March 28, 2024

Santorum worships, speaks in Creston

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Joking that the current Republican field has “723 candidates,” former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum worked to separate himself from the pack at an event Sunday night at Creston Family Restaurant.

About 20 people gathered in the dining room to hear Santorum, winner of the 2012 Iowa Caucuses. Santorum began by thanking Iowans for helping him rise from 2 percent in the polls in the last election to a national contender, thanking them for considering the issues, not just the national headlines and poll numbers.

“The reason I want to congratulate you is not just because I won,” he said. “I want to congratulate you for doing exactly what the Iowa Caucuses are meant to do.”

Currently polling between 1 and 2 percent, Santorum drew differences between himself and other candidates, touting his leadership on issues like abortion and traditional marriage.

“They’re the hardest issues to lead on because they’re the most controversial — the ones that you pay the heaviest price for leading,” Santorum said. “You see a lot of folks that say ‘I’m pro-life’ or ‘I’m pro-marriage.’ See if they’ve led on any of those issues — not whether they voted on those isues, not whether they signed on those issues,”

Santorum said the No. 1 priority for federal government spending should be defending the country, and he said he has the experience when it comes to understanding conflict overseas.

“Commander-in-chief is not an entry-level position,” he said.

Four months ago, Santorum said his picture and a quote was in one of the magazines distributed by ISIS with the words “In the words of our enemy” printed above it.

“ISIS knows who I am, and I know who they are, and I know how to defeat them, and they know that too,” he said.

Santorum fielded questions on immigration, education, climate change and the Supreme Court.

He said he is one of only a few candidates who would fight to reverse the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, saying the Supreme Court does not have the ultimate say, and the result of the decision will be discrimination of people with religious objections.

“People are losing their jobs, not getting contracts today, because of their positions,” he said.

Santorum, a catholic, attended a special Sunday mass at Holy Spirit Parish immediately before the 8 p.m. event. Earlier in the day, Santorum had made visits to Mount Ayr and Bedford. He will have visited all 99 Iowa counties by Tuesday.