Former U.S. Senator and possible 2012 presidential candidate Rick Santorum has fired a warning shot at another possible contender for the Republican nomination, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels.
Gov. Daniels enraged pro-lifers and social conservatives with his call for a “truce” on social issues in an interview with The Weekly Standard:
And then, [Daniels] says, the next president, whoever he is, “would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues. We’re going to just have to agree to get along for a little while,” until the economic issues are resolved.
After much critcism, confusion, and questioning from social conservatives, Gov. Daniels doubled down. He gave a call to the writer of The Weekly Standard piece, Mark Hemingway:
I got a call this morning from Indiana Governor and rumored presidential candidate Mitch Daniels. In my column yesterday on his remarks about a “truce” on social issues, I left the door open to the possibility that the Governor’s remarks may not have been a “rhetorical misstep.”
[click the link to read the rest]
Gov. Daniel’s reaffirmation of his comments put him out of the question as a presidential nominee for many conservative voters. Some hoped he would change his mind and retract his comments. But for the third time, Gov. Daniels has called for a truce, likely ending any support from pro-life primary voters. This time it was on Laura Ingraham’s radio show:
“The major point, though, was something different, and it was just this: I believe…. that the arithmetic of our times says we are headed for Niagara Falls, fiscally. You cannot run any kind of enterprise — private or public — on a self-governing basis as deeply in hawk as we now are and are going to be,” Daniels added. “…. to change the whole size and scope of the federal government in a radical way, then we are going to need a very broad constituency in this country to do that…. so that’s all I meant, kind of a priority matter, first things first. Maybe we could just concentrate on that for a little while, because I think that’s the most immediate threat to the republic we’ve known.”
Later in the interview, The Hill transcript indicates, Daniels returned to the truce issue, saying fiscal issues should take precedence and social issues like abortion should be “muted” for awhile.
“I would like to think that fixing it and saving our kids future could be a unifying moment for our country and we wouldn’t stop our disagreements or our passionate belief in these other questions, we just sort of mute them for a little while, while we try to come together on the thing that menaces us all,” he concluded.
In stepped Santorum, who appeared on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show this morning:
“[He is] far off base. I don’t think he understands what conservatism is all about,” said Santorum of Daniels. “I don’t think he understands that Reagan’s three-legged stool is not just that we have three legs of the stool, the social conservative, the fiscal conservative and national security conservatives, but that the material made of all three parts of the stool is the same. And it’s a moral and cultural heritage of this country, is what that stool, the material itself that the stool is made of….”
“…”I would argue that what menaces us all is a society that is falling apart,” Santorum also told Hewitt. “The reason government has gotten so big and we’re spending so much money is because the family is breaking down, because fathers aren’t involved in taking care of their children.”
Santorum hit the nail on the head in his criticism of Gov. Daniels. It is hard to believe that one who puts fiscal issues as the top priority does not deal with social issues as well. Our nation is indeed in dangerous fiscal trouble, as Gov. Daniels observes. But why then are we giving hundreds of millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood? Why are we sending millions of dollars overseas to pay for abortions? Why are we paying billions of dollars for a health care plan that will cover abortions? Why do we look at the population disparity between rising economies across the world and fail to realize that we have aborted 50 million American workers?
Santorum shows that Gov. Daniels could not effectively ignore social issues as president. As Santorum observes, the breakdown of the family is costing us hundreds of billions of dollars through social welfare programs. Does anyone doubt that the expenditures for these programs would drop dramatically if all men took reponsibilty for their children and quit treating them as mistakes?
Frank Cannon, President of American Principles Project, has also slammed Daniels:
“It’s unfortunate Gov. Daniels doesn’t seem to understand the winning philosophy of Ronald Reagan that brought conservatism to victory by addressing all three issues,” said Frank Cannon, President of American Principles Project. “If Mitch Daniels is planning to run for president by running away from social issues, he will face a grassroots revolt.”
It is unfortunate that Gov. Daniels, a man with a strong pro-life record, would abandon his principles in a time where the country needs them most. The pro-life movement currently has perhaps the most momentum in its history, with the younger generations more pro-life than ever and the 2010 elections ushering in the most pro-life House in history. The next president must certainly deal with our country’s fiscal mess – but you don’t get elected president when you can only deal with one priority at a time. Especially when fiscal priorities are intertwined with pro-life priorities.
SBA Pro-Life America's mission is to end abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders. Your secure gift today will help to advance a culture of life and protect unborn children and their mothers from abortion.
Donate
