Posted on 01/04/2012 1:42:43 PM PST by Kaslin
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Now there's a mantra -- there's mantra out there -- and it's even now spread to CBS News: "Will Santorum's big government conservatism resonate?" It's everywhere, folks. "Santorum's big government conservatism." Have you ever heard "big government conservatism" associated with Rick Santorum before today? Have you? Have you? All right, very rarely. Some of you might. In Pennsylvania in some of his campaigns it might have been said, but nationally most people are hearing this for the first time after he wins the Hawkeye Cauci. Now, it started (at least I first saw it) in conservative media and then The Cato Institute, which is Libertarian. Now CBS News has it. So let's talk about this for a second.
I remember in the early days of this program, one of the things that I said when I was actually in the process of introducing myself to the audience, explaining my views and so forth. I remember saying... I'm gonna have to paraphrase myself; I don't have the exact quote in front of me 'cause I'm going back to 1988 or '89 now, maybe 1990. But I said, "In certain things, conservatives actually do like a big government. For example, conservatives do want an activist government defending what's right and attacking what's wrong." Big government may not be the term, but, for example: Conservatives do think that it's the role of government to protect the sanctity of life, as does Rick Santorum. If government doesn't, who else will? And it stems from our founding documents: Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. The Declaration of Independence.
Clearly the government has a role here in defending life. If they don't, who will? Also, the government should be used effectively to fight crime. Conservatives are all for, for example, the government fighting illegal immigration. Now, is that big government or is that responsible government? Big government is being misused here when applied to Santorum. Big government as it's used today means welfare state, and Santorum does not believe in a welfare state. So the left is playing a rhetorical game here, folks, and I want to alert you to this. "Big government" has a specific meaning today, and it means welfare state. It means redistribution. It means high taxes. It means command-and-control of the economy. And that's not what Santorum believes. So the left knows that "big government" is a negative. It is a harmful term to attach to somebody, and that's why they're trying to attach it to Santorum. But Rick Santorum does not believe in the big government of Barack Obama. It's totally different thing for him.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Let me give you an example here on this big government garbage. Here is more from the CBS story about Santorum. "Santorum's voting record shows that he embraced George Bush–style 'big-government conservatism.' For example, he supported the Medicare prescription-drug benefit and No Child Left Behind. He never met an earmark that he didn't like. In fact, it wasn't just earmarks for his own state that he favored, which might be forgiven as pure electoral pragmatism, but earmarks for everyone, including the notorious 'Bridge to Nowhere.' The quintessential Washington insider, he worked closely with Tom DeLay to set up the 'K Street Project,' linking lobbyists with the GOP leadership."
Now, let me tell you something. Let me tell you what all that's about. The Democrats own all of that. What Rick Santorum and DeLay were trying to do was disempower the Democrats' bureaucrat lobbying reach into Washington. They were trying to get an equal foothold. It's the way the game is played. For all of us who are devoted to ideas, God bless us, but it is money that makes that town turn. It's money that makes that town run. It is money that motivates most people to want to be in that town. It's money that motivates most people to want to win elective office. It's being in control of the federal budget that is the great carrot that's dangling in front of everybody's eyes because that's the power.
Now, the Democrats own this.
What Rick Santorum has always been about is disempowering the Democrats. Same thing with Tom DeLay. It is why the Democrats had to take DeLay out. It's why the Democrats came up with these phony prosecutions of DeLay and did everything they could to get him out of the Republican leadership: Because Tom DeLay was a successful enemy of the Democrats and their entrenched power in that town; and Santorum knows full well the entrenched power in that town and he is devoted to breaking it up, pure and simple. His K Street Project was simply, you know, nothing more than an attempt to lessen the Democrats' lobbying power.
Everybody talks about "special interests," and somehow the special interests only end up on the Republican side. All these wealthy fat cats, it's always Republicans. The Democrats are these famous, clean and pure as the wind-driven snow. They don't have any big bucks donors. They don't have any big bucks members. It's a crock. It's the exact opposite. The big money is the Democrat Party. Santorum, DeLay, all these others who got in on this were trying to break that up -- and so now the long knives are out for Santorum; and I guarantee you: The fact that the media and the Democrats are trying to associate Santorum with "big government "is an indication of something very important.
They know that it can kill a conservative's chances, and that it resonates. People do not want big government is what this means. It means now that the Democrats today are taking Santorum seriously and some even on our side who are now taking him seriously, think that they can discredit Santorum by attaching him with this big government idea. Because it's a killer, particularly with the Tea Party and with conservative Republicans. So this is a full-fledged effort here to discredit Santorum with what's essentially a lie, because there are many different kinds of big government. The irony of the left using the idea of "big government," a term that they have completely discredited to try to smear a conservative!
But "big government" to the left means income redistribution, universal health care, union government workers, cradle-to-grave socialism. Those are things that Santorum vehemently opposes! Santorum by no means supports big government in that regard. The big government Santorum supports is a government that protects people by enforcing the law -- be it the right to life, be it the border and immigration or anything else. There are certain constitutional responsibilities that government has that they have abrogated. Be very careful, folks, not to fall for this big government stuff, because Rick Santorum... There is not a Republican out there that is "big government" in the sense that the left is "big government."
Well, wait. I may have to make a modification in that. I'm not gonna mention any name right now. Don't want to go there. But when it comes to Santorum, this whole notion -- I can't say this forcefully enough and right now I can't say it enough, period. I noticed this this morning, this mantra: "Santorum's big government conservatism, big government conservative, disaster in the White House. Santorum big government." No, no, no, no, no, no, no -- and I remember telling all of you when I started this program late eighties, early nineties, that we conservatives like big government in a lot of ways. We want it enforcing the border and the law. We want it defending and upholding the Constitution.
We don't believe in no government. We never have believed in no government! There has been an attempt for decades to equate conservatism with no government. That's Ron Paul. That's the Libertarians. We're fully aware as conservatives government has a role. It has a central role in many things: Enforcing the law, defending freedom, defending and protecting the Constitution, freedom and liberty; life, liberty, purest of happiness. If government doesn't do it, who will? But that is not to say -- and that certainly is not the case for Santorum to say -- that big government, that we believe in redistribution, high taxes, creating dependence, higher welfare, higher unemployment.
That's not what Santorum believes. Do not fall for this notion that he does -- and again the very idea that they think, they hope they can tar Santorum with this big government business means what? It means that even the proponents of big government know it's a killer; that the majority of people in this country don't want big government, otherwise they wouldn't dare could you see Santorum of being a big government guy. If being a big government guy was a winner, they wouldn't associate it with him. Big government is a loser. That's why they're trying to tie Santorum to it, which ultimately is good for us in the sense that we have not lost the country. We have not lost the people.
If big government anything was a winner, then they'd be running around calling Obama a big government guy, not Santorum. What's Obama doing? Obama's trying to make himself out to be not a big government guy! Democrats can't win being who they are. We've said this over and over again. They cannot win being honest. We conservatives, and this is true of Santorum, believe in a strong government, strong military, strong and just courts, strong law and order. But we don't believe it has to be "big." It does not have to be a leviathan. Where's the CBS News attack on Obama for being a big government guy? Where is it? It's not there -- and the reason is it's a killer, and that's why they're trying to tie it to Santorum.
Now, it's ultimately going to be up to him to explain this. If he chooses to, if he chooses to respond to this charge that he's a big government conservative, he's gonna have to explain what that means -- and he's gonna have to very clear what it doesn't mean, and it doesn't mean that he wants the government running people's lives, and he wants the government raising taxes, that he wants the government picking winners and losers in life, that he wants the government taxing people and redistributing the proceeds. That's not what he wants. That's what they're trying to suggest, and they will go out of their way to suggest that Santorum would use government to make sure you can't get an abortion if you want, even when it's legal.
That's what they'll try to do, because they are scared of the social issues, too. So in matter of a few hours, look at how all this has changed -- in a matter of just a few hours -- which of course is why I, El Rushbo, refuse to get depressed and down in the dumps about the Republican field and where it was headed and that's the reason I didn't get behind anybody because too much can happen. Things can change on a dime and the unexpected (by definition) is going to happen in politics more often than not; and history can tell you that after the first election, be it a caucus or a primary, you're gonna have people that are out of it. The first official declaration that they have lost, where do they go? Certainly not into debt so they get out of the race.
The field winnows, gets smaller. Now the whole dynamic is changed. The whole dynamic is changed here. It's fascinating.
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Some people really give up easily.
” Santorum was a freshman attending Penn State U when the Community Reinvestment Act was passed. “ back in 1977, almost 20 years before Santorum became a Congressman.
He was my Senator too but calling him a "Big Government Conservative" is not some liberal media smear. Its an analysis of the record. He supported George Bush's "Compassionate Conservative" agenda. Even before Bush, he was very pro-union and advocated expanding benefits for seniors (both natural Pennsylvania constituencies). Other than some nasty comments about his family (from the likes of Colmes), I don't see these criticisms as illegitimate.
I expect Distressed will refrain from using that particular criticism on any more FR threads.
I have family in PA who tell me conservatives there are STILL mad at Santorum for the Specter endorsement. Do you find that true where you are?
Well, we still have Huntsman to be vetted....
You're right...my mistake...it was the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992...which also provided for federal funds adminstered by GSE's to make housing "affordable" for low income people
Using taxpayer money to increase home ownership was something Santorum was very interested in (google Santorum and affordable housing)...he sponsored several similar bills
He may be a great guy...his interest in housing for families may be driven by his strong religious values...but he is not the conservative answer..it appears that there is no one
DeMint should jump in before S Carolina
Well, has he ever said he was a witch ? Has he ever had a women accuse him of sexual harassment ? Has he been married three times ? Has he miss spoken in a debate ? After all, those are the really important issues :>
Who is left? Newt or the other Rick?
Sanitorium definitely loves big government, but I’ve never seen him as particularly conservative.
He supported Arlen Spector over Toomey; is that conservative? I see him chiefly as an elitist.
“Who is left? Newt or the other Rick?”
That’s the problem, nobody. I don’t know exactly why, maybe it’s the dyed and permed hair, but Pewrry reminds me of those fraudulent teleevangalists in the 1980’s.
Newt’s a loose cannon. I met him in 1993 at the Conservative Summit sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and National Review. I thought he was an a**hole, but that was exactly what we needed at the time to lead us back from the wilderness and take on the establishment.
The problem was that he couldn’t handle stardom, and he was warned at the time by someone who knew about not being able to handle stardom - the late Sonny Bono (R - California). He didn’t listen, and then he lost his nerve in the budget battles in 1995 and 1996.
Of the remaining candidates, if it’s not Santorum, I think the GOP is finished for a while.
Santorum on Hannity agreed he voted on moderate bills because there were other issues attached. I wouldn’t call him big government. They are paid to bring home pork or they don’t have a job. I think Newt is a bigger government guy..
Rush also left out the part about Santorum's calling for compulsory national service and government-financed trust funds for newborns. Funny, he was reading from the same article that mentioned those, too.
You can criticize the liberal media all you want for mentioning this stuff, but it doesn't change the facts. Santorum is a true believer in the power of government to shape society.
I still hope it's the other way around.
But as someone else pointed out his ACU rating puts him squarely in the conservative fold today. I would have no problem supporting him in the general, as I would Gingrich. As I would have Bachmann or Cain.
What I will not do is contribute to the kneecapping of ANY of our candidates - Romney being the exception - in a way which will help Obama retain office.
Act passed in 1977.
Santorum is the one who brought it up. Read his book.
Government has to be “big”: in certain areas: defending the country, securing our borders, ensuring a level playing field for our businesses and products abroad so we can compete successfully, protecting the right to life, and enforcing the law.
Government has to fulfill certain functions. Conservatives disagree with libertarians that government isn’t necessary and we disagree with the Left the government should run our lives. Conservatives are somewhere in between and we believe in all the government we need and no more to do what it does to protect freedom. Human beings like rules and certainty and order in their lives.
We don’t think government is the answer but we do think it has a role in a dangerous world. It will always be dangerous. Rick Santorum understands this and he also understands where the limits are. So do all conservatives.
The meme seems to have originated with the Liberaltarians and Paulbots, and has been flogged very recently over at “Reason” as well.
The Libertarian disappointment when Paul exploded was inevitable, as is the knee-jerk reaction against Santorum.
The Libertarian contribution to economic theory over the past 40 years has been invaluable, but there’s more to a candidate than a life-long and strict adherence to “laissez-faire” economic theory. In the real world, we have to select from what’s on offer, and Santorum is the standout at present.
Oh, and while i’m on my soapbox, the conservative principle that matches the Libertarian “small government” is “limited government”. They are sometimes consonant, but occasionally at odds.
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