Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.) offered up some strange takes in quick succession as it became clear that Tuesday’s election results would be bad for Republicans and conservative causes.
“You put very sexy things like abortion and marijuana on the ballot, and a lot of young people come out and vote,” he griped on Newsmax.
Both issues were on the ballot in Ohio. The state has tilted red, yet voters on Tuesday passed measures protecting reproductive rights and legalizing recreational marijuana.
Santorum ― who was fired as a CNN pundit in 2021 after wildly racist comments about Native Americans ― called the two issues “a secret sauce for disaster” for Republicans in the state.
Then, he went a step further.
“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,” he said:
The comments caused Santorum’s name to trend on X as his critics chimed in:
He’s actually saying that the reason democracy sucks is because republicans lose. He’s conceding that shitty ideas and bad people can’t win in a democracy and he hates that. https://t.co/cebDFQxIq9
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) November 8, 2023
The far right does not want democracy – they’re saying it out loud. Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator, is upset that too many issues were on the ballot and got voted on today: “pure democracies are not the way to run a country”. This next year will be a fight for America’s soul. https://t.co/pAiFvtHeaR
— capitolhunters (@capitolhunters) November 8, 2023
Rick Santorum actually said, “Pure democracy is no way to run a country.” Really. Out loud. It’s right in this clip.
He is freaking out because when the citizens vote without any Republican shenanigans to suppress their vote, idiotic ideas like Rick Santorum’s get pulverized. https://t.co/K8w8TUcoDH
— Paul Gundlach (@PaulSGundlach) November 8, 2023