Rick Santorum Testing the Waters for 2012 Presidential Bid Against Obama
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 15, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum is a darling of the pro-life movement by virtue of his leadership on the partial-birth abortion ban that is now federal law. Santorum, who has maintained a national presence since he was defeated for re-election, is considering a 2012 presidential run.
In a new fundraising letter sent to members of his political action committee, the America’s Foundation, the pro-life Catholic sheds more light on his thinking.
Santorum says that Obama has represented "Change we can’t afford," and criticizes President Barack Obama for a lack of leadership.
"I’m really concerned about the direction Barack Obama is taking our country," he says.
And, he announces he is “actively considering the 2012 race."
“I’m convinced that conservatives need a candidate who will not only stand up for our views, but who can articulate a conservative vision for our country’s future," he says,
“After talking it over with my wife Karen and our kids, I am considering putting my name in for the 2012 presidential race," Santorum continues.
Kathryn Lopez, a pro-life advocate who heads National Review Online and who posted the content of the full letter Santorum sent, says he will garner support but she believes his candidacy will ultimately be about promoting pro-life and conservative values rather than a serious bid at securing the nomination.
"Anyone who’s talked to Senator Santorum or has heard him on the radio recently knows that he is knows full well it will be an uphill battle given his last race. But the 2012 buzz happened. He’s been to Iowa and New Hampshire now and people have encouraged him," she says.
"I don’t know that he can or should or will run for president. But he’s a good man, with a love for America. I hope he’s able to bring attention to issues he cares about — which are essential to us all — in the coming months and be a force for good, whomever runs as the Republican nominee in 2012," Lopez adds.
"I suspect that’s his ultimate goal, too. With no interest in running a Quixotic battle,’ she concludes.
In the letter, Santorum takes Obama on for his support for Planned Parenthood.
"Our country needs a President who will restore fiscal sanity to Washington," he says. "Not someone whose budget added a whopping $1 trillion to the deficit in a single year and was loaded with giveaways to Planned Parenthood."
"Our country needs a President who will stand up for the family and for the traditional values Americans hold dear, he adds. "Not someone obsessed with forcing taxpayers to fund unthinkable ‘abortion mandates.’"
Santorum’s letter mostly focuses on his efforts to support pro-life candidates in the 2010 midterm elections and to try to recapture the House from pro-abortion Democrats who currently run it.
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