By Gregory W. Wallace
June 6—The backdrop to Rick Santorum’s presidential bid announcement painted the portrait he desired for this campaign: patriotism and family.
Mr. Santorum stood on the steps of the courthouse in Somerset County, surrounded by American flags, tri-coloured balloons, and his family. The Pennsylvania Republican is known for his conservative positions on abortion, stem cell research, and same-sex marriage.
“I don’t just take the pledge. I take the bullets,” he said. Rather than soften his positions to appeal to voters, he paints himself as remaining strong through the storm.
Among the declared and likely contenders, others—think Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, and Ron Paul—more readily come to mind for their Tea Party association. Mr. Santorum, professed to “love our Tea Partiers,” aligned his critique of the Obama Administration’s economic policy with the movement’s frustrations.
“People have understood, they understand, that something is wrong, that something is at stake here in America,” he said. “Who can say its not the economy when you’re looking at this pathetic rate of growth and the incredibly just discouragingly high rate of unemployment. Not 9.1 percent but 14, 15 percent of people who really want to get work and they can’t find work.
“And you can look at this Administration and say, ‘Oh, what did they do in response?’ They just sent money to state capitals and municipalities to keep their government workers on the payroll and forgot about the rest of America out here trying to survive and try to grow.”
He criticized President Obama for high energy prices, federal spending, and currency devaluation, then hit the incumbent on the social issues of abortion, the Defense of Marriage Act, health care and “our moral currency.”
“Who are you, Mr. President, to say that your Administration should take 40 cents out of every dollar and borrow it from future generations to prop you up,” he said to a roar of approval.
In a lighter moment, he tossed in a New Hampshire reference: “The most common question I’ve had over the past. . . twenty months was, ‘Are you running?’ ” Mr. Santorum said. “And the answer I always gave. . . ‘No, I’m not running, I’m walking.’ And the reason I was walking is because I wanted to get out and talk to Americans all across America, dozens and dozens of states over the past couple of years, with a heavy sampling on the Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.”
For this announcement, Mr. Santorum returned to the state which he served for two terms before loosing in 2006, when Republicans fared poorly in many races midway through President Bush’s second term.
Standing behind the candidate was his family, including his wife, Karen. The family and “freedom” narrative was further built by the widely-disseminated fact that his grandfather, an Italian immigrant, settled in the area and worked in the coal mines. Mr. Santorum, born in Virginia, eventually moved to Pennsylvania, where he built his academic credentials, including a law degree. After some years in private practice, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives twice, then twice to the U.S. Senate.
The event was not without its mishaps. Midsentence and mentioning the Tea Party, Mr. Santorum did not miss a beat in responding to a loud popping sound echoing off the courthouse walls: “Those were balloons, not shots. Not that I haven’t had my shots shot at me a few times.” Later, when an audience member fainted in the direct sunlight, the candidate offered his water bottle, stepped down from the podium, and asked that attendees pray for her. “America is a great country,” he resumed, “not because of our government. It’s because our Founders founded it a great country.”
He appeared earlier today on Good Morning America where he said he is “in it to win it.”
Monday was not friendly to Mr. Santorum, who shared headlines with Congressman Anthony Weiner, Democrat of New York, who admitted today to having virtual affairs both before and during his marriage while in public office.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Candidates Make Telling Choice in Campaign Announcement Location
By Gregory W. Wallace
June 6—While campaigns work to choreograph the details and symbolism of every event, the presidential campaign announcement is one of a few which receives extra attention.
The location of the announcement can signal the candidate's campaign priorities or ability to succeed amongst certain demographics just as much as what he (or she) actually says in the speech.
Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, announces this morning from his home state. He will speak on the courthouse steps near where his father settled upon immigrating to America.
Although he lost his last Pennsylvania election, Mr. Santorum's lagging poll numbers indicate that much work remains to be done nation-wide, including in New Hampshire, where he will return later this week.
Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, announced last week in Stratham, N.H. Congressman Ron Paul of Texas also made the Granite State announcement in Exeter following an appearance on Good Morning America.
Iowa, which holds the nation's first caucuses, is attracting attention from the two Minnesota candidates. Former governor Tim Pawlenty announced there and is being followed by Congresswoman Michele Bachmann who will not say if she is running, but promises an Iowa announcement this month.
Rather than pick a state, Newt Gingrich made the announcement in the Twitterverse, posting on social networking sites that he would be seeking the nomination--after first posting that a major announcement was to come. Herman Cain, a Georgia businessman, chose the capital city of his home state, where he hosts a radio program and was better known than in many other states.
When Sarah Palin was in New Hampshire last week, she would not say if she would seek the party nod. Neither would Jon Huntsman, who will not be attending the June 13 New Hampshire debate but is expected to announce this month. Rudy Giuliani has yet to announce either, but in a recent interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader, he said the Granite State—which he avoided in his last run—would be a major part of this campaign.
June 6—While campaigns work to choreograph the details and symbolism of every event, the presidential campaign announcement is one of a few which receives extra attention.
The location of the announcement can signal the candidate's campaign priorities or ability to succeed amongst certain demographics just as much as what he (or she) actually says in the speech.
Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, announces this morning from his home state. He will speak on the courthouse steps near where his father settled upon immigrating to America.
Although he lost his last Pennsylvania election, Mr. Santorum's lagging poll numbers indicate that much work remains to be done nation-wide, including in New Hampshire, where he will return later this week.
Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, announced last week in Stratham, N.H. Congressman Ron Paul of Texas also made the Granite State announcement in Exeter following an appearance on Good Morning America.
Iowa, which holds the nation's first caucuses, is attracting attention from the two Minnesota candidates. Former governor Tim Pawlenty announced there and is being followed by Congresswoman Michele Bachmann who will not say if she is running, but promises an Iowa announcement this month.
Rather than pick a state, Newt Gingrich made the announcement in the Twitterverse, posting on social networking sites that he would be seeking the nomination--after first posting that a major announcement was to come. Herman Cain, a Georgia businessman, chose the capital city of his home state, where he hosts a radio program and was better known than in many other states.
When Sarah Palin was in New Hampshire last week, she would not say if she would seek the party nod. Neither would Jon Huntsman, who will not be attending the June 13 New Hampshire debate but is expected to announce this month. Rudy Giuliani has yet to announce either, but in a recent interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader, he said the Granite State—which he avoided in his last run—would be a major part of this campaign.
Primary Insider for June 6, 2011
By Gregory W. Wallace
RICK SANTORUM, the former Pennsylvania senator, announces his presidential bid from Somerset, Penn., this morning. His father, an Italian immigrant, worked in area coal mines.
-- “Long a favorite of religious and social conservatives for his staunch opposition to gay rights and abortion, Santorum is joining the GOP field on Monday as a longshot driven by his belief that religion deserves a stronger role in public life.” Andrew Miga, AP.
-- UPDATE: Strategy: “Huckabee 2008 is the model for Santorum 2012, as Santorum tries to build out a coalition from the same evangelical base that powered the former Arkansas governor to a darkhorse Iowa caucus win and on to a second place delegate finish. If they get their way, his strength in Iowa will hold him through a lesser showing in the more moderate New Hampshire primary, but then he’ll come back strong in South Carolina. The less people believe it can happen, the better they think their chances are. ‘It’s all an expectations game,’ a source close to the campaign told POLITICO. ‘Rick’s strategy from day one has been to stay under the radar and exceed expectations.’ ” Dan Hirschhorn, Politico.
-- “Santorum will speak for up to ten minutes, then talk with people in the crowd for another twenty. He will use notes, but his remarks will not be prewritten.” Politics PA.
-- The frequent New Hampshire visitor returns to the Granite State on June 8 to visit Amherst, Manchester, and Goffstown. Yesterday the New Hampshire Conservative Future PAC announced that Santorum bested all other candidates by 20-plus points in a straw poll: Rick Santorum at 37 percent, Ron Paul and Tim Pawlenty 12 percent, Mitt Romney 11 percent, Sarah Palin 2 percent.
-- Today’s media blitz includes Good Morning America followed by a slew of Fox interviews today through Wednesday.
-- “Mr. Santorum believes strongly in what he calls the culture of life. He is so well known as a crusader against abortion and same-sex marriage that it may surprise some voters and the news media that his interests in the Senate also included national security, foreign policy and entitlement programs. ‘I have one major piece of legislation I passed, on partial-birth abortion, but I had two on foreign policy — the Syria Accountability Act and the Iran Freedom and Support Act, both of which were opposed by Bush and took me a year or more,’ he said. He added: ‘I spent the last four years at the Ethics and Public Policy Center giving lectures all over the country on radical jihadism and the ‘Gathering Storm of the 21st Century.’ I haven’t done squat on moral, cultural issues.’ ” Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times.
-- UPDATE: If he doesn’t win? “Though he insists that he’s only after the ultimate prize, friends and allies acknowledge that Huckabee’s the model in this too, as Santorum tries to find a new voice in national politics — and perhaps even a Fox show of his own, with a new, bigger contract to replace the one that was severed as he got serious about his campaign.” Dan Hirschhorn, Politico.
“Conservative women enthusiastic about Bachmann, Palin”—Washington Post: “Palin and Bachmann share some key characteristics, including their popularity in tea party circles, their overtly Christian rhetoric and their sharp tongues. They also share a groomed attractiveness that Republican voters like. . . because it suggests that the candidates are proud of their femininity.”
PALIN APOLOGIZES for arriving in New Hampshire on Romney’s announcement day. On Fox News Sunday: “I apologize if I stepped on any—any of that PR that Mitt Romney needed or wanted that day. I do sincerely apologize. I didn’t mean to step on anybody’s toes.”
-- On her comment in Boston that Paul Revere warned the British: “But remember that the British had already been there, many soldiers for seven years in that area. And part of Paul Revere’s ride -- and it wasn’t just one ride—he was a courier, he was a messenger. Part of his ride was to warn the British that were already there. That, hey, you’re not going to succeed. You’re not going to take American arms. You are not going to beat our own well-armed persons, individual, private militia that we have. He did warn the British. And in a shout-out, gotcha type of question that was asked of me, I answered candidly. And I know my American history.”
-- AP report: “ Revere was probably bluffing the soldiers, according to Joel J. Miller, author of “The Revolutionary Paul Revere.” And while he made bells, Revere would never have rung any on that famous night because the Redcoats were under orders to round up people just like him. ‘He was riding off as quickly and as quietly as possible,’ Miller said. ‘Paul Revere did not want the Redcoats to know of his mission at all.’ ”
Analysis of ROMNEY by New York Time’s John Harwood: “His party keeps moving away from him. But the national agenda keeps moving toward him.”
TODAY—Mitt Romney is in New York and Herman Cain in Iowa. Newt Gingrich is off the radar.
HERMAN CAIN—“If few people think Mr. Cain can win the nomination, he is satisfying voters’ desire to fall in love with a candidate.” Kate Zernkie, New York Times.
RICK SANTORUM, the former Pennsylvania senator, announces his presidential bid from Somerset, Penn., this morning. His father, an Italian immigrant, worked in area coal mines.
-- “Long a favorite of religious and social conservatives for his staunch opposition to gay rights and abortion, Santorum is joining the GOP field on Monday as a longshot driven by his belief that religion deserves a stronger role in public life.” Andrew Miga, AP.
-- UPDATE: Strategy: “Huckabee 2008 is the model for Santorum 2012, as Santorum tries to build out a coalition from the same evangelical base that powered the former Arkansas governor to a darkhorse Iowa caucus win and on to a second place delegate finish. If they get their way, his strength in Iowa will hold him through a lesser showing in the more moderate New Hampshire primary, but then he’ll come back strong in South Carolina. The less people believe it can happen, the better they think their chances are. ‘It’s all an expectations game,’ a source close to the campaign told POLITICO. ‘Rick’s strategy from day one has been to stay under the radar and exceed expectations.’ ” Dan Hirschhorn, Politico.
-- “Santorum will speak for up to ten minutes, then talk with people in the crowd for another twenty. He will use notes, but his remarks will not be prewritten.” Politics PA.
-- The frequent New Hampshire visitor returns to the Granite State on June 8 to visit Amherst, Manchester, and Goffstown. Yesterday the New Hampshire Conservative Future PAC announced that Santorum bested all other candidates by 20-plus points in a straw poll: Rick Santorum at 37 percent, Ron Paul and Tim Pawlenty 12 percent, Mitt Romney 11 percent, Sarah Palin 2 percent.
-- Today’s media blitz includes Good Morning America followed by a slew of Fox interviews today through Wednesday.
-- “Mr. Santorum believes strongly in what he calls the culture of life. He is so well known as a crusader against abortion and same-sex marriage that it may surprise some voters and the news media that his interests in the Senate also included national security, foreign policy and entitlement programs. ‘I have one major piece of legislation I passed, on partial-birth abortion, but I had two on foreign policy — the Syria Accountability Act and the Iran Freedom and Support Act, both of which were opposed by Bush and took me a year or more,’ he said. He added: ‘I spent the last four years at the Ethics and Public Policy Center giving lectures all over the country on radical jihadism and the ‘Gathering Storm of the 21st Century.’ I haven’t done squat on moral, cultural issues.’ ” Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times.
-- UPDATE: If he doesn’t win? “Though he insists that he’s only after the ultimate prize, friends and allies acknowledge that Huckabee’s the model in this too, as Santorum tries to find a new voice in national politics — and perhaps even a Fox show of his own, with a new, bigger contract to replace the one that was severed as he got serious about his campaign.” Dan Hirschhorn, Politico.
“Conservative women enthusiastic about Bachmann, Palin”—Washington Post: “Palin and Bachmann share some key characteristics, including their popularity in tea party circles, their overtly Christian rhetoric and their sharp tongues. They also share a groomed attractiveness that Republican voters like. . . because it suggests that the candidates are proud of their femininity.”
PALIN APOLOGIZES for arriving in New Hampshire on Romney’s announcement day. On Fox News Sunday: “I apologize if I stepped on any—any of that PR that Mitt Romney needed or wanted that day. I do sincerely apologize. I didn’t mean to step on anybody’s toes.”
-- On her comment in Boston that Paul Revere warned the British: “But remember that the British had already been there, many soldiers for seven years in that area. And part of Paul Revere’s ride -- and it wasn’t just one ride—he was a courier, he was a messenger. Part of his ride was to warn the British that were already there. That, hey, you’re not going to succeed. You’re not going to take American arms. You are not going to beat our own well-armed persons, individual, private militia that we have. He did warn the British. And in a shout-out, gotcha type of question that was asked of me, I answered candidly. And I know my American history.”
-- AP report: “ Revere was probably bluffing the soldiers, according to Joel J. Miller, author of “The Revolutionary Paul Revere.” And while he made bells, Revere would never have rung any on that famous night because the Redcoats were under orders to round up people just like him. ‘He was riding off as quickly and as quietly as possible,’ Miller said. ‘Paul Revere did not want the Redcoats to know of his mission at all.’ ”
Analysis of ROMNEY by New York Time’s John Harwood: “His party keeps moving away from him. But the national agenda keeps moving toward him.”
TODAY—Mitt Romney is in New York and Herman Cain in Iowa. Newt Gingrich is off the radar.
HERMAN CAIN—“If few people think Mr. Cain can win the nomination, he is satisfying voters’ desire to fall in love with a candidate.” Kate Zernkie, New York Times.
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