Santorum a viable candidate despite criticism

By: Joel Delgado / Staff Writer

joel.delgado@fiusm.com

The merry-go-round of Republican candidates taking hold of the spotlight has been dizzying with nearly a dozen different people holding front-runner status and nearly all of them falling from that distinction nearly as quickly as they have risen.

Even so, the erratic ride may soon be coming to a stop, and weary Republican voters may have found their man.

Rick Santorum is the latest Republican to emerge as the “anybody-but-Mitt Romney” candidate, and the timing of the “Santorum Surge” may just work to his advantage.

With the field rapidly thinning, conservatives have very few others to look to, but they may not need to look any further.

Santorum is possibly the best-equipped potential nominee of the four remaining GOP candidates to unite the three key sectors of the Republican Party: Social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and foreign policy conservatives.

He has the strongest record on preserving the lives of the unborn, including constructing and advocating the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.

His “pro-life” label also extends beyond the womb in going out of his way to fight for funding to battle AIDs in Africa and leading the way in finding solutions to poverty in this country, boldly walking out his compassionate conservatism.

More intriguing is that Santorum’s favorable rating among Republicans is higher than the other candidates.

A recent ABC News poll showed strong favoritism among conservatives and Republicans and rising marks among a key bloc of voters in a general election: Independents.

In a head-to-head matchup with President Barack Obama, the latest polls show that it is almost a virtual dead-heat with Santorum. Momentum is on the senator’s side.

The latest Rasmussen and Quinnipiac polls, both released on Feb. 22, show President Obama holding just a three percent advantage (46-43 percent and 47-44 percent, respectively) over Santorum.

All the trends are all pointing upward for the former senator from Pennsylvania, who has thus far ran a mostly positive campaign, steering clear of the mudslinging that has unfortunately marred the Republican primary.

 

OUT OF LINE

The opinion piece written by Brooklyn Middleton that was published on Feb. 24, ripping the personal character of Santorum, was an unfortunate rant that exposed her own intolerance and disrespect for those who do not share her views.

In her hate-filled diatribe, Ms. Middleton failed to mention that while Santorum does privately oppose the use of birth control (I disagree with the senator on that point), he has said publicly time and time again that he will not try and ban birth control if he were elected president.

“Just because I’m talking about it doesn’t mean I want a government program to fix it,” Santorum said in a primary debate in Arizona on Feb. 22.

It is also unfortunate that Ms. Middleton would resort to name-calling in order to make a point.

It is this kind of dialogue, which takes place all across the political spectrum, that stunts intelligent discussion and debate on a number of topics that our nation faces today.

How do we go about getting the economy back on its feet? How do we begin to build strong families in America again? How do we handle the threats that face this country and its allies? These are discussions that need to take place, with civility, among all Americans.

So maybe Ms. Middleton can take a page out of Santorum’s playbook and focus on the issues with conviction and respect instead of slapping labels on others.

Our political system would be better for it.

To read Brooklyn Middleton’s article, please visit www.fiusm.com.