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Italian Magazine Discovers Rick Santorum’s Distant Relatives Are ‘Red Communists’

by Frances Martel | 1:04 pm, January 14th, 2012

» 22 comments

The Rick Santorum presidential bid isn’t going so well, but it probably didn’t need this: a report from the Italian magazine Oggi, as aggregated by the Daily Beast, giving a visit to some confused and somewhat outraged communists in the old country who don’t really understand what their cousin is doing running a socially conservative campaign for leader of the free world.

Santorum has been open about his family fleeing Mussolini in the past, but Oggi notes that a great deal of their apprehension about fascism came from the fact that they were a well-known group of “red communists to the core”:

“In Riva del Garda his grandfather Pietro and uncles were ‘red communists’ to the core,” writes Oggi journalist Giuseppe Fumagalli, likening the family to “Peppone” after a famous fictional Italian communist mayor who fought against an ultraconservative priest known as Don Cammillo and about which a popular television series is based. “But on the other side of the ocean, it’s like his family here doesn’t exist. Instead he draws crowds as the head of the ultraconservative faction of the Republican party, against divorce, gay marriage, abortion, and immigration.”

The Daily Beast concludes that his relatives love him and would be happy to see him win, despite the political differences. The Oggi website also has a very cute video interview with some older Santorums over what appears to be wine. The Daily Beast‘s take is not hostile to Santorum, and the Oggi video appears to be an interesting look at part of the family of a family values candidate, but there is a danger in the potential use of this coverage that should be immediately diffused: the impulse to use Santorum’s family against him, to mock or oppose him based on his family’s beliefs.

The why and how behind the fact that there are Santorums out there that disagree with our Republican presidential candidate is a concern alien to why such an attack should prompt an instantaneous and viscerally negative reaction from the American public. The set-up from the initial report for Santorum opponents, should they choose to take the bait, is for a meta-ad hominem attack from which no politician is safe, the natural evolution from, say, “x politician has a gay relative” or “y politician’s uncle has a DUI under his name.” It tempts the reader to ask, “if Rick Santorum is so conservative, how come people who share his blood are communists?” the same way the aforementioned draw the reader into wondering how a politician could uphold certain virtues when his or her genetic material has produced in others such radically different results. It flies in the face of everything Americans are taught defines the ethos of their nation: that individuals define themselves and immutable traits don’t matter.

Many will contest that Santorum judges immutable traits in the same manner through his social conservatism, but that vision proves myopic regarding the template of the argument, particularly with the children of immigrants. If this argument is accepted as valid and radically derails the already fumbling Santorum campaign, the next target for such an attack is pretty clear: Sen. Marco Rubio, whose parents fled a turbulent situation in Cuba amidst a communist rebellion. Countries like Cuba are too small for someone not to be related to another of the opposing faction. There is little doubt that, somewhere on the island (or in Moscow, where many children of communist sympathizers were sent to study if they were good little pioneers) Sen. Rubio has a distant cousin who must at least nominally believe in the “revolution.” And the media hasn’t been averse to grotesque attacks based on his past before.

Nor would Republicans be the only ones under attack, lest it appear I be making the argument that the Republican Party is the party of immigrants and exiles. Expanding the rules of political decency to allow for this sort of attack benefits and enlightens no one. That’s not to dissuade journalists from finding the color in a politician’s family or trying to get to know the candidates better, but given than anything from potential animal abuse to being a francophone, it is important to draw a line somewhere regarding what should be socially acceptable methods of attack.

[Photo via AP]

2012 elections, Communists, Daily Beast, Italy, Oggi, Republicans, Rick Santorum

Anonymous

Geez. As usual, you have to wonder where we would be If these people would have put a fraction of this kind of effort into looking into Obama’s past before he was elected.
Gloves Scott Donahue

We can’t have a President with Communists in his family tree.

Another one, that is.
NDanielson

Awesome! Barry Obama’s immediate family was an avowed Marxist…er, communist! Does this mean that liberals will vote for Santorum?

II. Barack Obama, Sr., President Obama’s Father, Was a Self-Avowed Marxist
As a Nairobi bureaucrat, Barack Hussein Obama Sr. advised the
pro-Western Kenyan government there to “redistribute” income through
higher taxes. He also demonized corporations and called for massive
government “investment” in social programs. Writing in a 1965
scholarly paper, Obama’s late father slammed the administration of
then-President Jomo Kenyatta for moving the Third World country away
from socialism toward capitalism. He chafed at the idea of relying on
private investors — who earn “dividends” on their venture capital — to
develop the country’s fledgling economy. “What is more important
is to find means by which we can redistribute our economic gains to the
benefit of all,” said the senior Obama, a Harvard-educated economist.
“This is the government’s obligation.” The “means” he had in mind were
confiscatory taxes on a scale that redefines the term “progressive
taxation.” “Theoretically,” he wrote, “there is nothing that can
stop the government from taxing 100% of income so long as the people
get benefits from the government commensurate with their income which is
taxed.” Therefore, he added, “I do not see why the government cannot
tax those who have more and syphon some of these revenues into savings
which can be utilized in investment for future development.”

http://tiny-url.org/Obama_Sr
Anonymous

you have to continue with conservative logic. If santorum is related to a communist, that automatically makes him a communist. Therefore, conservatives who support santorum are secretly communists plotting to destroy america.
http://gregingleright.weebly.com/ Greg

Have you read the East African Journal paper in question?
WiddleBabyDanielson

With you here regularly telling us we need to associate Obama with such ideas, that would require YOU to do the same with Santurum.

I reality though we know You (and many others) are actually HUGE HYPOCRITES and will spin this to work for you PARTY BEFORE COUNTRY IDEOLOGY.
WiddleBabyDanielson

HA
fraction.
Anonymous

You can pick your friends. You can’t pick your family.
http://thefunemployed.blogspot.com/ rance

Distant relatives that he doesn’t know? What does this have to do with him?
Anonymous

I agree. I hate when the same crap is done to Obama. I abhor Santorum and most of his positions, but, he is NOT accountable neither should he be associated with what his immediate or distant relatives actions do or what they believe in.
Bobby Brady

Why is the American media covering Rick Santorum’s distant family in Italy, but they totally glossed over Obama’s father?
Anonymous

What the heck does this have to do with anything?

The only thing this accomplishes is giving more material to jon stewart, wouldn’t surprise me if we saw a piece about him ridiculing the daily beast for this pointless story as early as monday
Anonymous

I told you guys the left-wing media works like an organized crime you guys didn’t believe me, with reports like this one I don’t need to make my point clearer.
NDanielson

Actually, nationclown, what I am pointing out, is how important it is for the media to make Santorum’s family, OR ANY CONSERVATIVE dirt an issue, whereas, Barry’s family and past got, and gets NO ATTENTION by the media. Anything even remotely harmful to Barry? IT is a NON ISSUE, OR A FOX NEWS LIE to his adoring sheep. Clown.But you’d have to not be a sheep to notice. LOL. Now, back to grazing, nationclown.
Anonymous

you’d have to be a sheep not to notice conservative hypocrisy actually.
http://www.facebook.com/hehilljr Howard Hill Jr.

There is no expose because Obama was never involved in any other Country’s, Poilitics as a CHILD!
Dee Smith

Paul Krugman quote”it is amazing their have been no scandals on this man in the WH”
he has repeated this over and over till someone believes it.
I have lost count of the books out on this man
Congress in 2008 stated that Mccain is ok to run for president his PARENTS were AMERICAN CITIZEN!!! that makes him NATURAL BORN not just an american citizen.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IOJMG4TDUKBYALMF6V43KPYSKA Kim

My best Frie’nd ,She just has announced her Wedding with a RICH young man Ronald who is the CEO of a MNC ! They met via Rich,——-S.u.c.c.e.s.s.f.u.l.m.i.n.g.l.e . ℃ ⊙ M— is The Largest and Best club for Wealthy people and their admirers to chat online. …you don’t have to be rich there ,but you may meet One ,maybe you wanna check it out or tell your friends !
He is so freaken amazing looking- geez louise!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gosh I’m gushing-lol
Anonymous

Evidence that being an EXTREMIST runs in the family.
Anonymous

The New York Times covered this first Mediaite not some Italian junior news outlet!
Anonymous

And their Republican daughters will date the abortion doctors that delivered them apparently.

Stupid issue? Yep. But it’s nice to see the self-proclaimed moral high ground jerk offs get a taste of themselves. Gross.
Anonymous

This guy wears red underwear on his head!