Rick Santorum is a strange, strange man. More we hear of him, the more frightening the thought that a man as disturbed as he could possibly one day occupy the White House. Santorum’s religious zealotry utilizes Christian dogma as an excuse to spread a special brand of hate and divisiveness. And while his homophobic bigotry is a well documented fact, his religious bigotry might be a little less known.

Rick Santorum has sought to project a sunny suburban, regular guy appeal as he vies for the GOP presidential nomination. But whenever I have seen him during the campaign, there seems to be a seething and loathing just beneath the surface that he has to struggle to keep from leaking out.

But back in 2008, while a senior fellow of the neoconservative Ethics and Public Policy Center, we got a glimpse of what it is that is so churning under his public face.  In a speech, he quietly explained to students at Ave Maria University, in Naples, Florida  that Satan, the “Father of Lies”, is destroying America.  Part of Satan’s effort, according to Santorum, has been to so transform the mainline Protestant churches in America — that they are no longer even Christian.

This may come as a surprise to the 45 million people of the member communions of the National Council of Churches, such as The Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA).  But Santorum’s view that the mainline churches have gone the way of Satan is unambiguous —  as is his suggestion that his own Catholic Church remains Satan free.

Can there be any doubt that a President Santorum would seek to create a theocratic state governed primarily by his strict interpretation of the Bible? Over the weekend, he criticized President Obama as one who adheres to “some phony theology. Not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology.“  Santorum later explained the theology he was referring to.

“I accept the fact that the president’s a Christian,” he said. “I just said that when you have a worldview that elevates the Earth above man, and says that, you know, we can’t take those resources because we’re going to harm the Earth by things that frankly are just not scientifically proven, like for example that politicization of the whole global warming debate, this is just all an attempt to centralize power, to give more power to the government.”

The well-being of the planet, Santorum tells us, should not be our concern. It is God’s. Our job is to simply rip open the earth’s crust and fill up our pockets as best and fast as we can – not unlike a child let loose in a candy store. The consequences of our deed are not our worldly concern.

Rick Santorum is a sick fuck. He really is.

The thing to know about Santorum, unlike Romney, is that he honestly believes each and every word he says. It’s not an act. When he speaks of banning contraception or when he compares homosexual conduct to bestiality or when he states his belief that Satan has infiltrated every religion except Catholicism, the man is serious. He leaves no doubt that every decision he would make as president would be guided by those very same beliefs.

Conservatives and Republicans have a clear choice in choosing their next presidential nominee.  They can pick an empty shell who has no core beliefs or they can have a man who views the world as a battle, literally, between God and Satan and would thereby base his decisions on a personal interpretation of the Bible. How lovely a choice.

If ever there was a lose-lose proposition being offered to Americans, this is it.

(The Rick Santorum source photograph for this illustration is a Creative Commons licensed image from photographer Gage Skidmore.)
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