'We Did it Again!' Santorum Takes the South. Blue Collar Beats Blue Blood

By Keith A Fournier
3/14/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

As the evening began, the pundit class gave the former Senator from Pennsylvania little chance of winning either State

This grandson of a coalminer, from a working class family from the coal and steel country of Pennsylvania has now done what no one thought was possible. He has blown this Republican primary race wide open. Not only is this going to be an exciting race, it will determine the future of the Republican Party. NBC was the first to call the Alabama race. Rick Santorum won with a wide margin, against all odds. One of the MSNBC commentators noted the trend toward the candidate surged as the hour got later because "working class people vote late. They vote after work."

A victorious Rick Santorum addresses a crowd

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CHESAPEAKE, VA. (Catholic Online) - "We did it Again!" With those words, Rick Santorum Spoke to an enthusiastic crowd gathered in Lafayette, Louisiana on Tuesday evening, March 13, 2012. It was an extemporaneous, heartfelt, and inspiring speech which ended in a standing ovation from an enthusiastic crowd. Their energy reflects the momentum of a presidential campaign which is now on fire.

Rick Santorum thanked God, his family and all who had worked hard to bring these extraordinary results about. Let's be honest, political history was made Tuesday evening. The establishment of the Republican Party was shocked. The pundit class has egg on their face. All bets are off in what was predicted to be a Romney nomination, or better put, a Romney coronation.

This grandson of a coalminer, from a working class family, raised in the coal and steel country of Pennsylvania has now done what no one thought was possible. He has blown this Republican Presidential primary race wide open. Not only is this going to be an exciting race, it will determine the future of the Republican Party.

At 10 p.m., NBC was the first to call the Alabama race. Rick Santorum won with a wide margin, against all odds. One of the MSNBC commentators noted the trend toward the candidate surged as the hour got later because "working class people vote late. they vote after work." Later, he won Mississippi.

That theme carried throughout the evening. This was blue collar vs blue blood. The pundits tried all evening to sound intelligent as they attempted to explain the vote. They failed miserably. In his victory speech, Rick Santorum nailed it, "This campaign is about ordinary folks doing extraordinary things, just like America."

As he ended his speech he told his supporters the campaign was about "Free people, a free economy, the integrity of the family and the centrality of faith in our lives". Just as he finished that line, a campaign worker informed the candidate that he had also won Mississippi. The entire room broke into an uproar. FOX news had just called Mississippi for Santorum.

Earlier in the day, Mitt Romney told CNN's Wolf Blitzer "Senator Santorum is at the desperate end of his campaign." Last week, he boasted that it would "take an act of God" for Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich to derail his nomination. Well, it appears that God had a southern strategy this evening. The Rick Santorum for President campaign is anything but desperate.

As the evening began, the pundit class gave the former Senator from Pennsylvania little chance of winning either State. Even Matt Drudge had a headline banner on his aggregator site, "Romney Set for Mississippi Win". It was quickly changed as the evening progressed.

The pundits dissected what they thought were the demographics. They used exit polls in an attempt to call the event. They also provided fodder for their chatter. What became clear as the evening progressed was just how clueless they are about the real America - and how little they understand about the appeal of this candidate. Rick Santorum is the Real Deal. He has taken the South. Blue Collar beat Blue Blood. The Republican Primary Race is on.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Alabama primary, Mississippi primary, Republican primary, election 2012, Keith A Fournier

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1 - 10 of 41 Comments

JoAnn
1 year ago
Pete Brady: You're exactly right. They don't want control, they want dominion. And as long as they can keep people on the "plantation" they will achieve it. And, you're right that 10% CAN make a difference. But that 10% has to wake up, speak up and join forces. As the saying goes "We must hang together or we will surely hang alone." Pete, have you studied George Whitefield? He was the father of the FIRST great awakening. If it weren't for him, there probably wouldn't have been the revolution. He sowed the seed. I have all of Whitefield's sermons. I am praying that we are in the 3rd great awakening but time is running out and our enemy is very well organized. You will see things speed up even more the closer the election gets. Time is running out. The enemy has completed phase one. You will see phase 2 spring up very soon. Possibly in May. It will be during that time that we must win because phase 3 is going to be very, very ugly. If we lose, who knows how long phase 3 will last. Remember the Israelites. They suffered slavery as a purging from God under the Egyptians for 400 yrs. One consolation though, we will win in the end, thanks to God. But that probably will be after you and I are long gone. (at least me) God bless.
Pete Brady
1 year ago
JoAnn and Rob: Thank you for your comments. Old Ben was, as you have observed JoAnn, right on. And over time the American people have conditioned themselves to being "controlled" under the guise of "security," of being made "a little safer." Rob is right on that score. Can it be different? Is there really "no chance" that we can return to real liberty? Yes, we can. But first let's identify what really is being attacked. It is these words: "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." Those two truths. That I will address in reverse order. If we are "endowed by our Creator," how then is that truth gotten around, how is it frustrated? How do certain men turn that truth around, and become the grantor of rights instead of God? It's the backdoor approach. If those rights can be restricted, slowly diminished to the point of no longer being, then in effect government becomes the entity "endowing" rights. Natural rights can be destroyed and artificial rights posited. We see this in our present day condition with what has happened in regard to "life, liberty, and property," and the raising up of a right to "abortion and same-sex marriage," the whole pantheon of sexual liberation "rights." In short, if I can take away rights I, not God, am in effect the grantor of rights. Why is this so important to some men? Because it is just not "control" over other mens' lives that they want. It is "dominion." And the distinction is important. Control can be limited but dominion can not. What stands in the way of dominion? It is that self-evident truth that "all men are created equal." Dominion means that I stand above, I am greater than you the "lesser man." I am entitled to more. And you less, much less. Dominion is gained by getting the people accustomed to surrendering their freedoms. Keep them in fear, fear of terrorism, fear of war, fear of insufficiency, fear of losing their jobs, fear of inflation, fear of a banking collapse, fear of crisis, etc, etc. The only thing they are not meant to fear is government. It can do all things, allay all fears. And yet it is here that we do not recognize that the proffered cure is worse, far worse, than the disease. Here we do not recognize that we are being led to slavery, political and economic. There is security in slavery. In slavery day to day life is very certain. Without "control" over our own individual fates we accept with resigned certainty all that is given to or taken from us. It is an existence of despair. Is that what we want? Can it be different? Is "anyone paying attention?" The great Catholic historian, Hillaire Belloc, noted that it is not necessary for "all" in society to agree on its philosophical underpinnings, only that there need be a "determining number." He would say that the general philosophy at work is the "determining element" of every society. It has been generally found that a determined group, actively involved and constituting as little as 10% of the population, can make the difference. And here we can look to our own American history. Americans generally identify themselves as "Christians." And in 1790 it was no different except that as little as 1 in 10 belonged to a formal church of any sort. Yep, 10% were regular church-goers, 90% were not. How, then, did Alexis de Tocqueville observe and write: "Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more did I perceive the great political consequences resulting from this state of things, to which I was unaccustomed." Or another French traveller, Achille Murat, who wrote: "It must be admitted that looking at the physiognomy of the United States, its religion is the only feature which disgusts a foreigner." They observed this pervasive state of religiosity because their words were written in 1835 and 1833 respectively. Something had changed in the 40 years since 1790. What? It was called the "2nd Great Awakening." At its helm was Charles G. Finney, who preached at "religion camps" or tent revivals in upstate New York with such effect that the Methodists to whom he belonged grew from the smallest of religious sects in 1790 to be the largest denomination in America. In 1780 there were 2000 ministers in America; by 1845 there were 40,000. And by 1840 75% of Americans belonged to a recognized church. People can "pay attention." You must be "determined" to get it.
JoAnn
1 year ago
"Anyone who gives up freedom for security, deserves neither." Benjamin Franklin
Rob
1 year ago
Pete, no chance of anyone paying any attention to that. They have the whole country so freaked out about terrorism and everything Islam that we've become willing to sacrifice our liberties so long as we are "safe." There is no limit to the spending, debt and human life we will sacrifice for our safety.
Pete Brady
1 year ago
I do not diminish the fact that we should be "good stewards" of this earth that God has given us. Nor can I deny that a Marxist agenda is not more probable than not among certain individuals within the EPA. But I do want to ask where these kinds of things fit in the priority of issues before us. Should we not be focused on the fact that our "inalienable rights" are under attack like never before? And not by an enemy "foreign" but by our own government? Here at this Catholic website we are rightfully concerned about the attack on the "inalienable" right to life of the unborn. And that is an issue of the first order. But what about, ALSO, the "inalienable" right to life of those who ARE BORN? The Obama administration has had for well over a year a "hit list" of American citizens that it has designated for assassination. Last year it "assassinated" Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen FAR from a hot combat zone. It "alleged" his terrorist connections. His family sued to halt his potential assassination before the fact and was denied "standing" by the court. NOW, on March 5th Attorney General Holder "announced" the previously closely-held and hushed policy begun under Bush that American citizens CAN BE TARGETED for assassination. The 4th and 5th Amendments under our "Bill of Rights" notwithstanding!!! WHAT MEANS "INALIENABLE?" Due process DOES NOT reside in the well-considered introspection of the President. If it does then we might just as well disavow all knowledge of "checks and balances." And throw out the presumption of innocence until PROVEN guilty. Come on, people. WAKE UP!!! The blood of those fighting for the cause of liberty in our Revolutionary War was not shed opposing the tyranny of a king only to have that same tyranny become enshrined in POTUS. Where is the shock? Where is the horror that such an atrocity as government murder of its own citizens is not REBELLED against by the media, by the citizenry, BY CONGRESS. Why is it that the only presidential candidate to speak out against it is Ron Paul: http://ronpaulflix.com/2012/03/texas-straight-talk-the-demolition-of-due-process-and-the-rule-of-law/? LIFE. LIBERTY. PROPERTY. These are the preeminent "natural" and inalienable rights of man. Defend them. Our Constitution instituted a government to "SECURE" them. For the President of the United States to announce a "policy" counter to the "inalienable rights" proclaimed for all the world to hear in our Declaration of Independence and guaranteed by the Bill of Rights in our Constitution is an IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE that DEMANDS the removal from office of Obama!!!
JoAnn
1 year ago
Vance: "Tricky Dicky" I remember him. I never trusted that man. You are right about the EPA. They either need to have a severe overhaul or eliminated all together. I vote for elimination. Ooops, is "elimination" a hate word? I never was "politically correct." Ha Ha
vance
1 year ago
Bulbajer, The EPA was created by 'Tricky Dick' Nixon during the Watergate Hubbub. He thought that passing this act would buy off his Marxist enemies. This nation got along fine without the EPA before it was enacted and it will get along well after it's gone. Poor people need cheap energy and affordable food and affordable utility bills.
Bulbajer
1 year ago
Vance, the EPA has some serious flaws, but a lot of the regulations it keeps are necessary. Without the EPA, the car companies would be free to make our cars as inefficient as possible. Factories would be allowed to belch smoke into the air unchecked. What does need to change in the EPA is unnecessary regulations. I'm a sentimentalist when it comes to animals, but if the unfortunate demise of a species or group of lower-order animals is necessary for people to keep on making a living, then the species should not be protected. People come first, and that's something that the animal rights movement, caught up in pointing out the many cases of animal cruelty, refuses to admit.
Vance
1 year ago
Bulbajer, I too love nature probably more than any liberal. But The Marxists are using the 'Environment' as a lie and a tool to destroy our free markets, our industries, and agriculture. The some Marxist thug from the EPA needs to do raise a lie that a species of insect or whatever is "Endangered" and therefore you can't farm here, mine here, build here, drill here, manufacture here and so, you are SOL. I've seen this first hand. EPA has got to go.
vance
1 year ago
Rob, I double checked. You can go to Google and typed in Oil Prices. In July of 2008, oil went over $100 per barrel. When Bush took action it fell to $35 per barrel in January 2009. This bold face liar-in-chief has cut oil drilling on federal lands by 40%. Today's news reveals that Obama just pulled farming federal funds from farms in the mid and north west because those farm lands have drilling operations going on. He is hoping that this will stymie the drilling on private lands. Private lands is where the increase is taking place where Obama and the Marxists have no way of stopping it except via the EPA.

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