Unmitigated Arrogance

It was the Fall of 1944. The American army had broken out of Normandy and was hurtling toward the German border. Far to the east the Soviet juggernaut was poised to smash its way into Berlin. Nonetheless, Adolf Hitler remained confident. Whatever the appearances, Nazism would find a way to prevail.
Certain that he was on the side of history, Hitler ordered his forces to stand their ground. They were not to retreat an inch. But if they did; if they did not hurl back the foe, the German people deserved to lose. If they refused to keep their faith with the fuehrer, then they ought to be punished for their moral and physical weakness.
When I began to contemplate this column, I thought I would be writing about Newt Gingrich. His assumption that providence owed him the presidential nomination struck me as inordinately vain. He was not an Adolf Hitler, but his attitude too seemed destructively arrogant.
Yet Newt has tempered his anger at Mitt Romney. He still talks of taking his crusade to the floor of the Republican convention, yet his heart does not seem to be in it.
Meanwhile, Rick Santorum has emerged as a political monomaniac. He is so certain that he enjoys the mandate of heaven that it often seems he does not care what happens to the nation if his campaign falters. In perceiving himself as the true, and only, salvation for what ails America, it sounds as if he is prepared to pull down the temple if he does not get his way.
The sage heads in the Republican Party are now telling Santorum that continuing the fight will injure the likely candidate and make it probable that Obama will be re-elected. But Rick is not moved. He has persuaded himself that he can still win despite the odds. All he has to do is stand his ground and not retreat an inch.
Members of the media have frequently portrayed Santorum as a zealot. They make him sound like a true believer who is ready to do anything for his cause. Now he seems determined to prove his critics right. In his myopic rigidity, he has taken to distorting reality almost as much as the Nazi’s once did.
Take Rick’s repeated mantras over the last few months. For one thing, he regularly denounces Romney for running a negative campaign. Nonetheless, it is Santorum who has been relentlessly negative. Romney keeps trying to shift the focus onto president Obama’s faults, but he has been forced to ward off attacks from his fellow Republican instead.
Consider the piece of sophistry about how Romney cannot stand up against ObamaCare because RomneyCare is so similar. First, there are important differences between these plans that Santorum blatantly ignores. But more importantly, Obama cannot attack Ronmey’s position, without having to defend his own. And since he cannot do this, Mitt can easily rock him back on his heels.
Then there is the Santorum canard that a floor fight in Tampa will not damage the Republican Party or its candidate. Can anyone seriously believe this? With charges and counter-charges regarding the mendacity and incompetence potential contenders being tossed around like live grenades, is it possible to believe that none of these will go off?
Rick Santorum has proved that he had a lot to say during the past several months. Moreover, he has clearly given us food for thought. But the time for debating the issues is over. The current objective is not to score points; it is to win an election.
If Santorum does not understand this, he is not fit to be president. If he does not care and in the process bequeaths us a second Obama term, he is a rapscallion who is concerned more about his own interests than those of others.
Indeed, if it is the latter, he needs to realize he is digging his political grave.
Melvyn L. Fein. Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University