Jonathan Bernstein makes the pertinent point about Rick Santorum’s announcement that he’s running for President: Santorum’s 2012 launch is only the beginning of the craziness.

So Rick Santorum has now kicked off his presidential run by claiming that Paul Ryan’s plan to end Medicare as we know it didn’t go far enough because it didn’t also include Social Security in his crosshairs.

This tells us something important about the GOP primary: It is a requirement for these candidates to push the envelop as much as possible. So get ready to hear them say some pretty whacky things.

Absolutely right. The Republican Party and its base of voters are divorced from reality on almost all the important issues of the day, and these candidates are merely reflecting this sad, pathetic fact.