Rick Santorum says the separation of church and state makes him want to "throw up." As shocking and, frankly, coarse as his statement was, Santorum's queasiness is no surprise — he's simply out to sea when it comes to religious freedom and the Constitution.
Indeed, this wasn't just a 24-hour bug; his "sickness" over the separation of church and state has been chronic.
From trying to put government-sponsored prayer and creationism in our public schools to the recent controversy over allowing employers to discriminate against women, Santorum's career has been marked by a fierce opposition to the First Amendment's wall between government and religious institutions.
- In 2001, Santorum proposed an amendment to the No Child Left Behind Act that would have promoted the teaching of intelligent design while questioning evolution in public schools.
- He's been a long-standing advocate for school prayer and school voucher programs and voted to impose such a program on the District of Columbia in 1997.
- He opposed allowing Muslims to have access to equal real estate opportunities during the so-called "9/11 mosque" controversy.
- He said that requiring all employers — including ones that happen to be religiously affiliated — to ensure contraception coverage for employees was an aggressive "arm of the government ... trying to impose its values on somebody else."
The list goes on and on; Santorum as a congressman, senator and presidential candidate has consistently and vociferously fought to dissolve the First Amendment wall between church and state.
Ultimately, it's up to voters on Super Tuesday and beyond to affirm the robust health of the Constitution. What it represents should make anyone who cherishes individual freedom feel good.