Dec. 13, 2011
Most conservatives I know think Romney is only one step better than Obama and will vote for him, reluctantly, only if given no other choice. While some on the far right are avid Ron Paul supporters, those more reasonable conservatives see Paul's views on legalization of drugs and extreme stand on foreign affairs as a total turn-off. Herman Cain':s meteoric rise to the top of the polls was no accident but was propelled there because his views mirrored those of most conservatives.

Prior to the Cain campaign's unfortunate demise, I received a phone call from the Gingrich team asking for my support. I told them that Gingrich had been my choice in the past but that I was now supporting Cain. "If Cain falters," I said, "Newt will then be my guy." Cain's campaign went down in flames not long after that.and I, like many other conservatives, looked then to Gingrich as the preferred nominee.

But while I recognize Gingrich as a knowledgeable and intelligent person with proven conservative credentials, I am still a bit concerned about the skeletons in his closet and his past marital indiscretions. The one thing in his favor in this regard, unlike Cain, is that Gingrich's past sins are already an open book. What other choice do we, as conservatives and Republicans and Libertarians and concerned Democrats have as a viable candidate who will be able to defeat Obama? And defeating Obama should be our undeniably uniting single goal for the 2012 election.

We've seen rabbit-like jumps in the polls first for Michele Bachman, then Perry, then Cain, and now Gingrich. Meanwhile, the tortoise has been steadily plodding along. Santorum deserves a closer look as the Republican candidate who can defeat Obama and lead this nation up out of its' doldrums and reverse its' slide toward socialism.

Flamboyancy is void and the phony charisismatic style of Obama is lacking. But steadfastness, experience, intelligence, love of country, family, and God are his strengths. Rick Santorum is the son of Italian immigrants and learned the meaning of integrity and hard work from his parents. Although I've compared Santorum to a tortoise, perhaps his nickname from high school would be more appropriate. There, he was called "Rooster" because he was "noisy, showy, dogged and determined like a rooster and never backed down". I would no longer call him noisy and showy, but he certainly has retained the other characteristics. He has been the hardest working, most visible candidate in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. In Iowa he pledged to visit all 99 counties and is now on his second time around. We in the Lake area had the chance at last year's Lincoln Day Dinner to see the bull-doggish effort of Santorum as he was the featured speaker that night. How many other Presidential candidates would exert the effort to make a personal appearance in our small community?

This kind of campaigning by Santorum is not news to me. My family lived in a Pittsburg PA suburb in 1989 and one evening, just about supper time, we had a knock on the door. I answered and there on the porch was a young man with flyers in his hand who, after handing me one, said, "Hi, I’m Rick Santorum and I'm running for US congress from this district.' I liked his pluckiness and what he said he stood for and assured him he had my vote. But I knew in my heart he was fighting a losing cause going up against a seven term incumbent in this heavily democratic district. I was wrong. He knocked on enough doors and spoke one-on-one to enough people that his too confident Democratic opponent went down to a surprising defeat. Santorum went on to win another term in the House and then proceeded, in this traditionally Democratic state to win two terms to the US Senate. We can all be assured that as President, Senator Santorum will work just as hard for our country as he has in the past and present to achieve his goals.

But the main reason conservatives need to give Santorum a second look is the fact that he has a proven record as a fiscal and social conservative and that he has put forth a simple platform to which we can all agree. Senator Santorum pledges to be

• Champion of Faith and Family
• Defender of the Taxpayer
• Believer in American Exceptionalism

He recognizes that restoring our economy should be the first concentrated effort of the new President and has proposed a "Zero,Zero,Zero" plan to make that happen. His economic plan pledges:
1. To nix any taxes on repatriation of funds invested overseas (if those repatriated funds are used to invest in American business)
2. to levy zero taxes on U.S. manufacturers
3. to remove any and all business regulations proposed by President Obama.

That's why, if Gingrich's campaign falters, and I think it will, we should give Santorum a second look.