Stage 4

In 1994, my wife, then my girlfriend, prodded me to take her to a bed and breakfast in Gettysburg, where she had signed us up for a horseback tour of the battlefield sites. When we arrived at the farm that boarded the horses for the ride, it was clear that the couple in charge of the operation were pro-life in a very big way. On every vehicle were several bumper stickers with slogans, and even small posters on the windows, one graphically depicting an aborted fetus with a declaration that the genocide had to be stopped by any means necessary. Nothing subtle at all. This was the fall of 94’, with an off year election approaching, and no less than four signs of various sizes were located around the property exclaiming “Santorum for US Senate.”

Harris Wofford was appointed a US Senator from Pennsylvania in 91’ to serve out the remainder of John Heinz’ term after he was killed in a helicopter crash. Wofford, significantly older than Santorum, would become an early victim of the culture wars, which rewarded zealotry on issues like guns and abortion at the expense of decency and competence. The wave election of 94’ that brought the House under the control of Newt Gingrich and his cadre of flame throwers began the transformation of the GOP from Reaganism, where cultural issues were given some sentences on the stump, but suffered at the requisites for governance, to Trumpism, where the party now floats along on a tsunami of white grievance, fully at odds with making the trains run on time. Nobody has personified that relentless march toward today’s nihilism more than Santorum.

What is now standard fare was back bench extremism when Santorum arrived at the chamber. He could diss evolution and poo poo anything other than the rhythm method, but US Senators were still expected to govern back in 94’. Santorum was looney tunes for sure, but even he at least gave lip service to nonvileness and even participated in bipartisanship.

While pushing the welfare reform agenda, he actually hired recipients for his office staff. He even cosponsored religious freedom legislation with Trump boogie man John Kerry. Call it functional zealotry. Fox/AM was just getting started, so there wasn’t a safe space for nuttiness yet; legislative performance still counted. It was only a matter of time before a show horse like Santorum would wear out his welcome with the electorate in a purple state like PA.

When 06’ voters decided to give the GOP what for after suffering through W’s Iraq folly, Santorum was victim number one. The 18 point spanking Bob Casey Jr. gave him was enough to convince Santorum, and more importantly his donor base, that other career pastures awaited.

Since then, through two Presidential primary runs, Santorum has furiously tried to keep up with the GOP’s race toward extremism. In 2012, he was able to dispense Michelle Bachman’s early challenge to cut into his bloc of Shit River zealots and finished as the runner up to Mitt Romney, who may very well have the distinction of being the last capable and decent GOP nominee. By the 2016 primary Santorum was irrelevant, simply one of 14 bodies crowding the debate stage fighting to be the nastiest champion of white grievance… we’re now hoping to survive the winner.

And Santorum? Just another Trump flunky, spinning insanity day after day, normalizing our ruination by gaslighting outrage after outrage. A couple of nights ago, as Santorum blamed desperate parents seeking a better life for the human rights atrocities ICE is wrecking on their families, it occurred to me that back in 94’ we saw the beginning of a malignancy in the PA Senate race. And just like any cancer that metastasizes and spreads throughout the body, eventually becoming a terminal condition, where it started no longer matters. Santorum got what he wished for, and now, like every other cell in the ugly tumor that is Trump’s GOP, he is left to simply adapt to however it mutates. BC