In the Wake of the Florida Fiasco, Time to Consider Bella Santorum's Dad, Rick

By Keith A. Fournier
2/2/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Could the candidate left in the field be the one who is chosen to oppose the 1 Billion Dollar Presidential campaign of Barack Obama?

While "Mitt" and "Newt" were wresting in the mud (and lest there be any doubt, I favored Newt in that match) Presidential candidate Rick Santorum went home to care for his beautiful daughter Bella. She had been hospitalized and was in a critical condition. The very act of his leaving the campaign when the pundit class was interpreting his exit as a sign of his demise, reveals the character of this good man. It speaks loudly as to why he should be seriously reconsidered in this hotly contested Republican primary. This race is far from over.

Rick Santorum and his daughter Bella on the campaign trail

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JACKSONVILLE, FL. (Catholic Online) - Like millions, I am watching the returns this evening. I will also watch all of the "experts" parse every possible statistical analysis of the poll results. However, the pundits and pontificators already called the Florida primary long ago. Mitt Romney won. I choose to address a real story and not a foregone conclusion.

While Mitt Romney "carpet-bombed" Newt Gingrich with merciless attacks; while Newt Gingrich succumbed to the temptation to respond with similar efforts, one candidate demonstrated the singularly most important trait we need in a President: character. His name is Rick Santorum, Bella's Dad.

There was a book of essays on Presidential leadership written in 1996 entitled "Character Above All" The book contained an excellent essay by Peggy Noonan on Ronald Reagan. Peggy is one of our nation's finest writers.

Ronald Reagan was the last presidential candidate who was able to reach across our growing divisions and bring us together. He taught us how to hope again. Peggy Noonan's words concerning Ronald Reagan, though written over ten years ago, are worth reflecting upon in the 2012 campaign:

"In a president, character is everything. A president doesn't have to be brilliant; Harry Truman wasn't brilliant, and he helped save Western Europe from Stalin. He doesn't have to be clever; you can hire clever. White Houses are always full of quick-witted people with ready advice on how to flip a senator or implement a strategy. You can hire pragmatic, and you can buy and bring in policy wonks.

"But you can't buy courage and decency; you can't rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring those things with him. If he does, they will give meaning and animation to the great practical requirement of the presidency: He must know why he's there and what he wants to do. He has to have thought it through. He needs to have, in that much maligned word, but a good one nontheless, a vision of the future he wishes to create. This is a function of thinking, of the mind, the brain.

"But a vision is worth little if a president doesn't have the character--the courage and heart--to see it through.... (Reagan) had the vision. Did he have the courage without which it would be nothing but a poignant dream? Yes. At the core of Reagan's character was courage, a courage that was, simply, natural to him, a courage that was ultimately contagious. When people say President Reagan brought back our spirit and our sense of optimism, I think what they are saying in part is, the whole country caught his courage."

People like me, "former" Democrats, were inspired by the courage, character and manner of Ronald Reagan. His was the kind of "conservatism" which made sense to people like us - who never thought we were "conservatives". He was real, honest and quintessentially American. He moved our hearts and made us want to be better. He helped us remember that we could.

We were not then - and are not now - comfortable with the "Nelson Rockefeller" blue blood image of the old Republican Party. Sadly, the image seems to be at work again in the coronation effort of the Republican establishment in Florida. The polls are closed and the results reveal that carpet-bombing your candidate with offensive, mean spirited and unfair missives still works, at least in the short term.

Sadly, this Republican primary has degenerated into a brawl. It just seems to get worse - at least between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. Many people like me who are following this campaign are eager to replace the current occupant of the White House for many vital reasons. However, we do not want the "establishment" candidate for many reasons.

We are concerned for the poor and disadvantaged. However, we have learned that big government does a horrible job of providing care for them and that collectivism - be it of the right or the left - is anything but the solution. We want a candidate who speaks of opening up economic participation in the American dream to as many as possible; one who recognizes that the market was made for man - and not man for the market. One who actually cares about such things as the loss of manufacturing jobs.

Though we are not fans of overly federalized and bloated centralized government, the "States Rights" mantra being espoused by the Republican establishment candidate scares us. Bull Connor's evil was not that long ago. It deeply disturbs us to hear candidates assert that if some States decide that an entire class of human persons has no fundamental human right to life it is "O.K." It is NOT "O.K."

The Right to Life is a fundamental human right, endowed upon us by the Creator. The idea, as espoused by the establishment Republican candidate that the decision ...

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1 - 10 of 18 Comments

David D.
1 year ago
God never fails to answer our prayers. Yet we must accept the fact that His answer may be, "Yes", "No", or "Not yet". And He answers in His time ... not ours. If Rick Santorum is the candidate who best reflects our Faith and our philosophy, if he is the man who can and will lead this Country out of the current economic and cultural morass in which it is now wallowing, don't we owe it to ourselves, and more important, don't we owe it to God, to support his candidacy with all our strength, all our minds, all our hearts? Remember the basic five non-negotiable issues that we as Catholics embrace ... we stand against abortion, against euthanasia, against fetal stem-cell research, against human cloning, and against same-sex marriage. We stand against them for a reason. Because they concern actions that are ALWAYS morally wrong and must never be promoted by law. No candidate who truly wants to advance the common good will support any of these. Yes, there are issues regarding the economy, foreign affairs, the environment, and a slew of others that do not seem to be addressed in, and often appear to dwarf the essential importance of, those five basics, but in reality they are. If our leaders have no regard for human dignity, the sanctity of life, if they arrogantly eschew the significance that the most basic social unit - the family - has played in the success achieved by this Nation over the last two-hundred some odd years, if they are not faithful in these seemingly 'little' things, then how can we expect them to be faithful in the big things? We can't, and they won't be! Santorum stands firmly with us on these issues. He is led by his Faith and will lead by it. Does he have the proverbial "snow balls' chance" to win the nomination as the Republican Party's candidate? To that question I can only answer that with our support and through our prayers, perhaps, if it God's will, he can. But without them, defniitely not. Without sowing, there can be no harvest. Pray for Rick and his family (Bella is a beautiful gift from God!). Pray for her healing and comfort, for his strength to stay the course, for confidence, for wisdom, for an awakening in this Country to what is right, what is truly just, what is essential. For conversion among those who oppose the sovereign reign of God, who reject His love, and who show such disdain for the sacrifice of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jamie B
1 year ago
Rick Santorum is the only one who will make the campaign be about the issues.

If Romney is the nominee, the campaign will be about "Rich Romney vs. 'the 99%'".
If Newt is the nominee, the campaign will be about, well, everything Newt carries with him. (Do we want a First Lady who's the 3rd and quite likely not a lady?)

Obama will have a field day with either of these two. Neither will be able to fight him on Obamacare or on the myth of man-made global warming/climate change.

But Santorum would make the campaign about the issues: the bailouts, Obamacare, cap & trade... the list goes on!
And making the campaign about the issues means that the Representatives and Senators can also run on the issues, and not on whether they want to be seen with the nominee. (Can you picture anyone running for Congress wanting to share the stage with Newt Gingrich? What about a Congressional nominee being nagged by Occupiers because Mitt will be in town?)

Santorum is the only one who can keep the campaign about the failures of the past 3 years, while also being able to point to the good he did during the 90s and early 2000s - Newt's only claim to fame.
John D
1 year ago
Grimes, let me connect the dots for you. By your past posts you have given me the general impression that you have lumped the pro-life people who frequent this web site in with extreme right wingers. Also, you seem to take a perverse pleasure in denegrating those who are abhored by our government's pro-abortion stance. This is simple: are you pro-life or not?
John Grimes
1 year ago
John D: Nothing you say has anything at all to do with what I said, but talking past each other seems to be an art form right-wing yahoos have perfected of late. I am as aware as you of everything you mention in your tirade, just perplexed as to why exactly you are mentioning them here. One thing is clear, though, you understand something many others who bother with this site do not: Rick Santorum hasn't now and never did have any chance whatsoever of winning the Republican nomination, not this year, not any. Mitt Romney will be the GOP candidate, and he will have an uphill struggle against our very disappointing president, Mr. Obama. Why? Well for one thing because he will be the standard bearer of a political party chock full of kooks and vicious reactionaries. How he will satisfy this gang of lunatics and still triumph in the general election escapes me at the moment.
Brother Luke
1 year ago
He's a father ---- doing what millions of other fathers do EVERY day and that is good.

Is he a "good man" for governing our Country? In my opinion, no. He caters to only a certain group in our Great Country --- there are many, many other groups that should also be included in a candidate's dream for America.

We need a President who will put ALL Americans first and his personal religious beliefs aside -- not all of us agree with the conservative religious views he holds.

Just for info, I am a vowed relgious brother --- and in My Father's Home there are many mansions, not just one for the far right of our faith.

Brother Luke
Rob
1 year ago
Deacon, I don't doubt your assessment of Rick Santorum's character. I'm glad to see he has his priorities straight and am espeicially glad his little one is ok. But I think one element that Reagan had was the courage to stand against his own party. He did it time and time again on a multidude of issues, particularly taxes. While I don't doubt Santorum's sincerity in regards to the working man and manufacturing, I am saddened that the policies he's advancing will do virtually nothing to bring jobs back to the US. We cannot compete with the wage rates and working conditions that the Chinese are willing to put up with and nor should we. Steve Jobs said it best, those jobs are not coming back and a policy that just lowers a tax rate isn't enough to do it. I love Santorum's comment about the family being the first economy, but how in the world can we protect this first family if the party is unwilling to reverse the deregulation hey day in the financial services sector? The Obama administration has been a revolving door for Wall Street executives that began in the Bush administration. If he is silent on this, how can we ensure that the "first economy" isn't going to be brought down again by the greed of those in finance? Lastly, his proposals (Ryan Plan) on entitlement reform just don't fly with me. The main sticking point is this cut off at 55. What this basically tells me and others like me who are under 55 is that this is nothing more than a political ploy realizing that the elderly vote. Their benefits will remain unchanged, but all of us under 55 will have benefits slashed and in return get to pay for those whose benefits are left untouched. I acknowledge that we all are going to have to take a hit on the chin. But leaving the baby boomer generation virtually untouched when it's that generation that will create the greatest strain on the system is not fair and honestly I don't think is very conservative. We are all on this ship together and we must all pay the price for allowing our government to get so out of control. I am not sure how younger people are supposed to adequately prepare for their futures when they are forced to pay for the retirement and healthcare of those currently receiving benefits. I'm not sure how conservative seniors are ok with this given all our talk about ensuring the properity of the younger generations? I need a lot more elaboration from Santorum before I can support him. Character matters...a lot, but so do policies and records. Folks may hate Obama, but they hate the House more and given this mess of a race thus far, the GOP may be in a lot of trouble.
Larry Makoski
1 year ago
To John Grimes:

To quote Ronal Reagan:

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so".
John D
1 year ago
Mr. Grimes, are you aware that since 1973, by Planned Parenthood's own numbers, there's been over 50 million abortions in the USA alone? Do you care? Are you aware of the severe economic problems facing Greece and the rest of Europe due to their extraordinarily low birthrates? By now, the economic consequences of aborting and contracepting future generations out of existence should be painfully obvious, but sadly, it's not. Foolish, uninformed comments from people like you (and media like the Washington Post) help sustain the ignorance. That's why a guy like Santoum doesn't stand a chance.
Bulbajer
1 year ago
It's good to see that she's alright.
techwreck
1 year ago
Santorum can't defeat Obama. That ends the discussion.

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