Tags : election 2012, gop, Rick Santorum
Santorum Enters Crowded Field Of Potential 2012 GOP Contenders
Washington, D.C. (AHN) – Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s visit to Iowa this fall has led to speculation that he is considering a 2012 presidential run.
The 51-year-old Republican has speaking engagements in October in the state where the first-in-the-nation nominating contest is held, leading pundits to ask if he wants to challenge former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney or former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, both said to be planning a White House bid and both top choices of Republican voters according to Gallup.
Santorum is holding events in Iowa, including one for the political action committee American Future Fund. Despite having lost his re-election bid in 2006, his push for social and fiscal conservatism has not been far from the spotlight, with more than 50 appearances on FOX this year so far.
He is the weekly guest host of Bill Bennett’s “Morning in America” national radio show, and also writes a biweekly op-ed column on the Philadelphia Inquirer.
A two-term congressman and two-term senator, Santorum served as the GOP’s third-highest ranking leader in the Senate. He has refused to say if he is indeed mulling a White House bid, but also not ruled out anything.
He told supporters last week via his political action committee, America’s Foundation, “With the leftward lurching of President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and their liberal allies in Congress; I feel like I can no longer sit on the sidelines. That is why I am speaking out in support of traditional, conservative ideals and voice my opposition to President Obama’s attempts to nationalize the nation’s healthcare system, destroy our domestic energy industry through a cap-and-tax scheme, appoint activist judges to the bench and put our national security in jeopardy.”
But appearing on FOX’s “On the Record” on Wednesday, he sideswiped the obvious question and said, “I’m very concerned about what’s going on in America right now… And I do know this, and I certainly have known it for the last 24 hours, that when you go and give a speech in Iowa, people pay attention to what you’re doing and what you’re saying, and that’s what I hope to accomplish.”
“This is a very critical time… this is called a transition,” he added. “The reason you’re seeing the passion to — you know, on these town hall meetings is because people are very concerned about not just their pocketbook. I know that’s the way the Democrats would like to spin it, this is all about pocketbook — this about America. This is about our traditions.”
The scramble for the 2012 Republican nomination was evident in the past weeks as Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty made swipes at the healthcare plan successfully championed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Pawlenty, who in June announced that he would not seek a third term but refused to rule out a White House bid, sent a letter to the Minnesota Congressional delegation criticizing the current Democratic healthcare reform proposals as similar to the one implemented in Massachusetts.
Romney, who unsuccessfully sought the 2008 GOP nomination, is working on a book due next March that is believed to be his platform for a campaign.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister who unexpectedly won the Iowa caucuses last year, are also considered contenders for the White House.
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