Rick Santorum Resets the Race: Wins Missouri, Minnesota, Colorado and a Path to the Nomination
As I finish this piece, the results in Colorado look very promising for Rick Santorum
The real story was the magnitude of what happened in this extraordinary vote. Not only did Rick Santorum win the Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado showdowns, but he did so decisively. Tuesday night the inevitability balloon of a Romney candidacy exploded. Rick Santorum has just pulled off an historic political upset and the Republican primary race has been completely reset.
Presidential candidate Rick Santorum
PrintST. LOUIS,MO (Catholic Online) - After thanking God for the grace to persevere and his wife Karen for being a source of strength, "a rock", the grandson of the Italian Immigrant Coalminer from Pennsylvania gave an unscripted speech filled with gratitude and gravel on Tuesday evening.
He expressed his gratitude to the people who stood with him in this amazing campaign; his family, friends and supporters. He thanked those who defend the vision of freedom proclaimed by the American founders. He called us all to insist on preserving and revitalizing its promise for the next generation.
He also revealed what I call his "gravel", his willingness to fight those who do not listen to the voice of the people; those who perceive that they know better, like President Obama. This was the populist blue collar Republican candidate speaking tonight; refreshing in a Party which is being set up to be led by a candidate routinely called the monopoly man by his opponents in the Democratic establishment.
I know Rick Santorum. He is an eloquent public speaker. He can bring a crowd soaring into inspiration when he wants to do so. Not tonight. Tonight, he reminded me more of Rocky Balboa, in Rocky II, after he won the rematch with Apollo Creed.
I know he has a cold. It was obvious in his carriage and his voice. He has also faced extraordinary difficulties these past weeks with the health concerns over his little daughter Bella. All of this comes on top of the rough and tumble of the campaign trail.
However, it seemed to me, after hearing the speech, it was exactly the kind of speech the American people needed to hear from this down to earth candidate for the Presidency of the United States. There is not an ounce of pomp or pretense in this man from Butler County, Pennsylvania. He really is one of us - and he really does hear our voice.
He barely touched the basics of his compelling message of freedom. He did speak of the need to be free from an overly federalized administration which "thinks it knows better". He signaled he is in this to take on Barack Obama, saying, "I don't stand here and claim to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama".
He called out the Obama administration for its violation of the fundamental right to religious liberty in its treatment of the Catholic Church in its recent unconstitutional mandate. He made it clear - this is only one example of its failure to respect the fundamental rights endowed upon us by our Creator - not given to us by Government. He made an important point, when the Government purports to give us "rights" it always takes away our freedom.
However, the real story of the evening was the magnitude of what happened in this extraordinary vote. Not only did Rick Santorum win both the Missouri and the Minnesota showdowns, he did so with a huge lead over the establishment's handpicked favorite, Mitt Romney. Tuesday night the inevitability balloon of the Romney candidacy exploded. The victory in Colorado simply sweetened the entire experience and sent the strong signal that Rick Santorum is on the ascent.
The political "left" knows that Rick Santorum is a formidable candidate from a working class family. Further, as his recent debate performances have demonstrated more than the speech this evening, they also know he is a formidable communicator and does not need a teleprompter.
They know he possesses the courage needed for the upcoming contest with President Barack Obama. That is why they deride him so viciously. He threatens them. They have thrown everything they can at him. For example, they attempted to make his defense of the Right to Life of all persons, including children in the womb, sound extreme. It is not. They have failed. He has also shown himself to be a full spectrum candidate, ready to debate every issue.
Some within the Republican establishment like Rick Santorum's economic conservatism. However, they are uncomfortable with his moral coherence. His talk about protecting human life from conception through natural death and his defense of marriage and the family and society founded upon it... doesn't make for comfortable conversation at the country club. They have routinely discounted his chances and used condescending language concerning his candidacy. That ended this evening.
I am one of a large group of Americans who are tired of the Republican establishment picking the nominee of the Party. I am a "Reluctant Republican". I have no other choice. I left the Democratic Party when the opponents of the fundamental human right to life took control of the leadership of that Party and turned it upside down.
I grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts in a working ...
Rate This Article
1 - 10 of 53 Comments
Leave a Comment
More Politics & Policy News
- Special Report from the Virginia Republican Nominating Convention: A Time To Choose - Life
- Carney still insists nobody told Obama about IRS investigation
- State Department insider warns more whistle-blowers to come on Benghazi scandal
- Hillary better be prepared, House Oversight and Government Reform chairman Darrell Issa says
- E.W. Jackson Wins Nomination as Republican Candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
- 'Planned Parenthood has been far more lethal to black lives than the KKK ever was!' Virginia GOP nominee says
- Food stamps hang in the balance as lawmakers debate cost
- News to ruin your morning: IRS official who targeted conservatives for audit now oversees your Obamacare compliance
- Culture of Corruption, Obama pays Sarah Ingram extra for her harassment of conservatives
Featured News
- Fr. Paul Schenck: Finding Living Faith on Catechetical Sunday
- The Movie Yellow: Incest as 'Normal' and Cassavates's Slides Into the World of Woes
- The Chicago School Teachers Strike Reveals the Need For School Choice
- The Sexual Barbarians and the Dissolution of Culture
- The Happy Priest Challenges Us to Ask: Who is Jesus to Me?
- Michael Coren on Canadian Public Schools: Teachers, leave those kids alone
- We Cannot Ignore Our Consciences: Cardinal Dolan On Religious Liberty
- In the Face of Danger, Successor of Peter Travels to Lebanon as a Messenger of Peace
- Reflections on the Dignity and Vocation of Women: Who or What?
Most Popular
There's the problem! Americans are out of touch with scientific consensus on climate change Read More
Editorial: Is the Scandal Ridden Obama Administration Becoming a House of Cards? Read More
Sex In Uniform: Why the Increase in Sexual Assaults in the Military? Read More
Bill Donohue, Catholic League, Disclose Fight with the IRS, Demonstrate Courage Read More
Has the Internal Revenue Service become 'Domestic Terrorists'? Read More
Daily Readings
Reading 1, Sirach 2:1-11
My child, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for ... Read More
Psalm, Psalms 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40
Put your trust in Yahweh and do right, make your home in the ... Read More
Gospel, Mark 9:30-37
After leaving that place they made their way through Galilee; ... Read More
Saint of the Day
St. Eugene de Mazenod
May 21: Eugene de Mazenod was born on August 1, 1782, at Aix-en-Provence ... Read More
Latest Videos
Catholic Mass from the Church of Ste. Genevieve (5/19/13) View Video
'Salve Virginale'- Gregorian Chant;'Fontgombault Abbey' HD View Video
'Salve Virginale'- Gregorian Chant;'Fontgombault Abbey' HD View Video
'Beata viscera Mariae'- Byrd-polyphony (HD) View Video
Learning about Gregorian Chant~ Solesmes View Video
Marketplace
Our Lady of the Outfield
Our lady of the Outfield is intelligent, fun and moving, and is also ... Read More
Virgin Mary Opencut Vintage Silver Medal on 18" sterling silver rolo chain Read More
vance
You make me chuckle and yes Im aware of what you say but they dont bother me one eye-outta. I think if enough people spoke up to their Congressmen and did great simple business practices as best they could you would have to worry about these greedy wall streeters. You dont have to have a lot of money to understand whats going on. They can be fought. One thing we have on our side is a beautiful King of Kings who knows exactly whats going on and He is in charge of it all. I put my trust in Him and I bug my politicians in my state. Its the highlight of my life and its free but its been paid for free. I do tribute to those who died for my freedom by bugging these people in Washington every chance I get. God Bless.
vance, in case you haven't paid attention, wall street has been bankrolling everyone's campaign's. There is no shortage of billionaire conservatives who are neck deep in campaign contributions. Does no good to whine about it. They know they call the shots and they win regardless of whose in office.
JeanCatherine, those greedy Wall Streeters are Liberals the same as Warren Buffett. Wall Street gave over a million dollars to Obama's 2008 campaign. We have Billionaire Marxists like George Soros funding Occupy Wall Street and we have Obama giving out hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to his Wall Street 'Bundlers' who he knew were going bankrupt. What we are watching is a Marxist Circus with Billionaire Liberal Clowns throwing stones at the rich. Their stooge followers eat that up like ice cream but the folks with an ounce of intelligence know that the "Rich" is you and me who they want to soak. I wish I could make the high five digits that Buffett's secretary makes.
Go Santorum! I love the first part of your name--"Santo". God be with you. God bless America! To those of you who worry about the economics of our Country...I believe if you put God first and live with protecting all Life from conception to natural death-- all the other problems will work out for good also...God will see to that. God has more money than all the debt of the United States. Yes, yes Santorum!
The question was asked of a commenter to this article; "How about naming your "perfect" candidate" (I know it was directed to you, Rob, but I hope you don't mind if I field it). My short answer as to who the perfect candidate would be is that person who would rigorously follow the Constitution. But I also have someone in mind who, if he were alive and a U.S. citizen, I would promote as THE "perfect candidate" needed for our times. He had much to say on the subject of government and economics. Here are some of his thoughts: "The law is justice - simple and clear, precise and bounded. Every eye can see it, and every mind can grasp it; for justice is measurable, immutable, and unchangeable. Justice is neither more than this nor less than this. If you exceed this proper limit - if you attempt to make the law religious, fraternal, equalizing, philanthropic, industrial, literary, or artistic - you will then be lost in an uncharted territory, in vagueness and uncertainty, in a forced utopia or, even worse, in a multitude of utopias, each striving to seize the law and impose it upon you. This is true because fraternity and philanthropy, unlike justice, do not have precise limits. Once started, where will you stop? And where will the law stop itself? /// And does not experience prove this? Look at the entire world. Which countries contain the most peaceful, the most moral, and the happiest people? Those people are found in the countries where the law least interferes with private affairs, where government is least felt; where the individual has the greatest scope, and free opinion the greatest influence, where administrative powers are fewest and simplest; where taxes are lightest and most nearly equal, and popular discontent the least excited and the least justifiable; where individuals and groups most actively assume their responsibilities, and, consequently, where the morals of admittedly imperfect human beings are constantly improving; where trade, assemblies, and associations are the least restricted; where labor, capital, and populations suffer the fewest forced displacements; where mankind most nearly follows its own natural inclinations, where the inventions of men are most nearly in harmony with the laws of God; in short, the happiest, most moral, and most perfect people are those who most nearly follow this principle: Although mankind is not perfect, still, all hope rests upon the free and voluntary actions of persons within the limits of right; law or force is to be used for nothing except the administration of universal justice." /// The individual behind those words was Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850); and they are from his very short book, "The Law." He ended that magnificently clear and simple treatise with these words: "God has given to men all that is necessary to accomplish their destinies. He has provided a social form as well as a human form. And these social organs of persons are so constituted that they will develop themselves harmoniously in the clean air of liberty. Away, then, with quacks and organizers! ... Away with their artificial systems! Away with the whims of governmental administrators, their socialized projects, their centralization, their tariffs, their government schools, their state religions, their free credit, their bank monopolies, their regulations, their restrictions, their equalization by taxation, and their pious moralizations! // And now that the legislators and do-gooders have so futilely inflicted so many systems upon society, may they finally end where they should have begun: May they REJECT ALL SYSTEMS and TRY LIBERTY; for liberty is an acknowledgment of faith in God and His works." /// LIBERTY - "an acknowledgment of faith in God." ......... My "perfect candidate" is that person who most closely agitates for these principles of law and government penned by Bastiat over 160 years ago. And in particular, these words --- TRY LIBERTY!
Pete, you post is spot on. It makes me think of a statement Santorum made that I love. He stated that the family was the first economy. Now the question is if he is ready to back that up? Will we ever have a politician that actually looks at the men and women in this country and values them over the interest of big business, big banks and party platforms. I think that was part of the appeal of Obama. I think he promised to move us to a different place. Unfortunately just more status quo with the exception of this attack on the church. I guess I'm still looking looking for a politician who will value us more than the rich and powerful of this country. They have been catered to long enough and just maybe it's time to level the playing field again? Sadly, the only person that I believe what he says is Ron Paul. I could believe the others if it were not for their records.
Rob
To be quite honest with you. Ive been through one blip in the economy in 1985 and I think that might have been a point when things just started. It was not a good year but we bounced back.
To be quite honest with you I think its going to take a miracle to get us back on track again.
I know the 2nd movie Wall Street is just a movie but one thing struck me as funny. Michael Douglas character actually says that after he was sent to prison and gets out states we were greedy but things have gotten greedier in 10 years.
Interesting thought but one thing I have to say is the Holy Father may have one thing right. We may have to get ethics back in business.
I dont know who will be a good President but one must give the best person the best chance.
After going through several Presidents I think we have been spiralling to this point and we may have to struggle even more to get back on track.
Going to take a lot of sacrifice I think. Lets hope whoever gets in is willing to see the answers we will need now and in the future. Lets hope were not greedier.
Judy, Judy, Judy, I'm not sure how many times I have to repeat this. I didn't vote for Obama, but you are correct, I do have the liberty to vote for whomever I choose. Between the life issue and his inexperience, I just could not do it, even though I felt that McCain had really dropped the ball with the Palin gimmick. And I think many of you construe my posts to be somewhat defensive of Obama. If demanding more from the party I'm forced to vote for makes me somewhat supportive of Obama, so be it. Truth be told, because conservatives have stopped looking at their own with a critical eye is half the reason we are in this mess. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that most conservatives don't care who is elected so long as Obama isn't. While I understand this desire, it does not bode well for the country if the wrong person is chosen. It pains me to look at Santorum and realize that from a soical values position he is spot on, but his voting record as a Senator has some really terrible things in it that I want him to explain. I'm not sure he has read the ACA in regards to his healthcare plan and his economic policies are platitudes at best. Working in healthcare and having just gone to a large, national healthcare forum, Santorum's policies ranked at the bottom of the running candidates. His economic policies only ranked above Ron Paul. But again, if I'm going to vet my candidates hard and that get's me chastised as an Obama supporter so be it. As for the book, bought it and read it the first weekend it came out. Great book.
First, an observation, "talk is cheap." Second, there should not be one Catholic who doesn't make being "pro-life" and anti-"choice" the first criteria that a candidate should meet. But, then what? I'd like to put forth a humble suggestion. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 2431: "The responsibility of the state - Economic activity, especially the activity of a market economy, cannot be conducted in an institutional, juridical, or political vacuum. On the contrary, it presupposes sure guarantees of individual freedom and private property, as well as a stable currency and efficient public services. Hence the principal task of the state is to guarantee this security, so that those who work and produce can enjoy the fruits of their labors and thus feel encouraged to work efficiently and honestly... Another task of the state is that of overseeing and directing the exercise of human rights in the economic sector. However, primary responsibility in this area belongs not to the state but to individuals and to the various groups and associations which make up society." /// Two concepts in this passage deserve more discernment than they typically get. They are "market economy" and "stable currency." Some would presuppose that the Church is calling for an overtly strenuous "regulation" of the market. It is not. Notice the very next sentence in the above passage: "On the contrary, it presupposes sure guarantees of individual freedom and private property." Guarantees are hard to come by in the vagaries of a true "free market." The guarantee advocated here is the "free exercise" of one's abilities, constrained primarily by the moral dictates laid upon our individual and collective consciences by God. What about a "stable currency?" It is the one concept that deserves far more of our attention than the short shrift it normally gets. Stable currency? What does that mean? It means that the value of the "money" used to facilitate everyday commerce remains predominately constant over a long period of time. How long? Well, the Spanish Scholastic, Dominican Father Tomas De Mercado (1500-1575) wrote: "It is for this reason that Aristotle says that among the stable and durable things that a republic ought to have is a currency valued at the same price, if possible, for twenty generations." Now THAT'S a long time. What can we say of our own dollar? Well, in the one hundred years since the creation of the Federal Reserve (3-4 generations) the dollar is TODAY less than a nickel of what it was worth in 1913. What was once $1.00 has been DEVALUED to 5 Cents! If that devaluation happened overnight you would instantaneously know just how bad devaluation or inflating the currency is. That it has happened over a hundred years is a bit like what happens to the frog who enjoys the "warm bath" until it is too late and is boiled to death. The metaphor is not wasted on our current economic condition. Why has the Federal Reserve devalued our currency through the iniquitous act of "inflation?" Centuries ago another Spanish Scholastic, Jesuit Father Juan de Mariana (1535-1624), provided the answer: "He asks for counsel and receives... the iniquitous and equally useless suggestion of altering the value of money... Can you imagine any more easily executed or faster means of extracting the prince from his terrible plight (of excessive spending)?... A nation, a prince, should never act against justice. Such means, considered from every perspective, are and always will be plunder." Is it a bad thing, devaluating the currency, inflation? It is "plunder." And that is otherwise known as "theft." Quite a few commenters to this article speak of the need for morality in the politics of our government. I will end by noting that the Catechism passage I quoted, CCC 2431, is in that section of the Catechism devoted to the Seventh Commandment. To the Federal Reserve we should say, by ENDING that iniquitous institution, "YOU shall not steal!
Theresa H, while I can appreicate the fact that due to age these folks would have "paid in" for a lifetime, again, I have to say so what? These Americans are just as culpable as the rest of us for allowing this government to get out of control. And pandering to this group is no different than pandering to a union or some of special interest group. If health care savings account are such a good deal, then every single citizen should be asked to be a part of them. Medicare should change tomorrow for everyone or we figure out a way to pay for it to everyone. If you are 65 today and they raise the age, guess what, you need to work a few more years. Other than pandering for votes, this Ryan plan is a gimmick that puts the social welfare net on the younger generation and hold the largest retirement generation this country has ever seen harmless. How in the world is that conservative? Heck the math doesn't even work on that one. If we can't pay for it today, then we shouldn't have it. We either all carry our wait or we just pretend we are in some phony conservative world.