The Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington (which, by the way, is organized by Ralph Reed) is underway, and Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum, who will announce his run for the presidency on Monday, is polluting the environment with the hot air he’s blowing there. He’s doing everything he can to prove that he is “the” conservative candidate running in 2012. How?

For starters, he blasted “those who weren’t here last year.” That’s tellin’ ‘em, Rick. Then he lapsed into that gun thing. Via The Hill:

“I don’t just take the pledge. I take the bullets,” he said, citing his longtime opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.

Nice imagery. And after that lapse, he then relapsed into the next tired old anti-government talking point:

“America is a great country, not because of its government, but because of its people,” he said.

Um, Rick? People choose other people to represent them in government. What is it with conservatives– even those who are already in office– drawing such a derogatory line between government and “its people”? Are they not aware that those who are in government (including themselves) are also human Americans, just like they are? Well, a good number of them are human, anyway. Hopefully, government consists of and reflects the will of the people.

We’re all in this together, Ricky, or at least we’re supposed to be. People vote for their fellow humans, the ones who they trust, who they believe will speak for them, and who promise to be their voice.

So Santorum, by running for president, distinguishes himself– intentionally sets himself apart– from the very people from whom he is requesting support, both monetary and otherwise. Because, see, he’d be the guy at the very tippy top of government, one of “the bad guys”. Got it. I guess that makes him one of the dreaded elite.

“America is a great country” when the government serves the people, when government is functional, when government does its job, and when government protects the democracy that every person cherishes, when government cares for all its citizens, not just some. It falters when the candidates for the highest office in the United States impugn the very entity– the one they’re spending millions to lead– that is supposed to work for the very people who put them there.