Santorum to kids: Stop protesting and learn to treat gunshot victims

The more young people stand up for their rights, the more Republicans panic themselves into making increasingly ridiculous statements. And former senator and current CNN contributor Rick Santorum provided the latest example of this Sunday morning.

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Santorum found himself crankily arguing against fundamental democratic action. But what he was arguing for was nearly as absurd. He essentially offered an updated version of Jonathan Swift’s satirical “A Modest Proposal.”

But he said it with a completely straight face.

“How about kids, instead of looking to someone else to solve their problem,” Santorum said, “do something about, maybe, taking CPR classes or trying to deal with situations that, where there is a violent shooter …”

Host Brianna Keilar quickly interjected. “But how are they looking at other people to — I would ask you, they took action.”

“Yeah, they took action to ask someone to pass a law,” Santorum spat, scornfully noting the way democracy literally works.

Panelist Van Jones commented that if a child’s “main way to survive high school is learning CPR so when his friend gets shot, that, to mow, we me, we’ve gone too far.”

Santorum’s remarks are ridiculous, but they are also a sobering indication of what the kids in this movement are confronting.

Their new reality means that on any given day, they might be treating a dying classmate, or sustain potentially fatal injury themselves, as another massacre unfolds.

And adults with power and influence will attack them for exercising the most fundamental freedom of our democracy. Because they’d rather go after kids than risk angering the NRA extremists who help enable these massacres.

But they are also busy creating another reality. They’re standing up to people like Santorum and the NRA, turning out by the millions to prove they won’t be silenced.

And the desperation of their critics is proof that they are winning.