Open Letter To Rick Santorum Supporters
By Mitch Berg
To: Rick Santorum supporters
From: Mitch Berg
Re: Your Case
All,
Any of you Santorum people, please fill me in: other than…:
- He’s pro-life
- He’s anti-gay marriage
- He’s got an R by his name
- He drives libs insane
…what precisely is the case for your guy?
Don’t get me wrong – I support all these things, to one degree or another.
But what’s the case for nominating Santorum?
That is all.
January 24th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Santorum is far and away the most consistent conservative in most aspects relative to Romney and Gingrich.
Santorum is the only Republican candidate who has a record of being able to reach large numbers of working class Democrats.
Santorum opposed the bailout of the banks that Romney and Gingrich supported (essentially wanting the federal government to use the same principles Romney claimed Bain was practicing, allowing failed buisnesses to actually fail).
When Santorum has remained principled is his positions despite the most vile campaign against he and his family possilbe. He won’t shift his positions in order to be praised in Georgetown cocktail parties. Who believes that about Gingrich or Romney?
This is just a few initial thoughts.
January 24th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
I really need to take the time to proof-read these things.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:13 pm
I’m a small “l” libertarian and a Romney supporter and while I don’t think Santorum will be the nominee, if I’m wrong, I can think of several pretty good reasons why I would vote FOR him:
1) He’s pledged to eliminate all energy subsidies and most agricultural subsidies (I’d prefer it were ALL agricultural subsidies but it’s a start and more than we’ve gotten from Romney or Gingrich and definitely better than what we’ll get under Obama).
2) He’s proposed to phase out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in five years.
3) He’s endorsed the Ryan plan for Medicare reform (similar to Romney).
4) He’s called for a five year freeze (but not automatic cuts) in defense, Medicaid, Housing, Education, Job Training, and Food Stamp spending.
5) He supports personal retirement accounts for Social Security and has also endorsed means-testing, phasing in a higher retirement age and dedicating all FICA to Social Security which I believe is the most detailed any of the remaining candidates have gotten.
Again, he’s not my guy (but barring some eleventh hour revelation, he would be if he gets the nomination) but I have no problem acknowledging some of his good points and IMO these are some pretty substantial ones.
6) He supports repealing ObamaCare and allowing consumers to buy health insurance across State lines without having to buy benefits mandated by the States, expanding health savings accounts and high deductible health insurance policies, letting consumers purchase health insurance with pre-tax dollars.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
I can think of several pretty good reasons why I would vote FOR him:
Let me be clear; I’ll vote for Romney, Gingrich, Paul or Santorum, if they’re nominated. I’m just asking.
January 24th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
And I’ll vote for that syphalitic camel if it gets the nomination. My dog would do a better job than Obama as President: at least all he’d do is sleep the term away rather than actively causing more problems.
January 24th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
Let me be clear; I’ll vote for Romney, Gingrich, Paul or Santorum, if they’re nominated. I’m just asking.
Of that I had no doubt, my reason for emphasizing the word “for” was to make it clear that these are reasons that I would share with my friends and those within my circle of influence to vote *for* Rick Santorum and not just *against* Barack Obama.
A lot of people (not Mitch) during this campaign season have spent so much time tearing down the other contenders for the Republican nomination that they’ve convinced themselves that a vote for the “other guy” is either no different than or worse than voting for Barack Obama.
I find that position ridiculous. Even though I have my preferred candidate (Mitt Romney), I vote on policy not personalities and I’ve tried to confine my criticisms to areas where there is significant policy differences. It could very well happen that just as is did in 1996 when Phil Gramm lost to Bob Dole and 2000 when Steve Forbes lost to George W. Bush and 2008 when Mitt Romney lost to John McCain that my second or third choice ends up being the first choice of a plurality of the voters in the Republican primary.
In which case, I can either throw a tantrum and take my ball and go home (which will make it increasingly difficult to be taken seriously two years later when there is another election that I’ll want to exert influence over other voters) or I can fight like heck to convince the people who actually decide elections (e.g. the non-ideological “moderates” and “independents”) to vote for the guy who agrees with me 70-80 percent of the time (and who beat the guy in the primary who might agree with me 85-90 percent of the time) rather than reelect the guy who disagrees with me 90 percent of the time.
The other thing about voting on issues is it forces you to look at what the candidates are actually proposing to do (which makes it easier to hold them accountable when/if they get elected) and should you end up voting for your second or third choice, you’ll know enough about where they stand to use those issues where you agree with them to try to sway those voters who decide the election.
That’s how you win elections, that’s how you grow your party/movement and that’s how you hold your elected officials accountable.
January 24th, 2012 at 6:34 pm
The only way to get a perfect candidate is to run for office yourself. And since that’s not gonna happen, you have to decide whether one of the 4 individuals left would be better than President Obama. And the answer is simple — of course, any of them would be better.
January 24th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
Santorum represents most of your kooky beliefs, isn’t Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney. That’s his case.