Do you support public education? Do you believe in evolution? Do you believe in global warming? Do you believe in providing women the choice to use contraception and birth control? Apparently, Rick Santorum might not.
Do you believe we should abolish courts we disagree with and send the judges to Guam? Do you believe homosexuality is on the same level as rape or incest and that parents can lead their children into a particular sexual orientation? Do you believe that we should bomb Iran and hope for the best? Apparently, Rick Santorum does.
I came to the University from a public elementary school and a public high school in Erie, Penn. I graduated from our “public ivy” last year with a B.A. from the Ford School of Public Policy. Because of my public education, I’m now lucky enough to be a first-year student at Harvard University’s Law School, undoubtedly the Michigan of the East.
I mean it when I say I am lucky, because my public schools provided me with a great education and even better group of friends. Not a day goes by when I do not wish I were in Ann Arbor.
Somehow, I think I have come out as a “fairly normal” young adult, despite the “weird socialization” that Santorum believes students in public schools receive. These are exact words from his book.
I write today as a native Pennsylvanian who feels a duty to tell voters in Michigan about the views of my former senator. Santorum served my state for 12 years, and left as a divisive figure. You may or may not agree with him, but that’s not the point I want to make. When Republicans go to the polls next week for the Michigan primary, the point is that they should know what they’re getting into.
Santorum, who lost by nearly 20 points in his and my home state, would like us to think he wants to represent everyone, rich or poor — not the one percent or 99 percent, but 100 percent of America. That claim deserves further examination. He might be for the 100 percent, except for those families that cannot afford private schools and rely on our public education system to teach their children. He might be for the 100 percent, except for the millions of LGBTQ Americans who would lose their rights in Santorum’s ideal world. He might be for the 100 percent, except for scientists who warn us about the effects of climate change and doctors who help women pick the best medical options.
In addition, Santorum’s social views are well known. Some argue that social issues shouldn’t define a presidential campaign, because one’s positions won’t really affect the norms of this country. But when one has views like Santorum, we cannot hold them to be meaningless. If elected, Santorum will surely voice these ideas from the bully pulpit. Americans give our blessing to what a newly elected president represents. The symbolism of having someone who voices his support for rather extreme positions cannot, under any circumstances, be discounted.
I hope Michigan voters evaluate the Republican candidates based on character and objective criteria — they have every right to vote for whomever they choose. I am not a Michigan voter. I admit freely that I speak from the outside. But I ask, as a fellow American, that Michigan voters talk to each other and be honest about what part of the 100 percent Santorum really wants to represent in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Chinsky is a 2011 University alum.