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(Flickr/Gage Skidmore)

Future failed presidential candidate Rick Santorum knows what Republicans in Iowa want: Death panels! And could he throw in some shameless exploitation of his children? Yes he can:
Santorum, a father of seven and a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, said he wrestles with balancing time with his family and the campaign trail as he explores a presidential bid, but his passion for repealing the federal health care reform law is part of what fuels his political aspirations."I look at how society with socialized medicine treats children like Bella [his daughter, who was born with a genetic abnormality], and children like Bella don't survive," Santorum told The Des Moines Register today, the first leg of a three-day swing through Iowa. "Children like Bella are not given the treatment that other children are given."Santorum said the new health care law, championed by President Barack Obama, will mean disabled people are denied care more often, and repealing it is the best way to address mounting national debt.
Needless to say, Santorum just made this up, both the charge that countries with "socialized medicine" would have killed his daughter, and his assertion that the Affordable Care Act will also kill his daughter (the part about the debt is also false, but whatever). The Des Moines Register does a thorough job of debunking this despicable piece of lying. If nothing else, it's a good reminder that though Rick Santorum may never be president, he's just as much of a reasonable, serious person as he was when he was a senator.