Rick Santorum Thinks Abortion and Marijuana are ‘Sexy’ Topics

This week’s election results show the Republican party’s talking points are largely out of favor with America’s voters. Conservative Rick Santorum has a bizarre take on why that is—the ballot measures were “very sexy.”

On Tuesday, voters came out in droves to largely support progressive ideas. In Ohio, voters made it clear they want to keep abortion legal in the state. After living with a Republican governor, the voters of Virginia flipped their state House of Delegates to majority Democrat. That will help curb Governor Youngkin’s conservative agenda. The “red wave” the GOP keeps saying will happen seems to be out of touch with how voters are actually voting.

Republicans don’t want people to vote

To reflect on the continuing losing streak, commentator Rick Santorum shared his hot take with the conservative outlet Newsmax. Santorum laments, “You put very sexy issues like abortion and marijuana on the ballot and a lot of young people come out and vote.” It is very strange to call abortion “sexy” when abortions mean life or death to some people. Using that terminology downplays the importance of these issues. Abortion rights matter, they aren’t just something trivial or fleeting, like fashion. Maybe he meant to say “hot button” or “divisive” instead of sexy, but he said what he said. It’s also a jab at young voters caring about issues that affect them. Why would Santorum bemoan the fact that people are voting more often in record numbers?

Santorum’s next comment spells out exactly why he doesn’t want people to vote. “Thank goodness that most of the states in this country don’t allow you to put everything on the ballot because pure democracies are not the way to run a country,” Santorum says. The other commentators laugh at his statement as if we don’t live in a democracy. Really, Santorum is just saying the quiet part out loud. Republicans don’t want people—especially young people and historically marginalized communities—to vote. This is why they want to limit voting hours and voting by mail. If everyone voted who is eligible to vote, many more progressive policies would become law and undercut the entire GOP platform.

I want to remind everyone that Santorum does have experience in politics as he is a former U.S. Senator and a failed presidential candidate. He also provided commentary on CNN as its more conservative viewpoint before being fired for making racist comments. This means he knows the Republican party’s platform and ideology better than many. So next time you need to vote, remember to cast your ballot because the GOP doesn’t want you to. “Sexy” ballot measures are the most important to our civil liberties.

(featured image: Newsmax / Screenshot)