Theocracy, here we come!

Rick Santorum, proponent of intelligent design, opponent of gay marriage, proponent of the need to fear sharia law, opponent of any Democrat simply on the basis of his claim of how unsafe they are when they're in power, etc., etc., is running for President of the United States, in 2012.

In a recent interview with CBN, he and his wife, Karen, suggested this action is what God has "told" them to do in order to "defend God's truth."

OK. Maybe it's just me, but this is goofy on several levels.

First, when you lose your job as senator, it's usually for a pretty good reason: you probably did/said something to demonstrate you're not at all qualified for the position. So, what does Mr. Santorum do as a result of this clear demonstration by the voters of their gross loss of confidence in him (he lost re-election by 18 percentage points)? He decides to run for POTUS!

Riiiiight... Mr. Santorum might need to research "The Peter Principle."

When a mid-level manager loses his job for doing or saying something that results in a lack of confidence in him, chances are pretty good that then going for the CEO position is not a brilliant move.

Is Mr. Santorum demonstrating good judgment in his decision to run for POTUS?
Is this the act of someone who will (re)instill confidence in him?
Or is this the act of a man who's playing to a perceived base?

Second, I stake no claim to having a personal relationship with the Almighty. Back when I was in Catholic school, serving masses as an altar boy, and going to church pretty much every day, I made a couple of heartfelt pleas: when my dad lost his job and when I allowed his heirloom Elgin pocket watch to go through a wash and rinse cycle and come completely apart. But since then, we don't speak much.

Having said this, and given my admittedly limited intimacy with God, I'm nevertheless fairly certain He doesn't give a good running rip whether or not Rick Santorum runs for dog catcher, let alone POTUS. And while I also think that God doesn't much care that football players or baseball players want Him to care about the outcome of their kick-off returns or at-bats, if Mr. and Mrs. Santorum are suggesting their direct line to the man upstairs is manifesting itself in God's need to have Mr. Santorum run for president, then they're both not to be trusted on this score alone, along with Misters Falwell (RIP, 1933--2007), Farakhan, and Robertson, the Pope, and anyone else who thinks that God gives a good Hisdamn about what they think or do!

Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Santorum say they (and that along with them we all should) fear the Islamic goal of establishing Sharia law throughout the world (their claim, not mine), and that this sort of forced theocracy is a bad thing.

OK. We finally agree on something. A theocracy is a bad thing. No argument there.

But in their hearts, what do they want here? What is it they're working for here? A Christian theocracy, that's what.

Aside from Christianity being their religion, aside from Christianity providing the laws in which they believe and by which they wish to live, a theocracy is a theocracy is a theocracy, and whether it's founded on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Scientology, or the Church of the Subgenius, a theocracy has no place in a democratic republic such as ours.

Look, like everyone else, Mr. and Mrs. Santorum have every right to say the things they say, to pray to whomever they wish to pray --- and about what they wish to pray --- and to believe the things they believe, but they have no right to force on anyone else what they claim is being forced on them, because just as there is freedom of religion, there is also freedom from religion.

I say good on you, Mr. Santorum! Run for POTUS. But what'll you do after you lose... yet again? Run for king of the world? Nowhere to go but up.

Good luck with that, Rick and Karen. Maybe you can sue someone for giving you bad advice. Now... who might that be?