Is My 1991 Internship With Rick Santorum No Longer The Most Quirky, Interesting Thing About Me? — Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents

Today, I met an LGBTQ person from Pennsylvania who did not recognize the name Rick Santorum.

Huh.

It was bound to happen eventually. He left public office in 2006, defeated by current Senator Bob Casey. He has a lackluster pundit relationship with CNN, ending with his racist comments. Consulting? Of course. He writes a column. And he is poking his head out as a sort of ‘patron saint’ for the 2024 Presidential Election.

Huh, again. Patron saints usually advocate for something like finding lost things or animals or housework. I’m trying to wrap my mind around the guy who lost his Senate Seat 18 years ago, then ran two failed campaigns for the Presidency as a patron for electoral success. FWIW, Saint Thomas More is the Patron of Statesmen and Politicians. Thomas Moore was decapitated for treason, so also an interesting choice.

But Santorum’s public era seems to be over. At least with younger voters. I dragged out my Rick Santorum internship story, but no response. My jaw actually dropped. Then I asked my 16-year-old nephew who also had zero clue.

Mind you, Santorum could be amassing Christo-fascist power and influence behind the scenes.

Gen Z isn’t phased. And while that is important, it is also critical that young voters pay close attention to history.