Humility not Haughtiness: Dana Milbank is Absolutely Wrong about Rick Santorum

There is something which many in the main stream U.S. media do not know and here it is - not many people are listening to them anymore

Dana Milbank was wrong in insinuating that Rick Santorum's use of the third person in referring to his campaign was akin to a - royal we. To the contrary, it reveals the heart of a humble man who deeply cares about others. Humility is such a rare quality these days in politics, it seems hard for pundits to recognize it. At a time when the needs of his large family and his engagement in other pursuits aimed at rebuilding a crumbling culture could have easily justified his decision to not run for the Presidency, he chose to put up with the haughty arrogance of this kind of verbal tripe.

CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) - This is a rare Sunday morning when I had time to read the political commentary which floods my smart phone. I stumbled upon an opinion piece entitled Santorum clings to his past performance in the Rapid City Journal. It was written by Dana Milbank of the Washington Post. The haughtiness of this piece annoyed me so much that I had to write. I do so as a private citizen, with the constitutional right to speak my mind and take a stand.

Milbank is a ranking member of the inside the beltway pundit class. He manages to get himself published around the Nation in a barren age for the mainstream press when newspapers need to fill their opinion quotient. As is often the case with the pundit class, he opines with the verbal equivalent of Styrofoam packing peanuts, filling up the page, but offering no real substance.

In this piece he alleged that in using the third person in reference to his presidential campaign, Republican candidate Rick Santorum was using the equivalent of the "royal we". The inference was not only false, but revealed a haughtiness in Dana Milbank. Milbank does not know Rick Santorum. He also does not seem to know how to handle humility in a candidate for public office.

It is refreshing to hear a Presidential candidate use the Third Person in referring to his campaign. I am sixty years old. President Obama is the first President I ever remember using the first person in referring to the actions of his administration.  I have come to an opinion about this use of the first person by the current President, it reveals a form of narcissism unbecoming a leader.

Unlike Milbank, I actually know Rick Santorum, his wife Karen, and their beautiful family. I have had the privilege of calling Rick and Karen my friends for many years. I know the humility and integrity of this good man.  I wish Dana Milbank could witness the Santorum family at the dinner table, or watch Rick hug his beautiful daughter Bella, whose story is moving the hearts of millions. I wrote a review of the book which Rick and Karen wrote entitled Bella's Gift and you can read it  here.

There is something which many in the main stream U.S. media do not know and here it is - not many people are listening to them anymore. This kind of haughty opinion piece is only one of many reasons. Dana Milbank was not only wrong in his mistaking Rick's humility for haughtiness, he fails to understand the Santorum campaign and those who support his candidacy. I am one of them.

Reluctant Republican
I am a reluctant Republican. I was raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in a blue collar family. My family felt that the Republican Party had a silver spoon in its mouth and had no concern for people like us. I know, it was a caricature. However, like many caricatures, it had an element of truth behind it. The control of the Republican Party by an old guard establishment feeds such a caricature. The establishment of the Republican Party does seem to be aligned with corporatism and cronyism. Santorum is cut from a different cloth. That is one of the reasons he is not a favorite of those establishment Republicans.

I left the Party calling itself Democratic when it was taken over by the strange coalition which now holds it captive. That coalition purports to care about the poor but fails to hear the cry of the poorest of the poor, our first neighbors in the womb of their mother. They feign a solidarity with blue collar workers, but then foment class warfare and push Statist economic policies which are a grave threat to liberty. They pay lip service to marriage and family - and then actively support the redefinition of the word and the demise of the institution. They do not respect the first freedom of religious freedom - and they treat the Church with contempt and disregard for its proper and important role in promoting the common good.

Yet, they still claim to be the party of the working man and woman, of the real folks. That claim is most certainly no longer true - if it ever really was. In both major political parties in the United States we are witnessing a movement toward the merger of big government and big money. At the top, both parties are increasingly controlled by an elite group of power-brokers.

Rick Santorum is not an establishment Republican. Contrary to some who think his emphasis on the blue collar worker in this 2016 campaign is some kind of new "messaging", it reveals his true distinctiveness. This is a coalminer's grandson. He is the real deal. Santorum is a candidate of substance whose candidacy has the potential to reach across party lines, and help to build a new governing coalition. That is IF his real message can be heard above the claptrap such as this recent Milbank article. I will briefly touch on a few of his themes.

Economic Populism
Santorum is an economic populist and a cultural conservative. He affirms that what makes a market economy free are the free people who participate in it, and the values they bring with them. He states without any hesitation the truth that what makes all human work dignified is the dignity of the worker who engages in it. He recognizes the primacy of the human person and the irreplaceable role of human capital.

This approach affirms that what makes an economy grow is ever expanding opportunity for expansion. A truly free market will welcome more and more people to participate, in order to lift themselves up. It does not think there is a limited economic pie - but an ever expanding opportunity to create opportunity, prosperity and growth for all. 

We use to call this the American dream. We have forgotten a fundamental truth. The source of all of our liberties, including economic liberty, is our shared moral values. Rick Santorum wants to expand participation in the dynamism of the market economy while respecting fairness in competition and international trade. He insists that economic policy respect must human initiative, promote the mediating structures and be built from the bottom up and not top down. He understands the different types of capital; social, economic, moral, cultural and intellectual, and affirms that only together can they serve the real common good.

He understands the relationship between solidarity - that we are our brother's keeper and have an obligation to the needy - and the principle of subsidiarity.  The word "subsidiarity" is derived from a Latin root which means providing help and assistance. In other words, in fulfilling our obligation in solidarity, we should start from the bottom out - and then up. The solution to the need is found closest to the need. We should begin with the family, then the extended family, mediating associations, local community, local government and State Government. The last place for assistance is the Federal government, and then, it must defer and not usurp the lower governing body.

Moral Coherence
The establishment wing of the Republican Party has already begun to sing their old tired tune and insist we should stay away from what they call social issues in this Presidential campaign. They are wrong and we refuse to listen. There is a moral foundation to every policy issue.

The angst in the American public is evident in every poll. Our Nation is threatened from within - and without. We need a leader with clarity of thought, compassion of heart and courage in action. We need a leader who is morally coherent. One who does not put his values to the side - or pretend to wear them like a coat when the winds blow, for political opportunism.

There is a political dualism in establishment Republican leadership. They do not understand that just as you cannot separate body and soul in a human person, you cannot separate social (or better put cultural) and economic issues in the body politic. There is a moral basis to a free society. Rick Santorum is not embarrassed to say so. Only a people with shared moral values can expand a free market, protect freedom in the international order and build a truly free culture on the home-front.

We need a president who openly extols and defends the moral foundations of a free and just society and demonstrates moral coherence in his personal life. We need renewal from the inside out as people - and as a Nation. George Washington, the Father of our nation - and first President - reminded us that, "Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society." Benjamin Franklin's insightful words also still echo, "[O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."

Good Government
Rick Santorum is a small government candidate, as that phrase should be rightly understood. He will affirm in his policies that government begins with the smallest unit, the individual and the family, and that all other government exists to provide them the help and assistance they need and not usurp or replace them.  The proper role of government - above the family and the mediating associations -  must be to provide assistance and help and not usurp the rightful role of the first government in the home. 

His advocacy of a smaller federal government is not anti-government. Though he rightly criticizes the tendency in liberal and progressive circles to exalt overly federalized government as the solution and always move from the top down, he offers a different way of governing. Devolve and return governance back to where it belongs. It is not enough to be critical of what has failed, a true leader in such an urgent time must offer alternative solutions.

There are many voices pointing out the failures of the federal government - but there are few voices articulating a vision for good and efficient governance.  Government which is "good" in its moral foundation as well as its practical application.

Religious Freedom
Santorum is acutely aware of the abuse of judicial power and analyzes the problems arising out of the threats to the separation of powers doctrine properly. He knows that the separation of the legislative, executive and judicial branches has been a foundational pillar in the American polity and helped to protect liberty. Judicial overreach, bordering on judicial imperialism, is a threat to good governance.

He is a passionate defender of the first freedom of religious freedom, affirming the vital role that religious faith and the principles derived from such faith, play in securing freedom for all. He affirms that religious freedom is a fundamental human right and articulates a clear and compelling understanding of the First Amendment, with both its establishment and free exercise clauses.

He respects the mediating role of religious institutions and the proper leavening role of the values informed by faith in the public square.  He grasps the struggle being waged over the nature and definition of freedom itself. In an age that has mistaken the right to do what one wants as freedom, Santorum reaffirms the necessity of connecting freedom to truth. Only in choosing what is right, true, and beautiful and good, can freedom flourish.

The American founders were moralists. They may not have shared the same religious creed, but they affirmed together the existing of a Natural Moral Law which is the source of all truly just positive law and they were unafraid to acknowledge that there are self-evident truths and inalienable rights which come from the Creator and not the civil government.

Dignity of All Human Life
Santorum places a respect for the dignity of every human person front and center, using it as the lens through which every other policy issue would be approached, economic, social and international. That is because Rick Santorum is a defender of the Right to Life from conception, through every age and stage of life, up to and including natural death.

He is unafraid to state what is undeniably true - every person has equal human dignity, whether they are in the womb, a wheelchair, a soup kitchen, a hospice, or a prison cell. The American Founders were similarly forthright about such self-evident truths. They affirmed that we are created in the Image of God and endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights, beginning with Life.

Confronting the Rise of Islamic Extremism
Rick Santorum has been consistent and courageous in speaking out against the rising tide of Islamic radicalism for many years. As we face the growing threat of the Islamic State (ISIS), he is owed an apology from some who alleged that his warnings of this threat, were overblown. He noted in his announcement address that ISIS recently featured him as their enemy on the cover of their propaganda magazine.

He ended his remarks at his campaign announcement speech by reiterating the words which ISIS quoted in their article naming him as an enemy - "they know who I am and I know who they are." He continued, "I described who they are and how to defeat them. And Ladies and Gentlemen, if I am the next President, I will defeat them". I believe he could do just that.

Conclusion
Dana Milbank was wrong in insinuating that Rick Santorum's use of the third person in referring to his campaign was akin to a "royal we". To the contrary, it reveals the heart of a humble man who deeply cares about others. Humility is such a rare quality these days in politics, it seems hard for pundits to recognize it. At a time when the needs of his large family and his engagement in other pursuits aimed at rebuilding a crumbling culture could have easily justified his decision to not run for the Presidency, he chose to put up with the haughty arrogance of this kind of verbal tripe.

It is a privilege to call Rick and Karen Santorum my friends. The witness of their sincere love for one another - and healthy, human and real family life - would be a real blessing to our Nation. Having such a family in the White-house would be a source of healing and encouragement for our Nation in our time of national need.

Rick Santorum threatens establishment leaders in both major political parties. He has always played the role of the underdog and been counted out by the many self-professed experts like Milbank. That is one of the assets he brings to the 2016 Presidential campaign. He has the potential to forge a new governing coalition which can resuscitate the American dream and set our Nation on a course to a future of real freedom.  

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Deacon Keith A. Fournier is Founder and Chairman of Common Good Foundation and Common Good Alliance. A married Roman Catholic Deacon of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, he and his wife Laurine have five grown children and seven grandchildren. He is a human rights lawyer and public policy advocate who served as the first and founding Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice in the nineteen nineties and has long been active at the intersection of faith and culture. He serves as Special Counsel to Liberty Counsel. He is a senior contributing writer to The Stream.

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