– Updated and Bumped
December 9, 2011
By Lonely Conservative 14 comments
Republican presidential primary candidate Rick Santorum was kind enough to take the time out of his busy schedule to participate in a blogger conference call this evening. Unlike Mitt Romney, Senator Santorum was happy to talk to and take questions from conservative bloggers.
It was a good day for Santorum, who is the only candidate to have visited all of Iowa’s 99 counties. He picked up the endorsement of the conservative Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz. He fielded a number of questions on the campaign and his credentials as a solid social conservative. He pointed out that he’s not only conservative on social issues, but in every other respect – whether it’s government spending, national security or entitlement reform – he has a consistently conservative record.
When asked why he hasn’t caught fire as the anti-Romney “flavor of the month,” Santorum replied “I’m pretty boring – married 21 years, 7 kids, no scandals, give answers that make sense in debates.” He said that the “low expectations” the media and the pundits have for his campaign is a good thing. “Exceeding expectations is better than not, we saw that with Tim Pawlenty who finished third and he’s out.” He feels confident that he’ll do well in Iowa and move on to New Hampshire.
Santorum pointed out the hypocrisy of the left when it comes to science. They say “It’s a fact man causes the world to warm,” yet they relegate the question of life to one’s beliefs rather than the science that life begins at conception. “It’s a fact that life begins at fertilization. You have a unique DNA code… therefore, it’s a life.”
I asked whether he agrees with Newt Gingrich’s contention that Paul Ryan’s budget plan is “right wing social engineering.” He laughed and said “Since I endorsed the plan, the answer is no. That was not helpful, wasn’t helpful and will be thrown back in everyone in the House’s face if he’s the nominee that they’re extremists.”
I think Santorum put it best when he said “We need to elect a leader who understands these [social] issues and is willing to go out and fight for them as well as the economic issues that are important to our country. I’m concerned that we don’t have anybody in the race who is a full spectrum, three-stool Reagan Republican who has the passion not just to cut government, not just to cut taxes, but to stand up for the American family, fight radical Islamism, and make sure that America is free, safe, prosperous and morally decent and good. Then we’ll be blessed by God. That’s what I believe.”
I’ll update this post with links and quotes from the other bloggers when they’re available.
Update: Da TechGuy has the list of bloggers who participated (all of my blogger friends were there):
Now lets look at who Senator Santorum took questions from:
Andrea Shea King: The Radio Patriot, Robert Stacy McCain: The Other McCainthe American Spectator ,Maggie Thornton: Maggie’s Notebook, Steve Ertelt: Life News, Tina Korbe: Hotair, Pete I DaTechGuy Datechguy’s BlogWCRN Radio, Karen : Lonely Conservative: Lisa Graas: Catholic Bandita , Sissy Willis: SISU and Riehl World View.
Every single person on this list will not only be voting in the GOP primaries in their relative states and thousands of GOP voters will be reading what they write concerning the candidates.
He forgot Jill Stanek. As noted in the comments, he didn’t forget her, his list consisted of those who asked a question. Sorry about that.
Update 2: For the record, Sissy Willis does NOT blog for the SEIU. The correction has been made!
Update 3: Lisa Graas, who is one of Santorum’s most vocal supporters, is happy to know that the candidate is eating his veggies and going to Mass.
Hey, it’s “the” question! I’m a Catholic mom. It’s what we do.
And his answer? “YES”! Actually, the answer to the question about Mass is that he was able to go to Mass yesterday and that he’s going to try to work it in this evening. For all of you Catholics out there who have asked me if he goes to daily Mass, there’s your answer. YES, he does! At least, when he is able to, he does. For non-Catholics who aren’t aware, this is a strong indication of a deep faith in, and reliance on, God. Catholics are only required to go to Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation.
Steven Ertelt wrote about Santorum’s statement that Newt Gingrich is not a strong pro-life leader:
Although Gingrich compiled a 98% pro-life voting record, Santorum said “he was not a pro-life warrior, that was not his gig.”
“He was someone who was interested in reducing taxes and Reaganomics but he was never someone who would go to the well as a member and fight the wars on the pro-life front,” Santorum said. “As a leader, one of the things he would stress is to work on issues with broad support and bipartisan support.”
Santorum said Gingrich’s lack of a concerted push on pro-life issues was seen during his days as Speaker when the Contract With America failed to include any key pro-life initiatives despite its other conservative agenda items that resonated with voters. …
I’ll have more updates shortly.
Update 4: Zilla was there in spirit, and wholeheartedly endorsed Senator Santorum earlier. You have to love a guy that isn’t afraid to name the enemy.
Update 5: Mitt Romney’s campaign denies excluding conservatives. Okay, take them at their word. But why don’t they set aside a half an hour every now and then for conference calls with conservative bloggers? They have no problem spamming my email accountants with requests for cash. Neither does Newt, for that matter. But neither of the supposed “front runners” have ever contacted me to request my support as a conservative blogger.
Update 6: Hot Air’s Tina Korbe liked what she heard.
And I completely, 100 percent agree with Santorum when he says, “You can’t have a strong economy without strong families.” I’ve never understood the reluctance to address social issues. Unless we address them, we’ll never truly be able to break the cycle of dependence on government. In some respects, Santorum is the only candidate not living in a fantasy of his own making — that the economy operates outside of cultural and societal forces. Sure, the market is remarkably impersonal and dispassionate, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t still essentially human.
Whatever happens in Iowa, I’ll say of Rick Santorum what I repeatedly say of Michele Bachmann: I’m happy he’s in the race because he says what needs to be said.
I’m still surprised Santorum hasn’t resonated more with conservative voters, at least if you’re to trust the polls. The left would like to replace the family with the state. Maybe that’s why they’re ignoring Santorum – because he’s so unapologetic when it comes to fighting for life and families. I think part of the problem he faces is that our culture has eroded to the point that any talk of God, life or family is supposed to be taboo. I, for one, find his candor refreshing. Who knows, if Santorum’s elected, I might have to change the name of this blog.
Update 7: Maggie’s post is up. She asked Senator Santorum about the EPA and releasing federal lands to open them up to drilling for our precious resources.
His answer went to how he will choose all appointees, which is by thoroughly vetting each for their belief in the Conservative values of his administration. He did not want to name names at this time, which I can understand. He said he would release all lands not needing protection, and certainly with an eye toward making the land productive. We all realize that some of our extraordinary Park and wild lands need protection for posterity, but millions of acres have been expropriated to achieve the Left’s green agenda.
It was the perfect answer for a Conservative (keep in mind that I paraphrased my understanding of what he said on a phone line that was not the clearest). (Read More)
And Stacy loves underdogs.
The point here is that, in an underdog campaign like this, you go all-out, every day, playing to win, and try not to worry too much about the odds against victory. Because if you stopped to think about the odds — when all the “experts” say it’s hopeless — you’d quit. But a lot of crazy things have already happened in this campaign, and it’s not completely insane to think that a hardline social conservative who has practically lived in Iowa since May might have a shot.
If you bought InTrade shares for Santorum to win Iowa, $100 today would pay off more than $5,000 should he pull a miracle upset Jan. 3.
I’m just sayin’ . . .
I’m thinking maybe I’ll put $20 on Santorum. What about you?
Update 2: Be sure to check out Stacy’s – ahem – I mean Robert Stacy McCain’s latest column at The American Spectator. Just imagine if Rick Santorum wins it and sends the media into a tizzy fit. How fun!
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