Santorum Nephew: “If you want another big-government politician who supports the status quo to run our country, you should vote for my uncle.”

A Rick Santorum nephew wrote an op-ed, published yesterday in the conservative Daily Caller, titled, “The trouble with my uncle, Rick Santorum.” It didn’t get better for the up-and-coming almost front-runner GOP candidate. The opening sentence reads, “If you want another big-government politician who supports the status quo to run our country, you should vote for my uncle, Rick Santorum.”

John Garver, a University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown student, says his uncle “cannot fathom a society in which people cooperate and work with each other freely.” Garver, a Ron Paul supporter, adds that it “is not the government’s job to dictate to individuals how they must live.”

“When Republicans were spending so much money under President Bush, my uncle was right there along with them as a senator,” Garver writes. “The reason we have so much debt is not only because of Democrats, but also because of big-spending Republicans like my Uncle Rick.”

Ron Paul seems to be the only candidate trying to win the election for a reason other than simply winning the election.

This year, I’ll vote for an honest change in our government. I’ll vote for real hope. I’ll vote for a real leader. This year, I will vote for Ron Paul.

Mediaite points to a blogger “saying that he knows Garver’s family and that, in the extended Santorum clan, they are the ‘black sheep’.”

This op-ed is from my best friend’s family who have always been the black sheep when it comes to politics, especially with regards to Uncle Rick. And while I don’t entirely agree with John (he’s a Ron Paul supporter), I am proud to see him publish his perspective.

And forget awkward Thanksgivings, there are also the weddings, birthdays, Easters, graduation parties… (Thankfully, I don’t attend these anymore.)

Timothy Noah at The New Republic adds,

The column dumps on Uncle Rick more than it praises Ron Paul, probably because Garver (to judge from the tone of his column) doesn’t especially care who carries the libertarian banner into battle so long as somebody does. Which, given Paul’s sordid paper trail of racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic newsletters (in 2008 Paul’s campaign spokesman told TNR’s James Kirchik, who broke the story, that Paul “did not see” prior to publication “most of the incendiary stuff,” which is hardly reassuring), may explain why so many others support Paul, too. I’d hate to think it’s because the newsletters enhanced Paul’s appeal in Iowa or elsewhere.

And there you have it.