In the video, from 2006, Santorum says that birth control is "harmful to women." He also seems to suggest that only single people use birth control.
Watch the video, it's short, then Jen Rubin at the Post (their conservative blogger) has a few on-point comments:
Then again, this video is from 2006, when Mitt Romney was more pro-gay and pro-choice than Ted Kennedy - so maybe Santorum can write this off as a youthful indiscretion (kidding, I'm sure he'll embrace the position again). Here's Jen:
For starters, does he realize that married women (men too!) use birth control? The impression that Santorum finds the prevalent practice of birth control “harmful to women” is, frankly, mind-numbing. If he meant to focus on teen sexual promiscuity, he surely could have, and thereby might have sounded less out of touch.
[T]his sort of thing undermines Santorum’s electability argument.
This is how, in part, he lost Pennsylvania — by appearing extreme and schoolmarmish, too far to the right of average voters in a purple state. If he is the nominee in 2012, he might get some blue-collar fellows, but what about those women in Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc.? And what about more secularized suburban communities? Fuggedaboutit.Santorum is all cute in his little sweaters, but a lot of America hasn't had to deal with his perpetual craziness. The man is a far-right nut. Listen to that interview again. He seems to suggest that sex, even in marriage, should never be for fun. And to the degree it is for fun, then you have to take your lumps by risking getting pregnant. And while I realize that may be the view of the Catholic leadership - along with giving a nod and a wink to sodomizing 5 year old boys - I tend to write the Catholic bishops off as morality outliers.
Santorum epitomizes the problem with electing a doctrinaire person of faith to office. It's one thing to be a good Christian. It's an entirely other matter to say that if elected you're going to force everyone in the country to live under your faith's rules.
