Santorum for President [plus ping list]

December 27, 2011 | Antoninus

[Antoninus]

Sarah Palin is not running.

Rick Perry has shown himself not up to the challenge (unfortunately).

Herman Cain got borked by the establishment media and could not take the heat (unfortunately).

Ron Paul, for every sensible position, has one that marks him as a kook.

Newt Gingrich is being attacked relentlessly, fairly or unfairly, and because of his very mixed record on many issues, the attacks are weakening him.

Michelle Bachmann's apparent role as Mitt Romney's attack dog has left her mired in single digits in the polls.

So the political class in this country (and I include the elites of both parties and the media in this group) have succeeded in systematically neutralizing any candidate whose name is not Mitt Romney.

Except one.



Rick Santorum

Here are the top 10 reasons conservatives should support Rick Santorum in 2012:

10. Santorum is a good family man, husband, and father. There are no skeletons in his closet and he has shown himself to be very admirable when it comes to caring for his own family. As a homeschooling father, Santorum does more than just talk about family values. He lives them.

9. He is a solid fiscal conservative. Santorum worked tirelessly to pass the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. He has been a steadfast proponent of entitlement reform, particularly advocating for the privatization of Social Security and Medicare. He has opposed the Wall Street bailouts. While in Congress, he sponsored the balanced budget amendment. He has adamantly called for ObamaCare to be repealed and replaced. Santorum has called for the Federal Reserve to be audited and its role pared back to managing inflation.

8. Santorum is a solid social conservative. His campaign has been one of uplifting social conservative values and pointing out that the breakdown of the American family is at the root of nearly all of our most intractable domestic problems.

7. Santorum is unflinchingly 100% pro-life. Santorum's stellar record as a champion for the unborn is well-known. His courage on the issue was demonstrated clearly when he fought for the partial-birth abortion ban and made Barbara Boxer look like a ghoul on the senate floor.

6. Santorum believes in a strong national defense. While not calling for war as some have insinuated, Santorum has been among the most vocal leaders when it comes to understanding and dealing with the threat posed radical Islam. As president, we can expect Santorum to help rebuild and re-arm America in the face of this threat. He is also the only Republican candidate who has said he will reinstate "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

5. Santorum is pro-family and against homosexual marriage. While other Republicans cower in fear of the homosexual lobby, Santorum has stood strong. With great foresight, he fought for the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004, bringing the measure to the senate floor even though members of his own party opposed him. Santorum's efforts have earned him the undying enmity of homosexual advocacy groups, yet Santorum does not hate homosexuals. Indeed, he retained a known homosexual on his staff. He has shown himself to be fair-minded but utterly steadfast on this issue.

4. Santorum is very strong on Second Amendment issues. He's a life member of the NRA and has always been an ally of Second Amendment rights groups. While in Congress, he opposed gun bans and lawsuits against gun manufacturers.

3. Santorum understands that government interventions in the economy do more harm than good. He believes in sound economic policies including reduced taxation, reduced spending, reduced regulation. At the same time, he knows that the federal government does play an important role as defined by the Constitution to make sure that the border is secure and has called for federal tort reform to help prevent the legal profession from strangling trade.

2. Santorum has been consistent. He his not a flip-flopper on the issues. He has shown the spine to fight for conservative ideals and the ability to go against the grain when members of his own party want to cave in to the left.

1. Santorum is hated by the hard left. Those who support abortion, homosexuality, fiscal profligacy and a surrender-first foreign policy all despise Rick Santorum. He is so hated by these people that they have slandered his name across the internet, trashing him in the most vile language imaginable. If you can define a man by the depravity of his enemies, Rick Santorum must be a noble soul indeed.

For a more detailed breakdown on Rick Santorum's positions on the issues, I encourage you to visit:

http://www.ricksantorum.com/issues

How is this not better than any of the other candidates running? Is this not precisely the kind of platform conservatives want to get behind and support?

Santorum's conservative critics have hung their hat on a single fault that in retrospect (and compared to those of his opponents) looks quite minute indeed:

In 2004, Santorum supported Arlen Specter. I criticized Santorum for doing this at the time as well. He clearly had chosen to play the role of good soldier when G. W. Bush asked him for a favor. He shouldn't have done it, especially considering how exposed and vulnerable the Bush administration's botched policies would leave Santorum in 2006 when he ran for re-election himself. But in retrospect, Pat Toomey has not shown himself to be a stellar conservative. One of his first actions after getting elected was to support Obama's decision to homosexualize the military. It's really hard for a conservative to claim that Santorum's support of Specter makes him in any way unacceptable as a presidential candidate, particularly when compared to the flaws of the other Republicans in the race.

As the primaries rapidly approach, it is time for serious conservatives to coalesce around one candidate. If we can do so, we'll have our best chance at ensuring a political doppleganger like Mitt Romney (who, even if elected president, will be a disaster for conservatives) is not nominated to lead the Republican party in 2012.

I humbly submit to you that Rick Santorum is the best candidate for conservatives to support in 2012. He is a true-blue conservative who can be counted upon to articulate and advance conservative positions and ideals. He will really take the fight to Obama in the general election and to the Democrat party as president.

[matt1234]

Please add me. I will vote for Santorum, not because he’s perfect, but because he’s the best conservative remaining.

[dforest]

Houston, we have a problem. Rick and other conservatives jumped in this race from the start. What did people do? They put their hearts into people who were never running and trashed those who were. They dismissed conservatives who were willing to put their ass on the line and actually enter the race.

Now, not a damn one of them has a chance because idiots put their money on those who were never going to put their ass on the line.

Now we are stuck.

Good job. We are fools.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Out of those you mention, I’d go with Perry...
I’ve ruled out Willard and HuntsRINO. Even Newt had
some executive experience as Speaker.

I have met and spent time with Santorum when he was
my Senator. He is a decent guy. He couldn’t carry
PA in the end. Is he better than Zero? On many issues,
sure. Can he make the fundamental change needed? No one
knows. If he gets the nomination, I’ll vote for him.
Until then, I’m stuck with Newt (not liking that) or
Perry (hasn’t debated well and I disagree on some
issues, but agree on others).

Personally, I’m not convinced Rick has prepared for
the big seat...

[Crichton]

But if he can’t, all he can do (along with Bachmann) is split the conservative vote, guaranteeing that our choice in this election is Gingrich or Romney.

The race is still in its infancy. There is strong potential that this will drag out state after state after state...

[knarf]

If he’ll bring Sarah on as VEEP ... y’got ME.

[who knows what evil?]

All his children were home-schooled? Another major plus, IMO.

[JohnBovenmyer]

Executive experience?......What’s Rick got in this category?

Something even better. He actually got the US Senate to work for our side while he was there! He got the House working earlier. Can you name anyone else, live or dead, running or not, who can claim the same. Even Jim DeMint can only claim to have been a good brake on the left. If we win the WH we'll almost certainly win the Senate and hold the House, as the deck is stacked against the left. But getting to 60 in the Senate is a longshot. Expect Dingy Harry to dig in and try to block everything. We need someone who knows how to get things done in the Senate. And that doesn't mean caving to the left! And if Obama want to run on 'executive experience,' given his record pre- and post-2008, Rick can laugh him out of the WH.

[RIRed]

Can’t win? His record in PA elections is 4-1.

The one loss came in a Dem. year to the son of a political legend in the state. Two of the wins were against Dem. incumbents. All of the wins came in a blue state.

[Antoninus]

Now we are stuck. Good job. We are fools.

Way to be positive. I guess we should just hang ourselves now, eh?

[lightman]

Put me on the ping list, please.

I have had the highest respect for my former Senator.

In the summer of 2006 it was obvious that he would be defeated, in part because of the ignorance of the Pennsylvania electorate who (rightly) detested all incumbents because the state legistlature had enacted a massive pay increase for themselves in the wee hours of the morning at the close of the fiscal year—the electorate wrongly confused this US Senator with their State Senators. The other part of Senator Santorum’s defeat was the name recoginition accorded to Robert Casey, Jr., who lacks the pro-life convictions of his late father.

Senator Santorum was willing to give me a significant amount of time after he had spoken at a conference, in which we talked about the above, and I was able to thank him for consistent efforts for the very least among us: Those yet to be born.

[Antoninus]

Santorum could possibly catch fire, but I doubt it. Perry on the other hand already proved he could catch fire, and while he’s only embers now, you can re-ignite them.

It is a quandry, I'll admit. I like Perry, but his position on illegal immigration and his inability to string a few sentences together off the cuff has left him a dead duck. I honestly don't think he's got any upside left despite his campaign coffers. As Mitt Romney proved last time around, money ain't enough to buy the nomination.

In my opinion, our best hope is to coalesce around Santorum. Of all the Not Romneys left standing, he's the the most solidly conservative.

[Psalm 73]

"Aside from the insane decision of supporting Arlen Specter over Pat Toomey,"

The Machine preferred Specter, (W and the RNC) which should have at least earned Santorem some "points" - apparently not. Hopefully that's the last time Rick chooses the path of least resistance over the right choice.
I like Santorem, just wish he was a less stiff and more firey like Michelle Bachmann (my choice).

[RIRed]

I’m in.

[Steelfish]

Romney would be an unmitigated disaster. Gingrich is bold, and assertive but the question in everyone’s mind is whether he is electable in the general. If we need a fresh face, someone with less baggage, telegenic like Reagan, who can be assured of the evangelical vote and is capable of picking up the crucial female 29-49 demographic, it is hard to pass up Santorum as the last one who is both conservative and viable. Santorum himself makes this point in doing the rounds in Iowa that we have the establishment candidates (Romney, Perry and Gingrich),the libertarian in Ron Paul, and then the true conservatives in him and Bachmann. If Santorum fails to make it, then either Gingrich or Perry is the preferred choice of those of us who believe in a 180 degree reversal of the Obama policies, foreign and domestic.

[Brian Kopp DPM]

Please add me to the list. Its very late to get him to the top, but there simply are no other mainstream GOP candidates worth considering who are still standing at this point.

I will not vote for Romney. Period.

The only way I could hold my nose and vote for Newt is if Santorum was his VP.

Otherwise, I will not be voting GOP this election.

[Third Person]

Please add me to the ping list.

[Antoninus]

I will not vote for Romney. Period. The only way I could hold my nose and vote for Newt is if Santorum was his VP.

Agreed, Doc, though I think I could convince myself to pull the lever for Newt as long as his VP wasn't a RINO squish.

[Timber Rattler]

Please add me.

[geologist]

I agree ... he is probably the best, I really do believe so.

My Opinion he needs to be fired up a bit more and show he has a fire in the belly for helping America return to a sound sane sensible ground of being.

Otherwise he is safe, sane, bland, and perhaps even a bit boring. It is very hard to gain an American audiences attention, and hold that attention. Voters are insatiable with their desires in one person.

Father God, help America to choose the man or woman thou knows is best for America at this time and bless this man or woman to do the job of being President of the United States, of America, in Jesus name, amen.

[curmudgeonII]

Here’s one more for your list.