Campaign Communications « Campaign Literature « Rick Santorum Exploratory Committee

Campaign Literature

Rick Santorum Exploratory Committee*

4-pager, 8 1/2"x11", June 12, 2011 Hillsborough (NH) County Flag Day Picnic

*Santorum announced on June 6, but the disclaimer still says exploratory.

What They Are Saying ... About Former Senator Rick Santorum

FOX News' Chris Stirewalt proclaims that "Santorum Stands Out in First Debate": Santorum brought the  most energy, the strongest attacks and did so without falling into his past tendency to seem shrill or angry  when engaging. His defense of family values as key to American greatness - that liberty and limited  government depend on having a society that can take care of itself through families -sounded like a  reasonable answer from a man for whom such issues have been a path to political success but also defeat."  (Chris Stirewalt, "Santorum Stands Out in First Debate," FOX News Online, May 6, 2011)

The Washington Examiner's Byron York wrote that "Santorum Scores" in first GOP presidential Debate:
Santorum succeeded not by emphasizing his well-known social-conservative credentials but by making a series  of solid and tough statements on foreign policy ... Santorum's best moment came when he appeared to  discover the Republican formula for praising President Obama's achievement in killing Osama bin Laden while  bashing just about everything else Obama has done on foreign policy. Challenged by Baier about a recent  claim that Obama has made America "less safe," Santorum made a simple but effective case: everything  Obama has done well in foreign policy has been a continuation of the policies of George W. Bush, while every  new policy decision Obama has made has been wrong .... Santorum scored other points in the debate -- he was  effective in making the case that everyone in America should speak English and made a principled objection to  Mitch Daniels' proposed "truce" on social issues. (Byron York, "Inside the Gap Debate: Pawlenty Underwhelms, Cain  Struggles, and Santorum Scores," Washington Examiner, May 6, 2011)

On Fox News, Mike Huckabee compliments Senator Santorum's convictions, saying:

/ " ... Rick Santorum who, you know, I adore for his convictions."(Mike Huckabee, Interview on "Hannity," Fox  News Channel, May 16)
/ "Rick Santorum, for example, a strong social conservative, but he's also strong fiscal and I think  defense conservative, and foreign policy conservative as well."(Mike Huckabee, Interview on "Fox News  Sunday", Fox Broadcast channels, May 15, 2011)

Politico's Jonathan Martin writes about Senator Santorum's decisive victory in the Greenville County GOP  (SC) presidential straw poll: "Rick Santorum scored a decisive victory in a straw poll held Saturday among  Republicans in South Carolina's largest county. The former Pennsylvania senator won 31 percent of the vote  from a group of 413 activists who cast ballots at the Greenville County Republican convention ... Santorum, in  particular, has been a familiar presence in South Carolina, visiting the first-in-the-South primary state more  than any other potential presidential candidate. Performing well in the conservative-heavy upstate of South  Carolina is important in GOP primaries and Santorum is working hard to appeal to evangelicals here." (Jonathan  Martin, "Santorum wins big S.C. straw poll," Politico, April 9, 2011)

The Washington Post calls Senator Santorum a "Full-spectrum conservative" and writes in the "Case for Rick  Santorum:" "While perhaps best-known as a social conservative, Santorum has bona fides in all areas of  conservative philosophy - economics, foreign policy, etc. Put simply, he's versatile. And in a field that will  likely have no other senators and correspondingly limited foreign policy experience, Santorum can point to his  eight years on the Senate Armed Services committee as proof that he will be prepared to handle an uncertain  situation in the Middle East from day one." (Aaron Blake, "The Case for Rick Santorurn," The Washington Post, April 14,  2011)

On his radio show, Glenn Beck calls Senator Santorum a Churchill kind of guy: "Rick Santorum is a Churchill  kind of guy. He was out saying the tough things on defense, on Israel, Islamic extremism, on abortion. This  guy - he was there - he's been saying a lot of these things for a long time to his own peril." (Glenn Beck radio  program, April 11, 2011)

The Washington Post's Karen Tumulty profiled Senator Santorum during a December 2010 trip to New  Hampshire noting that, "Santorum was a tea party kind of guy before there was a tea party .... Elected to the  House in 1990 at the tender age of 32, Santorum made his mark as one of the "Gang of Seven" freshmen who  exposed the House banking scandal. They forced the disclosure that more than half of their colleagues had  written hot checks, and helped send dozens into retirement or defeat." (Karen Tumulty, "Santorum: A 2012 long shot  tests the water," The Washington Post, December 10, 2010)

Kim Lehman, Republican National Committee member and former president of Iowa Right to Life said,  "The people they trust the most are the people who understand the economic issues and the people who  understand the social issues. [Santorum] brings that to the table, and people see that, and he's likeable."  (Karen Tumulty, "Santorum: A 2012 long shot tests the water," The Washington Post, December 10, 2010)

Conservative Columnist George Will wrote about Senator Santorum's appeal to the Republican base saying,  "Santorum had one of the Senate's most conservative voting records and was floor manager of the most  important legislation of the 1990s: the 1996 welfare reform, which Clinton vetoed twice before signing. In  2000, Santorum won a second term with 52 percent of the votes, and he was elected third-ranking Republican  leader in the Senate."

/ Will went on to write, "Santorum has made nine trips to New Hampshire, where he has hired a  chairman of his state political action committee and a state director, and is returning soon. He has  been that many times to two other early delegate-selection states, Iowa and South Carolina, and has  other trips to those states scheduled."

/ Will then concluded the column with, " ... If unemployment is still above 9 percent in 2012, almost any  Republican can win, and if there is a convincing recovery the party had better nominate someone who  can energize its base. That is only a theory, but this is a fact: Social conservatives are much of that  base, are feeling neglected and are looking for someone like Santorum. (George F. Will, "Rick Santorum's  appeal to the GOP base," The Washington Post, February 3, 2011)

Michael P. Farris, chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association, said this about Senator  Santorum: "He is a conservative behind the doors, in front of the doors, in front of the cameras, behind the  cameras - no matter where he is. He is transparent." (Maeve Reston, "Former Sen. Rick Santorum cautions voters  against Obama's presidency," Los Angeles Times, April 9, 2011)

Jonathan Martin of Politico caught up with Senator Santorum in Iowa writing, "Iowa tradition also bodes
ell for Santorum: The state has a habit of rewarding those who honor the state's treasured first-in-the-nation  status by making frequent trips here and asking for votes one at a time. Santorum is already putting in the  legwork, having been to the state 11 times since 2009."

Martin also noted, "The case Santorum makes to those stalwart conservatives most likely to attend  the caucuses is unambiguous: He is a conviction politician who believes that culture, not just  economics, will determine the country's fate, and his record bears the mark of someone who didn't  just vote the right way to get a good mark on interest group scorecards." ." (Jonathan Martin, "Santorum -  an unlikely Iowa force?," Politico, March 10, 2011)

Following Senator Santorum's appearance at Iowa's Faith and Freedom Coalition in Iowa, The Atlantic's  Joshua Green wrote, "For my money, Rick Santorum won the evening in a rout, which surprised me. The trick  at these sorts of events is to pander to the audience, but not in a way that's flagrant and embarrassing, like  Mitt Romney does. Santorum seemed relaxed, genuine, and sunny, even when talking about unpleasant issues  like partial-birth abortion. He noted almost offhandedly that he had been "attached at the hip" with groups  like the event sponsor during his time in the Senate, which is true. Then he spoke about the many battles that  he lost in the Senate, often ones that involved abortion and marriage, the kind of fights that were hopeless  from a numbers standpoint, but that were nonetheless worth waging. As a senator, this had made his life  difficult. "My kids used to think my first name was 'ultra,'" he said, in reference to the media's (not-unjustified)  habit of referring to him as "the ultra-conservative Rick Santorum." Santorum used this as a badge of honor,  which was both clever and effective. Where I was sitting the crowd was hushed and rapt." (Joshua Green, "The  Republican Presidential Hopefuls Hit Iowa," The Atlantic, March 8, 2011)

Craig Robinson of The Iowa Republican says Santorum Shines at Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition forum.  He writes, "If any candidate had a lot on the line at last night's event, it was Rick Santorum. The 1500 or so  people who attended this event are the ones he needs to convince that he's the horse to back in the Iowa  caucuses. Not only did Santorum deliver a heartfelt speech that addressed the social issues that those in  attendance are passionate about, but he also made it clear that he's just not saying that these issues are  worth fighting for. He's actually led the fight on them."

Robinson went on to say:

/ "Santorum explained that his battles to advance a socially conservative agenda have come at a price. Even though Santorum led the fight in the Senate on welfare reform and medical savings accounts, the  media always referred to him as an ultra-conservative because of his efforts to fight for pro-life and  pro-family causes."

/ "Santorum's pro-family accomplishments are more impressive than the other four candidates who  shared the stage last night combined. While Gingrich talked about what executive orders he would  issue on day one of his presidency and Tim Pawlenty bragged about his fiscal stewardship while being  the governor of a blue state, Santorum reminded people that he led the fight to end the practice of  partial birth abortions that it was he who led the fight for the unborn victims of violence act, and it was  he who led the charge on the born alive infant protection act, which simply states that if a baby is born  alive during an attempted abortion, the child is extended legal protection."

/ "Santorum also mentioned that he supported the Iran freedom and support act, which sowed the  seeds of freedom inside of Iran. Santorum then criticized the current administration for sitting on the  sidelines or siding with the mullahs in Iran and Libya."

/ "Santorum is not as good of a speaker as Mike Huckabee was in 2007 and 2008, but what he lacks in  that department he makes up for with substance and results. His record of accomplishment matters to  those that attended last night's event. Those people might not be ready to join his effort right now,  but when people start making decisions on who they support, he's going to be on their list. Santorum  performance last night reminded me a lot of what Huckabee did in April of 2007 when he shared the  stage with nine other 2008 Republican candidates at a Republican Party of Iowa event." (Craig Robinson,  "Santorum Shines, Cain Impresses at IFFC Event," The Iowa Republican, March 8, 2011)