Wonder Why You Never Hear Rick Santorum Talk About Anything But Social Issues?
The name Rick Santorum has become synonymous with several things, mostly the neologism “santorum,” and a radical religious right position on so-called “social issues.” But did you know that Santorum does actually have positions other than banning same-sex marriage and divorcing hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples, banning pornography, making Puerto Rico speak English, calling Rush Limbaugh an “entertainer†who was just “being absurd“ when he called Sandra Fluke a “slut,†supporting torture, wanting to “throw up” when hearing JFK talk about the separation of church and state, wanting to ban the teaching of evolution, claiming that the so-called Obama war on religion will lead people of faith to the guillotine, claiming Satan is destroying America, saying rape victims must “make the best out of a bad situation,” and saying, “I haven’t been talking a lot about†social issues?
Yes! Yes he does!
But aren’t you wondering why you never hear him talk about it?
WBUR, an NPR affiliate out of Boston, offers this:
U.S. Budget Watch, a project of the bi-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says tax and spending plans proposed by Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich would significantly increase the the national debt.
The exception is Ron Paul’s proposal, which includes major spending cuts with reductions in taxes and would actually bring down the federal deficit.
How The Federal Deficit Would Change (U.S. Budget Watch)
- Under Santorum, by 2021, the debt would rise by about $4.5 trillion
- Under Gingrich, by about $7 trillion
- Under Romney the debt would increase by $2.6 trillion
- Under Ron Paul the debt would fall by about $2 trillion
Where Are The Tax Cuts? (Tax Policy Institute)
- Romney would permanently extend the Bush-era tax cuts, and cut the corporate tax rate from 35 to 25 percent, while repealing the estate tax
- Santorum would extend the Bush tax cuts, cut the corporate tax rate to around 17 percent and repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax
- Gingrich would extend the Bush tax cuts, and reduce the corporate tax rate to around 12 percent
- Ron Paul wants to eliminate the federal income tax and the payroll tax
So, that said, straight from his campaign website, here is Rick Santorum’s amazing “First 100 Days Economic Freedom Agenda” that no doubt will make America free (?) again (?)…
1)   UNLEASH AMERICA’S ENERGY: I’ll approve the Keystone Pipeline for jobs and energy security. I’ll sign an order unleashing America’s domestic energy production without picking winners and losers on Day One. I’ll allow states to choose where they want to explore for oil and natural gas and to set their own regulations for hydrofracking.
2)  STOP JOB KILLING REGULATIONS: I’ll eliminate all regulations promulgated by the Obama Administration which have an economic burden over $100 million dollars, on Day One, including repeal of the EPA rule on CO2 emissions that have already shut down six power plants and furloughed 500 workers. I will order a review of all regulations, making sure these regulations use sound science and common-sense cost benefit analysis.
3)   REIN IN SPENDING TO SECURE OUR FUTURE: I’ll propose spending cuts of $5 trillion over 5 years, including spending cuts for the remainder of fiscal year 2013. I will propose budgets that spend less money each year than the year before, and I’ll reduce the non-defense related federal workforce at least 10 percent, without replacing with contractors.
4)   REPEAL AND REPLACE OBAMACARE: I’ll submit legislation to Congress to repeal ObamaCare and issue an executive order ending related regulatory obligations on the states on Day One. I’ll work with Congress to replace ObamaCare with competitive choices of healthcare plans to improve the quality and limit the cost of healthcare, while protecting those with uninsurable health conditions.
5)   BALANCE THE BUDGET: I’ll submit to Congress a budget that will balance within 5 years and  I’ll call on Congress to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution which limits federal spending to 18 percent of GDP.
6)   PRO-GROWTH AND PRO-FAMILY INDIVIDUAL TAX POLICY: I’ll submit to Congress my comprehensive pro-growth and pro-family tax policies to strengthen opportunity in our country, with lower rates of 10 percent and 28 percent. To help families, I’ll triple the personal deduction for children and eliminate the marriage tax penalty throughout the tax code.
7)   RESTORE AMERICA’S COMPETITIVENESS: I’ll cut the corporate tax in half to a flat-tax rate of 17.5 percent to make America competitive internationally, and I’ll allow corporations to expense all business equipment and investment. I’ll eliminate taxes on IRS Code Section 199 manufacturing activity to attract manufacturing back to America. I’ll take the lead on tort reform to lower the cost of doing business in America and to reduce the cost of products and services to consumers. Repeal Dodd-Frank, which is making it harder for businesses to get access to credit and for Americans to buy houses and refinance.
8)  NEGOTIATE AND SUBMIT FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS: Because a substantial portion of Americans work for companies which export, I’ll initiate negotiations in the first 100 days and submit to Congress at least five free trade agreements to increase our exports during my first year in office.
9)Â Â REFORM ENTITLEMENTS:Â I will cut means-tested entitlement programs by 10 percent across the board, freeze them for four years, and block grant them to the states as I did as the author of welfare reform. I will reform Medicare and Social Security so they are fiscally sustainable for seniors and young people.
10)   REVIVE HOUSING: I’ll submit a plan to Congress to phase out within several years Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s federal housing role, reform and make transparent the Federal Reserve, and allow families whose homes are “underwater†to deduct losses from the sale of their home in order to better get a fresh start in difficult economic times.
Yes, temporary “fixes,” tax breaks for the wealthy, and killing the very regulations that allow us to breathe clean air and drink clean water.
Any questions?
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An increasingly “anxious” White House is lashing out at Democrats and the media, accusing them—without providing evidence—of blaming President Donald Trump for the catastrophic Texas floods that have killed over 90 people, including many children.
Critics are questioning whether cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) by the Trump administration hampered accurate forecasting and slowed emergency warnings. Others point to failures by local officials to communicate timely alerts to the flood-stricken area along the Guadalupe River.
“Former federal officials and outside experts have warned for months that President Donald Trump’s deep staffing cuts to the National Weather Service could endanger lives,” the Associated Press reported Monday afternoon. “The Trump administration has cut hundreds of jobs at NWS, with staffing down by at least 20% at nearly half of the 122 NWS field offices nationally and at least a half dozen no longer staffed 24 hours a day. Hundreds more experienced forecasters and senior managers were encouraged to retire early.”
READ MORE: ‘Authoritarian’: Trump Treasury Chief Ripped for Call to Punish Private Citizen’s Speech
“The website for the NWS office for Austin/San Antonio, which covers the region that includes hard-hit Kerr County, shows six of 27 positions are listed as vacant,” the AP also reported, noting, however, that there were the usual number of staff members on hand the night of the flood.
Now, veteran foreign policy journalist Laura Rozen writes that the White House is “very anxious that administration/DOGE massive staffing cuts to national weather service and related agencies not be seen as connected to flooding deaths in Texas, inadequate warning.”
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday, in a letter to Roderick Anderson, the Commerce Department’s acting inspector general, urged him to immediately “open an investigation into the scope, breadth, and ramifications of whether staffing shortages at key local National Weather Service (NWS) stations contributed to the catastrophic loss of life and property during the deadly flooding,” The Hill reported.
“He noted that The New York Times reported that key forecasting and coordination positions at the San Antonio and San Angelo offices of the NWS were vacant at the time of the Friday storm,” The Hill also reported. “Those local offices were missing a warning coordination meteorologist, a science officer and a senior hydrologist, among other ‘vital forecasting, meteorology and coordination roles.'”
Only once in Schumer’s letter does he mention Trump, and it is not to blame him for the flooding.
But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday strongly suggested Senator Schumer was indeed directly blaming Trump for the flooding.
READ MORE: ‘What First Amendment?’: 140 EPA Workers Suspended After Opposing Trump Agenda
“Unfortunately, in the wake of this once in a generation natural disaster, we have seen many falsehoods pushed by Democrats such as Senator Chuck Schumer and some members of the media. Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning,” Leavitt told reporters (video below).
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz on Monday also falsely claimed that President Trump is being blamed for natural disasters, telling reporters, “you see that with a hurricane, with a tornado, with a wildfire, with this flooding, where people immediately say, ‘Well, the hurricane is Donald Trump’s fault.'”
Critics pushed back at the White House.
“Nobody is blaming Trump for the floods,” wrote journalist and environmentalist Michael Dominowski. “But he did decimate National Weather Service forecast offices, despite being told doing so would hamper the agency’s ability to accurately predict storms. He did it anyway. Look at what happened. Cause/effect is a thing.”
Watch the video below or at this link.
Leavitt: Unfortunately in the wake of this once in a generation national disaster, we have seen many falsehoods pushed by Democrats, such as Schumer and members of the media. Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie pic.twitter.com/eOB4tk3xSh
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 7, 2025
READ MORE: Democratic Strategist Warns Trump Could Try to Impose Martial Law Before 2026 Midterms
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is under fire for remarks he made in the wake of deadly Texas flooding that has killed over 80 people, claiming that now is not the time to politicize—or even examine—the tragedy, while also defending President Donald Trump.
Some are asking if the Trump administration’s staffing cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and specifically, the National Weather Service (NWS), which provides local weather forecasts and warnings across the country, were to blame for a possibly stunted response to the flash flooding on the Guadalupe River.
“State and local officials are calling out federal forecasters amid deadly flooding in the Texas Hill Country over the extended Fourth of July weekend,” Texas NBC affiliate KXAN reported on Friday. “The criticism comes, as funding cuts and staff shortages plague the National Weather Service and other emergency management agencies nationwide.”
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On Monday at Public Notice, Noah Berlatsky wrote: “Retired federal scientists warned that the cuts could hamstring forecasts and make extreme weather events less predictable and more dangerous.”
“The New York Times reported that ‘crucial positions at the local offices of the National Weather Service were unfilled as severe rainfall inundated parts of Central Texas … prompting some experts to question whether staffing shortages made it harder for the forecasting agency to coordinate with local emergency managers as floodwaters rose,” Berlatsky added. “Did Trump’s cuts cause excess deaths in Texas? It will probably be some time before we have a definitive answer to that question, if we ever do at all.”
Meanwhile, Senator Cruz on Monday told reporters (video below), “I think any time you’re dealing with major rivers, there’s a risk of flooding, and there’s always been a risk of flooding, particularly on the Guadalupe River.”
“One of the things that’s predictable is that you see some people engaging in, I think partisan games, and trying to blame their political opponents for a natural disaster. And you see that with a hurricane, with a tornado, with a wildfire, with this flooding, where people immediately say, “Well, the hurricane is Donald Trump’s fault.”
Cruz also insisted that there’s an “ordering of things,” and that not until after the search and rescue and not until after rebuilding can there be a “retrospective” to determine what could have been done differently.
READ MORE: ‘What First Amendment?’: 140 EPA Workers Suspended After Opposing Trump Agenda
Critics blasted Cruz, with one noting that he “was asked a non-partisan question about a safety/warning system. His response was to be defensive and political in defending Trump.”
Others noted that Americans aren’t blaming the President for natural disasters, but for what some see as a hampered response given the drastic cuts made to the National Weather Service.
“No one is saying Trump caused the storm, Ted,” wrote “On Democracy” podcaster Fred Wellman. “We are asking if more could have been done to warn people? They were literally relying on a system of upstream camps calling one’s further down. It’s 2025. They should have had sirens, cell coverage improvements, and more. The county posted the warning on Facebook. Your job is to ask those questions not gaslight.”
“OK,” wrote actress Morgan Fairchild, “but was it ever communicated to you that it was a priority to have [a] warning system? Especially since the area is called Flood Alley…”
“Ted Cruz slams people for ‘engaging in partisan games’ just minutes after he praised Donald Trump as in essence the greatest president and said Trump made it clear he would be there for Texas,” observed SiriusXM host Dean Obeidallah.
Watch the videos below or at this link.
Q: Was it ever communicated to you that it was a priority to have a warning system, so people have a chance to escape something like this?
TED CRUZ: Any time you’re dealing with major rivers, there’s a risk of flooding … you see people engaging in partisan games … people… pic.twitter.com/bVEBEXBLnd
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 7, 2025
Ted Cruz: “Something went wrong … we’re got to have a better system of warning to get kids out of harm’s way.” pic.twitter.com/Ap3mc1pv1A
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 7, 2025
READ MORE: Democratic Strategist Warns Trump Could Try to Impose Martial Law Before 2026 Midterms
In what some critics describe as an example of “cancel culture,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—a high profile official in the Trump administration—is calling for an apology or the firing of a private citizen: Larry Summers, a Democrat who, coincidentally, once held Bessent’s current position and later served as president of Harvard University.
In remarks he made over the weekend, Summers likened the horrific Texas flooding fatalities—now over 80, with dozens reportedly still missing and more rain expected—to what experts say will be the result of President Donald Trump’s so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” the GOP budget projected to lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans annually.
“A Yale and University of Pennsylvania study estimated that restricting Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage, the repeal of nursing home staffing regulations, and other adjustments in the bill could result in 51,000 preventable deaths each year across the country, making it a top 10 cause of death in the U.S.,” The Daily Beast reported over the weekend.
READ MORE: ‘What First Amendment?’: 140 EPA Workers Suspended After Opposing Trump Agenda
Actually citing lower death projections, Summers on Sunday told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos (video below) that the GOP budget bill, signed into law in an Independence Day ceremony complete with fighter jets and B-2 bombers soaring overhead, “is the biggest cut in the American safety net in history.”
He cited “estimates that it will kill, over 10 years, 100,000 people.”
“That is 2,000 days of death like we’ve seen in Texas this weekend. In my 70 years, I’ve never been as embarrassed for my country on July 4th,” Summers lamented.
He went on to call it “a shameful act by our Congress and by our president that is going to set our country back.”
Secretary Bessent, reportedly under consideration to replace Jerome Powell as Trump calls for the Federal Reserve Chairman’s exit, lashed out.
Calling Summers’ appearance on ABC News’ “This Week,” a “shockingly callous interview,” that portrayed “a lack of humanity and judgment,” Bessent charged, “Using the horrifying situation in Texas for cheap political gain is unfathomable.”
He offered no insight into what political advantage Summers hoped to gain, but alleged that Summers had “turned a human tragedy into a political cudgel,” characterized his remarks as “feckless and deeply offensive,” and demanded “a public apology for his toxic language.”
At no point did Secretary Bessent dispute the numbers Summers cited.
READ MORE: Democratic Strategist Warns Trump Could Try to Impose Martial Law Before 2026 Midterms
But he did demand an apology, and absent that, said his remarks should be “grounds for dismissal.”
“I hope the nonprofit and for-profit institutions with which he is affiliated will join me in this call. If he is unwilling or unable to acknowledge the cruelty of his remarks, they should consider Harvard’s example and make his unacceptable rhetoric grounds for dismissal,” the Treasury Secretary wrote.
Critics blasted Bessent.
“‘Shockingly callous’ isn’t pointing out the reality that Medicaid cuts will kill tens of thousands. Shockingly callous is cutting Medicaid without knowing this, or worse, cutting it despite knowing this,” wrote Professor of Economics and Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Justin Wolfers. “Notice something else: Not once does Bessent refute the numbers that Summers offers. He just finds the language offensive. Some may find the reality more offensive.”
“Thank goodness we’ve gotten rid of cancel cult…,” Wolfers also snarked. “oh, wait, the secretary of the treasury is pressuring a private university to strip a professor of tenure because he highlighted numbers in a way the regime never refuted, but found offensive.”
“It’s truly pathetic that a Treasury Sec is using a public account to launch ad hominem attacks on a former Treasury Sec,” wrote Neera Tanden, former Biden Director of the Domestic Policy Council. “Clearly Bessent can’t counter @LHSummers facts. Clearly the WH is so worried BBB is a political disaster they forced their toady Treasury Sec to attack.”
“This is none of your business, Scott,” charged writer and historian Joshua Decter. “Stop trying to interfere and meddle with independent academic institutions. These are neo-Stalinist or neo-Maoist tactics. This is not what should happen in America.”
“Calling for a private citizen to be punished for disagreeing with the Administration from his official government account is classic authoritarianism,” observed Fred Wellman, a graduate of West Point and the Harvard Kennedy School, a 22-year combat veteran who is now the host of the podcast “On Democracy.”
Civil liberties and national security journalist Marcy Wheeler charged: “Secretary: You ALL WERE WARNED. You were warned repeatedly about the deaths you were going to cause. You own them.”
Watch Summers’ remarks in the video below or at this link.
READ MORE: Trump Appeared Unaware His Budget Bill Cuts $1T From Medicaid: Report
Image via Reuters
‘Authoritarian’: Trump Treasury Chief Ripped for Call to Punish Private Citizen’s Speech
‘Depraved Lie’: White House Claims Democrats Are Blaming Trump for Texas Floods
Ted Cruz Blasted for Defending Trump, Dodging Questions on Flood Warning System Failures
‘Depraved Lie’: White House Claims Democrats Are Blaming Trump for Texas Floods
Ted Cruz Blasted for Defending Trump, Dodging Questions on Flood Warning System Failures
‘Authoritarian’: Trump Treasury Chief Ripped for Call to Punish Private Citizen’s Speech
‘What First Amendment?’: 140 EPA Workers Suspended After Opposing Trump Agenda
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News19 hours ago‘Authoritarian’: Trump Treasury Chief Ripped for Call to Punish Private Citizen’s Speech
News14 hours ago‘Depraved Lie’: White House Claims Democrats Are Blaming Trump for Texas Floods
News17 hours agoTed Cruz Blasted for Defending Trump, Dodging Questions on Flood Warning System Failures