Strategically announcing on D-Day, and selecting the location of his grandfather's Pennsylvanian coal mining roots established after leaving Fascist Italy, Rick Santorum made his formal announcement to enter the 2012 presidential race. Without hesitation, he wasted no time setting his sights on the current occupant, "In 2008, a wearied public … looked to elect a president who they could believe in. And that president, President Obama, took that faith… and wrecked our economy, and centralized power in Washington, DC, and robbed people of their freedom.”
As the Daily Caller reports, Santorum not only emphasized the disastrous unemployment numbers released Friday or the current high gas prices, he also targeted Obama's attacks on the core principles and traditions of our civil society, stating “He’s not just devalued our currency, he’s devalued our culture,” when pointing to decisions made by the administration to flat out ignore law, such as the Defense of Marriage Act, or purposefully deceive the public, as with federally funded abortion. Yes, unlike some candidates, or former contenders, who might cower on the social issues, Santorum is fearless when it comes to defending traditional values.
Santorum continued by stating that there is “a group of people led by president Obama who believes that America’s greatness is in government and not it’s people,” launching into the "lynchpin" of this idea: the dependency created by Obamacare. The former Senator said, “Every single American now will be hooked to the government with an IV, and they will come to you every time they want to do more and say, ‘you want that IV, you want that healthcare?’” in an unending effort to gain yet more power.
“They believe in themselves: the smart people, the planners, the folks in Washington who can make decisions better than you,” pointing not only to Obamacare, but the Mediscare tactics being imposed against Paul Ryan's budget plan, which Santorum, unlike other candidates, wholly embraces, even going beyond Ryan's plan to allow those 55 and older an opportunity to “choose for themselves" what best suits their needs.
Before declaring his run for the presidency, Santorum concluded, “I believe now that Americans are not looking for someone they can believe in, they’re looking for a president who believes in them."
Quin Hillyer's piece in The American Spectator took an interesting approach towards Santorum's announcement in authenticating his credentials and dispelling those who would attempt to discredit his candidacy among the deemed serious contenders.
"Rick Santorum for some reason gets treated as if he were a fringe player on Capitol Hill for 16 years, playing to the right wing (mostly) in a sort of gadfly role. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a guy who rose to the fourth ranking position in the Republican Senate as Conference Chairman, and who all conservatives in Washington knew was THE "go to guy" within leadership whenever leadership wasn't paying enough heed to conservative views. Santorum wouldn't just talk a good game; he would actually go into leadership meetings and fight the good fight. There are conservative judges right now who would not be on the bench if it weren't for Santorum. There are abortion restrictions in law that wouldn't be there without Santorum. And, lest we forget the single most successful major federal governmental programmatic reform of the past half-century, it was Santorum who was the lead Senate sponsor of welfare reform in 1996....This was not a gadfly; this was an effective legislator at work. Santorum also was a conservative leader on foreign policy, and a key supporter of the Strategic Defense Initiative."
The Spectator also briefly touched on his effective campaign skills: "Santorum is an able and effective campaigner against incumbents, having upset incumbents to win in a tough House district in 1990 and in a tough state for the Senate in 1994. He also won re-election in 2000 against the odds, taking Pennsylvania by about seven percentage points even as GW Bush lost the state at the head of the ticket." Attesting that "by any SERIOUS standard of who should be treated as a top-tier candidate, on the merits, Santorum qualifies."
Hillyer concludes the piece with a testament towards his character, an interesting little comparison to another contender, and basically says Santorum should be a welcomed sight for conservatives: "Finally, if one's standard is authenticity -- of being the same person in private as in public, of not being a calculating political BSer -- only Herman Cain, of the apparent field, can fully join Santorum on the podium. So conservatives should heartily welcome Santorum to the race. And they should expect him to punch well above the political weight for which the cognoscenti credit him."
So with the official announcements of at least two bona fide conservatives that attended the first GOP debate, the anticipation grows to see who is next to join the fight!
As the Daily Caller reports, Santorum not only emphasized the disastrous unemployment numbers released Friday or the current high gas prices, he also targeted Obama's attacks on the core principles and traditions of our civil society, stating “He’s not just devalued our currency, he’s devalued our culture,” when pointing to decisions made by the administration to flat out ignore law, such as the Defense of Marriage Act, or purposefully deceive the public, as with federally funded abortion. Yes, unlike some candidates, or former contenders, who might cower on the social issues, Santorum is fearless when it comes to defending traditional values.
Santorum continued by stating that there is “a group of people led by president Obama who believes that America’s greatness is in government and not it’s people,” launching into the "lynchpin" of this idea: the dependency created by Obamacare. The former Senator said, “Every single American now will be hooked to the government with an IV, and they will come to you every time they want to do more and say, ‘you want that IV, you want that healthcare?’” in an unending effort to gain yet more power.
“They believe in themselves: the smart people, the planners, the folks in Washington who can make decisions better than you,” pointing not only to Obamacare, but the Mediscare tactics being imposed against Paul Ryan's budget plan, which Santorum, unlike other candidates, wholly embraces, even going beyond Ryan's plan to allow those 55 and older an opportunity to “choose for themselves" what best suits their needs.
Before declaring his run for the presidency, Santorum concluded, “I believe now that Americans are not looking for someone they can believe in, they’re looking for a president who believes in them."
Quin Hillyer's piece in The American Spectator took an interesting approach towards Santorum's announcement in authenticating his credentials and dispelling those who would attempt to discredit his candidacy among the deemed serious contenders.
"Rick Santorum for some reason gets treated as if he were a fringe player on Capitol Hill for 16 years, playing to the right wing (mostly) in a sort of gadfly role. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a guy who rose to the fourth ranking position in the Republican Senate as Conference Chairman, and who all conservatives in Washington knew was THE "go to guy" within leadership whenever leadership wasn't paying enough heed to conservative views. Santorum wouldn't just talk a good game; he would actually go into leadership meetings and fight the good fight. There are conservative judges right now who would not be on the bench if it weren't for Santorum. There are abortion restrictions in law that wouldn't be there without Santorum. And, lest we forget the single most successful major federal governmental programmatic reform of the past half-century, it was Santorum who was the lead Senate sponsor of welfare reform in 1996....This was not a gadfly; this was an effective legislator at work. Santorum also was a conservative leader on foreign policy, and a key supporter of the Strategic Defense Initiative."
The Spectator also briefly touched on his effective campaign skills: "Santorum is an able and effective campaigner against incumbents, having upset incumbents to win in a tough House district in 1990 and in a tough state for the Senate in 1994. He also won re-election in 2000 against the odds, taking Pennsylvania by about seven percentage points even as GW Bush lost the state at the head of the ticket." Attesting that "by any SERIOUS standard of who should be treated as a top-tier candidate, on the merits, Santorum qualifies."
Hillyer concludes the piece with a testament towards his character, an interesting little comparison to another contender, and basically says Santorum should be a welcomed sight for conservatives: "Finally, if one's standard is authenticity -- of being the same person in private as in public, of not being a calculating political BSer -- only Herman Cain, of the apparent field, can fully join Santorum on the podium. So conservatives should heartily welcome Santorum to the race. And they should expect him to punch well above the political weight for which the cognoscenti credit him."
So with the official announcements of at least two bona fide conservatives that attended the first GOP debate, the anticipation grows to see who is next to join the fight!
