Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has issued the following statement to clarify reports that he has endorsed Rick Santorum for president:
“Contrary to how some people have interpreted my words, I have not endorsed any presidential candidate. What I did say was that I hope to see a Republican in the White House. I’ve seen good qualities in all the candidates but by no means have made my choice yet. I respect the fact that Santorum took time off from his campaign to be with his sick daughter, but I never used the word ‘endorse.’”
What he originally said was:
Earlier in the election, I was completely oblivious as to who Rick Santorum was, but when the dude went home to be with his daughter when she was sick, that was very commendable. Also, just watching how he hasn’t gotten into doing these horrible, horrible attack ads like Mitt Romney’s done against Newt Gingrich, and then the volume at which Newt has gone back at Romney… You know, I think Santorum has some presidential qualities, and I’m hoping that if it does come down to it, we’ll see a Republican in the White House… and that it’s Rick Santorum.
End of news post. Beginning personal commentary, but please, keep reading.
That makes sense. Rick Santorum does indeed look like a nice, respectable, guy. Sort of like Ned Flanders with his moustache shaved off. No, seriously. And that’s what makes him so incredibly frustrating. In a clever repurposing of the old fundamentalist conspiracy theory about hidden messages on metal records Rick Santorum represents an attempt by the farthest reaches of the political right to hide extreme positions in a walking jar of mayonnaise. Rick Santorum always looks like he’s got a stick in his rear, but for most of our grandparents that’s a selling point. But outside of that he seems like a perfectly nice man who looks exactly like about half the people you might see at Church on any given Sunday. And now that he’s doing well in the polls Rick would really like to just run on how nice and respectable he seems.
The problem is when people talk about what a nice man he is without being aware of what he actually says. And lets ignore how little he would approve of Mustaine’s music, sexual past, or hopeful use of protection during said sexual past. Dave says he’s a changed man. So how should the rest of us feel about his belief that states should have the right to outlaw contraception. Or his disgusting history of bigoted straw-man arguments against homosexuality. Or just how incredibly dangerous his view of the place of religion in our country is, not just to the freedoms of atheists and non-Christians but to the freedoms of Christians themselves. Face it guys, you’re not the fastest growing religion in the world anymore. Are you sure you want to set precedent for religious law?
Notice I didn’t address issues like taxation, regulation, or military strategy. While my views on those topics are probably not hard to guess they have no place in this discussion. You can make a lot of moral arguments about each of those issues, but those are issues where reasonable people can have reasonable debates. Rick Santorum is probably a nice guy in his real life. Mustaine points out that he took off work to take care of his sick child, and that’s to be commended. But he’s for a truly terrifying embrace of government overreach of our liberties and he lacks even the most basic respect for a large chunk of this country. He equates loving homosexual partners with pedophiles. Taken to their logical conclusion his views on religious liberty could have your employeer dropping all medical coverage because it goes against their beliefs as Christian Scientists. His views on abortion are so extreme that even a simple birth control pill is a murder.
As a country we are not going to agree on everything, but these are extreme stances. It makes me happy that he takes good care of his children. But if you know and love someone who is gay, or want your children to have the freedom to learn about faith their own way, or understand that birth control pills lead to fewer real abortions, or just don’t want your employeer to be able to pick what coverage you get based on their religious beliefs… well, it’s hard to support this guy. This is not a “Republicans suck and are evil” rant; these are culture war issues that get in the way of the traditional Republican stance of less government intervention. Rick Santorum seems like a respectable guy, but he sure doesn’t have any respect for a pretty large chunk of the country he wants to lead. That should be a problem.
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what the fuck dude. amazing how this guy can suddenly be a republican frontrunner. it’s incomprehensible how suddenly republicans made gwb look like a somewhat competent and likable individual.
Comment by dsj — 16/02/2012 #
Why are you giving him points for caring for a sick child? He’s in politics, and knows well how his opponents would use the fact that he DIDN’T care for a sick child while he was campaigning. The optics would be horrible, to paraphrase Newt.
So Mustaine’s had a come-to-Jesus moment with conservatism. Does that mean he’ll be refunding all the money he’s made doing all the things conservatives claim to be against? I didn’t think so. Santorum: the eat your peas, while on your knees candidate.
Comment by heubler — 17/02/2012 #
Yeah Rick’s a real stand up guy when it comes to sick kids. Like when he tol the mom of a kid who needs expensive drugs to not buy an iphone as a solution. I think that was a week or two ago.
Comment by monger — 17/02/2012 #
I can’t tell if you’re trolling or simply unable to see the point of the article. The point is that being a good father, Dave’s original selling point, doesn’t make him a respectable person when his views are taken into account. Not attacking every single thing he’s said or done doesn’t make the piece a pro-Santorum “at least he’s good with kids” argument. It’s just a narrow focus addressing the original point. It’s really sad that because an article doesn’t rage hate the whole time you think I need to be set straight on the kind of person Santorum is.
Sent from my phone, sorry for any spelling errors.
Comment by John-Michael — 17/02/2012 #
John not sure who your comment is addressed to, but I can make my position chrystal clear. Santorum’s love for his child in no way redeems the rest of his views & character.
I sure every evil dictator has a soft spot for someone too. Rick would have more credability if he cared similarly for people who were not his blood relation or do not share his cultural views.
I think my example is but one piece of evidence that he does not.
Comment by monger — 17/02/2012 #
So, you want to see a republican in the White House after 8 disastrous years of Bush? Dave Mustaine…you’re pathetic! Republicans hate long haired guys like you and everything you stand for. Your Born Again Christian crap won’t matter either…republicans are not true Christians either since they go opposite of everything your Saviour stands for as well.
Comment by Dana — 17/02/2012 #
Sorry Monger for the lack of clarity. It was addressed at you. At no point did I say Santorum loving his child redeems his views or his character. A person can have a commendable trait and not be commendable.
Basically what you missed is an arguing tactic. Mustaine and I agree that he can appear to be a nice guy because of his actions with his own family. My point is that for a lot of Americans this image of the nice guy next door is all they see, and they should look at what he’s actually running on. It’s as if you stopped reading the article at the moment you thought you disagreed with it, even though the argument you made above, “Santorum’s love for his child in no way redeems the rest of his views & character”, is the exact argument the piece is making.
It’s possible to make an argument without demonizing people on every point. Rick Santorum can be a good father AND an asshole.
Comment by John-Michael — 17/02/2012 #
If it was up to Rick Santorum, Dave Mustaine world have 30 children and no access to contraception, but then again that sounds about right.
Comment by krissy — 18/02/2012 #