The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza names Santorum a debate winner:
Santorum isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but for social conservatives looking for someone who is with them on every issue, maybe it is time to read the tealeaves, so to speak. Santorum came across as knowledgeable and credible — two adjectives that any candidate would like to have describe a debate performance."
Why Rick Santorum?With many political pundits clearly stating this is a two horse race between Romney and Perry, We in South Carolina are here to say: Wait just a minute, we have a true conservative in this race that represents South Carolina values, and his name is Rick Santorum. With a proven record of success, he is the real voice of conservatism.
If we had to compare Senator Santorum to anyone in our state, based on policies, principles and a record that is rock solid, you do not have to look very far; the answer is simple… South Carolina's rock star Jim DeMint. Like Senator DeMint, Rick knows what we face and he has the courage to fight for America. The question is: Do the American people have the patience to listen and hear all of the candidates before they decide on a candidate? South Carolina can change the dynamics and have a true voice in this race.
Of course we already know President Obama has crushed the will of the American people. Our Country is at the brink of economic collapse, we cannot afford another 4 years of Obama-nomics.
The United States under the Obama administration faces a crushing national debt; government run healthcare and a failed stimulus that was suppose to get us out of a recession. Many American families are losing their homes, jobs and all of their retirement savings. Not to mention spending our grandchildren’s money.
Fuel, food and education prices have skyrocketed. Family values, traditional marriage and the unborn have been targets of the liberal left and our country will see a major shift in the Supreme Court if we do not get back to the basics. To do this we must elect a conservative candidate with principled leadership with a true faith in God. Sadly, many in this nation have stepped back from our principles and use God only when convenient for their next conquest. Our country is under siege and we need real conservative leadership to save us from the Obama Blues. You will find that Rick Santorum is firm in his beliefs.
Rick Santorum’s approach is simple and has been the American way since our founding fathers. It is smaller government, lower taxes and a strong economy. We have got to crush government intrusion in our lives. We must "Fortify Our Freedom” and live free without fear of retribution.
Rick Santorum knows this and believes in America and has the courage to fight for us, please take the time to learn where Rick stands, then get out and tell friends about his campaign. Let’s change the way we approach politics, give it back to the people; let them decide who the best candidate is. Do not allow the media to decide who our next leader will be, look at the last President, the media decided that win. We are all paying for it and the bill doesn’t stop here, it is carried forth to our future generation.
Below are just a few highlights from last night’s debate. I urge you to go listen to Senator Santorum. If he is in your area, make every effort to attend; find out where he stands on issues, most importantly, ask questions and get involved. This is a most crucial time in all of our lives, no matter our ages.
Lower income and welfare: "There is no one in the United States Senate who did more to work on poverty than Rick Santorum. Rick Santorum pushed and passed the welfare reform bill in the 1990s. "We didn’t pass it to cut money, we didn’t pass it to punish anybody, we changed the welfare system because it was punishing people…it was creating a culture of dependency and we went out and talked to the American public and said trust us to end this federal entitlement, put a work requirement in place, put a time limit on welfare…and we will transform it from a dependency system to a transitional system."
Santorum says entitlement programs are a culture of dependency. When he was in the Senate he led the charge to change entitlement programs and authored a welfare reform bill. Leadership you can trust!
Immigration: Santorum discussed the need to encourage immigration legally: "We have to have a program that says if you're going to come to this country; come according to the rules, it's a good first step, that the first thing you do here is a legal act, not an illegal act."
During a question on Libya, he spoke most passionately "The bottom line is that Ronald Reagan was committed to America being a force for good around the world…we believe we can spread our vision to the rest of the world and make this country safer as a result of it," he said. He also slammed President Obama’s handling of Libya Wednesday night; saying the Obama administration is “confused.”
Jobs: Rick Santorum touts his Jobs plan as the one that can get passed with bi-partisan support. He says we need someone that can get things done and he is the man for the job
Santorum was asked about homeland security but he changed the direction of this question and took it back to a question a about Texas Gov. Rick Perry's executive order that all teenage girls receive the HPV-vaccine. Santorum says parental rights are more important then states rights when it comes to Gardasil HPC vaccine. We should never use an executive order for a decision like this. You can't call yourself a conservative and then use the heavy hand of government against America's parents
"I would expect this from President Obama, not from someone who is calling himself a conservative governor."
