The Best and the Brightest?

As Romney's prospects of sealing the candidacy continue to be jeopardized by the rising stock of the latest "real conservative candidate" Rick Santorum, one wonders if the nomination could go all the way to the convention. In a surprising piece of news, Romney has spent so much money that not winning in Michigan could put a real strain on his ability to compete going forward. So who is the newest darling of the lunatic fringe. News is coming out daily on some of his more radical positions, making the other pretenders to the throne seem downright sane by comparison:

1. New York magazine reported that the top issue on Santorum's page until it was changed yesterday was "Enforcing Laws Against Illegal Pornography." While this is certainly an issue worth considering, should this really be above the economy, education or healthcare? (NY Mag)
2. Rachel Maddow has an interesting story from last year, when Santorum argued that public schooling is an anachronistic institution. He believes that neither the federal or state governments should be involved in education at all and that "parents should educate their children." (Maddow) So apparently the children of those who are not well-educated should stay that way and all children should hold the same ideas as their parents in perpetuity. Forgot standards, forget democracy, forget socialization -- as long as they're good Christians!
3. Rick Santorum charged on Monday that President Barack Obama and Democrats were "anti-science" because they refused to exploit the Earth's natural resources to the limits of technology. That makes sense, let's kill the planet as quickly as possible -- that's what "science" is for! (Crooks & Liars)
4. Santorum has never been big on subtlety, arguing that the Obama presidency is like the French revolution and that the current GOP campaign to unseat him is like the allies fighting Hitler. In 2008, as the Drudge report has noted, he argued that Satan was taking over America and needed to be stopped. (Daily Kos) He may be right,  but it seems the right is serving him dinner at  the moment.
5. Given Santorum's position on science, it's not surprising that he thinks climate change is a joke. Here is a quote that sums up his position, "
   “We were put on this Earth as creatures of God to have dominion over the Earth, to use it wisely and steward it wisely, but for our benefit not for the Earth’s benefit,” Santorum told a Colorado crowd earlier this month. He went on to call climate change “an absolute travesty of scientific research that was motivated by those who, in my opinion, saw this as an opportunity to create a panic and a crisis for government to be able to step in and even more greatly control your life.” (TPM) Hmm, and religious conservatives of course never create a panic or crisis of government to try to control your lives. They only want to control our bodies, our beliefs, our sex lives and our access to democracy and clean air. Of course global warming is a scam!