Rick Santorum’s Race to the Bottom: Higher Education, Snobs, & President Obama

Last week, I wasn’t too sure whether Rick Santorum was running for president, or to replace the Pope. No seriously, Santorum completely lost me when he brought Satan into the political conversation last week. But I guess if you’re running for the job that requires you to end every speech with, “God Bless America,” then I suppose giving a shout out to God’s nemesis as a reminder of what this is all about, becomes a strategic imperative. Yep, Satan is a Democrat.

Heading into a very tight race in tomorrow’s Michigan Primary where Santorum and Mitt Romney are statistically tied according to polls. Santorum sought to up the ante by appealing to blue collar workers who are having a hard time connecting with Romney. So what does he do to show that he’s one of them, and not like the rich guy who opposed the government saving the auto industry, and the lowly blue collar worker? You know, what can you say to make yourself seem less affluent?

Well, if you’re Rick Santorum and you’re also on record as being opposed to the same bailout that saved 1.2 million Michigan jobs, you do the obvious: you attack president Obama. That’s right, you bring a wedge between blue collar workers and president Obama that says, “he’s not one of you.” And how exactly did Santorum do this? By attacking the president for promoting and encouraging the pursuit of higher education. Speaking at a Tea Party gathering, Santorum said the following:

Cornering the Idiot Vote One County at a Time

No word on how this will play itself out at the polls tomorrow. But, something tells me that given Santorum’s poor debate showing last week, Mitt Romney will be the winner in Michigan. Santorum will pick up a few votes on the strength of his comment, but not enough to win the state. Yeah, that crap may work in a primary; however, in a general election, independent voters aren’t as foolish as the people who make up the Obama Hate Machine. With an improving economy, I doubt whether the uneducated disgruntled white male vote would have a significant impact on who they vote for.

Now I could be wrong; and yes, maybe the general election victory himges on the low-information white male vote. To them, it probably doesn’t matter that the Republicans-ran Congress hasn’t done anything to put them back to work. Maybe it doesn’t matter to them that president Obama’s America Jobs Act has been sitting in Congress collecting dust and cobweb much to their detriment. Maybe none of that will matter because as descendants of the illiterate one-third of southern whites at emancipation, they see president Obama as nothing but another undeserving Black man who stole an opportunity from them. Yep, never mind the fact that Santorum’s economic policies as president would make their lives worse; the “Black man” oppressing white folks meme gets play.

What’s important is getting the uppity and dangerously elitist snobbish president out of office. Because, it’s important that America is spared the suffering as a result of his government sanctioned “indoctrination mills” otherwise known as institutes of higher education. You know, schools that are nothing like the the schools Santorum attended to get his Bachelors, his M.B.A., or his Law degree. I know you think he’s being hypocritical, but like I said, the schools he attended were nothing like the the schools Obama has sanctioned who employ those liberal professors.

As a Black parent with one daughter in college and another on the way after the end of this school year. I’m more than happy that my president is a “snob,” and is interested in investing in the future of my children as he is for all Americans. Also, as a minority I think it’s pathetic for anyone to downplay the importance of education; or, undermine attempts to create easier and affordable access to higher education. But then again, maybe if Rick Santorum was a descendant of people for whom being able to read came with dire consequences, maybe he’d think differently. But given that he isn’t, coupled with the fact that he is a Republican who hangs out on the far right fringes of his party, this is understandable; yep, how dare a Kenyan suggest an importance of education.

I’m often reminded by my Republican friends that their party was responsible for the emancipation of slaves in America. I’m often told that as a Black man, I should be very appreciative, and eternally grateful to the Republican party for being the champions of human rights as they are. With that in mind, I’d like to thank the good Senator Rick Santorum, for reminding America of just how much the GOP is against the leveling of the playing field, as well as the advancement of opportunity for people who would love nothing more than to attend, or send their kids to college. For his part, it’s quite obvious that the American dream shouldn’t extend itself to everyone; especially not for Blah people.