Posted on 01/30/2012 8:11:27 AM PST by Kaslin
Rick Santorum opposed TARP.
He didn’t cave when Chicken Littles in Washington invoked a manufactured crisis in 2008. He didn’t follow the pro-bailout GOP crowd — including Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich — and he didn’t have to obfuscate or rationalize his position then or now, like Rick Perry and Herman Cain did. He also opposed the auto bailout, Freddie and Fannie bailout, and porkulus bills.
Santorum opposed individual health care mandates — clearly and forcefully — as far back as his 1994 U.S. Senate run. He has launched the most cogent, forceful fusillade against both Romney and Gingrich for their muddied, pro-individual health care mandate waters.
He voted against cap and trade in 2003, voted yes to drilling in ANWR, and unlike Romney and Gingrich, Santorum has never dabbled with eco-radicals like John Holdren, Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi. He hasn’t written any “Contracts with the Earth.”
Santorum is strong on border security, national security, and defense. Mitt the Flip-Flopper and Open Borders-Pandering Newt have been far less trustworthy on immigration enforcement.
Santorum is an eloquent spokesperson for the culture of life. He has been savaged and ridiculed by leftist elites for upholding traditional family values — not just in word, but in deed.
He won Iowa through hard work and competent campaign management. Santorum has improved in every GOP debate and gave his strongest performance last week in Florida, wherein he both dismantled Romneycare and popped the Newt bubble by directly challenging the front-runners’ character and candor without resorting to their petty tactics.
He rose above the fray by sticking to issues.
Most commendably, he refused to join Gingrich and Perry in indulging in the contemptible Occupier rhetoric against Romney. Character and honor matter. Santorum has it.
Of course, Santorum is not perfect. As I’ve said all along, every election cycle is a Pageant of the Imperfects. He lost his Senate re-election bid in 2006, an abysmal year for conservatives. He was a go-along, get-along Big Government Republican in the Bush era. He supported No Child Left Behind, the prescription drug benefit entitlement, steel tariffs, and earmarks and outraged us movement conservatives by endorsing RINO Arlen Specter over stalwart conservative Pat Toomey.
I have no illusions about Rick Santorum. I wish he were as rock-solid on core economic issues as Ron Paul.
And I wish Ron Paul was not the far-out, Alex Jones-panderer on foreign policy, defense, and national security that he is.
If Ron Paul talked more like his son, Rand Paul, about the need for common-sense profiling of jihadists at our State Department consular offices overseas and if he talked more about the need for strengthened visa screening and airport security scrutiny of international flight manifests, I might have more than a kernel of confidence that he would take post-9/11 precautions to guard against jihadi threats and protect us from our enemies foreign and domestic. But he doesn’t, so I can’t support Ron Paul.
Mitt Romney has the backing of many solid conservatives whom I will always hold in high esteem — including Kansas Secretary of State and immigration enforcement stalwart Kris Kobach, former U.N. ambassacor John Bolton, and GOP Govs. Nikki Haley and Bob McDonnell. With such conservative advisers in his camp, Romney would be better than Obama. And a GOP Congress with a staunch Tea Party-backed contingent of fresh-blood leaders in the House and Senate will help keep any GOP president in line. Romney’s private-sector experience and achievements are the best things he’s got going. Only recently has he risen to defend himself effectively. But between his health care debacle, eco-nitwittery, and expedient and unconvincing political metamorphosis, Mitt Romney had way too much ideological baggage for me in 2008 to earn an endorsement — and it still hasn’t changed for me in 2012.
Then there’s Newt, who has long made a career out of trashing progressive Saul Alinsky while employing his tactics at every turn. I’ve been making this point for years and have chronicled his dalliances with leftists as long as anyone in the conservative blogosphere.
Many grass-roots conservatives were awakened to Newt’s double-talk and double-dealing during the NY-23 race. Inconvenient truth: Newt’s transgressions are not from decades ago. It’s not ancient history. It’s here and now. Readers of this blog know the truth: It’s not just “the GOP establishment” that’s repulsed by Gingrich’s combination of moral baggage and K Street/Beltway culture of corruption. It’s the very grass-roots that Gingrich’s cheerleaders purport to represent.
From reader Barnaby, who sent back his crossed-out Republican solicitation forms with a “NO RINOS” sticky note for Newt Gingrich:
Remember the rebuke in Dubuque? May 11, 2011:
Guy: Speaker Gingrich, what you just did to Paul Ryan is unforgivable.
Gingrich: I didn’t do anything to Paul Ryan!
Guy: Yes, you did. You undercut him and his allies in the house.
Gingrich: No, I…
Guy: You’re an embarrassment to our party.
Gingrich: I’m sorry you feel that way.
Guy: Why don’t you get out before you make a bigger fool of yourself.
Lest we forget, this election is not about choosing a showboat candidate to run against John King or Juan Williams or Wolf Blitzer.
It’s not about “raging against” some arbitrarily defined GOP “machine.”
For many grass-roots conservatives across the country, Romney and Gingrich are the machine.
And at this point in the game, Rick Santorum represents the most conservative candidate still standing who can articulate both fiscal and social conservative values — and live them.
***
Side note: Unlike many bloggers and pundits weighing in on GOP 2012, I have zero connections to any of the final four GOP candidates’ campaigns. I have neither received a single penny from, nor donated a single penny, to any of their campaigns. I have not served as any kind of consultant or adviser to any of the campaigns. I have not written any speeches or talking points or briefing papers for any of their campaigns. I have not organized any blogger calls or social media efforts for any of their campaigns. I have not spoken to Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich since interviewing them for Hot Air at CPAC in 2006, and as far as I can recall, I have not communicated directly with either Santorum or Paul. My first and only contact with Santorum’s campaign came last week when a spokesman called to assure me that Santorum was not withdrawing from the Florida primary or the race in general and was in it for the long haul.
So much for my “establishment” credentials, eh? 
***
Santorum is headed to Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nevada.
“The Rick Santorum for President Campaign will expand nationally this week with campaign stops in Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nevada in the coming days,” a spokesman MAtt Beynon said in a statement.
Santorum is slated to make several stops in battleground states over the next few days, but did not appear to be heading back to Florida, where Republicans go to the polls on Tuesday.
Santorum is expected be in Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday when the Florida results are known.
After winning Iowa — the first state to chose which Republican they want to face Obama in November — Santorum’s campaign has struggled to catch fire.
In Florida — a winner-takes-all race — the former senator has not appeared much and is barely avoiding a vote share in single digits according to polls, putting him in third place behing Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.
Nevada will vote just four days after Florida, while Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri all vote on February 7th.
Santorum had put campaigning in Florida on hold Sunday, as his daughter, Bella, was hospitalized just days before a key primary vote.
Two days before Florida’s winner-takes-all primary, Santorum spent the day in Pennsylvania, where his three year-old was admitted to a Philadelphia children’s hospital.
***
A reader writes:
I read your “For Santorum” article on your website. You wrote the argument against Newt clearly and completely. While Romney’s been on both sides of issues, Newt has been on both sides at the same time. I think Newt would be almost as combative and adversarial to a Republican congress than a Democratic one…
***
Question of the day: Who is the “machine?”
Secondary question of the day: If you were a simple machine, what kind of machine would you be — inclined plane, wheel & axle, lever, pulley, wedge, or screw?
Michelle also had a nice piece about the fact that Santorum left Florida to spend time with his little daughter, Bella, who is very sick in Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.
It was despicable that the press and the other candidates made fun of Santorum for going home at this time.
Newt’s for 0% capital gains tax for everyone because he hates capitalism.
Right. /sarc
You’re a fake. A fraud. A phony. And a lousy speller.
I refuse to let the SRM (State Run Media, their pundits and the establishments dictate to me who to vote for.
I also will never vote for Romney, but my plan is right now is to vote for Rick Santorum on super Tuesday March 6
I completely agree with this. I don't understand the push to get Santorum out of the race, when both Newt and Rick are advocating conservative principles. As long as Rick stays in, the buckshot from the left is scattered and not focused on only one candidate. I think that many here are misreading the importance of the primary process and too much in a hurry.
Most are willing to vote for Newt if we can't get Santorum, but are Newt's backers saying no to Santorum out if he starts to win? Is it never Santorum like its never romney?
That's a really good question, Linda. I know for a few, this is true....that it's "never Santorum," but is that a truly conservative position considering that both our best guys have some negatives?
I actually find myself agreeing with most of what Michelle is saying here.........and that's rare.
Michelle, those are not the advisers the devious Romney intends to take to the White House. Hes just using them to get there. He'll cut them adrift in Nov..maybe even sooner..
And a GOP Congress with a staunch Tea Party-backed contingent of fresh-blood leaders in the House and Senate will help keep any GOP president in line
Does the GOP Congress "help keep Obama in line" ???
Michelle, Williard Mitt Romney thinks hes immoortal, above other men..
He doesnt listen to TEA Party Conservatives now...
Whatever makes you think he would if he was elected ???
To him we're just a joke...
That is true and she made it clear that she isn't. Some people can obviously not read, or translate what they read in to what they want
I see very little to disagree with in this article!
Who knew that a freeper who uses the name "Reagan" is a full blown liberal?
I'm not so concerned that you are too dense to spell Theocracy wrong, but I AM concerned that you are so dense that you use it without having the foggiest idea what the word means.
Mitt Romney may have won Iowa
____________________________________
He didnt
Santorum won Iowa
A vote for Santorum is a vote for Santorum.
If you think Malkin likes Romney you aren’t connecting well to reality
I support Newt, but if he crashes, and bows out, I will support Santorum over Mitt. And yes, there is a long way to go.
I think Michelle's article is devastating.
I know Santorum won. ???
liberaltarians who think its their bedroom and they have every right to sleep in the nude with their kids if the kids don’t object.
Explain to me why he should drop out? If anyone does need to drop out, it is Ron Paul. He is in last place and has not won any state yet. Rick Santorum won Iowa
Santorum backers have Newt as their second choice universally, accusing them of secretly backing Romney is simply foul.
Besides I don’t want Dede Scozzafava on the Supreme Court
That is your opinion and you’re entitled to it.
A good essay, but it’s a tad late.
Even Malkin seems to recognize that it is too late. Notice all her talk of keeping a Romney in line?
Where was this essay 6 weeks ago?
She had pneumonia, but is doing better.
No a vote for Santorum is a vote for Santorum. See how that works? You vote for someone and your vote gets added into count of the guy/gal you voted for! Imagine that, wow.
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