Rick Santorum

Richard John Santorum ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and former CNN political commentator, who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate's third-ranking Republican during the final six years of his tenure. He also ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States in the 2012 Republican primaries, finishing second to Mitt Romney.

Santorum was elected to the United States Senate from Pennsylvania in 1994. He served two terms until losing his 2006 reelection bid to his opponent, Bob Casey. A social conservative, Santorum opposes abortion and same-sex marriage and embraced a cultural warrior image during his Senate tenure. While serving as a senator, Santorum authored the Santorum Amendment, which would have promoted the teaching of intelligent design. He was a leading sponsor of the 2003 federal law known as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, and he was responsible for the Combating Autism Act of 2006, which authorized the allocation of nearly one billion dollars "to combat autism through research, screening, intervention and education".

In the years following his departure from the Senate, Santorum has worked as a consultant, private practice lawyer, and news contributor. He ran for the Republican nomination in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Before suspending his campaign on April 10, 2012, Santorum exceeded expectations by winning 11 primaries and caucuses and receiving nearly four million votes, making him the runner-up to eventual nominee Mitt Romney. Santorum ran for president again in 2016, but ended his campaign in February 2016 after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses. In January 2017, he became a CNN senior political commentator. However, he was terminated from his contract with CNN in May 2021 due to comments he made about Native Americans a few weeks prior which were deemed "dismissive".

Early life and education Richard John Santorum was born in Winchester, Virginia. He is the second of the three children of Aldo Santorum (1923–2011), a clinical psychologist who immigrated to the United States at age seven from Riva, Trentino, Italy, Santorum attended elementary school at Butler Catholic School and then went on to Butler Senior High School. He was nicknamed "Rooster", supposedly for both a cowlick strand of hair and an assertive nature, particularly on important political issues. While at Penn State, Santorum joined the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity. He then completed a one-year M.B.A. program at the University of Pittsburgh's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, graduating in 1981. In 1986, Santorum received a J.D. degree with honors from Dickinson School of Law. Additionally, while in law school, Santorum was an administrative assistant to Republican state senator Doyle Corman, serving as executive director of the Pennsylvania Senate Local Government Committee from 1981 to 1984, then executive director of the Senate Transportation Committee. Santorum left his private law practice in 1990 after his election to the House of Representatives.

U.S. House of Representatives (1991–1995) Representative Santorum in 1991. Representatives Frank Riggs and John Boehner stand behind him. Having been groomed by Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, Santorum decided Democratic congressman Doug Walgren was vulnerable, and took up residence in Walgren's district. Needing money and political support, he courted GOP activist and major donor Elsie Hillman, In 1990, at age 32, Santorum was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district, located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. He scored a significant upset in the heavily Democratic district, defeating seven-term Democratic incumbent Doug Walgren by a 51% to 49% margin. As a member of the Gang of Seven, Santorum was involved in exposing members of Congress involved in the House banking scandal.

U.S. Senate (1995–2007) Elections

Santorum served in the United States Senate representing Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007. From 2001 until 2007, he was the Senate's third-ranking Republican. by a 59% to 41% margin.

Tenure After his election to the Senate in 1994, Santorum sought to "practice what [he] preached" and hired five people for his staff who were on welfare, food stamps, or other government aid.

In 1996, Santorum served as Chairman of the Republican Party Task Force on Welfare Reform, and contributed to legislation that became the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act. Santorum was an author and the floor manager of the bill. In 1996, Santorum endorsed moderate Republican Arlen Specter in his short-lived campaign for president. Reporters have observed that though Santorum and Specter differed on social policy, Specter provided him with key political staff for his successful run in 1994.

Legislative proposals

Religious freedom initiatives Santorum, Sen. Arlen Specter, and Rep. John Murtha watch President George W. Bush sign the Flight 93 National Memorial Act. Santorum, at right, alongside seven other members of Congress and the Secretary of the Interior as President George W. Bush signs H.R. 6111, the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 In 2002, Santorum was a co-sponsor of that year's attempt to pass the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA). The bill had first been introduced in the Senate by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) in 1996, having been introduced in the House by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) in 1994. Although Santorum was in the Senate at the time, he was not a sponsor of the bill when it was introduced in 1996, or when it was reintroduced in 1997 and 1999. Once signed on as a co-sponsor, Santorum remained so throughout his tenure in the Senate.

Santorum founded the Congressional Working Group on Religious Freedom in 2003. The group included members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and met monthly to address issues such as the Workplace Religious Freedom Act, tax-exempt status for churches, the CARE act, international religious freedom, and antisemitism. The liberal advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington cited the bill as one of several reasons for listing Santorum as one of its "most corrupt politicians".

Foreign policy Santorum supports the war on terror and shares the views of neoconservatives and the Bush Doctrine in regard to foreign policy. He felt the War in Iraq was justified and in 2006 declared that weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) had been found in Iraq. Santorum made the declaration regarding WMDs Santorum called the War in Afghanistan "a very winnable operation" in 2012, dismissing efforts for withdrawal by 2014. He similarly criticized President Obama's foreign policy, saying he was "not focused on trying to win the war" in Afghanistan, and said he was against any withdrawal in Iraq in 2012, saying, "We want victory."

Santorum supports U.S. political intervention Santorum stated that Iran was the creator of Hezbollah and the driving force of Hamas. He said Iran was at the center of "much of the world's conflict" but he was opposed to direct military action against the country in 2006. The initiative became politically toxic for Republicans when the Jack Abramoff scandal broke in late 2004. Although some sources indicate that Santorum played a key role A few months later, however, Santorum emphatically denied any connection with either the K Street Project or Norquist, saying: "I had absolutely nothing to do—never met, never talked, never coordinated, never did anything—with Grover Norquist and the quote K Street Project." In January 2012, The Washington Post's''' "Fact Checker" concluded that "we can't prove definitively whether or not Santorum collaborated on the K Street Project", saying that it "depend[ed] on how you define the initiative". Santorum chose to campaign alongside President Bush and called him a "terrific president", hurting his popularity. Also problematic was Santorum's 2004 endorsement of his Republican Senate colleague Arlen Specter over conservative congressman Pat Toomey in the primary for Pennsylvania's other Senate seat. Many socially and fiscally conservative Republicans considered the endorsement a betrayal of their cause. In the book, Santorum also compared pro-choice Americans to "German Nazis." John Brabender, an adviser to Santorum's Senate and presidential races, reflected back on the book's controversies and said Santorum was warned that sections could bring political damage, and Santorum was not willing to change much of it simply to gain moderate supporters. In addition, a past article Santorum wrote to The Catholic Online in which he linked liberalism and moral relativism in American society, particularly within seminaries, to the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal resurfaced in 2005. He wrote, "It is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."

Santorum said he spent "maybe a month a year" at his Pennsylvania home, Santorum responded to the dispute saying that his children should not be implicated in the "politics of personal destruction". where he primarily practiced law in the firm's Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., offices, providing business and strategic counseling services to the firm's clients. In 2007, he joined the Board of Directors of Universal Health Services, a hospital management company based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. In April 2021, he claimed at an April 23 Young America's Foundation event that "There isn't much Native American culture in American culture. We came here and created a blank slate. We birthed a Nation. From nothing. I mean there was nothing here." Santorum's comments, which were described as racist, led to calls for CNN to terminate his contract, which the network did days later.

Speculation about political plans Before the 2006 election, Santorum was frequently mentioned as a possible 2008 presidential candidate. Such speculation faded when, during the 2006 campaign and in light of unimpressive poll numbers in his Senate race, he declared that, if reelected, he would serve a full term. After he lost, Santorum once again ruled out a presidential run. In September 2008, Santorum expressed support for McCain as the nominee, citing McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate as a step in the right direction. Santorum surged in polls taken shortly after, ranking first in some and a close second in others. In the March 13 primaries, Santorum narrowly won both Mississippi and Alabama and followed up with a victory in Louisiana on March 24.

Following the hospitalization of his daughter Bella and losses in Wisconsin, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, Santorum announced the suspension of his campaign on April 10, 2012, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He had won 11 state primaries and nearly 4 million votes, more than any other candidate except Romney. Santorum topped Romney in polls for a brief period. Upon the conclusion of Santorum's run, Romney called him "an important voice" in the GOP.

Santorum received a prime time speaking slot at the 2012 Republican National Convention. He was originally slated to speak early in the evening, but convention organizers moved him to 9 pm with the other highly anticipated speakers of the evening, Ann Romney and convention keynote Chris Christie. Santorum spoke of the American dream his immigrant grandfather worked to give his family and said Obama was turning the dream into a nightmare. He talked about his experiences on the presidential campaign trail, speaking with emotion about his daughter Bella and meeting disabled people and their families. He emphasized the importance of strengthening marriage and the family. He also condemned Obama's actions on the welfare reform law, of which he was one of the chief proponents in Congress, and his actions on education, including school choice and student loans. Santorum concluded his speech to a standing ovation, saying,

Patriot Voices In June 2012, Santorum launched Patriot Voices, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit with a mission to "mobilize conservatives around this country who are committed to promoting faith, family, freedom and opportunity" in support of causes and candidates across the country. Santorum supported U.S. Senate candidates Ted Cruz in Texas and Richard Mourdock in Indiana in their respective Republican primaries; both won. In the general elections, Patriot Voices endorsed eight U.S. Senate candidates and four House candidates. In Iowa's 2012 retention elections Santorum lent support to the "NO Wiggins" effort to oust Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins, who they say promulgated a personal political agenda in the court. They have also been vocal in opposition to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which they say threatens parental rights and U.S. sovereignty. In August 2021 Santorum became a Senior Advisor to the Convention of States Project of Citizens for Self-Governance. "As Senior Advisor, Rick is counseling us on strategy, will serve as a public voice for the surging Convention of States movement, and will focus his incredible energy on restoring our nation and returning the proper balance to our republic," said Mark Meckler, head of the Convention of States Project.

Business ventures In June 2013, Santorum became chairman and CEO of EchoLight Studios, a Dallas-based Christian movie company. Santorum has produced the Christmas-themed movie The Christmas Candle and the religious liberty film One Generation Away.

He is a part owner of Plasma Technologies LLC.

2016 presidential campaign

Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press on August 4, 2013, Santorum said, "I'm open to looking into a presidential race in 2016." He outlined plans for a potential 2016 run in an interview with The Washington Post, and officially announced his candidacy on May 27, 2015. After performing poorly in the Iowa caucuses, Santorum ended his campaign on February 3, 2016, and endorsed Florida senator Marco Rubio. After Rubio suspended his campaign, Santorum endorsed Donald Trump.

CNN racism accusation In May 2021, Santorum stated that America was founded by white Europeans and that prior to their arrival, America was populated by nothing more than a handful of primitive warring Native American tribes. He was dropped from CNN over these remarks, with some responses referring to them as "classic white supremacist rhetoric" and being "dangerous manipulation". In response, Santorum said he had “misspoke” and denied that he was “trying to dismiss [the genocide of] Native Americans”. He has become known for his staunch opposition to abortion. In 2015, he said, "'I do not believe life begins at conception. I know life begins at conception. This is not a matter of debate. It's not a matter of faith ... Every child at the moment of conception is both living—that embryo is metabolizing—and it is ... genetically completely human"'. He also sponsored a similar bill in 1999. Santorum was a lead sponsor of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush in November 2003 and upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in the 2007 decision Gonzales v. Carhart.

Class/Inequality Santorum has condemned the term "middle class" as "Marxism talk" used by liberals, maintaining that the United States has no social classes. At an August 2013 GOP fundraiser in Rock Rapids, Iowa, he said, "Don't use the term the other side uses... he middle class.... Since when in America do we have classes? Since when in America are people stuck in areas or defined places called a class? That's Marxism talk... When Republicans get up and talk about middle class, we're buying into their rhetoric of dividing America. Stop it. There's no class in America. Call them on it." In January 2012, Santorum said that "when there is certainty, that's the case that capital punishment can be used" but that "if there is not certainty, under the law, it shouldn't be used."

Drugs Santorum used cannabis in college, but later said, "Even during that time, I knew that what I was doing was wrong." He has voted in favor of increasing penalties for drug trafficking and possession and for increased spending on drug control.

Energy and environment Santorum rejects the scientific consensus on climate change, which states that global warming is harmful and primarily human-caused, calling it "junk science". He has claimed that global warming is a "beautifully concocted scheme" by the political left and "an excuse for more government control of your life."

He has stated a policy of "drill everywhere" for oil and that there is "enough oil, coal and natural gas to last for centuries". and Glenn Kessler, fact-checker for The Washington Post, said there was no evidence to support them. Santorum's comments were met with a significant backlash in the Netherlands and were significantly criticized worldwide.

Fiscal policy As U.S. representative from Pennsylvania, in each year from 1992 through 1994 Santorum received a grade of B, and as U.S. senator from Pennsylvania he received grades of A from 1995 through 1997, B+ in 1998 and 1999, B in 2000, A from 2001 through 2004, B in 2005, and B+ in 2006 from the National Taxpayers Union, a conservative taxpayers advocacy organization.

Gun laws Santorum, who received nearly $116,000 from the gun lobby from 1990 to 2017, has consistently supported gun rights. Santorum is an advocate of the right to bear arms. He is also a defender of gun manufacturers, and voted for the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (Bill S 397), which prevents civil suits from being brought against gun manufacturers for criminal acts perpetrated with their weapons. On March 25, 2018, in response to the "March for Our Lives", Santorum told CNN that rather than marching the students should "take CPR classes" instead of "looking to someone else to solve their problems." Columbia Journalism Review called the comment "asinine on its face," but said that, even so, the response from doctors, journalists and students about the "stupid" comment was excessive.

Immigration In 2015, Santorum called for more restrictions on family-based immigration after warning of a "flood of legal—not illegal—immigrants to our country", which he blamed for depressing the median income of American workers.

In 2006, Santorum opposed the Senate's immigration reform proposal, saying the U.S. should simply act to enforce currently existing laws. He has openly stated his opposition to amnesty for illegal immigrants. He supports the construction of a barrier along the U.S.–Mexican border, an increase in the number of border patrol agents, and the stationing of National Guard troops along the border. He also believes that illegal immigrants should be deported immediately when they commit crimes and that undocumented immigrants should not receive benefits from the government. He believes English should be established as the national language in the United States. Santorum claimed that all "net new jobs" created in the United States economy since 2000 have gone to immigrants (both legal and illegal). At the Iowa Freedom Summit, Santorum said: "We need an immigration policy that puts American workers first." In an interview with NPR in the summer of 2005, Santorum discussed what he called the "libertarianish right", saying "they have this idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do. Government should keep our taxes down and keep our regulation low and that we shouldn't get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn't get involved in cultural issues, you know, people should do whatever they want. Well, that is not how traditional conservatives view the world, and I think most conservatives understand that individuals can't go it alone."

Minimum wage During his 2016 presidential campaign, Santorum came out in support of an increase in the federal minimum wage. In September 2015, he said, "'Republicans are losing elections because we aren't talking about [workers], all we want to talk about is what happened to business, there are people that work in those businesses.'"

Paid family leave Santorum supports paid family leave.

Pornography On his website, Santorum said that the "Obama Administration has turned a blind eye" to pornography, but promised the situation would "change under a Santorum Administration." According to USA Today, some conservatives believe Santorum's opposition to pornography could "hurt the party politically." Researchers say that there is no such evidence of brain changes, although pornography's harmfulness "is still in dispute." He then said that Obama had not put a priority on tackling the porn industry, "putting children at risk as a result of that."

LGBT issues

In his 2005 book It Takes a Family, Santorum advocated a society oriented toward "family values" and centered on monogamous, heterosexual relationships, marriage, and child raising. He opposes both same-sex marriage and civil unions, saying the American public and their elected officials should decide on these "incredibly important moral issues" rather than the Supreme Court.

During a 2003 interview, Santorum expressed opposition to same-sex marriage, said he favors having laws against polygamy, sodomy (between same sex or opposite sex couples), and other actions "antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family", and likened homosexuality to bestiality and child sexual abuse. The remarks drew a retaliatory response from many, including author, journalist, and LGBT community activist Dan Savage, who launched a contest to coin a "santorum" neologism among the readers of his blog with the winner as "the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex". creating a situation that commentators dubbed "Santorum's Google problem".

In 2011, during his bid for the Republican nomination in the upcoming presidential election, Santorum attended a Republican primary debate held two days after the official end of the Clinton-era "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that effectively banned gays and lesbians from open service in the United States Armed Forces and fielded a question from Stephen Snyder-Hill, a gay soldier then serving in Iraq, about the progress made by gay soldiers in the military. The soldier was booed by some in the audience, and Santorum said his administration would reinstate the ban on gay soldiers in the military. Santorum was roundly criticized for not supporting the soldier, and he later asserted he had not heard the booing from the stage.

In 2015, Santorum signed an online pledge vowing not to respect any law, including any decision by the United States Supreme Court, conferring legal recognition on same-sex marriage. The pledge states, in part: "A decision purporting to redefine marriage flies in the face of the Constitution and is contrary to the natural created order. As people of faith we pledge obedience to our Creator when the State directly conflicts with higher law." In April 2015, Santorum stated on Hugh Hewitt's radio program that he would not attend a same-sex wedding, saying: "as a person of my faith, that would be something that would be a violation of my faith."

At a Republican convention in South Carolina in 2015, Santorum responded to a question about Caitlyn Jenner by saying: "if [Jenner] says he's a woman, then he's a woman. My responsibility as a human being is to love and accept everybody. Not to criticize people for who they are." Due to Santorum's consistent opposition to same-sex marriage, his apparent acceptance of Jenner's transition surprised some. Some people criticized Santorum for continuing to use the male pronoun in reference to Jenner. Santorum declined to take a position on whether transgender people should be allowed to use restrooms which align with their gender identity, saying only that he believed the federal government should leave the issue to local authorities. Santorum later clarified his statement, writing that he "meant to express empathy", and "not a change in public policy." provide assistance to orphans and vulnerable children in developing countries, combat genocide in Sudan, and offer third world debt relief. In 2006, rock musician and humanitarian Bono said of Santorum, "he has been a defender of the most vulnerable."

Electoral history

Personal life

Santorum met his future wife, Karen Garver (born 1960), while she was a neonatal nurse studying law at the University of Pittsburgh and he was recruiting summer interns for Kirkpatrick & Lockhart. They married in 1990 The Santorums' four eldest children appeared with their parents on Piers Morgan Tonight in January 2012. Elizabeth, who was five at the time of Gabriel's death, said she was glad to have seen him, and that he holds a place in her heart.

Santorum traveled, in 2002, to Rome to speak at a centenary celebration of the birth of Saint Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei. mainly held as five rental properties around Penn State University, two personal homes in Great Falls and Penn Hills, and some IRAs. In 1997, Santorum purchased a three-bedroom house in the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills. In 2001, he bought a $640,000 house in Leesburg, Virginia, and purchased a $2 million home in Great Falls, Virginia.

According to The Washington Post, Santorum has paid $50,000 per year out of pocket for medical expenses not covered by insurance for his daughter Isabella's Trisomy 18. The Santorums once paid $25,000 to have Isabella airlifted from a Virginia hospital to a children's hospital in Philadelphia.

Religion

Although he was raised in a nominally Catholic household, Santorum's faith began to deepen when he met his future wife, Karen. By his account, conversations with her father, Kenneth Garver, a staunch Catholic and abortion opponent, solidified his understanding and opposition to abortion. He and his wife have since become increasingly religious. Santorum now considers himself a devout Catholic and acknowledges his faith as the source of his politics and worldview. He attends Mass almost daily and organized a Catholic study group for lawmakers while in Congress.

Santorum proudly calls himself a culture warrior and true Christian conservative. In so positioning himself, he has garnered popularity among Protestant evangelicals, but his support among Catholics is not as robust. Santorum's emphasis on his "Christian roots" was especially favored by evangelicals in the Midwest and Southern states during the 2012 primaries, although he lost the Republican Catholic vote in most states to Romney. Exit polls found only 42% of those Catholics and less than a third of Protestant evangelicals knew Santorum was Catholic. After Santorum won Protestant-majority states Alabama and Mississippi but lost in heavily Catholic Puerto Rico, The Huffington Post said he "seemed exasperated by the trend" and said his base support came from "people who take their faith seriously", not necessarily fellow Catholics. In an interview with the National Catholic Reporter, Santorum said that the distinction between private religious conviction and public responsibility, espoused by President John F. Kennedy, had caused "great harm in America". He said: "All of us have heard people say, 'I privately am against abortion, homosexual marriage, stem cell research, cloning. But who am I to decide that it's not right for somebody else?' It sounds good, but it is the corruption of freedom of conscience."

Santorum has said he values faith over politics and considers politicians' faith significant. He questioned whether Barack Obama truly has a religion, alleging that he may have chosen Christianity as a politically expedient platform for power. Santorum has said that "if the president says he's a Christian, he's a Christian" but has stated that Obama's agenda was based on a "phony theology", not the Bible. In an interview with Glenn Beck, Santorum said Obama's desire for greater higher education rates nationwide was a veiled attempt at "indoctrination", saying that "62 percent of kids who go into college with a faith commitment leave without it." Santorum declined to provide a source for that figure. He believes colleges reinforce secular relativism and antagonize religiosity, particularly Christianity, and lists young people's support for abortion, gay marriage, and pornography as "symptoms" of indoctrination.

Books Santorum has written four books: It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good (2005); American Patriots: Answering the Call to Freedom (2012); Blue Collar Conservatives: Recommitting to an America That Works (2014); and Bella's Gift: How One Little Girl Transformed Our Family and Inspired a Nation (2015). In addition to Santorum's books, a collection of his speeches as a U.S. senator was published and released by Monument Press in 2005 under the title Rick Santorum: A Senator Speaks Out on Life, Freedom, and Responsibility.

Santorum also wrote a foreword to William A. Dembski's 2006 Darwin's Nemesis: Phillip Johnson and the Intelligent Design Movement and a 2006 autobiography.

In It Takes a Family, Santorum argues that the traditional family is the foundation of society. Santorum criticizes alike laissez-faire conservatives and liberal proponents of social welfare for promoting a radical view of autonomy. In particular, he criticizes the "bigs" – "big government, big media, big entertainment, big universities." The book became a New York Times bestseller. American Patriots tells the stories of 25 lesser-known Americans from the American Revolution. Santorum writes, "Most Americans know something about our Founding Fathers and their role in creating the government of the United States. However, most know little about the day-to-day battles fought by Americans of all backgrounds that paved the way for the high ideals of our founders to be put into practice." He also writes, "Today we are facing a threat to the very foundation our founders laid. That threat does not come from an alien force but from those who are willing and determined to abandon the concept of God-given rights. Like the royalty during the Revolution, today's elites wish to return to the pre-Revolutionary paradigm in which they, through governmental force, allocate rights and responsibilities." Santorum puts forward a recipe for Republican success in which Republicans advocate for workers and not just corporations. He says that many middle class workers who have been forced into part-time jobs at big box stores or even into public assistance programs are amenable to the GOP's message if it is presented in relatable terms.