The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Let’s Talk About Sex, Professor

Posted on | February 16, 2012 | 30 Comments

Professor Glenn Reynolds talks a lot about sex, but he’s actually thinking about politics:

I’m not much of a Santorum fan — to me, he seems like Mike Huckabee without the charm or political talent — but it’s hard not to notice the narrative jiu-jitsu here.

The “narrative jiu-jitsu” involves something I explained yesterday: It is actually a libertarian position to defend the Catholic church in this ObamaCare fight over mandatory contraception coverage. Liberals are accusing conservatives of wanting to ban contraception because conservatives are against forcing Catholic institutions to pay for contraception.

As far as the professor’s disdain for Santorum as “Huckabee without the charm”:

A. Santorum’s got a law degree. He’s never been a Baptist preacher (or a Baptist anything else);
B. Huckabee never led Ohio by 18 points; and
C. Nobody in Megadeth ever endorsed Huckabee.

Also, Huckabee never promised to make me the first U.S. Ambassador to Vanuatu, which is kind of important.

Update (Smitty): linked at Daily Pundit. I’ll reply on Stacy’s post that for those who are truly grasped by Christ, preaching is about the highest possible calling. I happen to worship in a Baptist church. Thus I’ll allow that, while it is not by any means impossible that Huckabee is in fact carrying out God’s will (and I certainly can’t judge that) the whole politics/entertainment thing strikes us knuckle-dragging fanatic Baptists as just a trifle odd. No one in the New Testament became an un-Disciple. Except Judas.  I view with skepticism any ordained person who segues into politics or entertainment, or, in Huckabee’s case, both.

Category: Celebrities, Contraceptive Culture, Instapundit, Rick Santorum, Sex

Comments

30 Responses to “Let’s Talk About Sex, Professor”

  1. EBL
    February 16th, 2012 @ 11:24 pm

    This is true:  “Obama spent us into bankruptcy, most of the money went to cronies, and the job situation got worse. That’s the real story, not a question of who pays for birth control, which doesn’t cost that much anyway.”

    That does not mean birth control should be “free.” And of course there is no free lunch.   But Reynolds is right about the election:  “It’s the economy, stupid.”

  2. Liberty Jane
    February 16th, 2012 @ 11:26 pm

    I think Professor R. just needs to get to know Santorum better. Huckabee? No, bad analogy.  I’ve followed Mr. Santorum closely for almost 20 years now. (Can’t confess how I know him, but I do). He’s a Pennsylvanian and Huck is from Arkansas. I think there are a few differences in their perspectives. I was surprised in my local Tea Party in Virginia that people were more conservative than libertarian.

    Rick came to Washington on a shoestring and slept in the office. He was just — normal, and he was a small-government guy. I think Glenn would be satisfied with many of his decisions. For example, Rick was the only one who spoke up in the debate about not having Government money to spend on the moon – this is the position that’s closest to Glenn’s on space, I think.

    I don’t think of Rick as a fire-breathing get-er-done libertarianish Conservative like Sarah Palin, for example, but he’s decent and reasonable, and he knows real American history. And Obama is not a decent, modest man, and he makes stuff up about us that never happened the way he says it did.

  3. EBL
    February 16th, 2012 @ 11:27 pm

    Little Debbie wants every woman to have contraception…for free!

    Be careful what you wish for…

    As P.J O’Rourke said:  If you think health care is expensive now, wait till it is free.  

  4. EBL
    February 16th, 2012 @ 11:34 pm

    Stacy is right that it is more libertarian to defend the Catholic Church on this issue than the Obama Administration’s position.  But it is hard to defend Santorum as a libertarian when he says stuff like this.  

    As for Rick’s past bonafides as a conservative?  

    It would be very good if Rick made his economic positions clear.  I believe his current position is not like the wrestling video.  But the hostility against libertarians?  Is that helpful?

  5. EBL
    February 16th, 2012 @ 11:38 pm

    Liberty Jane, Rick had the burden of persuasion if he wants to be President of the United States.  I want to like the guy.  But I also want him to clearly lay out his priorities and positions.  

  6. Adjoran
    February 16th, 2012 @ 11:38 pm

    In Debbie’s case, I’m for free ball gags.

  7. AnonymousDrivel
    February 16th, 2012 @ 11:52 pm

    Does anyone believe that this religious liberty “sideshow” is going to trump the economic muck in which we’re stuck? Guess what? People can walk and chew gum at the same time. They’re not going to think to themselves, “Gee, I’m out of work with no prospects. My home is about to be foreclosed. Inflation is eating my lunch and forget about using my car for anything beyond a backup domicile. Oh, and President Nanny is going to tell me which pot to pi** in assuming she even allows me to own one. But hey, President Nanny is fighting for discount contraception for Catholics! I guess I’ll vote for her!”

    Americans and capitalism have been under assault by the SCoaMF Administration for years. They’re numbed but they ain’t dead, fer chrissakes. The fact that another example of tyranny has stepped in to break the ongoing, but true, poor economy narrative for a moment is not a sign that all preceding Contraceptiongate will be ignored.

    This issue can only backfire if the narrative becomes “defense of contraception” as opposed to First Amendment squashing. So divert away, Wingnuts! Just remember to point in the Right direction. The economic DOOM will still be with us on voting day. The moment SCoaMF is voted out is the moment the recovery begins. Rational people understand this.

  8. Adjoran
    February 17th, 2012 @ 12:46 am

     Noting with interest you post these cryptic remarks on one of Stacy’s traffic-bait sex topics, I have to wonder if you plan on disclosing your long, sordid affair with Santorum soon, or if you are waiting on a book deal.

  9. EBL
    February 17th, 2012 @ 1:00 am

    I believe Rick Santorum to be sincere and honorable family man.  As is Mitt Romney.  My issue are their policies.  And I believe the burden is on them both to persuade me where they truly stand.   

  10. EBL
    February 17th, 2012 @ 1:12 am

    Let’s talkl about reality Stacy, we need Rick to explain why he should be captain of this ship…

  11. Adjoran
    February 17th, 2012 @ 1:24 am

     Oh, I agree.  Neither would embarrass us, and neither has already alienated the independents. 

    But the actual difference in policy between all the candidates in this cycle is actually very small.  Each had his own advantages and vulnerabilities, but none were nearly so distinctly “more conservative” as their supporters claimed. 

    But I saw the dangling chain and had to yank it.

  12. Adjoran
    February 17th, 2012 @ 1:26 am

     Yeah, but if the electorate were rational, Obama would never have won in the first place. 

  13. EBL
    February 17th, 2012 @ 1:50 am

    The difference do not appear that large, but the “butterfly effect” shows that even small differences in a complex system can grow quite large over time.  

  14. EBL
    February 17th, 2012 @ 2:43 am

    And while the attack on Rick Santorum are dishonest and mean…they are hardly unique. 

  15. Bob Belvedere
    February 17th, 2012 @ 7:49 am

    But the issue, EBL, is not who pays for birth control, it is the sovereignty of the individual, the right of an American citizen to have control over his life.  The Constitution in it’s very first Amendment protects the right of the individual to speak freely and associate freely without the interference of the national government.

    In addition, Libertarians like Mr. Reynolds do not want to deal with moral issues because, like Leftists, they believe Morality is relative.

  16. Pathfinder's wife
    February 17th, 2012 @ 7:54 am

    In some ways it’s more important because it’s a constitutional topic — if this “sideshow” is allowed to stand then it will go a long way towards eroding the authority of our Constitution.  Economic hard times come and go (and this economic cycle would have happened no matter who was in office; it’s only been excerbated), but fundamental changes to our rule of law, our government, those could last forever.  And unfortunately we have enough people (and not just “low information voters” — but people who should know better or so they say) who aren’t taking this to heart.

    But true enough, this is about the 1st Amendment more than contracepttion.  However, we see that the media lap dogs are still faithful little Lassies and Rovers aren’t they?
    And some conservative bloggers are falling right in line (that’s the shameful irony); they are doing the same thing the media is.  This cannot be repeated enough: some of the conservative blogs are just as bad as the regular media about shaping this in Obama’s favor (I guess they would like to sit on a couch with Nancy too.)

    As for Santorum, I’ll say it again: he needs to at least talk to the libertarians.  Can somebody more influential please get that through to him before he really does get shot down?  He has to — the left is painting him as some sort of Church Lady and many on the right are more than willing to help them out (and this will backfire — this is what will get us 4 more years of you know who).

  17. OpinadorCompulsivo
    February 17th, 2012 @ 7:57 am

    Nobody in Megadeth ever endorsed Santorum either :

    http://reason.com/blog/2012/02/16/relax-liberal-metalheads-dave-mustaine-d 

  18. ThePaganTemple
    February 17th, 2012 @ 8:24 am

    No Bob, they just don’t want the government to have inordinate power over the people when it comes to moral issues, just like in any other area. Maybe limited power, but you know how that goes. The more power they get, the more they want. The next thing you know you’ve got another mess on your hands. We’ve always got to be on guard against that.

  19. ThePaganTemple
    February 17th, 2012 @ 8:28 am

     Yeah, rational people, as in two-fifths at best of the American people. Unfortunately, that other three-fifths can also vote.

  20. paulzummo
    February 17th, 2012 @ 9:00 am

    I don’t recall Rick Santorum ever calling the Club for Growth the Club for Greed.  Insty’s comments are a greater reflection of how libertarians don’t quite get that not all conservatives, especially social conservatives, are built the same.  The fact that Mike Huckabee is an Evangelical while Santorum is a Catholic is not an incidental difference.  I would recommend Insty google the term “subsidiarity” to understand why Catholic conservatives might be less inclined to desire an active central government.

  21. paulzummo
    February 17th, 2012 @ 9:02 am

    How fortuitous to get an email from Lisa Graas just as we’re talking about this.  Does this sound like someone who is a big government conservative:

    “Not everything that is immoral in this country should be illegal
    or should be within the governance of the federal or state government, or any
    government. ”
    http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/video/gop-presidential-candidate-rick-santorum-on-the-record-7/

  22. What the World Needs: More Lawyers | Daily Pundit
    February 17th, 2012 @ 10:39 am

    […] the World Needs: More Lawyers Posted on February 17, 2012 7:39 am by Bill Quick Let’s Talk About Sex, Professor : The Other McCain As far as the professor’s disdain for Santorum as “Huckabee without the […]

  23. frank
    February 17th, 2012 @ 11:42 am

    Smitty – Not to be parsimonious, but John 6:66.  Hmmmm…666…

    As much as I love the father of the Army of Davids, if we were to decriminalize pot, the term “libertarian” would evaporate from the English language.

  24. Leslie Eastman
    February 17th, 2012 @ 12:21 pm

    I’m TRIED of my KIDS and CHURCH being WEAPONIZED against me!!!

  25. asmith
    February 17th, 2012 @ 1:16 pm

    Huckabee had charm?

  26. asmith
    February 17th, 2012 @ 1:16 pm

    Missed that entirely.

  27. Pathfinder's wife
    February 17th, 2012 @ 2:44 pm

    Maybe it is a case of loving liberty so much that the negative aspects of their own ideology, if it gets taken too far, are things they forget to think about.

    Libertarianism isn’t a bad thing, but even a good thing if not moderated can wind up being very bad — this seems to be forgotten with everybody vis a vis their pet ideology.

  28. Pathfinder's wife
    February 17th, 2012 @ 2:47 pm

    and also it seems as though a lot of  everyday “libertarians” have conveniently used the term to define a system of “get mine”, rather than what the term truly means (kinda like what has been done with “liberal” and “conservative”)…oh well…

  29. Catholics, Cough Drops and the War on Contraception
    February 17th, 2012 @ 7:20 pm

    […] and has made no bones about what he sees as “the GOP’s war on contraception.”  Krugman and others are using this demonization tactic to discredit a very valid point regarding the necessity of birth control.  In fact, exhibiting […]

  30. Bob Belvedere
    February 18th, 2012 @ 2:42 am

    Luckily, I don’t subscribe to any ideology.