This Is A Great Reason Conservatives (And Myself) Can Support Santorum

A lot of us have decided to be undecided for the Republican presidential nominating process.
Last time around, I was all in for Mitt Romney. I was very disappointed that he did not fight all the way to the Twin Cities and fight to the bitter end against the eventual nominee, Sen. John "F--- You" McCain.
But that was then.
Now, the fight is for what kind of Republican party we will be moving on to this election and the next several election cycles.
So, I have predicted several surges that occurred before votes were cast. One was the Gingrich Buzz. One non-surge was the Perry Fizzle.
But always in the back of my mind there was Rick Santorum.
I always though that he is one of the most forceful, articulate conservatives out there. One not afraid of taking to the left and the Democrats.
So, I ran across this piece by Lisa Schiffren at National Review Online's The Corner.
It articulates what I believe is what I like about Mr. Santorum.
That at his core, he says what he believes and will fight for them. That he understands the stakes and will be plain with us, and our enemies.
Born of immigrants, Mr. Santorum went through public schools. Went to Penn State University. And probably better than any of the other Republican presidential candidates understands what it may be like to balance that checkbook at the end of the month. To really get the aspirations of millions of Americans. That is what separates Mr. Santorum from someone like Mitt Romney.
Like Mrs. Schriffren, if Mr. Romney is the eventual Republican presidential nominee, I will walk through fire to vote for him.
But what bothers me is that I worry that Mr. Romney does not have the same fighter instinct that Mr. Santorum does. That maybe being governor in very liberal and very Democrat Massachusetts can make even the most conservative person feel drained.
Here is Mr. Santorum's plea from his successful 1994 senate run:

“Vote Santorum. Join the fight.”

Fight. It is always a fight with the left and the Democrats. And while like any other politician, he worked with the other side when he could, when he could not he went on offense. And sometimes, what he had to say was not popular. Even among Republicans and yes, some conservatives.
And Mrs. Schiffren makes this very important point about the last two Republican presidents, Bush and Bush:

On top of this key insight (the traditional nuclear family), which the last two GOP presidents chose to ignore because it sounds emotional, religious, and down-market.
In other words, don't let that aspect of the Culture Wars get in our way. We WASPys don't want to be bothered by such things.
But what made me sit up and say, Mr. Santorum is spot on is one of the recent Republican debates.
He gently scolded Mr. Romney for using the term "Middle class". What Mr. Santorum said, and I do not remember word for word, is that there are no classes in America. That there are people that are middle income. Lower income. Higher income. But no classes.
It is going to be important for the Republican nominee to articulate that salient point. Because Team Obama is going to hammer the theme "Middle class" until election day. Not like they have not the past three, mind-numbing years.
And in reality, like it or not, the Dear Leader, President Obama, is hardly the poor, Black kid that went all the way to the White House.
The Dear Leader, President Obama, has essentially never spent a day in public schools. He went from Indonesia to Hawai'i where he went the the most prestigious private prep school on the islands. Then to private Occidental College. Then to private Columbia University. Then to private Harvard Law School.
There is nothing wrong with that. But to imply that one is something that they are not, well that was the Big Lie of the 2008 presidential campaign.
Hopefully, the voters in South Carolina will give Mr. Santorum the ability to fight another day. To go to Florida and beyond.
And Mrs. Schiffren makes a great point.
Win or lose, Mr. Santorum would now have to be under serious consideration for the number two spot on the Republican ticket.
And that would be a great team. Romney/Santorum. The ultimate good cop/bad cop.
I like Rick Santorum and hope that he will continue in the GOP race because the last thing we need now is any kind of coronation of any candidate.
What we need is a fighter. And Mr. Santorum is a fighter!