Thursday, February 16, 2012

A positive message v. mudslinging

The strategic juxtaposition of the top two GOP contenders couldn't be in more stark contrast. Santorum brings a positive message...





...as well as sticking to substance and saying the things that need to be said, that MUST be said...

This president is leading us down a road – it’s right out of the FDR playbook – to continue to grow government, to get more and more people on government programs. More and more dependency. We have almost half of the people in this country that don’t pay taxes and almost half now receive some sort of government benefit. We’re reaching a tipping point, folks.

When those who pay are the minority and those who receive are the majority, freedom in election process is not something that people will care about. They’ll care about whether they get their piece. This is what it’s all designed to do – gradually slowly erode your freedom and increase your dependency on government.

That’s why this election is the most important election in your lifetime. This is a chance for Americans to stand up and say 'We Will Be Free'!



This via theRightScoop:

This clip from Santorum’s town-hall last night has 2 parts. The first half is Santorum describing how America came to be ‘America’ through hard work and self reliance, which he describes quite well. I loved it. But the second half is my favorite part because that’s where Santorum gets to the real truth-telling that needs to be said. He talks about the ‘elite snobs’, namely the Obama administration, who don’t believe in that America that he described, that they look down their noses at Americans because they don’t believe we can do for ourselves. They don’t believe we can be free. He cites how Obama lied about Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan and also the lies saying it would throw granny off the cliff.

Santorum is saying what needs to be said:



Meanwhile...

Romney's making conference calls last week and more this week, scheming how to best attack Santorum, but even the liberal media can see that although it may be well funded, it's nonetheless substantively weak. And speaking of liberals and substance (yeah, I know, talk about antonyms), they're already saying what conservatives know about Romney...



...and Santorum is quite effectively, while humorously, taking on the Romney smears with a new ad entitled, "Rombo"...



That ad is great! I hope he continues to run his "Rebellion" ad as well.



Santorum is substantively fighting back against Romney's attacks with succinct defense, while keeping his primary focus on Obama's policies & attacks on liberty, in addition to socio-economic issues, while talking up America, and while saying what needs to be said about what's going on in our nation with entitlements, dependency, mandates, etc. (much of what Romney won't touch with a ten foot pole). SMART!

But for all the Santorum supporters, myself included, who'd like more ammunition to fight back against the Romulans, as well as the Paulbots (yes, this is an intergalactic battle of sorts), as well as supplying future ammunition against the Obama Zombies (now we've entered the sci-fi/horror genre), here's some helpful info to lob back at them!

  • On earmarks: While I'm not a fan, facts are that earmarks account for less than 1% of the budget. The larger issue is entitlement reform of SS & Medicare. Jennifer Rubin has an interesting article about this attack point.
  • On spending: According to the Weekly Standard, out of his 12 years in the U.S. Senate, the National Taxpayers Union gave Santorum a 3.66 out of a 4-point scale, or an A-, placing him in the top 10% of Senators, ranking 5th out of 50! As theRightScoop puts it, "Dear Santorum Bashers. Read this and weep."
  • On education: Santorum was rated 27% by NEA, indicating he's an anti-Big Education record (provided by On The Issues). Santorum has also talked about slashing the Department of Education. On the topic of No Child Left Behind (which Romney also supported), here's what he added to that one that was going to pass regardless (crafty move!); but nonetheless, now openly admits that he regrets that vote.
  • On healthcare: I don't think anything needs to be said about where he stands on the individual mandate (as opposed to Romney). And before Romney's own guys who supported Medicare Part D bash Santorum, they might want to consider his overall record: rated 0% by APHA, indicating anti-Gov't-run public healthcare record (per On The Issues).
  • On right-to-work/jobs: Although Pennsylvania is not a right-to-work state, he's pledged to support a national right-to-work movement. And being rated 0% by the AFL-CIO, indicating an anti-union voting record (per On The Issues), should stand for something.
  • He's pro-tea party, despite the naysayers taking past remarks about libertarian influence (which I share) completely out of context, to which theRightScoop provides definitive proof to dispell the dishonesty.
Finally, on this latest media/Democrat ginned up debate about contraception (perhaps Morris is right), instead of "watching the following video at 17:55," how about starting from the beginning to put things into context?! Didn't we just address 'context' in that last bullet point? There's nothing haunting about honesty and positive messages. And he's been just as consistent now, as he was in October, as he was in 2006. If we could only learn to use our brains instead of toeing the lib line, right Piers?



Unfortunately, the same request could be made for some of our media. Regardless, Santorum supporters still find a way to put things in perspective, with humor to boot!



ADDENDUM: Santorum gave a great interview on Hannity's radio program covering some of the stuff I've mentioned above with clarity and positivity.