Friday, January 20, 2012

Rick Santorum Is Right and " Legal Insurrection " Is Wrong On Newt Gingrich Character Test

To be clear I am not questioning Newt Gingrich and wife's Catholic life at this point. Life is a messy business and we are all sinners. Most of us fail to meet the mark and that is what Grace and the Church is for.

However I am not going where William A. Jacobson of the widely read Legal Insurrection blog is going. See Rick Santorum failed the debate character test

We can't wish this issue away and pretend it will not exist. It should alos be pointed out that Newt when he went for his effective Grand Slam last night in response did not defuse the issue. He basically said his wife was lying on the "open marriage" business. ( I mean what if a person thinks he is lying ? Does not make him a bad GOP person. ) .This is not going away. Further we cannot just ignore a ton of female voters in this race that might think WHOA what happened here. If you are a social conservative, like I am , then yes the baggage as to our potential standard banner counts.

As a Catholic ,I have lived through the Catholic abuse scandals. What the Catholic Church taught on marriage and related topics is as true today as it was 1900 years ago. However have no doubt that the weakness and mistakes of some in Church leadership are used to undermine that message. I get that everyday on issues from a to z. It does seem perhaps wise to consider how much of a liability that this might be

Now my personal opinion is I accept Newt's statements at face value. I understand how it is too fall and get back up. The problem is I am not sure I am in a position to tell others OH NO DON'T GO THERE. Even if I were it's not the reality we live in.

Mr Jacobson appears to have made a moral judgment on Rick Santorum's character at this point. That is fine. But the fact is people use all sorts of factors to make judgments. It's folly to ignore that . Also if Newt lied last night ( which I am not saying he did ) well is that fair game ? Already you can't escape it because Newt is putting people into positions of having to make judgments if he is telling the truth. That answer will differ to people no doubt. But a person's life goes into making that judgment.

Santorum is not failing any character test. He is telling the reality that we live in. That people are moral creatures and make moral judgments of acts and PERSONS everyday.

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