Santorum: Social Issues Matter

By Beth Reinhard  //  February 10, 2011 | 2:58 p.m.
Updated: February 11, 2011 | 9:56 a.m.

At a time when fiscal conservatives are claiming the forefront of the nation's political debate, Rick Santorum delivered a vigorous defense of social conservatism Thursday.

The annual Conservative Action Political Conference, which draws thousands of grassroots activists to Washington, is at the fulcrum of the push and pull between fiscal and social conservatives.

Preserving human life by opposing abortion, cherishing the family by standing for traditional marriage, "Those are the issues that matter,'' said the former Pennsylvania senator. "Those are the issues that bind us together and those are the issues we cannot retreat on.''

Santorum is among a slew of potential presidential contenders addressing the conference, and he might be the hardest working underdog of the bunch. He's planning his tenth trip to New Hampshire this weekend and has been to Iowa nine times.

But the resounding defeat in 2006 that cost him his Senate seat could make him a tough sell to donors.

Santorum has been not so subtly trying to raise his profile by taking shots at his better known potential competitors, including Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney. On Thursday, without naming Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, he gently mocked him for calling for a "truce'' on social issues.

Santorum also addressed American foreign policy and charged the Obama administration with "turning its back'' on allies such as Israel. He accused President Obama of siding with the street protestors in Egypt who have been demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. Egypt is one of Israel's few non-hostile Arab neighbors. "What message are we sending to countries around the world who are friends of ours, that when things we get tough we walk away?'' he said. "And what message on the other side are we sending to our enemies that when things get tough we'll be with them?'' Unlike the potential candidates who spoke before him, Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich, Santorum took questions from the audience.

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