Brian4Liberty
06-03-2015, 01:10 PM
Rick Santorum's crucial message for the Right (http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rick-santorums-crucial-message-for-the-right/article/2565177)
By Timothy P. Carney | May 28, 2015
Rick Santorum is running for president, and every conservative and Republican should listen to him.
I can see readers' eyes rolling now. Many conservatives, libertarians and moderate Republicans dislike Santorum. They may think he's a horrible messenger. They may find him terribly wrong on some issues. They may think he has no chance of winning the nomination, or that he would be a disaster in the general election.
These conclusions flow from some combination of reality, petty identity politics, disappointing experiences from the rudderless Bush era of the GOP, and clear-eyed political analysis. But Santorum haters and Santorum dismissers should be able to set aside their personal feelings about the man, and to listen for a moment to his message.
His most important message for the GOP, for libertarians, and for conservatives: We need to care about the working class, about people who are struggling, and about the poor. Republicans need to listen to these people — even if they occupy the 47 percent Mitt Romney so easily discarded — and talk to them, too.
The Santorum-Romney contrast became clear the night they tied for first place in the Iowa caucuses. Both men spoke about the problems with federal welfare programs. Romney castigated welfare recipients as the takers in an "entitlement society," which is at odds with a "merit society." This view plagues the American Right — that those who aren't successful are necessarily that way through some personal perfidy.
Santorum, that same night in Iowa, also took aim at the welfare state. But instead of casting the poor as the bad guys, he made it clear that the poor are the victims of government programs that "increas[e] dependency."
Rather than blame and write off the working class and the poor, Santorum's message is to court them, to show them you are on their side, and that you are fighting for them.
...
Santorum says his strong second-place showing, as well as his multiple wins in Democratic-leaning Pennsylvania, were "not just because I stood for something. It's because I stood for someone — the American worker."
...
When discussing the economic devastation of the rust belt, Santorum blamed the "excesses and indifference of big labor, big government, and yes, big business."
...
Santorum, on the policy front, often takes the Pat Buchanan, Ross Perot route, calling for less immigration and protection of U.S. manufacturers. The danger with big-government populism is (a) it usually corrupts over time into big-government corporatism, and (b) Democrats can always go bigger on the big-government front.
A free-market populist agenda could include a war on corporate welfare, tax simplification, a payroll tax cut, clearing away regulatory burdens to sole practitioners and small businesses, and reforming safety net programs so that they ensnare fewer and empower more.
...
Caring for those who are struggling, stripping the insiders of their political privilege, and ending the government programs that hurt people — these are things we have a moral obligation to do. If it does nothing else, Santorum's campaign will hopefully convince Republicans to take up this effort.
...
More: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rick-santorums-crucial-message-for-the-right/article/2565177
By Timothy P. Carney | May 28, 2015
Rick Santorum is running for president, and every conservative and Republican should listen to him.
I can see readers' eyes rolling now. Many conservatives, libertarians and moderate Republicans dislike Santorum. They may think he's a horrible messenger. They may find him terribly wrong on some issues. They may think he has no chance of winning the nomination, or that he would be a disaster in the general election.
These conclusions flow from some combination of reality, petty identity politics, disappointing experiences from the rudderless Bush era of the GOP, and clear-eyed political analysis. But Santorum haters and Santorum dismissers should be able to set aside their personal feelings about the man, and to listen for a moment to his message.
His most important message for the GOP, for libertarians, and for conservatives: We need to care about the working class, about people who are struggling, and about the poor. Republicans need to listen to these people — even if they occupy the 47 percent Mitt Romney so easily discarded — and talk to them, too.
The Santorum-Romney contrast became clear the night they tied for first place in the Iowa caucuses. Both men spoke about the problems with federal welfare programs. Romney castigated welfare recipients as the takers in an "entitlement society," which is at odds with a "merit society." This view plagues the American Right — that those who aren't successful are necessarily that way through some personal perfidy.
Santorum, that same night in Iowa, also took aim at the welfare state. But instead of casting the poor as the bad guys, he made it clear that the poor are the victims of government programs that "increas[e] dependency."
Rather than blame and write off the working class and the poor, Santorum's message is to court them, to show them you are on their side, and that you are fighting for them.
...
Santorum says his strong second-place showing, as well as his multiple wins in Democratic-leaning Pennsylvania, were "not just because I stood for something. It's because I stood for someone — the American worker."
...
When discussing the economic devastation of the rust belt, Santorum blamed the "excesses and indifference of big labor, big government, and yes, big business."
...
Santorum, on the policy front, often takes the Pat Buchanan, Ross Perot route, calling for less immigration and protection of U.S. manufacturers. The danger with big-government populism is (a) it usually corrupts over time into big-government corporatism, and (b) Democrats can always go bigger on the big-government front.
A free-market populist agenda could include a war on corporate welfare, tax simplification, a payroll tax cut, clearing away regulatory burdens to sole practitioners and small businesses, and reforming safety net programs so that they ensnare fewer and empower more.
...
Caring for those who are struggling, stripping the insiders of their political privilege, and ending the government programs that hurt people — these are things we have a moral obligation to do. If it does nothing else, Santorum's campaign will hopefully convince Republicans to take up this effort.
...
More: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rick-santorums-crucial-message-for-the-right/article/2565177