Santorum: Single Moms Are "Breeding More Criminals"

[Playinghardball]

During his first US Senate campaign, Rick Santorum warned voters of a growing menace that was "breeding more criminals" and threatened to destroy America from within: single mothers.

"Most people agree a continuation of the current [welfare] system will be the ruination of this country," Santorum told a town meeting in Clairton, Pa., in February 1994, according to transcripts of the appearance obtained by Mother Jones. "We are seeing it. We are seeing the fabric of this country fall apart, and it's falling apart because of single moms."

Santorum, who often trumpets his role in pushing through landmark welfare reform during stump speeches and debates, made the federal program a centerpiece of his 1994 race against incumbent Sen. Harris Wofford (D-Penn.). At his Clairton town hall, Santorum came prepared with a prop—a poster-size chart tracking the increase in the welfare rolls since 1965, alongside the increase in children who were born out of wedlock.

"Open up the current periodicals—study after study, article after article, children having children is destroying the fabric of our country," Santorum said. "If you want to close your eyes to it, if you don't care about it, if you don't want to solve it, if you want to continue the system, to let people stay and spiral—go ahead. Not with me." Single mothers, Santorum argued, needed politicians who weren't afraid of "kicking them in the butt."

http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/03/santorum-single-mothers-are-breeding-more-criminals

[snooper2]

1. Santorum

Created a century too late but still moist to the touch

[ProdigalJunkMail]

2. disgusting tripe...

and sad commentary on the repug party and even the nation that this sort of comment is even tolerated...

sP

[Iggo]

3. Oh, honey...

[Fawke Em]

4. I read this earlier when David Corn tweeted it.

It's a dog whistle about our black president who was raised by a single mom - guarantee it.

[Cirque du So-What]

35. I don't think so

According to the article, Sanctimonium said this in 1994, when Barack Obama was still teaching at the University of Chicago Law School. I wouldn't be surprised if Li'l Ricky dusts off this old chestnut and uses it in a pointed way toward the President, however.

[Fawke Em]

53. Apparently, Santimonium is because David Corn retweeted my tweet

and had to defend it six ways from Sunday.

Bless him!

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Yeah, like the President of the United States, Ricky?

[Rambis]

6. Then why oppose birth control FFS!

[hifiguy]

7. Oy, the bigoted idiocy burns..... nt

[ljm2002]

8. So the country is falling apart because of single moms?????

Not because of the malfeasance of bankers. Not because of illegal and unpaid-for wars. Not because of ignorant, vile, hate-filled political rhetoric. Nope, it's all those damned single moms.

No mention of the fathers, I note. Because as we all know, those single moms enticed fine, upstanding men to sire their children, and then ran off at the first opportunity so they could live the high life and corrupt their children.

Yep, that's the ticket.

Gak, what a buffoon he is.

[Iggo]

13. Murphy Brown.

Again!

[FSogol]

9. Santorum is a disgusting human being.

[RevStPatrick]

10. I would think that people like him...

...would be all FOR birth control and abortion.
Problem solved!

Ah, we are such a species of contradictions...

[tsuki]

18. There is no contradiction here.

There are more reasons to vilify women and continue the War on Women and Children.

[RevStPatrick]

24. Well, yeah... there is that.

I'm often embarrassed by my species.

[DFW]

11. Santorum needs some tough love:

Namely, I would love for some tough to beat some sense into him.

[Jamaal510]

52. He's not really that bad IMO.

The person who really deserves to have some sense beat into him is Rush Limbo. He deserves payback for using fear to mislead millions into hating fellow Americans.

[RDANGELO]

12. More family supportable jobs

If we had an economy where wealth was going to the poor and the middle class instead of the wealthy, more people would get married, crime would go down and schools would get better.

[onethatcares]

30. 30K a year to house an inmate,

13K a year to educate a child

The way to go is obvious to him................................do away with education.

twohundredfortyfucking years and this is one of the best our country can come up with????? We are truly fucked.

[NightOwwl]

14. Providing birth control

might be a better solution than 'kicking them in the butt.'

But since you appear to be off the deep end that probably never occurred to you.

[Johonny]

43. sex education, jobs, access to higher education and birth controls

and less fathers in Jail.

its humorous that the obvious solutions are the ones he is the most directly opposed.

[ProSense]

15. More proof that:

Rick Santorum is not trying to win the presidency
http://sync.democraticunderground.com/1002334861

The OP reminds me of how Limbaugh is going out: Kamikaze

I hope the entire Republican Party joins them.

[AsahinaKimi]

54. Believe me when I say that

Kamikaze pilots were honorable men, doing their duty for country. RUSH Does nothing for this country except excretes nonsense.

[nobodyspecial]

16. For every single mom, there is a single dad

whether or not he opts to be in the child's life. Why is HE not being vilified?

Sorry, life is NOT going to return to your idealized version of the '50s.

[Jester Messiah]

20. Not entirely true.

Dad might be dead.

[ScreamingMeemie]

25. Thank you

From a widowed single mom.

And, I might add that my husband was one of the most involved, loving and supportive dads on earth.

[nobodyspecial]

28. I'm sorry for your loss

In your case, his comment is beyond redemption.

[ScreamingMeemie]

29. I get touchy about the subject, because, since he died, I have had

teachers and school administrators bring up the fact that he is "from a single parent" home, when I call for meetings with them. They know full well, that he had an involved father for 9 years of his life and yet they still allude to it as if he is destined to have some sort of shortcoming. Thank you nobodyspecial. I appreciate it.

[gopiscrap]

32. Thank you

I was raised from 7-15 by a single widowed mother...she then died herself. I have run for Congress, was the chair of he Peace and Justice organization, have sung and spoken all over the world and was a state worker for 20 years. I have a successful son who is married and had his first child and a wonderful vibrant high school daughter. So Rick shut the fuck up about single parents. You don't know what you're talking about.

[Jester Messiah]

41. You are welcome. I too am sorry for your loss.

I don't like the idea of men like your husband being impugned with a broad-brush label like that.

Like the song says... some gave all.

[nobodyspecial]

27. Well, that just makes his statement worse then

Vilifying women who lost their child's father.

But, you know as well as I do that he wasn't talking about widows. He wants to hold women accountable. I think men, who are alive, of course, should be held accountable as well.

[Honeycombe8]

37. I took Santorum's comment to be referring to unwed mothers. Not widowed or divorced. nt

[tsuki]

17. Did Santorum grow up in a single mom household?

I ask because he while serving himself in the senate, he homesteaded a rental house in PA to lessen the property tax due. That is a criminal act in my state.

Then, he used the illegally homesteaded property to claim that PA "owed" him tax money to home school his children in the state of VA.

He was named the most corrupt senator in Washington in 2005 and 2006 by CREW.

So, I ask again, did Santorum grow up in a single mom household? Or is he just a bad seed?

[SOS]

19. Another "no facts" Republican moron

Ignore reality and make up your own fantasy world.
That's the Republican way.

In the real United States, single parenting is at an all time high,
while juvenile crime is at its lowest in decades.

http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/JAR_Display.asp?ID=qa05201

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_parent

[pokerfan]

21. In related news, Wisconsin wants to outlaw single parenthood

In case anyone missed this.

http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/Wisconsin-Bill-Says-Single-Mothers-Responsible-for-Child-Abuse-141508403.html

[HughBeaumont]

22. The only one that needs a boot in the ass (well, besides any Republican near an open mike) . . .

. . . is any voter on EARTH who's "undecided" at this point!!

COME on. I have my problems with Obama (mostly because he's no progressive), but my GOD . . . this has GOT to be the most unintentionally hilarious Republican field yet.

Between Santurdum and RMoney tripping over themselves to see who'll make the most idiotic/tone deaf statement this week, this Presidential election should be the biggest landslide since Reagan/Mondale. There's something painfully wrong with American intelligence if it's not.

[Courtesy Flush]

23. What he should have said...

"Two-parent households are generally recognized as providing more economic stability for children. The rise of single-parent families makes the job of childrearing more difficult, and government can step up and make it easier for families to stay together, and assure that absent parents contribute to their children's care."

What he actually said:

"Women are screwing up everything!"

[rbrnmw]

26. FU Lil Ricky

I'm raising my kids alone because I didn't want to raise them in a Motel room being homeschooled So I left my fox news loving husband who was an abusive pig

[Ganja Ninja]

31. Notice how most of Rick's complaints about society center around women?

It's always the women that are at fault. 'Single mothers need a kick in the butt.' Not the fathers. Those guys are victims of women who don't know their place.

I'm wondering how long it will be before his wife is seen in public with a black eye and a bruised lip.

[kestrel91316]

33. Ok, so let's force them to marry someone, anyone, maybe even their abuser.......

or face having their children taken away and put where? Foster care? That system that churns out psychologically healthy, stellar citizens by the hundreds of thousands??

Ummm, right.

[Odin2005]

34. This son of a single mom says FUCK YOU, Frothy!

[Iggo]

39. +1, with enthusiasm.

[DotGone]

36. More santorum coming out of his mouth n/t

[opihimoimoi]

38. Just another GOPer wannabe exploitor.....trying to cash in with shit for ammo

[lpbk2713]

40. Rethuglican assholes love hackneyed stereotypes.

They play to the willfully ignorant.

[Homer Wells]

42. "I also wonder if it might also be polluting our precious bodily fluids"

[Quantess]

44. Santorum is an ignorant menace to society.

His policies and desires to take away family planning would create more single mothers.

[Incitatus]

45. Keep on digging. nt

[DevonRex]

46. But don't use birth control!

See, that way they get to decide who the whores and sluts are by who gets pregnant. And they get double self-righteous points for calling them America destroyers!

Santorum is scary.

[TeamsterDem]

47. Has he ever said anything that made sense?

He's said so much off-the-wall crap like this that it's hard to get a handle on all of it.

My thing about Santorum isn't so much directed at him as it might be to those who support him. I mean you can walk through any city in any country and find a person with crazy opinions. But what usually happens is that people don't follow that person. So I don't blame Santorum for being a wacko, I instead blame his supporters for wanting to vault a wacko into office.

[stevenleser]

48. Ladies, can't you feel the love from Santorum and the rest of the GOP?

in case it's necessary

[cherish44]

49. I know lots of people brought up in two parent households that are big time screw ups

and a lot of people raised by single parents who are doing quite well, thank you very much. Stereotyping- it's the lowest form of ideology.

[bullwinkle428]

50. I'm guessing he's mainly referring to "blah" single mothers,

if you know what I mean!

Oh, look at all those dogs approaching!

[sarcasmo]

51. Every day this idiot says something even more stupid than the day before.

[LeftishBrit]

55. That one sounds like current British Tory rhetoric

So OK Santorum, you're against birth control; you're against abortion; you're against single parenthood, so what do you propose? Presumably no one having sex - but that isn't going to happen.

'." Single mothers, Santorum argued, needed politicians who weren't afraid of "kicking them in the butt."'

This is one of the scariest sentences I've seen in a long time. Especially as, if you kick the mothers, you kick the children too. Politicians are not there to 'kick people in the butt'; they are there to help people. But I suppose Santorum's Bible says 'Kick Thy Neighbour!'

ETA:And does he also apply this attitude to mothers who are single because the father was killed in one of the wars that Santorum strongly supported ?

[barbtries]

56. my mouth is open.

omigawd. been single most of my life, raised four non criminals. to hell with that piece of shit. kick them in the butt? why not just stone them in the street? what a terrible excuse for a human being he is. i just can't wait until he falls off that impossibly high horse he rides around on. what a dick.
did he ever say a word about the fathers' involvement in single motherhood? i'm pretty sure that the vast majority of children are conceived by TWO people.
and then there's his other big issue: abortion. nobody should ever get an abortion under any circumstances.
this man does not believe in reality. no matter how long he inveighs against it, people are going to keep on having sex. always have, always will. omigawd. i am so pissed.

[Raine]

57. So how does he explain criminals when single parent households were not acceptable in society? nt