Santorum gave an inspirational speech today at CPAC, putting into focus just how far we've come as conservatives in the past four years, who we are now and what we must stand for...
"Right after the 2008 election...I made this statement. I said, 'Conservatism did not fail our country, conservatives failed conservatism.' And that's what I really believed then, and that we in fact lost heart...We listened to the voiced who said we had to abandon our principles and our values to get things done to win. But we hear those same voices today that we have to 'learn our lesson', that we need to 'compromise', do what's 'politically reasonable', and go out and push someone forward who can 'win'. Well, I think we have learned our lesson. And the lesson we've learned is that we will no longer abandon and apologize for the policies and principles that made this country great for a hollow victory in November.
The other thing we should recognize, as conservatives and tea party folks, that we are not just wings of the Republican Party, WE ARE the Republican Party."
Targeting the fundamentals of what this election is about:
"This election is about very, very big things...although it is about jobs...[and] a debt that is crushing our children, an immoral debt...We know it's about big things, really big thing, more than just, well, the economy. It's about foundational principles, and we've seen that play out here in just the past few weeks. Every speech I've given...I talked about Founding Principles. This campaign is gonna be about a vision. This campaign is gonna be about who we are as Americans, because in essence that's what's at stake. This is the most important election in your lifetime. It's an election about what kind of country you're gonna leave to the next generation. Are we gonna be a country that believes as our Founders did, that our rights don't come from the government, that they come from a much higher authority?
Well there are those in our country, and those in the Oval Office, who believe that that's not the case. They believe that rights do in fact come from the government. And they have gone around convincing the American public that they can in fact give you rights...and we see what happens when government gives you rights. When government gives you rights, government can take away those rights. When government gives you rights, government can coerce you into do things and exercising the right they gave you. I've been traveling around this country talking about how Obamacare will crush economic freedom, will make people dependent on government for the most important things, their very lives. And as a result, government will own you, because you will have to pay tribute to Washington..."
On the latest battle between Obama's mandate and Catholic institutions:
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the kind of coersion we can expect. It's not about 'contraception', it's about economic liberty, it's about freedom of speech, it's about freedom of religion, it's about government control of your lives and it's gotta stop!"
Drawing the constrasts between he and Romney:
"We need someone who's willing to go out on the big issues of the day and draw contrasts. We're not gonna win this election, ladies and gentlemen, because the Republican candidate has the most money to beat up their opponent and win the election. We're not gonna win this election with lop-sided money advantages. We won't have one in the fall. President Obama will have more money whoever our nominee is. So, just think about what it's gonna take. It's gonna take ideas, vision, contrasts, a record of accomplishment that can go up against the failed policies of Barack Obama. That's the winner."
Santorum elaborated on the contrasts between his record and Romney's on government-run healthcare, energy & manufacturing, government-control of the economy, and conservative vision...
"So, who would provide the clear contrast of believing in the conservative vision of bottom up, free people, free markets, not government dependency, government control? Ladies and gentlemen, we're not gonna win with money. We're gonna win with contrasts, we're gonna win with ideas, we're gonna win by making Barack Obama and his failed policies the issue in this race."
And here's one for the Establishment, after explaining why we won big in the midterm elections of 2010:
"We always talk about 'well, how are we gonna get the moderates?' Why would an undecided voter, vote for the candidate of a party who the party's not excited about? We need conservatives now to rally for a conservative to go into November, to excite the conservative base, to pull with that excitement moderate voters, and to defeat Barack Obama in the fall."
Santorum concluded with this message:
"Honor is not a term that's used very often in America anymore, but is exactly what's at stake, because this is our watch. We are stewards of a great inheritance. And it is our responsibility to shepherd that inheritance, and to make it a greater and richer one for the next generation. And if we fail to do that, then we have failed our duty and our honor as Americans. This is your opportunity. Many generations come and go in America and live in many respects in inconsequential times. You are blessed to live in a time when America needs you. Please, walk out of this gathering, choose the candidate that you believe is the right person to lead this country, not just to victory, but to the changes that are necessary for that victory to be won, that you can say, 'I have done my duty, I have kept my honor'"
