"It Takes a Family"

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zonelistener

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US Senator from Pennsylvania (R) Ricky Santorum has published a book called "It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good."

THe word is, if he can survive one of the hottest Senatorial Races, he will run for President in 2008, and this is the introduction to his platform.

The book's central theme is the fostering of the traditional family, headed by a married man and a woman.

Within this, he says that many families should re-evaluate their budgets and realize that both parents do not need to work (the woman should stay home with the children).

QUOTE:

"What happened in America so that mothers and fathers who leave their children in the care of someone else - or worse yet, home alone after school between three and six in the afternoon - find themselves more affirmed by society? Here, we can thank the influence of radical feminism.....

"Sadly, the propaganda campaigned in the 1960's has taken root. The Radical feminists succeeded in undermining the traditional family and convincing woman that professional accomplishments are the key to happiness."

He also states that sending kids to schools also undermines the traditional family.



Come on people...come out and support this great American...he could be our next president!
 
zonelistener said:
"Sadly, the propaganda campaigned in the 1960's has taken root. The Radical feminists succeeded in undermining the traditional family and convincing woman that professional accomplishments are the key to happiness."

He also states that sending kids to schools also undermines the traditional family.



Come on people...come out and support this great American...he could be our next president!
holy shit. is this guy for real?

as a woman AND a teacher, i am appalled.
 
Oh my god. So now it's the feminist lesbians of the 60s who caused the fabric of society/marriage, to fold? All this time I thought it was the genuinely homosexual!

When on earth will these righties stick to the one story? I cant keep up...As someone who sits with their arse firmly on the fence on most American political issues, lol.
 
I think that social conservatives are not by defintion right wing; and that right wing is not by definition social conservative.
 
Sorry, I was making a sweeping generalisation...Which forum am I in again? The one where you are not meant to, but it happens frequently, or the one where...nevermind. Plus the little (R) after his name made me think he was a Rep.
:wink:
 
he is a Republican.

A registered Republican.

circleR

He has already made his opinion pretty clear on how gays have ruined this country.

I am so proud to be one of his constituents!
 
Actually, I feel that in an economically perfect world, one of the parents should stay home with the kids. I think it is very beneficial to the kids' upbringing - it's a lot better than leaving them with day care. However, this is no perfect economically perfect world, and I'd sy that in most situations, both parents have to work just to stay alive.

That said, I think taking care of the kids is a much harder job than working in most offices.
 
While I do definitely think it's a good thing for at least one parent to manage to be home with their kids during the day or night, at the same time, I understand that some jobs are ones where the parents don't always have much of a choice, if any.

zonelistener said:
He also states that sending kids to schools also undermines the traditional family.

:scratch:...? Uh...and how exactly does it do that? He doesn't want kids to be educated :huh: :eyebrow:? I'm not following his thinking here...

Especially considering that my sister and I went to school, and our "traditional" family is still intact-parents are still married (and they're both our biological parents, too!), we're all still living under the same roof, we get along pretty well...hmmm...

Originally posted by zonelistener
Come on people...come out and support this great American...he could be our next president!

Nah. I generally try and avoid voting for idiots who attempt to stick their noses in people's personal lives :p.

Seriously, why do these "family" people keep trying to dictate their ideal family lifestyle to everyone else? Did I miss the memo that stated that people are free to tell my family how we should do things?

Not to mention, he's a Republican! When did Republicans start being pro-government interference in personal lives? I thought they were against that.

Angela
 
i tend to agree with 80's

i am a single mother, and i just gave a very loud speech the other day to anyone who would listen how unnatural it is for me to be soley responsible for everything it takes to run a home.

i'm talking everything. from making sure that the bills get paid, to carpooling, to shopping, to fixing meals, to helping with homework, to parent-teacher conferences, to repair and upkeep on the car, to housework, to unclogging the drain.

all of it. every single thing that it takes to make our household work is up to me. and sometimes it's just too much.

there probably isn't a day that goes by that i don't wish that i was able to just be home everyday and focus on nothing else except being a mother, or wish that i had a father in the house to share the load.
 
Right on with Ricky - Re-evalutating your budget so that you can raise your own kids instead of paying someone $6 an hour to watch 20 of them.....

Is priceless to their development and well being. We have a messed up generation.
 
bonosgirl84 said:
i tend to agree with 80's

i am a single mother, and i just gave a very loud speech the other day to anyone who would listen how unnatural it is for me to be soley responsible for everything it takes to run a home.

i'm talking everything. from making sure that the bills get paid, to carpooling, to shopping, to fixing meals, to helping with homework, to parent-teacher conferences, to repair and upkeep on the car, to housework, to unclogging the drain.

all of it. every single thing that it takes to make our household work is up to me. and sometimes it's just too much.

there probably isn't a day that goes by that i don't wish that i was able to just be home everyday and focus on nothing else except being a mother, or wish that i had a father in the house to share the load.

i agree with you bg. after my 14 odd months with a screaming 2 year old, and moaning to anyone who'd listen about underestimating single parents, it's not a scenario i'd wish on anyone.
 
I think it's one thing to say that single parenthood is difficult, and not ideal for everyone. It's also one thing to acknowledge that, generally, it's a good idea if one parent can be a full-time parent. But Santorum is a U.S. Senator, for one thing (hopefully for only one more year), and he and his can afford that kind of lifestyle. In a lot of families--particularly the poorer families about which Santorum generally does not give a flying you-know-what--two parents have to work. Obviously. We all know that. Are there some families in which one parent is just working to make the payments on the '06 Explorer or the 5,000-square-foot McMansion in the exurbs? Oh, I suspect that's true, but then again, those aren't the folks at whom Santorum levels his most serious charges. Because those purchases drive the economy, after all, and because those people are very often his base.

No, Santorum's worst attacks are reserved for gays and struggling single moms. How very noble of him.

I hope this guy gets a one-way ticket to Consultantville following the '06 elections. Although I have plans to move, part of me would like to stay living in PA long enough to have the pleasure of voting this jackass out of office.
 
I agree with 80's is best. Having one parent home is a good thing for the children and our society....but this guy puts the blame on women.

Further, he also mentions in the book that having one adult supervise 25 to 35 chidlren (he doesn't say "teach" - he uses s"supervise") during long hours of the day is also a societal problem.

So here is a Senator who is saying that kids should be home schooled rather than go to a GOVERNMENT FUNDED school.

And Pax is right....Santorum has his head up his rear if he thinks the common U.S. (or Pennsylvania) family can "live" on one salary. Maybe he should go around and see what is going on in his own state. Steelton, Allentown, Erie, etc. etc.
 
In an ideal world you can run on ideal politics, but this is just bullshit disguised. Hopefully he has a plan to bring the economy back up so that one parent can stay home, a plan to end the war so that families will be reunited, a way to fight poverty so that children have a real chance...but who am I kidding? He's running for the white surburban picket fence vote who know nothing beyond their own little lives.
 
zonelistener said:
...this guy puts the blame on women.

And why shouldn't he? After all, we are evil. :evil: :rolleyes:



I guess global warming, increased hurricane activity, decreased sperm counts, and the high price of gasoline in the US can also be blamed on women. I feel much better now knowing who's responsible. :eyebrow:
 
BluRmGrl said:


I guess global warming, increased hurricane activity, decreased sperm counts, and the high price of gasoline in the US can also be blamed on women. I feel much better now knowing who's responsible. :eyebrow:

Well 3 out of 4, come on, the gas thing you had no power over.:wink:
 
A_Wanderer said:
Right and Left can trancend political party.

You're right. Our Democrats in Alabama are pretty damn conservative. It's a little clearer than it used to be. We used to be a one-party state because of the Civil War (the Democratic Party was the party of slavery and secession). Now the more conservative politicians have all switched to the Republican Party. But we still have some damn conservative Democrats. We have some Republicans who are decent people but they're way too conservative for me at the voting booth. I'm really nervous about Roy Moore running for governor and beating the incumbent for the Republican nomination. I can't stand that pietistic crud.
 
The best home environment to bring up kids is with the mother staying at home or at most working only part-time, this is the reality, people should not be encouraged to have kids out of wedlock.

The problem with fanatics like Santorum is they actually damage the conservative cause without realising it.
 
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I was just thinking yesterday we've become so obsessed with having money and everything that goes with it that we sacrifice our children.

I don't like him or agree with exactly what he is saying. Many people do not have a choice but many people do. In my area people make a very conscious choice that they don't want to give up their 5 cars or vacation home they want both incomes to support their lifestyle. They might think they are giving their child the best that way. It doesn't seem right to me. There are more nanny's in our parks than parents with their own children.
 
financeguy said:
The best home environment to bring up kids is with the mother staying at home or at most working only part-time, this is the reality, people should not be encouraged to have kids out of wedlock.

How exactly did you arrive at that conclusion? :scratch:
 
redkat said:
In my area people make a very conscious choice that they don't want to give up their 5 cars or vacation home they want both incomes to support their lifestyle. They might think they are giving their child the best that way. It doesn't seem right to me. There are more nanny's in our parks than parents with their own children.

And that, I suspect, is the true problem...the "outsourcing" of child care when parents actually CAN afford to have one parent staying home. In fact, I used to babysit/nanny for people just like that, and I felt sad for those kids...glad I got out of it. For too many of those moms, having a full-time nanny or housekeeper was a status symbol. Few, if any, of them worked outside the home; most just wanted a nanny so they could go to the gym, shop, get manicures... :rolleyes:

And a question for financeguy: why, exactly, is a father not suited to stay-at-home parenthood? :eyebrow:
 
pax said:
And a question for financeguy: why, exactly, is a father not suited to stay-at-home parenthood? :eyebrow:

The mother is usually more suited for this role than the father, the sad truth is decades of political correctness from the 1960's on has brain-washed people to think otherwise. There is nothing wrong with the father providing the role if that is what is agreed between the parents but in the majority of cases the mother is more suited to it.
 
financeguy said:


The mother is usually more suited for this role than the father, the sad truth is decades of political correctness from the 1960's on has brain-washed people to think otherwise. There is nothing wrong with the father providing the role if that is what is agreed between the parents but in the majority of cases the mother is more suited to it.

You're just rephrasing your original claim. :shrug:
 
DrTeeth said:


You're just rephrasing your original claim. :shrug:

Ever occur to you why adolescent delinquency has sky-rocketed since the 1950's in most Western countries?
 
financeguy said:


The mother is usually more suited for this role than the father, the sad truth is decades of political correctness from the 1960's on has brain-washed people to think otherwise. There is nothing wrong with the father providing the role if that is what is agreed between the parents but in the majority of cases the mother is more suited to it.

Well, then, why can't it simply be something that's decided on a case-by-case basis by individual families? Why make a blanket claim that women are "more suited" to it?

We're going to open a can of worms here about how gender is socialized, but I think it's significant to underscore the fact that men can be just as active, loving, and attentive as full-time parents as women can.
 
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