but he's winning in lots of polls! I would HOPE that that's a trend that'll reverse as he gets more and more exposure, but right now it seems like he has at least almost as good a shot as Romney.

I think classicman is a secret Santorum supporter, and is hoping he'll sneak in without being opposed.

Puh - Who answers poll questions?
If he is the nom, Obama wins like 56 of the 58 states )
I'd sooner put a bullet in his my head.

I hope he wins the nom and loses by 15 points in the general.

That will convince the hardliners that continuing the culture war is a loser.

This is like the one chance the hardcore social conservatives get to speak their mind...because I don't see Rick Santorum being able to peel off enough moderates and independents to topple Obama.

But we elected Santorum to 2 terms as senator in Pennsylvania...a state that has leaned blue the last 20 years and is still doing so. Stranger things have happened.

I was never one of those "if Bush gets it again I'm moving to Canada" people, but I would have to strongly consider whether or not I would feel safe in a country run by a nutjob like Santorum. Maybe Vermont would stay safe enough, but I know queers across the country who literally fear for their lives if that man is given a big enough platform long enough. The last thing this country needs is someone stirring up more hate.

The president has power, but not that much power. If Santorum gets the nominee gays and other 'undesirables' aren't going to get rounded up and people aren't going to suddenly act on homophobic prejudices. People didn't change after Obama got elected and people aren't going to change if Santorum gets elected.

Agreed. Its a losing battle for them on multiple fronts.

if Rush Limbaugh has 16-year-old, non-sexually-active girls being ruthlessly and disgustingly bullied for daring to take birth control, I shudder to think how having someone like Santorum in office will motivate bigots to take their bigotry public. Maybe you think nothing will change; I still fear for the safety of queers everywhere if a hatemonger of that calibre makes it to the presidency.

Ibs - I mean this in the best way possible.
STOP playing into the fear tactics of MM and their ilk.
You are starting to sound like the same people who said the sky was falling when Obama got elected.
You are too smart for that.

FTFY
Don't be so sure.
Gun sales soared, and the tea party movement gained momentum.

When Bush was still in office, Penn Jillette said the Democrats are the party of hate, and the Republicans are the party of fear.

This is you trying to reverse that condition.

Gun sales soared because people thought Obama was going to ban all future gun sales, not because of hate. Also, the Tea Party is an economic movement, not social.

Is it?
All I'm saying is that people changed.

Yes, you see:

If you ACTUALLY BELIEVED that there was ANY REMOTE CHANCE that people were going to be rounded up, you would come up with something more than "Is it?"

I will give you the benefit of doubt, and say if you actually believed that, you would be working a LOT harder to prevent it.

If you broaden to that, then yes, people can change or be more upfront with certain views from a presidential election. But just because people will join a protest movement does not mean people are going to start acting differently by openly displaying homophobic bigotry.

Remember the bullshit postulation of a post-racial United States after an Obama victory? Didn't happen. Why? Because people aren't going to act out bigotry (or lack of bigotry) from the person sitting in the oval office.

The only argument that could be made (from what I thought of) is the subtle effects from exposure to bigoted comments and perspectives. The best example would be the Islamaphobic comments since September 11th. But, the influence from Santorum will be at a much much lower level.