Brian O'Neill Agrees

I don't know if Brian O'Neill is a reader of this blog, but it's nice to know that he and I are on the same page on this Santorum thing. I wrote this yesterday and now take a look at his column today. Here's how it starts:

Oh ye of little faith, do not be too hard on U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum for his abandonment of the Thomas More Law Center.

The Republican from Pennsylvania is looking at a tough re-election fight next year. That's why some are scornful of Mr. Santorum's announcement last week that he's withdrawing his affiliation with the public interest law firm that bills itself "as the sword and the shield for people of faith.''

It takes little time for O'Neill to get to the heart of the matter.

It only took a losing court fight in his home state to put him on the path to enlightenment. Mr. Santorum now says the center "made a huge mistake'' in backing the Dover Area school board in its failed effort to move the notion of "intelligent design'' into science classrooms. Mr. Santorum told The Philadelphia Inquirer he is cutting ties with the firm.

Many see that as a curious turn. "The evolution of a flip-flop,'' one critic called it. Earlier in the year, Mr. Santorum had commended the school district for having "taken a step in the right direction by engaging in the debate and attempting to teach the controversy of evolution.''

But if Mr. Santorum wishes to grant himself retroactive naivete, who are we to judge? Perhaps he honestly didn't know this case was steeped in religion from the start.

By the way, that "evolution of a flip-flop" came from a blog called "Panda's Thumb." It's comment #64218 from someone named "Fross." As far as I can tell "Fross" used to have a blog called (you guessed it) "Fross' Blog." I know this doesn't add to the importance of O'Neill's column in any way - I'm just showing off my google-skills.

O'Neill then does the funny. Check it out:

Let us not waste our time today debating the unknowable. Let us rather increase it. We don't know how many precedents for Santorum-like disavowals of previous affiliations may exist. Consider these possibilities:

"It has recently come to my attention that the University of Notre Dame is a leading Roman Catholic institution of higher learning, and I am, evidently, the son of Norwegian Lutheran immigrants. I therefore see no choice but to submit my resignation as coach of the football team.

-- Regretfully,

Knute Rockne.

And so on...

Kudos to Brian O'Neill

Oh and by the way:

Impeach