Rick Santorum: Laying Bare the Divide Between the GOP and Voters

I will admit that staying solely within a circle of like minded individuals in the political realm can lead you to lose sight of the fact that out in the larger world your political beliefs are less widely embraced that what one likes to believe. Having once been a GOP activist of sorts myself, I can understand how it happens - especially if party activities come to control your life. But one does need to stay in touch with what others are thinking too if disaster is to be diverted. Such is the case with the current GOP base - and the GOP members of the Virginia General Assembly which has faced a harsh reality check over the past week in Richmond when women and moderates decided to fight back. A piece in the Chicago Tribune looks at the dangers Rick Santorum and his followers pose for the GOP in 2012. Here are some highlights:

Could GOP primary voters have finally found their soul mate? In the person of former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, they may have stumbled upon a presidential candidate who can speak their language with a forceful authenticity that simply can't be programmed into Mitt Romney.

And as if by divine providence, the rise of Santorum coincides with the return of culture war issues--gay marriage, abortion, and, especially, contraception--upon which he has earned his reputation and loyal following among conservatives.

But Santorum's turn as the not-Romney of the moment and the sudden political shift from jobs to social issues illustrate the perilous political position into which the GOP is charging headlong. It's a confluence of candidate and issues that can lay bare the cultural gap that has grown between the Republican base and the mainstream of American politics.

Take the birth control flap. . . . . Republicans sensed an opportunity, and even after the president unveiled a compromise whereby the contraceptives would be paid for by insurance companies rather than the offended institutions, they doubled down. . . . What they did not have, however, was the support of either the broad electorate or the bishops' flock, a fact illustrated by the preponderance of recent polling data on the issue.

The only group in the survey that opposed the rule was white evangelical Protestants, with 38 percent in favor and 56 percent against, raising the question of whether the Catholic bishops are stewarding the right church. A New York Times/CBS News poll last week found that 65 percent of voters support the compromise, including a majority of Catholic voters.

No candidate is better positioned to capitalize on the resurgence of culture war issues (not only birth control, but also California's ban on gay marriage being struck down, and the Planned Parenthood-Susan G. Komen spat) than Santorum, who made his name in culture skirmishes, most famously comparing homosexuality to bestiality.

That kind of cultural conservative hawkishness might play in a GOP primary, but it's why so many political observers view Santorum as completely unelectable. Which leaves Romney in a tough position: How does the self-described "severe conservative" attack his rival for being too severely conservative?

The GOP base needs to come out of its bubble and get a sense of where the rest of the public is headed - and its not headed back to the 11th century like the Christian Right and the child rapist protecting Catholic bishops.