Does Ronald Reagan Make Rick Santorum "Want to Throw Up?"

I've noted many times the extremism of Rick Santorum and those who now make up the base of the Republican Party. The party bears little resemblance to the political party that I and most of my extended family belonged to literally for decades. Over the weekend I noted how Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum has ranted that John F. Kennedy's statements on the separation of church and state "make him want to throw up." Joan Walsh at Salon has a piece that looks at just how out of step Santorum is vis-a-vis past presidents. Here's one quote that Joan cites I guess would make Frothy Mix want to vomit as well:

“We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate. All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, and those who believe are free, and should be free, to speak of and act on their belief.”

Who made that statement? It was Ronald Reagan, running for reelection in 1984. That such a statement is now considered heresy among the knuckle draggers who make up the GOP base speaks volumes about the party's decline to insanity. Now, to be a faithful Republican one is expected to seek to force a Christianist version of Christianity on all citizens and to denigrate and undermine the civil rights of those who refuse to conform, gays being one such targeted group. Here are additional highlights from the Salon article:

Let me start by saying: Santorum sounds literally hysterical. It’s a troubling sign of the GOP’s desperation that he’s virtually tied with Mitt Romney for the lead in the 2012 primaries. It pains me to actually have to take him seriously.

Of course, there’s no place in Kennedy’s speech where he said “people of faith are not allowed in the public square,” or anything close to that, and Santorum’s saying it three times doesn’t make it true. Here’s one key passage:

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials; and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.

As the title to this post indicates, if Santorum finds Kennedy's statements to be vomit inducing, then Ronald Reagan's statement must likewise make him want to throw up. Santorum is a religious extremist and demagogue who is utterly unfit to be president of the United States.