SANTORUM USES ANOTHER CHILD AS A PROP?

I've written a number of posts about Rick Santorum and Gabriel, the deceased newborn he and his wife took home to their kids back in the '90s. I'll admit that I'm one of the people who finds the decision to do this odd -- so, yes, it gives me pause when I read that the American Pregnancy Association suggests that a bonding moment of this kind is a very good idea, and I also feel I have to think twice after reading the words of BooMan, who's had experiences similar to the Santorums' (although the conclusions he draws from them are very different from those of the Santorums).

On the other hand, what's bothered me most about this is that Rick Santorum has seemed to use his deceased son's story as a campaign tool -- please note that the boy was born and died in 1996, but the go-to sources for information on what happened are conversations Santorum had with reporters from The Washington Post and The New York Times Magazine in 2005 ... just as Santorum was about to face the electoral fight of his life in his 2006 bid to retain his Senate seat.

And now, via Joe Klein, I learn this about another of Santorum's children:

In a subsequent pregnancy, Karen gave birth to a daughter with a severe birth defect, who is now 3 years old. On [Iowa] caucus night, six Santorum children wore buttons with a picture of their beloved sister.

I might not be inclined to see that as a cynical use of the girl, who was born with Trisomy-18, if I hadn't seen this LifeNews.com story from October:

Santorum Features Miracle Daughter Bella in New Campaign Ad

Former Senator Rick Santorum released a web video today focusing on the heart and soul of the Santorum family -- his 3-year-old daughter Bella, a special-needs child like so many who are targeted in abortions....

What follows is, yes, a three-and-a-half-minute ad effectively asking you to vote for Rick Santorum because he loves his special-needs child:





The LifeNews story quotes David Brody of Pat Robertson's CBN News organization:

There are not many political candidates who can feature a family member like this and not get accused of using a situation like this for political gain. But that's just not the case here.

Really? You be the judge, folks.

I don't doubt that the Santorums love this daughter and all their other children. But it's clear that they think God wants them to use Bella in order to evangelize for their faith -- and, presumably, in order to advance Rick Santorum's political career, which I'm sure they think is also a good way to advance their faith. Is that exploitation? Again, you be the judge.

And I imagine it's secretly satisfying to the Santorums that people like me respond the way we have, so their fellow believers can learn the full measure of our godless depravity and self-righteously say things like

Democrats are too deep in the bondage of death to feel remorse or shame; these reprobates will never understand the meaning of life.

and

It's times like this when I seriously have to wonder if Leftists are even the same species as the rest of us. Vile does not begin to describe these 'people'.

You're welcome.