Santorum's social issues trap

By Conn Carroll | Senior Editorial Writer

Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal's William McGurn had a great article on the media's double standard when it comes to conservatives and religion. He wrote:

When Mr. Obama used a prayer breakfast earlier this month to suggest that the Gospel of Luke was a call for raising taxes on the wealthy, the press corps yawned. When Mr. Santorum complained about the "phony theology" behind the president's worldview, suddenly it landed on every front page and lead every news show.

When first reading McGurn's statement, many conservatives probably reflexively blamed the "liberal" media for this hypocrisy. But, as the Drudge Report demonstrated yesterday, the conservative media is just as eager to keep Santorum trapped talking about social issues. Drudge's "SANTORUM'S SATAN WARNING" headline was up most of the day, driving both mainstream and conservative media coverage. Rush Limbaugh even weighed in, admitting that Santorum was going to have to spend time addressing the issue:

I mentioned earlier in the program that Santorum, people have dug deep and they found a speech that he gave back in 2008 in Ave Maria, Florida, at Ave Maria University. Drudge has this plastered up. The Democrats have found it. It's all over the place. Think Progress and whatever leftist think tanks have dug this up, and it's part of the predictable attempt to impugn Santorum as an absolute religious nut and wacko. But he did say these things and he'll to have an answer for these things when queried.

Santorum will have to address this speech, but he better do so in a way that allows him to pivot to other issues. He is going to have to rethink his promise to talk about the evils of contraception as president and then refrain from being baited into theological discussions. There is a lot of ground to talk about the importance of faith in civil society, and how government dependence can undermine those institutions. Ronald Reagan did it often. If he is going to survive, Santorum must find a similar balance.

Campaign 2012
Romney: Mitt Romney is drawing a disproportionately high amount of campaign funds from people who have given him the legal maximum, weakening his ability to raise more money and virtually guaranteeing that he will have to use his own wealth to secure the nomination. And campaigning in Michigan, Romney claimed that government spending cuts harm economic growth. "If you just cut, if all you're thinking about doing is cutting spending, as you cut spending you'll slow down the economy," he told voters in Shelby Township. Romney also said that "labor unions play an important role in our society" and "they're an important part of America's economy."

Santorum: The super PAC supporting Rick Santorum, the Red, White and Blue Fund, confirmed Tuesday it made an additional $600,000 television ad buy in Michigan. The ads will run through next Tuesdays primary and will target Romney.

Arizona: A new CNN poll shows Sanotrum with in 4 points of Romney in Arizona, 36 percent to 32 percent. Also in Arizona, Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County, says he briefed Santorum on his investigation into President Obama's birth certificate.

Obama: In yesterday's press briefing, White House press secretary Jay Carney first claimed Republicans "forced" President Obama to deny the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Minutes later, Carney said Obama didn't turn down the pipeline.

Around the Bigs
The Wall Street Journal, Obama Proposes Tax Revamp: Today, President Obama will propose lowering the top income-tax rate for corporations to 28% from 35% but would raise overall tax revenue by eliminating dozens of popular deductions in an effort to restructure the corporate tax code.

The Washington Post, FHFA releases plan for Freddie, Fannie exit: The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie and Freddie, released a plan yesterday for scaling back mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The FHFA plan conflicts with Obama's plan to use Fannie and Freddie to bailout more mortgages facing foreclosure.

The New York Times, Legal Fees Mount at Fannie and Freddie: Taxpayers have advanced almost $50 million in legal payments to defend former executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the three years since the government rescued the giant mortgage companies.

The Washington Post, Fed's push on housing crosses a line, critics say: The Federal Reserve again made the case for decreasing its independence last month, when it released policy recommendations for the ongoing mortgage crisis. "It appears the Fed may have overstepped their bounds in recommending fiscal policy actions," Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at J.P. Morgan Chase, told The Post. "It does get a little bit into dangerous territory."

The New York Times, Nuclear Inspectors Say Their Mission to Iran Has Failed: Tehran blocked access to a site international nuclear inspectors wanted to visit recently and refused to answer questions about "possible military dimensions" to its nuclear program.

Righty Playbook
Don Surber provides some historical perspective to Obama's 6-point lead over Mitt Romney in a current head-to-head match up. At this point in 2004, John Kerry led President Bush by 12 points and in 1980 President Carter led Gov. Ronald Reagan by 29 points.

At Contentions, Alan Goodman reports that Virginia Planned Parenthood already requires ultrasounds before they perform abortions.

Walter Russell Mead argues that government must stop favoring large corporations and should deregulate labor, tax, and health law to make it easier for Americans to employ themselves.

Lefty Playbook
The Washington Monthly's Ed Kilgore flags a 2008 story showing Santorum questioning whether Obama's Chicago church upholds genuine Christianity.

The Huffington Post has unearthed a 11995 Philadelphia Magazine article where Santorum says he "was basically pro-choice all my life, until I ran for Congress… But it had never been something I thought about."

Salon's Steve Kornacki claims GOP elites are happy the press is focusing on Santorum's social issues, since that makes him look unelectable.