Yesterday I came across an article on the Internet that sickened me. It revealed that during his US Senate campaign in 1994, Republican Rick Santorum warned voters of a growing menace and evil wandering the streets of America: single mothers.
Those that know me well can attest that it isn’t easy to disgust a woman like me, but reading the ignorant and blanketed ramblings of Rick Santorum regarding single moms made my head spin.
Why? Because I am a single mom. And a damn good one.
According to transcripts from a town meeting in 1994, Santorum spewed the following: “Most people agree a continuation of the current [welfare] system will be the ruination of this country. We are seeing it. We are seeing the fabric of this country fall apart, and it’s falling apart because of single moms.”
Excuse me?!
I’m pretty sure amazing single moms like myself are not the reason this country is falling apart. And the truth is, the type of single moms he is lumping me in with are the minority NOT the majority.
What about single moms affected by an unexpected divorce, domestic abuse, or the loss of a partner, who seek government assistance because their families actually need it until they can get on their feet? Not all of us milk the system, Rick.
Most of us are hard working (I have several jobs), dedicated, caring women that contribute to society in ways Rick Santorum could never imagine.
Perhaps the real reason our country is in such disarray is because people like Santorum make umbrella statements like these.
And his idiocy didn’t stop there.
“What we have is moms raising children in single-parent households simply breeding more criminals.”
Criminals?! Seriously?!
And Rick Santorum isn’t the only Republican bashing single moms. Glenn Grothmann, a state senator in Wisconsin, is proposing a bill that that would label being a single parent as a contributing factor to child abuse.
Oh no he didn’t…
I’m sure not all Republicans are idiots, but it’s pretty clear that these two are.
What do you think?
Could you imagine if you were an African American, gay, Muslim, single parent? You’d be the embodiment of everything the GOP hates.
*shudders*
Does Mother Jones provide the transcripts they cite? I am looking and i do not see them. I take it we should just take the snippets they offer, framed the way they like it so to lead us to their preferred conclusions? I see this as a broad speech about the importance of family and two parents being active in raising their children, but that is not offered by the article. I have seen lots of Rick Santorum speeches and interviews, i know how his words can easily be taken out of context because social issues that he does not avoid (give him credit for that, because most politicians avoid them) are long and involve lots of explanation.
Also, Melysa i am sure he would think you’re delightful and a great mom. Because you are, and you are not lumped in with any one or group because you are an individual who many find inspiring. Including myself.
Thank you for saying so, and for taking the time to read this and leave a comment. It means a lot to a criminal breeding single mom like me 😉
In all seriousness, you do have a point that his words may very well have been misconstrued since the site did not include a link to full transcripts, though I’m not sure there would ever be a context that this phrase: “…moms raising children in single-parent households simply breeding more criminals.” or this phrase “We are seeing the fabric of this country fall apart, and it’s falling apart because of single moms” could ever be placed in where I would not find offense as a single mom myself.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on why America is failing and certainly allowed to blame whomever they choose for it, but it is frightening for me as a single mother to face the reality that someone who thinks so lowly of single moms, or who wants to pass a bill that considers single parenting child abuse(Not Santorum but Grothmann) might one day be my President.
I love that these idiots imply that any woman that doesn’t have a husband needs to rush out and get a new one, or they will face dire consequences. Also, it either discounts single dads completely, or assumes that their kids will grow up just fine. Needless to say, families with two moms or two dads will also raise “screwed up” kids. Somehow there is a magic formula of two parents, one of each sex, that makes kids grow up nice, even if mom and dad hate one another.
They are all way beyond wearing blinders anymore… they’re just blind. Kids need a parent or parents who care about them. That’s the only magic formula there is.
What are they going to do? Criminalize being a single mother? A government mandated spouse? Where are they going to get them, from the prison system? Santorum can shove it. You are a damned good mom, and certainly a better one than his wife. Any good wife/mother would have gotten him to shut his mouth by now.
Santorum is not doing conservatives any favors with the amount of times he puts his foot in his mouth that’s for sure. The bill from Grottmann is an embarrassment to his state and anybody who holds public office. Idiot officials that waste time with bills like that should reimburse the state for the time they’re wasting.
Having said that, to imply, even tongue in cheek, that if you’re black, Muslim or a single parent then the GOP would hate you is off base. It’s a falsehood, cheap shot that people who want to deal with emotions, instead of facts, would discuss policy from.
Also, Mother Jones is a bit leftist to get your news from isn’t it? I’m down with Mojo, but not that type.
Mother Jones? Really? You cite mother jones as a source?
I have to admit to being rather surprised at the publishing of this blatant political hatchet job of an article on latenightparents. A partisan wagging finger by an unmistakeably immature author was the last thing I expected in my inbox this morning.
I guess the reason I felt the need to leave a comment is that this article strays far from the quality I’ve come to expect from your site and I’m sure if I feel this way others do also. Perhaps this writer would be better off at Daily Kos or Firedoglake.
What worries me more than some high-school-class-prez wannabe like Santorum is Obama’s energy secretary Steven Chu making a statement such as the following:
“In a sign of one major internal difference, Mr. Chu has called for gradually ramping up gasoline taxes over 15 years to coax consumers into buying more-efficient cars and living in neighborhoods closer to work.
“Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe,” Mr. Chu, who directs the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in September.”
Gas prices in Europe are running at 8.00 to 9.00 a gallon. This one policy has the potential to hit every one of us where it hurts the most – in our wallets — especially those single moms you express such concern for — but there’s a noticeable absence of any of this type of reporting to offset your position.
I am a lot more concerned and worried about a policy such as that I cited above coming from the current administration that I am about mother jones’ (and your) transparent effort to bash a Republican candidate. We’re in deep trouble as a country and getting deeper by the day. How are single mothers – never mind the rest of us – going to get back and forth to work to support their children when gas is nearly ten dollars a gallon?
By the way …what I quote above comes from the Wall Street Journal and is a direct quote from Chu.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122904040307499791.html
I cannot believe that some Republicans look at single mothers like this. I am Republican and have been for years, and I am actually ashamed that someone would say this….I am a single mother as well….I am not abusing my child by being a single mother…Are you kidding me? It was not my choice to be a single mother, but it was what my ex husband wanted. Sometimes, it is not our fault, but we cannot return to sender….Seriously? Please think before you speak. God bless…
Sincerely,
Stephanie Stepp
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