Friday, March 23, 2012

Rick Santorum

Rick Santorum is the last legitimate “Anyone But Romney” candidate standing. But how legitimate is Santorum really?

Unlike Michele Bachmann, Santorum lacks TEA Party credibility. In fact in the early days of the TEA Party Santorum spoke out against them. Now that he is relying on them for votes he calls himself himself a TEA Party candidate, but he's not.

Unlike Rick Perry (and Tim Pawlenty), Santorum lacks the executive experience of being a governor of a state. There is a significant difference in the job of an executive and a legislator. The legislator debates and votes, but the buck stops with the executive. A bad vote can be covered up by the other legislators, but there is only one executive. Santorum has no experience being where the buck stops.

Unlike Herman Cain, Santorum has no experience in the private sector. Sure, he was an attorney, but his professional career is that of a Washington DC insider – first as a 2 term member of the House, then as a 2 term Senator, then as an unofficial lobbyist. In this election cycle, more than ever before in my lifetime, we need someone to address the economy from a position of experience, not from a position of having served on a committee and debated about it.

Unlike Newt Gingrich, Santorum is not a gifted orator. His speeches come across as holier than thou, whining, angry, unfocused, or a combination of 2 or more of those characteristics. He has also been guilty on many occasions of expressing his ideas in a very offensive way.

What is good about Santorum? He is a devoted and dedicated family man. He has 7 living children, one of whom has a severe condition called Trisomy 18. I have a good friend who had a baby about 2 and a half years ago who had that condition. That baby died after 1 month. It was a very trying time, and I have a lot of sympathy for Sen. Santorum and his family, and a lot of respect for him for how he has dealt with that challenge. This devotion and dedication to family is a sharp contrast to Newt Gingrich.

He is a hard worker. He did a lot in Iowa to compensate for his lack of funds and organization. Again this is a contrast with Newt Gingrich who spent the early days of his campaign on a Greek cruise.

He appeals to the evangelical voters. This is, I believe, due to his staunch commitment to social conservative issues. I respect that.

Regarding Santorum's family, I have a very high opinion of him. However, Mitt Romney's commitment and sacrifice for his family is just as praise-worthy.

Regarding Santorum's work ethic, that is very admirable, but it is also incomplete. He worked hard, but he did not work smart. His failure to put together an organization that would allow him to compete on all of the ballots is a sign of failure. That is like the University of Kentucky (a 1 seed) playing against Western Kentucky (a 16 seed) in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and Western Kentucky spotting UK 10 points. In order for the underdog to win, everything has to go his way. Failing to get on the ballot in Virginia, Washington DC, various congressional districts in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and who knows where else, is unacceptable.

Regarding Santorum's strong social conservative credentials, by and large I agree with Santorum regarding abortion and traditional marriage, but his expression of his position is very divisive. I can see how he would turn off moderate republicans, independents, and democrats. Winning the nomination is just the first step. Ultimately we need to defeat Barack Obama, and that won't be easy. We need the GOP base, and I'm confident that Santorum could deliver that, but we also need independents, and maybe even a few democrats, and I'm equally confident that Santorum would fail miserably to pick up those votes.

Mitt Romney is my chosen candidate. He may be imperfect, but I strongly believe that he is the best man for the job, especially in the conditions we are in now.

Romney's TEA party credentials have been questioned, but when it comes to the basic issues that the TEA party originally espoused (lower taxes, smaller government, adherence to the Constitution), Romney does well.

Romney has experience as a governor of a state. As governor of Massachusetts, even in the face of an 85% democrat legislature, Romney was able to accomplish the impressive feat of turning the $3 billion deficit into a $2 billion rainy day fund. And did so without raising taxes. When he entered office MA was hemorrhaging jobs. He succeeded in bring the unemployment rate to a level that is within the limits of what is considered “full employment.” He was able to move the very liberal gun laws in a more conservative direction. Not as free as they should be, but considering it is MA, that is progress. He entered office personally “pro-life” but politically “pro-choice.” During his tenure, however, a bill crossed his desk that caused him to rethink his position. The result was that Romney is now both personally and politically pro-life. Some may question the authenticity of his conversion, but those who are pro-life and living in MA have said that Romney was a “great friend” to the pro-life movement.

The vast majority of Romney's career is in the private sector where he was a tremendous success, by any measure. He was born of wealth, but rather than inherit his wealth, he donated it to honor his father and his alma mater, and made his wealth the old fashioned way – he earned it.

As a bonus, Romney has the unique experience of taking the corrupt and financially challenged 2002 SLC Winter Olympics, and turning it around into one of the most profitable Olympics ever.

Romney does not have Gingrich's gift of oratory, and he has been guilty of a few verbal gaffes, but those gaffe's have been a result of his desire to be honest with the American people, and give them credit for intelligence.

Finally, the race, as it stands today, sees Romney with almost half of the necessary delegates to win the nomination. His closest competitor has less than half as many as Romney. Four years ago Romney found himself in a similar position to what Santorum faces today. He was still technically viable, but mathematically improbable to win the nomination. Romney graciously stepped aside, and threw his complete support behind John McCain, preferring to unify the party rather than gratify his own ambition. Santorum, in a similar situation, is doubling down, resorting to personal attacks, and seeming to do all in his power to leave the GOP divided, and with a weak nominee.

I can sympathize with Santorum's situation. Losing is no fun. This is the time, however, that he look to what is best for the party, and more significantly what is best for the country – to defeat Barack Obama. My voice is pretty tiny in the world of politics, but nevertheless I would join in the chorus to appeal to Rick Santorum to step aside with dignity, to get behind our nominee, and endorse Mitt Romney.


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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent points!

Santorum: *Not a Tea Party supporter (oh, except now, he's pandered and changed his tune. "Fake" comes to mind....again!) *No executive experience. *No private experience---he's DC insider. *Holier than thou attitude AND, petty, whiney, dishonest, disloyal to GOP w/comments today.

He's just a sad, sad example of what the GOP has to offer.

Publius Nemo said...

Great Post!

BOSMAN said...

Great post Noelle.

You've shown that Santorum does not have the experience, organization skills,or the mindset to be a President of the U.S.

Anonymous said...

Rick has never said anything against the Tea Party. Here is the unedited video. Please stop spreading this lie.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLQnoVpkyqc

Noelle said...

Anon 11:05 - first of all, the video you posted is in fact edited. I'm no film critic, but the cuts are pretty obvious, even to me. Second of all, the video you posted does in fact show Rick saying he would "vocally and publicly oppose it (the TEA party)." Check out the 30 second mark.

Anonymous said...

Rick really screwed up with his comments and demonstration about ETCH A SKETCH. We have enough of negative comments coming from the White House at this time. We don't want to continue with Rick as President. The GOP can do better.

Anonymous said...

i appreciated your comments on rick...never knew he spoke out against the tea party...his comments on lifestyles and now his latest comment about obama vs. romney tells me he is a vindictive, opinionated and rather nasty person...i WILL NOT support him and have discussed this will my santorum friends...they are also leaving his camp...

Anonymous said...

Evangelicals are buying from the fellow who says they aren't Christians. I do not respect that. And Santorum's so called "strong values" are a con. I can't admire "hardworking" when the work is being a con artist and influence peddler. Social grace eludes Santorum. Santorum's so-called social credentials can't stand the test of scrutiny. Santorum is rude to his supporters as well. Santorum's position is that Reagan can't be considered a conservative. I do not respect that concept. Those who question Romney's authenticity are phonies. They don't question Santorum, Newt or Reagan in a consistent way. This is deception. Truth is that Santorum appeals to Democrats, in every way. Romney is better than Gingrich, in every way. For honest people there is no contest. A narrow bunch have shot themselves and their cause in the foot. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/15/rick-santorum-conservative-pro-life-ronald-reagan_n_1280033.html Republican delusions should also be challenged. We need unity, unity with truth NOT flattery. We have shared goals, and they can unite. Santorum broke RNC rules by endorsing Obama. He's in trouble. Pretending everything is great will not help. He's earned a stern, severe reprimand. I consider Jeb Bush and DeMint that reprimand. But the members of our party need the truth. Problems should not be swept under the rug, because we'll be forced to face them later in a worse form. The truth is that Santorum and his friend Arlen Specter make fine Democrats, and that Democrat roots linger for many in the South. Never kid a kidder. Rick Santorum is EXTREMELY phony and he lies continually. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/15/rick-santorum-conservative-pro-life-ronald-reagan_n_1280033.html

Anonymous said...

Yes, Santorum appeals to Democrats to save his campaign, and he appeals to Democrats who are pro-life. He both appeals to them for support, and he appeals to Democrats because he's a big spending statist who considers government work the proper venue from which to dominate. Sadly, his record and views conflict with freedom at every turn. He's not conservative or a Republican. He even said JFK assurances that Catholic interests would not dictate in his administration make him want to vomit. I can't congratulate anyone for ever supporting another unknown. We need to learn from our Obama-nation mistakes. Sometimes people lie.

Anonymous said...

Gingrich very often is guilty of expressing his ideas in an offensive way, too. Santorum children seem quite bizarre, so I am not convinced having children equates with being a good father. I don't believe Santorum appealed to Evangelical voters, their other candidates failed scrutiny. Bachmann at least was a conservative. I don't like a flimsy person like Santorum referred to as "staunch." He's very strange. He sends his children to non-modern schools, to put it mildly. With 78% of the media holding Santorum up, I don't congratulate Santorum for his purse-string campaign. At every turn Santorum sync'd with liberal media lies about Romney. He's absurdly dishonest and shifty. I can't stand comparing Romney's family skills with Santorum. There is NOT any comparison. A high opinion of Santorum for family life seems superficial and based on hollow judgement, that he's good because he has children. This doesn't work for me. I've known some of the most grotesque and miscreant individuals who were fathers and who had six children. Absurd. ABR crowd wants disunity, they want us to lose 2012 by having a brokered/contested convention. I cannot sympathize with Santorum. He's unable to distinguish Romney from Obama. Such a person should have no sympathy or any power. No self-respecting person can vote for Santorum or his causes. Period. End of blathering self-flagellation. We do NOT deserve Obama. Thanks any way, Santorum. Go sell crazy some where else, we're all full up here.

Anonymous said...

I made a mistake saying, "or his causes." I need to be specific. I am referring to the fact that no self-respecting Republican can support or sympathize with Santorum's desire for a brokered/contested convention. That is the cause of Santorum at this time. I do NOT sympathize. I will not sympathize. I CANNOT sympathize with a traitor like Santorum. Santorum deserves no sympathy in his current cause. That is just profoundly WRONG.

Good judgment realizes that Romney is a good father. One of the funniest moments in this race came when a TV commentator said Ron Paul in a debate seemed that he could be a Romney son in a Ron Paul suit. They suggested it was an unfair advantage for Romney to have such great help from his sons in the campaign. That is good fatherhood.

Anonymous said...

The Philadelphia Tea Party was the largest Tea Party at the Restoring Honor rally. They endorsed Romney. Rick Perry, Palin and Newt rallied a Tea Party in SC with many Democrats. The Texas Tea Party boo's Perry and ran a candidate against him in Texas. The Tea Party groups are not all created equal. The SC Tea Party was very much the baby of Rick Perry.