Tinfoil hat time

Rick Santorum won the Republican primaries in Alabama and Mississippi. Not much of a surprise -- the tinfoil hat types and religious zealots outnumber rational people by quite a bit down there, at least among white voters (and black Republicans are pretty rare in the heart of Dixie). Santorum's success, like that of Newt Gingrich, shows just what short memories voters have. After all, Santorum lost his Senate seat by a record margin because the voters in his home state of Pennsylvania figured out he was a corrupt son-of-a-bitch who'd say or do anything to keep corporate money rolling into his pocket. His ethical lapses were in the news and have been re-reported since he began his presidential campaign, but too many voters would rather believe the lies he's telling now than remember the lies he got caught out in a mere six years ago.

I do have to say it's rather astounding to see how enthusiastic all those Southerners, those white fundamentalist Baptists and Pentecostals, are about Santorum, a man who's made it plain his religious beliefs trump everything else. Whatever happened to "omigod-Catholics-worship-idols!!" or "the whore of Babylon" beliefs? We live in strange times. . . .

On one level, I kind of hope Santorum ends up as the Republican nominee. He's such a blatant religious bigot and misogynist, someone who makes it real clear his idea of the perfect society would include creating a cabinet-level Department of the Inquisition, that he might actually motivate all the lukewarm voters who think there's no difference between the parties to come out and vote. However, given that no one has ever gone broke by underestimating the intelligence of the American populace, I think the safer bet would be Romney. He's an opportunistic flip-flopper who can shift from one contradictory position to another with blinding speed, but at least he's still marginally sane.