After Rick Santorum’s losses to Mitt Romney in Arizona and Michigan last week, the chance he will become the Republican Party’s presidential nominee is weakening.

This may be best for the GOP when running against President Barack Obama. If the party intends to win over independent voters, issues on social positions should reflect modern America, not the America of the late 1800s or 1950s.

The number of registered independent voters has increased. About 2.5 million Americans have left the Democratic and Republican parties since 2008, according to a USA Today article. The Republican nominee has to appeal to the moderates, not to the far right. Santorum’s positions on issues like education, contraception, abortion and religion are views that may have been popular in years past. Now, he just makes America seem primitive.

Santorum vocally expressed his dislike of the separation of church and state last week. He said, ‘What kind of country do we live in that says that only people of non-faith can come in the public square and make their case. That makes me throw up,’ on ABC’s ‘This Week.’

The religious persecution arguments Santorum and other GOP candidates offer are unsupported. Religion is not under attack because church and state continue to be separated, as Santorum wants people to believe.

Religion has no role in politics, as our founding documents state. Individuals are free to express their religion, but political decisions must be made without God or the Bible. Religion does not deal in facts or science, it rejects them. If we are to govern ourselves, we do so based on facts.

Earlier this month at a forum in Columbia, Mo., Santorum spoke about the euthanasia policy in the Netherlands. Individuals suffering from fatal diseases may choose to end their lives through medical assistance. He stated 10 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands are from euthanasia, and he said the elderly often do not visit hospitals for fear they will be forced to be killed for budget reasons.

This figure is wildly incorrect and clearly Santorum he has no knowledge of the law. Euthanasia is never forced, and it is a highly regulated process. His use of invented facts and ignorance has angered the Dutch for pretending to understand their country — myself included, as I am both a U.S. and Dutch citizen.

If Santorum visited the Netherlands, or many other European countries, he might be shocked at how advanced their cultures and quality of life are when compared to the United States. The Netherlands was the first to legalize gay marriage. Prostitution and marijuana are also legal.

If, as Santorum suggests, ‘Satan has its sights on the United States of America,’ perhaps the Netherlands would be a good place to look for damage. So far, the United States is falling behind the Netherlands in key issues like infrastructure, transportation and education. Satan hasn’t left his mark yet.

On education, Santorum called Obama a ‘snob’ for wanting everyone to go to college. Obama has expressed the idea of making college affordable and ensuring that all who would like to go to college can. He is not saying everyone should go to college. Santorum also contradicts himself, as he holds two advanced degrees. Making college affordable should not be controversial.

The fact that Santorum is still in the race for the presidential nomination demonstrates Americans do not care about his social views or that they actually agree with him. Either way, Santorum will have a difficult time winning over independent voters with his positions, which are not in line with mainstream America.

Meanwhile, the rest of the modern world is watching a presidential candidate who believes the United States is under threat of Satan.

Harmen Rockler is a junior newspaper journalism and political science major. His column appears every Monday. He can be reached at horockle@syr.edu.  

Published on March 4, 2012 at 12:00 pm