Painting a picture of “existential” battles both in America and around the world, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania made a pitch for a strong national defense as a protector of liberty to a socially conservative crowd Friday at the 2014 Values Voter Summit.
Mr. Santorum said a clash is perpetually raging between viewpoints that fundamental rights are inherent or that they are derived from the state.
“When we lose these battles, when we lose these precious freedoms, then everything else will start to fall, because now government has gotten more intrusive and bigger and dictatorial and the secular statists who control government are the ones who will be dictating not just how you practice religion but how you run your business, who you do business with,” he said.
Mr. Santorum argued the ongoing conflict in the Middle East does in fact constitute a clash of civilizations and described President Obama as in “Disneyland” in how the United States has gone about addressing Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Mr. Santorum, the last of 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Republican rivals, acknowledged the libertarian-leaning sentiment that the United States should tend more to its own affairs than overseas conflicts, but said limited government should not be conflated with small government.
“Sometimes limited means limited to certain subject areas, but robust in those areas to protect our freedoms and keep us secure — that is what I argue for, and that’s what we as Republicans have always argued for,” he said.
Mr. Santorum said advocates on the other side of cultural issues have managed to gain momentum because they’re willing to fight, sacrifice, and not give up.
“If we’re going to win this fight here at home to protect our religious liberty, to protect the right to life, protect the institution — the glue that holds the family together, marriage, to protect our economic liberties, then we have to be willing to make those sacrifices,” he said. “We have to be willing to join together and make a difference.”
He urged attendees to be discerning in who to support in both the 2014 midterm elections and in the 2016 primary contests, but said to go all out this year because the Senate map for Republicans will be much less friendly in two years.
In a dig at unnamed politicians, he also dinged those “who come here to Washington to be the new, great leaders and turn out to be just very high-profile followers.”
“Put the effort in people that you trust,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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