Is He A Viable Compromise Republican Candidate?
By Dell Hill (with all kinds of help)
His name is Rick Santorum. He just completed the “Santorum Surge” in Iowa and has instantly become a front-runner in the Republican nomination process to become President of the United States.
So just who is this guy? Yes, we’ve heard of Rick Santorum, but what do we know about him from a political standpoint? Is he a conservative? What are his positions on gun control, abortion, big government, the economy, add your favorite issue here?
The media focus today is primarily on this “Rick come lately” who managed to finish second to Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucus, but the eight vote margin of difference allows him the right to claim Iowa as a victory. The race was simply too close to call all night long. It took the vote count in the final, 100% precinct, to bring Romney up from a four vote deficit to an eight vote first-place finish.
I’ve spent considerable time researching Rick Santorum today. Just as many other writers have done, in order to give you an accurate description of the man who has assumed to top tier of Republican candidates.
Let’s take a look at this report from Jim Hoft - The Gateway Pundit.
“With his strong showing yesterday in Iowa, pundits are taking a closer look at former Senator Rick Santorum.
James Delingpole at The Telegraph argues today that a President Santorum would be a disaster:
As Michael Tanner notes at NRO, Santorum is the very opposite of what the US wants or needs right now. He’s a big government conservative.”
Read the entire evaluation at the above link.
Ed Morrissey, writing at Hot Air, has chimed in with his usual astute observations.
“When one becomes a front-runner, the scrutiny starts — and Rick Santorum has just stepped into the arena with a surprising and inspiring finish in Iowa. His reward? The closer look every second-tier desires and dreads as a consequence of getting called up to the majors. David Harsanyi spells out the case for conservatives looking to oppose Santorum, calling him a “conservative technocrat”:
Rick Santorum, like most Republican candidates, fashions himself the one true conservative running in 2012. If the thought of big, intrusive liberal government offends you, he might just be your man.
And if you favor a big, intrusive Republican government, he’s unquestionably your candidate.
People are taking a look at Santorum. Important people. People in Iowa. Even New York Times columnist David Brooks recently celebrated his working-class appeal, newfound viability and economic populism, noting that the former Pennsylvania senator’s book “It Takes a Family“ was a ”broadside against Barry Goldwater-style conservatism” — or, in other words, a rejection of that Neanderthal fealty for liberty and free markets that has yet to be put down. Santorum’s book is crammed with an array of ideas for technocratic meddling; even the author acknowledges that some people “will reject” what he has to say “as a kind of ‘Big Government’ conservatism.”
Santorum grumbles about too many conservatives believing in unbridled “personal autonomy” and subscribing to the “idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do … that we shouldn’t get involved in the bedroom (and) we shouldn’t get involved in cultural issues.” …
Today, Santorum tells voters that Medicare is “crushing” the “entire health care system.” In 2003, Santorum voted for the Medicare drug entitlement that costs taxpayers more than $60 billion a year and almost $16 trillion in unfunded liabilities. Santorum voted for the 2005 “bridge to nowhere” bill and was an earmark enthusiast his entire career.
These days, Santorum regularly joins a chorus of voices claiming that he would greatly reduce the role of federal government in local education. When he had a say, he supported No Child Left Behind and expanded the federal control of school systems. In his book, in fact, Santorum advocates dictating a certain curriculum to all schools. The right kind. It’s not the authority of government that irks him, but rather the content of the material Washington is peddling today.
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The simple fact is that none of these candidates are ideal and nearly everyone not writing-in Calvin Coolidge is compromising. The problem is people don’t want to admit they’re compromising.
If you want pure anti-establishment, then Ron Paul is your man in this cycle. None of these candidates are without serious flaws, but then again, there really aren’t ever any flawless candidates. Do we aspire to find the least flawed, most capable candidate in the race in primaries? Of course, but that is always graded on a curve, in every cycle.
Santorum’s prescriptions for government solutions for conservative goals should be given a close look, but also, we should hear what Santorum has to say about how he proposes to move forward with them if elected. Until now, no one has paid much attention to Santorum, so he has not had much time to make his case.
[..]
Can Santorum perform well enough in New Hampshire to get an extended look? Lois Romano thinks the odds are long, but not impossible, and points out the strong Catholic presence in New Hampshire as an opening for Santorum:
With an attentive media contingent in tow, the former Pennsylvania senator hits the ground running with a two-hour town-hall meeting Wednesday night that will be followed by at least 10 more before Tuesday’s primary. He has spent considerable time here—and has an enthusiastic corps of supporters and volunteers in place.
“I’ve spent more time in New Hampshire and done more events than anybody but Jon Huntsman. And the same thing with South Carolina,” he said. “We feel very, very good that we’ve got the organization. And money is coming in better than it’s ever come in. And [after Iowa] we suspect we’ll have the resources to be able not just to compete in New Hampshire, but to compete all the way through.” …
[..]
Cahill dismissed the notion that New Hampshire voters may find Santorum too socially conservative with his oppositions to abortion and same-sex marriage. “Conservatives play well in New Hampshire, and his positions on trade, tax policy, and national security are appealing. There’s a very large Catholic and ethnic populations here … The old Reagan coalition is still around for us.”
Conservative columnist Michael Graham says don’t count on it:
“We think South Carolina is extremely important, and we’re the only ones who’ve won a straw poll there,” Brabender said yesterday. “But we think that to be a legitimate presidential candidate, you have to, at the very least, be willing to compete in each region of the country. And that includes the Northeast.”
Read Ed’s entire analysis by clicking right here.
Dell’s Bottom Line:
“What do you think of Rick Santorum, Dell? Is he electable? A Conservative?”
Good questions, most certainly.
My personal opinion on the Republican candidates has been “we aren’t going to get the candidate we really want, so we’ll have to compromise and pick the best pair of candidates (both president and vice president) in order to send Barack Obama packing in November”. And I still believe that today.
The Conservative movement in this country is strong, make no mistake about that. But I don’t believe it’s strong enough yet to force the Republican elite to jump the tracks and back a TEA Party candidate for president. I believe the elite made their decision to choose Mitt Romney, no matter who wins in the primaries, and that’s “safe ground” for them to tread.
From the reports I’ve read thus far. And from the political history surrounding Rick Santorum, I’d have to put him in that category of “compromise candidate” - good on some issues, bad on others. Not the perfect TEA Party Conservative, but perhaps viable.
Can he beat Barack Obama? I honestly don’t know.
Can Mitt Romney beat Barack Obama? Same answer.
We’re now being asked to vett yet another candidate in this process and that will take at least a little time. I will say this; Santorum deserves the “closer look” that he’s earned by virtue of his excellent finish in Iowa.
I’m neither for or against the man, at this point. The ball is now in his court and it’s his job to convince Conservatives that he’s at least listening to our concerns and solutions, and that he will seriously consider them.
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