Following his second-place finish in the CPAC presidential straw poll and a third-place showing in Maine, Rick Santorum refrained from attacking his opponents and instead tried to paint himself as a well-rounded candidate who can appeal to voters with more than just his socially conservative views.
Speaking on CBS’ Meet the Press, Santorum resisted host David Gregory’s claim that social issues “define” his campaign and said that he’s also got the best plan to improve the economy.
“What’s defining my campaign is going out and talking about liberty, talking about economic growth, talking about getting manufacturing jobs back to this country, trying to grow this economy to make sure that everybody in America can participate in it,” he said, adding that he’s “concerned about everybody,” a jab at Romney’s controversial comment that he’s not “concerned with the very poor.”
But he didn’t shy away from expressing his conservative views on social issues. Santorum came out vehemently against the recent court ruling that overturned Proposition 8 in California, which banned gay marriage.
“The people of the state of California can decide what kind of constitution they have,” he said. “There’s a constitutional process. They can create, in a constitution, rights, or they can create responsibilities. That’s how the constitutional process works.”
Santorum said that the decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was an example of judicial overreach, and, like the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, he would attempt to overturn the Prop. 8 decision if he were president.
The former Pennsylvania Senator also doubled-down on comments he made criticizing Obama’s choice to send more women to combat in the military.
“There are physiological differences between men and women, and that’s one of the things that we have to consider in deploying them in an infantry position on the front line,” he said.
While he didn’t suggest where he’d find his next win, Santorum said he’d be campaigning hard in Michigan and Arizona, focusing on manufacturing and energy issues. The new focus on energy production comes as the economy seems to be on the mend, and candidates are looking for a new issues on which to hammer President Obama.
But Santorum kept much of the focus on his Righter-than-Romney viewpoints, attempting to solidify conservative credibility on Sunday by standing his ground on his small-government positions.
“I believe government needs to be there as a referee on the sidelines, but they shouldn’t be out there playing quarterback and running the offense,” he said. “They have to be on the sidelines, and let the American people, free people, believing in the opportunities that America creates, build a great and just society.”
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