- Jan 7, 2012, 2:34 PM
- 11 COMMENTS
 |
| Santorum campaigns at a GOP gala in Nashua, N.H. (WBUR/Dominick Reuter) |
Sen. Rick
Former Sen. Rick Santorum spoke at a St. Anselm College event on the economy and the election when he accused President Obama of “hubris” and “snobbery” for suggesting all American kids should attend college.
“I was so outraged at the President of the United States standing up and saying ‘Every child in America should go to college.’ Well, who are you? Who are you to say that ‘every child in America go’? I mean, the hubris of this president to think that he knows what’s best for you. I have seven kids. Maybe they’ll all go to college. But if one of my kids wants to go and be an auto mechanic, good for him. That’s a good paying job. Use your hands, use your mind.This is the kind of snobbery that we see from those who think they know how to run our lives.Rise up America. Defend your own freedoms. And overthrow these folks who think they know how to orchestrate every aspect of your life.”
This wasn’t the only time Santorum talked about Washington elitists taking away everyone else’s freedoms, or waging “class warfare”. But the comment on college won him the biggest applause from the crowd. This type of rhetoric would probably go farther in a different venue. In other words, any place besides a college campus forum sponsored by The Atlantic Monthly and the National Journal.
A number of folks have sent me versions of this story. I thought it went along with our recent discussions.
ReplyDeleteOr you could go to college and get a degree in auto mechanics (it's offered where I teach). Or you could just sit around and do nothing, or do whatever your parents did and never do much thinking because some moron like Santorum equates being patriotic with being dumb and in the dark and narrow minded. I'm pretty sick of that 'tude. I'd like to rub Santorum's face in a santorum.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. At Large Urban Community College, our programs in auto mechanics all but guarantee employment. Most garages or shops prefer someone who comes in already certified in the latest technologies and ready to work so they don't have to invest time and money in OTJ training. CCs offer training and education in just about anything someone would want to do, and someone with the credential will have the edge. It's one of the most important reasons we exist.
DeleteHear, hear Prof. T!
ReplyDeleteI would believe that with that statement Obama meant college ... OR job training ... OR a vocation ... OR [insert other life goal] but used "attend college" recognizing that even most trades now include at least some college level coursework and as a shorthand for having a career goal [of whatever stripe].
But, if he were to actually make such a grand statement then the Santorums of the world would be apopleptic over the grand "training" program that Obama was proposing.
Remember, this is the same mentality that advocated keeping children home from a televised address from Obama extolling the virtues of staying in school because it was an attempt at "liberal indoctrination."
Then again, Mr. Santorum has a BA (Penn State), MBA (Univ. of Pittsburg), and JD (Penn State's Dickinson School of Law) once again demonstrating that, indeed, college doesn't take for everyone.
DeleteI just want to say that Santorum used to do legal work for the Worldwide Wrestling Federation; I think that's where he picked up his faux blue collar mentality. He sucks on so many fronts I think it's amazing he's running.
ReplyDeleteHa! The ad to the right says "Rick Santorum for 2012? Vote here!" That's pretty awesome that he worked for WWF. He should really play that up.
ReplyDeleteMy point in bringing up the WWF connection is that his whole campaign is very much like a WWF match: a lot of posturing, fake conflict, and male soap opera bullshit. In fact, everybody on the GOP ticket is lost in space, including Ron Paul, who aside from his "end the war" plans is a pretty 17th century candidate.
DeleteWhat do you mean by "fake conflict"?
DeleteActually, I agree with Rick Santorum. OMG. I agree with Rick Santorum. Not about the sanctimonious Obama-bashing, but about the statement that not every child should go to college. Or trade school. Or whatever. It's ridiculous to suggest that.
ReplyDeleteWell, even a stopped (analog) watch is right twice a day.
DeleteI agree with Stella, which I guess means I agree with Santorum, at least about this (but not much else).
ReplyDeleteAnd, like A&S, I suspect that Obama's statement was taken at least somewhat out of context. I certainly hope so.
Every child with an IQ within the functional range ought to be given a chance to shape a job or career of some kind, involving his or her competencies and interests wherever possible. Right?
ReplyDeleteThat would exclude old Frothy, I'm afraid.
DeleteI agree with Stella (I'm not going to say I agree with Rick Santorum; I'm just not there yet). I see too many flakes who don't belong in college and should be elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Stella that college isn't for everyone. I refuse to admit that I agree with old Frothy, but then it's in his interest to make sure the public is uneducated, since they can see right through his rubbish when they are. This is a guy who's argued that torture is a good idea, remember?
ReplyDeleteIt is in both parties' interests to maintain a relatively low level of voter knowledge so that the propaganda generated by each party has its maximum effect.
DeleteThe fact that you are smart and agree with a particular candidate or party does not mean that that party encourages you to be smart. You beat the system by becoming smart and there's a great chance that you would agree with one of the two major parties regardless.
Well, no less than John Huntsman has observed that his own party shouldn't "run from science," as they conspicuously have for some time now. I will therefore vote for the less of two evils, because it's better than the greater of two evils.
DeleteOr you could vote for Cthulhu.
DeleteNot a chance. I will confess to voting for John Anderson in 1980, when I was young and naive. Someone subsequently explained to me that this was in effect voting for Reagan. I'll not make that mistake again. (That's very easy, of course, since Reagan is dead. And no, I don't live in Chicago.)
DeleteEven a stopped clock is right twice a day. I think it's pretty clear Santorum's umbrage comes less from reasoned analysis than knee jerk reaction to anything Obama says or does. If Obama said that every American should have access to decent health insurance the Republicans would probably oppose that!
ReplyDeleteOh. Wait. Never mind.
I'm there with both Stella and EnglishDoc -- not everyone is cut out for college, and others are not cut out for the trades. But if you're not sure, a CC is probably the way to go since they seem to have merged with the old Vo-Techs.
ReplyDelete