Former Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum mourned the death of Nelson Mandela on Fox News, and praised the late leader for fighting injustice throughout his life, much like Republicans are currently facing in the battle over the Affordable Care Act.
“Nelson Mandela stood up against a great injustice and was willing to pay a huge price for that, and that’s the reason he’s mourned today–because of that struggle that he performed,” Santorum told Bill O’Reilly Thursday night, just hours after the anti-apartheid leader was pronounced dead. “But you’re right, I mean, what he was advocating for was not necessarily the right answer, but he was fighting against some great injustice. And I would make the argument that we have a great injustice going on right now in this country with an ever-increasing size of government that is taking over and controlling people’s lives–and Obamacare is front and center in that.”
Since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010, Republicans have repeatedly voted to defund the legislation. A battle to defund the health care law led to a 16-day government shutdown in October that cost the country $24 billion.
Mandela, who passed away Thursday at the age of 95, was jailed for 27 years for his stance against the former apartheid regime of South Africa. In a speech before he was convicted in 1964, Mandela defended his activism and explained why he stood against the regime, concluding that he was prepared to die for what he believed in. “During my lifetime I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people,” Mandela said. “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realized.”
Traci Lee