Presidential candidate Rick Santorum, a devout Roman Catholic and homeschooler, emerged from the Iowa caucuses as the (overtly) Christian alternative to Mitt Romney.
For background, read Santorum Explains Gay Agenda Effect on Children and also read Presidential Candidates Push Personhood, End of Abortion as well as Christian Liberty at Risk with a President Romney?
-- From "Santorum Thanks God for Strong Iowa Showing, Moves Forward" by Sophie Quinton, National Journal 1/4/12
[Rick Santorum gave] thanks to three sources of support: his wife, God, and Iowa voters. “You have taken the first step of taking back this country," Santorum told his supporters at his Des Moines, Iowa headquarters.
In a long and personal speech, Santorum outlined his vision of limited government, informed by Christian belief and a focus on the family.
The choice, Santorum said, is “whether we will be a country that believes that government can do things for us better than we can do for ourselves, or whether we believe, as our founders did, that rights come to us from God, and when he gave us those rights, he gave us the freedom to go out and live those rights out to build a great and just society, not from the top down but from the bottom up.”
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From "Santorum on Iowa Caucus Success: ‘I Offer a Public Thanks to God’" by Elizabeth Harrington, CNSNews.com 1/4/12
“Every morning when I was getting up in the morning to take on that challenge, I’ve required a strength from another particular friendship. One that is sacred. I’ve survived the challenges so far by the daily grace that comes from God,” Santorum said.
Santorum also said Middle America voters have been “left behind by a Democratic Party that wants to make them dependent.”
“Those are the same people that President Obama talked about who cling to guns and their Bible,” he said.
“Thank God they do.”
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From "Santorum Won Among Iowa Tea Partiers, Romney Among Tea Party Opponents, Says Entrance Poll" by Terence P. Jeffrey, CNSNews.com 1/4/12
Sixty-four percent of caucus-goers described themselves as Tea Party supporters, 10 percent described themselves as opponents of the Tea Party, and 24 percent said they were neutral about the Tea Party.
Among Tea Party supporters, Santorum won 29 percent and Romney and Rep. Ron Paul tied for second with 19 percent each. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won 15 percent of Tea Party supporters, Texas Gov. Rick Perry won 11 percent, and Rep. Michele Bachmann won 6 percent.
Among caucus-goers who said they oppose the Tea Party movement, Romney won 43 percent, Paul won 21 percent, Santorum won 13 percent, Gingrich won 9 percent, Perry won 8 percent, and Bachmann and Huntsman each won 3 percent, according to the poll.
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From "Santorum: ‘The State of Our Culture Under this Administration Continues to Decline with the Values that are Unlike the Values that Built this Country’" posted at CNSNews.com 1/4/12
It remains to be seen how the message will play in New England, but in Iowa, Santorum had expressed clear and consistent opposition to same-sex marriage and support for state and national constitutional amendments defining marriage to be the union of one man and one woman.
At a Thanksgiving-time candidate event sponsored by the Iowa Family Forum, Santorum told an audience of mostly religious conservatives that the imposition of same-sex marriage upon the U.S. could lead to the fall of the nation.
“We have to fight the battles in the states -- we cannot defer. We can't say, ‘The 10th Amendment, they can do what they want.’ This is too important for that. There's a basic and central value. The family is the bedrock of our society. Unless we protect it with the institution of marriage, our country will fall,” Santorum said.
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From "Santorum wants tax code to reward traditional marriage and families" by Suzy Khimm, Washington Post 1/3/12
“Tax policy as social policy” is the most distinguishing characteristic of Santorum’s tax reform platform. The Pennsylvania Republican wants to reduce taxes by tripling the child tax credit, which currently stands at $1,000 per child. Santorum also wants to reduce federal taxes that penalize married couples. . . .
As James Pethokoukis points out, such policies are in line with a pro-natalist policy that some policy analysts have pushed for, both for social and economic reasons, citing Robert Stein’s commentary in National Affairs. “Too many free-market economists still consider families an afterthought — arguing that the tax code should be ‘neutral’ about raising children, as if parenting were merely one hobby among many. But raising children is hardly just another pastime: It is one of the most important services any American can perform for our country,” Stein writes, arguing that higher fertility rates would also bolster the financial future of Social Security and Medicare.
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