“The essential issue in this race is freedom,” said Senator Rick Santorum in a triumphant speech on the eve of his strong second-place showing in the Iowa caucus.

But what kind of freedom is Santorum talking about? Reason.tv caught up with Santorum at a campaign stop at Des Moines Christian Assembly in Urbandale, Iowa, where he spoke to schoolchildren and their parents about the importance of electing a leader who will promote good social values to the citizens.

“Why wouldn’t leaders in this country stand up and promote marriage?” asked Santorum. “Stop, in any way they could, the sexual promiscuity that goes on that leads to out-of-wedlock births.”

Santorum picked up the endorsement of Jim Bob Duggar, patriarch of the Duggar family (of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting”), who sung the national anthem to kick off the festivities. Also in attendance was social conservative activist and founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition Ralph Reed. Reed has not endorsed a candidate in the race yet, but he stresses that social conservatism remains a core value to GOP voters.

“You’re not going to do well, either in Iowa or beyond, if you’re not pro-marriage, pro-family, and pro-life,” said Reed. “Whether you’re coming from a libertarian perspective or a more traditional conservative perspective.” (more…)

Reawakening Virtues, the latest book from Big Government contributor Armstrong Williams, seems an oddly timed release. As the Republican presidential primary kicks into gear, social issues have largely been placed on the backburner of our national dialogue in favor of economic issues, yet Williams’ book, subtitled Restoring What Makes America Great, unapologetically emphasizes personal and social virtues as the building blocks of America’s much-needed recovery. Drawing from the positive role models and learning experiences in his life, Williams visits a bevy of topics to paint a clear portrait of right living that can make sense for both sacred and secular reasons.

Williams begins with issues fundamental to human nature before moving into broader societal, economic, and civic concepts. Most of the book’s early chapters focus on family issues and parenthood, where Williams uses the example of his own hardworking father and mother and the different roles they played in his development to illustrate the ideal he envisions for American families. This segment of the book also devotes a chapter to the sanctity of life, advocating some thought-provoking abortion policies, especially his take on expanding the rights of fathers in the decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. The book’s middle tackles an assortment of miscellaneous topics, from physical fitness to conscientious objection to race, giving readers a wide scope of issues and ideas to mull over.

Reawakening Virtues’ standout chapter defends capitalism as not only a morally sound economic system but the most moral economic system the world has seen–not just for the rich and businessmen but for the poor, as well. Through a brief historical summary, Williams shows that the development of the middle class and upward mobility for the poor were uniquely tied to the rise of capitalism, then demonstrates the philosophical and moral superiority of capitalism compared to its modern competitors, communism and socialism. (more…)

The Supreme Court of the United States today struck down a California law banning the sale of violent video games to minors. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion for the 7-2 majority, with Justices Breyer and Thomas dissenting.

One can just see the headline now: “Supreme Court Determines Violent Video Games Are Great for Kids!” Or, “Justice Scalia’s Children Must Be Embarrassed by His Utter Disregard for Parents’ Rights.”

Superficially, this appears to be a failure of government to support parents in their quest to protect children. Shouldn’t we applaud governmental restrictions on games that depict violent rape, dismemberment, and sickeningly graphic murder? Shouldn’t the Supreme Court want to help parents protect their children from this satanic drivel?

Well, not really. Scalia wrote that the gaming industry already does assist parents in this regard by providing useful rating systems for games—a system that experts consider far superior to our current movie rating system. The Court argued that states cannot create laws to deny children access to objectionable material.

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Pew has some new, eye-opening numbers. There are some positives — family values, civil rights, civil liberties, states’ rights all test well — and some negatives, with socialism getting high marks among 44 percent of Democrats.

The incongruity is truly striking. That people can proclaim support for civil rights and civil liberties while holding a relatively low opinion for libertarianism or while offering support for recent measures that threaten the civil rights and civil liberties of U.S. citizens suggests the power of bumper-sticker politics trumps serious introspection.

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