Rick Santorum had a big night last night, sweeping Minnesota, Missouri, and Colorado in their Republican primary races. Even though technically there were no delegates at stake last night, the presumption is that Santorum will be awarded enough delegates to put him firmly in second place behind Mitt Romney. Conservatives in the Republican party are cheering, yet if they really want to win in November, Rick Santorum should be the last person they elect.
Why? Because Rick Santorum cannot and will not win the millennial vote. Young voters made the difference in 2008, voting for Obama by a 2 to 1 margin, but Obama has had some of his support by young voters decline. This chink in his armor is something Republicans should be seizing on, but instead they have widely ignored this important demographic.
Most people will tell you that young voters are by default more liberal than older voters. This is true, but there was a much more drastic shift in the 2008 elections. Gaining some of that share back to the Republican side would be a wise move.
Rick Santorum will not help Republicans in that cause. Let me explain why by using a term that Neal Boortz uses. Santorum is a turbo. What is a turbo? To paraphrase Boortz, a turbo is an ultra fanatic christian who would use the power of government to push their beliefs onto others. So how would Santorum use the power of government to push his religious beliefs onto others?
Let me count the ways…
Santorum is very clear in his stance on gay rights. Don’t ask, don’t tell, gay marriage, right to privacy all gone. What was that last part? Right to privacy? Santorum doesn’t believe you should have a right to privacy. In particular, Santorum has been very critical of the Supreme Court decision in 1965, Griswold v. Connecticut. In that decision SCOTUS determined that the right to privacy was protected in the Constitution and invalidated a Connecticut law that prohibited the use of contraceptives. That’s right folks. Santorum, wants to be able to legislate what you do in the bedroom.
And this is why he will not garner Millennial support. Millennials do not like turbos. They are less religious than previous generations, and are the only generational demographic that currently supports gay marriage rights by a majority. He is the wrong candidate for Millennials and will further divide the young voting block from Republicans should they choose Santorum as their nominee and Obama will win a second term.
Also, watch out for the Tea Party. If the Tea Party suddenly rallies behind Santorum now that he has momentum, it will prove that the Tea Party is a backdoor movement for social conservative who want to impose their ways on others. Beware of the turbos!
