Why I was (am) for Rick

I was chatting with our eldest daughter, Troglotyke #2, on the night of the South Carolina primary when Rick Santorum came on to give his "concession" speech. We continued to chat about who was doing well relative to expectations and the like. Now, we do have those famed family discussions around the kitchen table, and, on occasion, the topic does turn to politics, so there wasn't any question where we stand generally on the political scale/plane, or why. At this point, she begins paying attention to the speech on the TV (beginning around the 9-minute mark in the clip below), and as she listens her eyes widen and a look of recognition comes across her face and she turns to me and says:

Oh my gosh, Dad. He sounds just like you! That's the way you talk.

SANTORUM: I've talked often in my speeches about the liberal think tank that says that if you do three things that you can almost guarantee to stay out of poverty. Work that I just talked about, get that education, graduate from high school, and, of course, get married before you have children. Marriage, family --

If we are not the party that stands up for the truth about the importance of marriage, the importance of families, the importance of fatherhood and motherhood, the importance of those values of instilling virtues in the next generation of children with faith, then we are a party that no longer has a heart. And we are not a party that's going to be a majority party in this country. We have to be the party that speaks to everyone, those who know and understand that at the heart of America, that beating sound is that beating pulse of the healthy family.

I'm not going to pretend I thought Santorum to be my perfect candidate, but what my daughter recognized that night, I had seen months earlier, and why I supported him for president...

Faith. Family. Freedom. Undermine one, undermine all.

We are at a crossroads as a nation. America, and indeed Western Civilization, is faced with the prospect of having to proceed in an era of globalization without the institution of the family and with a shrinking mobility for a middle class.

Rick Santorum understands better than the other candidates the profound link between the moral, cultural, and economic principles that have marked America as an exceptional nation in history. The Dignity of Life and the Dignity of Work go hand in hand with the strength of the family as an institution and the health of the middle class, and both were central to his agenda as president.

On the issues of the day, Rick Santorum has been out front in opposing the overreaches and failures of the Obama administration:

• the bailouts,
• the so-called stimulus,
• the individual health care mandate,
• the HHS mandate,
• exploding deficits as a share of GDP,
• cap-and-trade,
• border security, and
• the naïveté of Obama's charm offensive against those who have sworn to be our enemies, including, in particular, a nuclear-seeking Iran

None of the other competitive candidates could claim that entire list.

He has been a passionate, consistent, and articulate advocate for the Culture of Life and has been savaged by the left for upholding and living out traditional family values.

Even at the end of the campaign, I thought Rick Santorum could still best articulate both social and fiscal conservative values, have an agenda that works toward ensuring opportunity and security for all, including the middle class in particular, and have the wherewithal to follow-through and live those values as president.

America is still a great nation and can be greater still, so long as we remain good stewards of Faith, Family, and Freedom. With Rick Santorum, I think we could have had a president who believed this to his core and would have led accordingly.

But it's not to be...

Rick has pledged to do what he can to bring a change about in the White House. However, his campaign has debt, so, if you support that fight, please consider a donation of $10 or $20 or more to free up resources to help defeat Barack Obama in November.