My ideal candidate would be Sarah Palin. But Rick Santorum was the best of the candidates who ran in the last campaign. He was second, and only lost the primary to Romney because Newt and others divided the vote, and because the primary was, as usual, frontloaded with liberal and crossover states. And because several Mormon-heavy states also voted at key moments.
Rick’s only real sin was to endorse Arlen Specter for re-election. I was upset about that at the time, but all the other candidates committed far worse sins, and he did have some excuses for the endorsement: 1) Specter had endorsed him in a close election; 2) Specter was a Republican with considerable seniority; 3) Bush said he needed Specter to get another SCOTUS appointment, and that actually worked out, before Specter went rogue again.
Most of the other complaints about Santorum were due to all the distortions smeared on him by Romney and the left-wing media.
Santorum has always been devoted to Specter, and endorsed him for president in 1996, when Specter was running on a campaign to make the GOP pro-abortion.
“I pledge to lead the fight to strip the strident anti-choice language from the Republican National platform…”
Santorum and Specter
Arlen Specter announces for the White House, with endorsee, Rick Santorum at his side.
At Senator Arlen Specter’s official presidential campaign announcement in March 1995, then-Senator Rick Santorum showed his public support and encouragement of Specter by sitting directly next to him as Specter denounced the GOP’s war on abortion. It was at this event that Specter proclaimed his total opposition to social conservatism and declared he is in fact running to make the GOP pro-choice.
Santorum is seen nodding and applauding at Specter’s side:
3:46 mark: “In 1996, I intend to win the other house — the White House — with ten commitments to America… Especially a woman’s right to choose…
13:22 mark: “Even though we have this historic opportunity for these achievements, there are those in our party who would lead us down a different path — and squander this unique moment in our nation’s history — by using our political capital — to pursue a radical social agenda — that would end a woman’s right to choose…
13:48 mark: “When Pat Robertson says there is no constitutional doctrine of separation between Church and State, I say he is wrong…
14:31 mark: “When Ralph Reed says a pro-choice Republican isn’t qualified to be our President, I say the Republican Party will not be intimidated or blackmailed by those kinds of threats.I, and millions of other pro-choice Republicans, will not be disenfranchised and made second class citizens.
15:33 mark: “… it is not Christian, or religious, or Judeo-Christian to bring God into politics; or to advocate intolerance and promote exclusion.
15:54 mark: “I want to take abortion out of politics. I want to keep the Republican Party focused on the vital economic and foreign policy issues — and leave moral issues such as abortion to the conscience of the individual. I believe abortion is an issue to be decided by women…
16:40 mark: “I pledge to lead the fight to strip the strident anti-choice language from the Republican National platform…”
17:05 mark: “neither this nation nor this party can afford a republican candidate so captive to the demands of the intolerant right...