OK, so, we’re not sure why this has become a thing. But it has. So, here: All sorts of media outlets are reporting how Michele Bachmann is “under fire” for signing a FAMiLY Leader (for information on FAMiLY Leader, check out this PN post) ‘Marriage Vow’ pledge, which essentially says, “I won’t cheat on my spouse” ala presidential candidate and Humanitarian of the Year Newt Gingrich.

But it actually says more than that. It’s two pages of wingnut gospel, covering issues such as slavery and – surprise! – Sharia Law, a 100 percent fictional threat.

The slavery reference relates to conservatives’ favorite issue with regards to race (besides the “We hate the 1964 Civil Rights bill, but since you mention it, that bill only passed because of Republicans”): The idea that things were better for blacks when slavery was around. Specifically:

Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born in to slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African- American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.

That is in the pledge (and has since been removed), but is more of a precursor to banning porn, the redefinition of marriage, etc.

And all the Interweb’s Thinking Progress with references to BREAKING: Bachmann pledges to ban pornography (which means, we assume, she’s lost the vote of anyone who’s ever been on the Internet, even once) and the sort.

Yet few have noted that former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum committed to the same pledge. He will not cheat on his wife, he will reject Sharia Law and he will ban pornography, too! What gives?

It might be the fact that Bachmann is “surging” as of late, according to those same media sources. Or that she’s considered the most bonkers in politics right now, what with her insane, flamboyant husband and willingness to “slit our wrists, be blood brothers” against health care reform. Problem is, Rick Santorum was crazy before crazy was cool, and it cost him his job back in 2006 when Pennsylvania voted for “not crazy” by a 19-point margin. And yet, the national conversation isn’t about how Santorum gave rise to The Crazy, Viable Republican Presidential Candidate. It’s about how Michele Bachmann is the first.

We get that it’s still a year before the GOP has a real candidate to pit against the president, but, come on media: give Rick Santorum his due. Slow news summers, “not old, male, white and boring” GOP presidential candidates may come and go, but Santorum will always be crazy. And his crazy is a crazy that doesn’t become popular with strange trendy social and economic movements in which retirees dress like colonial Americans on weekends. The man lives on the fringe.

Which is probably why Santorum’s name isn’t mentioned (we’ve come a long way here) in most news reports of the pledge. It’s not news for him to vow bonker-ism. It’s just a thing that he does.