This faction is represented by the Tea Party, rabid anti-abortion activities and Christian culture warriors, among others. If they fail to name the party’s presidential nominee, they surely will have a say in selecting the vice presidential candidate.

The lame efforts of Govs. Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman left only Romney to represent what traditionally would have been the Republican mainstream. In the face of McCain’s failed 2008 campaign (even with Sarah Palin on the ticket) and the strong showing by the Tea Party right in 2010, the far right has been embolden in its effort to capture the GOP.

Elements of this nativist sentiment have been expressed by all the major candidates: whether Christian reactionaries Rep. Michelle Bachman and Gov. Rich Perry, opportunist clowns Donald Trump and Herman Cain, and hokum-masters Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. Santorum’s relatively-late emergence as the “true” Christian candidate touches a deep nerve among the Republican activist rank-and-file.

During the primary season, the ever-shrinking roster of Republican presidential candidates has ceaselessly genuflected before the god of corporate conservatism. Instead of appealing to moral suasion, the essence of both Jesus’ message and the best of the American political tradition, these crusaders shamelessly call for the use of state power to impose their moral order. While they want to “shrink” government when it comes to socially useful programs and for taxes on the rich, they (with the exception of Paul) want to “expand” the power of the state to enforce their moral dictates.
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