COMMENTARY | Rick Santorum flew under the radar while his fellow Republican competitors fell once they were put under the microscope of the media. After Rick Santorum’s second place finish in Iowa, he is going to step into the media hot seat and picked apart.
Santorum’s positions on Iran are a big selling point for me. He takes the position that Iran can not obtain a nuclear weapon. With Iran’s recent threats against our aircraft carrier; a strong national security president is just what we need. Iran is becoming more and more audacious. They have threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz to restrict the flow of oil from the region. With this brazen saber rattling on display, I do not want to see the world with a nuclear Iran. Santorum seems to plan on dismantling Iran’s nuclear program by all means available. He supports targeting nuclear scientists, targeting Iran’s money, sanctions against Iran, and funding internal opposition to the Iranian leadership. He also wants to work closely with Israel to take out the reactors as a last resort.
I have several concerns with Santorum. He is a Washington good ol’ boy. He took money from lobbyists, and he was an unapologetic supporter and author of millions of dollars in earmarks. He claims that he is committed to cutting spending by $5 trillion; which is great. The problem for me is his support of big money programs like the Medicare prescription drug benefit under President Bush. I can overlook a lot of his spending. He was battling for his constituents, and that is what a representative is supposed to do. Not everyone can be perfect conservative after a 10-year track record in the House and Senate. Sometimes compromise is needed, and we all know that Washington could use a little more compromise these days.
Santorum’s stark contrast to all of the remaining competitors should give him a strong position going forward in the Republican primaries. I think that he is a clear choice over Ron Paul due to his stance on Iran. I think that he is much more trustworthy than Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney has changed his mind way too many times to gain my trust. Newt Gingrich is starting to show his true colors as a political hack, so Santorum shouldn’t have any issues leaving him in the dust. I think that Rick Santorum has a solid conservative background even if there are a few blemishes on his conservative resume.
A quick look at Rick Santorum’s positions