Lori Falce: Rick Santorum and the secret sauce of democracy

Nov. 10—On Wednesday, after the dust had settled on the 2023 general election and people were analyzing the ups and downs and wins and losses, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania went on Newsmax to discuss his disappointment.

Republican Rick Santorum once was a leading voice in the party and had a fair possibility of becoming president. He left office with historically low votes for a sitting senator.

So maybe that's why he's not a fan of letting people make decisions for themselves.

In the Newsmax appearance, Santorum criticized the votes in Ohio, where referendums gave approval for legalization of marijuana and a state constitution amendment protecting abortion, calling them "very sexy things" and a "secret sauce for disaster."

"Pure democracies are not the way to run a country," he said.

That's an interesting take for someone who has run for statewide office three times and for president twice.

To be fair, while Americans can trumpet the idea of democracy, it is true that the country is actually a democratic republic. That's a representative democracy where the people don't make all the decisions; they pick the people who do. But in specific situations covered by state law, the people are still the final say.

Just like federal constitutional amendments can't just be done in Congress without getting the approval of three-fourths of state legislatures, those same legislatures can't change state constitutions without asking permission of the people.

Santorum's position is also interesting in the context of Pennsylvania politics. GOP leaders in Harrisburg have been more than happy to put referendums in front of voters in recent years. Would Santorum say they are doing that wrong? Should they not have given Pennsylvanians the ability to change the governor's emergency declaration powers in 2021?

More specific to the Ohio issues he was addressing, should Pennsylvania legislators not try to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2024 that would do the opposite of the Buckeye State?

If Santorum thinks voters shouldn't weigh in on abortion issues or with amendments, should legislators listen to the man who was once a lion of his party? Or does the former senator only think the people should keep their mouths shut and their votes quiet when they don't agree with him?

Santorum doesn't seem to have a problem with democracy in other areas. He is a senior adviser to the Convention of States, an effort by Citizens for Self-Governance.

"Washington won't fix Washington. That's why we must look to the people and the states," Santorum said in an endorsement on the group's website.

What does the convention want to do? Oh, the irony. It supports limiting the power of the government by returning more of it to the people — and they want to do it via amendments.

Democracy isn't the "secret sauce for disaster." It is the immune system of the state and the nation — the antibodies that stave off the disease of autocracy. Santorum seems to understand that, but only when it works in his favor.

Lori Falce is a Tribune-Review community engagement editor. You can contact Lori at lfalce@triblive.com.