Wow. Either all those South Carolinian conservative evangelicals stayed home yesterday, or they don’t really believe their own definition of “family values.” If they did, Rick Santorum should have been their guy. Instead he came in a distant third with less than a fifth of the vote.
From the sword-sharp pen of James Carville:
I mean, most people thought it was kind of a watermark when your Tea Party gang booed the golden rule. You know, I’ve spent some time in Philly and they have always thought they were pretty radical because they actually booed Santa Claus and Willie Mays. Philly, I’ve got news for you — you ain’t got nothing on South Carolina Republicans. They just aren’t buying any of that do-unto-others garbage.
[ . . . ]
I would like to take a moment to revel: I cannot personally tell you how pleased I am to see old Newt rise to the top after listening to all of your nauseating, sickening lectures on the evils of government and the importance of family values. Now, you guys have to deal with a $1.6 million Freddie Mac consultant (who says he wasn’t a lobbyist) who has been married three times.
Any high ground the social conservatives might have had going into yesterday’s South Carolina Republican primary vaporized in their full-throated approval of a serial cheater, D.C. insider and child labor advocate. Seriously, I’ve got nothin’. The Republican base has made it crystal clear: They want to hate. They LOVE to hate. They want the meanest junkyard dog they can find, and that’s what they went for yesterday.
