Santorum Surges In Polls, Touts Family, American Values
By VOA
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has surged in the polls just ahead of the Iowa presidential caucus, after months of languishing near the bottom.
In some recent voter polls, Santorum ranks in third place – outpacing earlier favorites such as former congressman Newt Gingrich and Texas Governor Rick Perry.
He is campaigning hard in Iowa ahead of the caucuses on January 3. The results of the first major event in the 2012 presidential election campaign often push some candidates out of the running.
Santorum (http://www.ricksantorum.com/) says his rise shows that voters have met him and believe he reflects their values. And he says his 16 years as a lawmaker in Washington give him the right experience to be commander-in-chief.
The 53-year-old conservative, who has served in both houses of Congress, has pledged to revive the economy and create jobs. He says he will reduce income taxes, and work to pass a balanced budget amendment that caps government spending at 18 percent of gross domestic economy.
The married father of seven wants to cut regulations he says cost jobs, and he wants to reduce the size of the federal government. He says he is committed to strengthening the American family and the values of the country.
“This is an election where you can’t settle for just winning. This is an election that is too important for that. This is an election where I believe the future of America hangs in the balance of what kind of country we are going to be. Are we going to be a country that believes in our founders’ vision of free markets, free people, limited government, strong family, strong communities, an America being built as a great country from the bottom up? Or do we believe now that we have reached a point where that is no longer possible, and that our society is too complex, and that we need government and people who are smarter than the rest of us?”
He also wants to strengthen national security by making sure the country is not dependent on foreign competitors for critical manufacturing, technology, energy and other security needs.
Santorum represented the eastern state of Pennsylvania in Congress, first in the House of Representatives from 1991 to 1995, then in the Senate from 1995 to 2007. He lost his bid for a third Senate term to Democrat Bob Casey.
As a senator, he was part of the “Gang of Seven,” a group of Republicans from both houses of Congress who publicized a House banking scandal and a scandal within the Congressional Post Office in the 1990s.
