Author Topic: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD  (Read 1105 times)

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Offline mystery-ak

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http://washingtonexaminer.com/rick-santorum-yes-republicans-care-less-about-poor/article/2547756#

Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor
BY PAUL BEDARD | APRIL 28, 2014 AT 7:57 AM

Former 2012 GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, who took his sweater-vest Image and Blue Collar message to victory in several primaries, is joining a growing chorus of Republicans who claim the party has forgotten about the poor and lower middle class with its push to help businesses and cut taxes.

“Do Republicans really care less about the person at the bottom of the ladder than Democrats do? To be painfully honest, I would have to say in some ways ‘yes,”' Santorum writes in his new book out Monday, Blue Collar Conservatives: Recommitting to an America That Works.

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“There are some in my party who have taken the ideal of individualism to such an extreme that they have forgotten the obligation to look out for our fellow man. The rhetoric is often harsh and gives the all-too-willing media an opportunity to tar all Republicans with the same brush,” he writes.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator who won 11 GOP contests in the 2012 Republican primary season, breaks with party orthodoxy in suggesting that it’s time to dump the simple call for more tax cuts. He said that individual taxes, beginning with former President Reagan’s efforts, have been cut so much that further reductions won’t have much of an impact.

Instead, he calls for a slashing of regulations and corporate taxes to generate jobs for the middle class.

The book provides a policy blueprint for Santorum to use if he decides to run again in 2016. He has said in interviews that he is unsure of his plans and that he won't decide until the spring of 2015, about when every other potential candidate is expected to make their mind up too.

Besides slamming the Republican's economic agenda for being too focused on businesses and not the middle class, Santorum blasts 2012 nominee Mitt Romney for being out of touch with voters and too easy for the Democrats to paint as a Wall Street president.

“It’s hard to win an election when most voters don’t think you care about them,” writes Santorum, an executive with a family-friendly movie company.

He calls for a new “game plan,” one that promotes “work, education and marriage,” and that focuses on middle America. “If we only promise more growth without addressing the 70 percent of young Americans who will not earn a bachelor’s degree, we will be shirking our responsibility to them and handing the Democrats an electoral club to beat us with.”

Santorum's book includes calls to change Obamacare and other social welfare programs that he says make people dependent on the government instead of a job. But he dwells more on Blue Collar Americans who he connected with in his 2012 bid.

He describes two Americas, one of economic elites clustered in big cities and who fund the Democrats and Republicans. “The people there shop at Whole Foods, listen to National Public Radio, and read the New Yorker. If they drink beer, it’s imported or micro-brewed.”

Instead, he wants the party to reach those outside that urban cluster. “Most of America doesn't live like this, of course. Most of America shops at Sam’s Club, drinks Coors, likes to hunt or fish, and goes to church or the American Legion.”

Will it work? Santorum provides some polling that suggests it could. In the acknowledgements section at the end of his book, published by Regnery, he notes that after withdrawing from the primaries in 2012, he met with Romney's pollster who gave him some revealing data.

Pollster Neil Newhouse was curious to find out why Santorum had done better in elections than exit polls were showing. The answer: His voters were Blue Collar workers who voted late, after exit polling was completed. “Those who weren’t going to vote ‘till after five favored me by 21 points! Working Americans and busy mothers who couldn’t get to the polls during the day were voting for me in a big way, making all the prognosticators look bad on election night,” he writes.
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Offline alicewonders

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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2014, 01:21:39 pm »
Populism much, Rick?  I hope Santorum and Huckabee just stay the hell out of the primaries this time around, they're both spoilers and are only in it for their own personal gain - among others. 

« Last Edit: April 28, 2014, 01:24:22 pm by alicewonders »
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Offline mountaineer

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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2014, 01:23:19 pm »
He adds nothing to the conversation.
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Offline happyg

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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2014, 02:37:07 pm »
He adds nothing to the conversation.

Yep! He's speaking for himself! Santorum wants to be president so badly, he will say and do anything. I think he's mentally unstable for any political role.

Huck is not even close. He should stick with his show on Fox. Otherwise, he will be unemployed and unemployable.

Offline jmyrlefuller

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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2014, 02:49:15 pm »
Quote
But he dwells more on Blue Collar Americans who he connected with in his 2012 bid.
He didn't connect with jack diddly except the Jeezus-first crowd. The rest of the support came from the fact that he was the last person in the race who was NOT Mitt Romney.
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Offline evadR

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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2014, 07:37:19 pm »
Yep! He's speaking for himself! Santorum wants to be president so badly, he will say and do anything. I think he's mentally unstable for any political role.

Huck is not even close. He should stick with his show on Fox. Otherwise, he will be unemployed and unemployable.

"Do Republicans really care less about the person at the bottom of the ladder than Democrats do? To be painfully honest, I would have to say in some ways ‘yes,”' Santorum writes.."

Regardless of what a person might think, is there any justification for actually SAYING this??

I think this should be my standard reply to all threads..."Every morning I wake up and think it can't get any worse and then some idiot like this proves me wrong".
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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #6 on: April 28, 2014, 08:14:46 pm »
My answer to Rick Santorum is also what I often tell my students:

The paradox of living is this: The best thing you can do for your family, for your tribe, for your country and for the world is to be personally successful.  Good luck.

Offline Right_in_Virginia

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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #7 on: April 28, 2014, 10:40:22 pm »
My answer to Rick Santorum is also what I often tell my students:

The paradox of living is this: The best thing you can do for your family, for your tribe, for your country and for the world is to be personally successful.  Good luck. 

 :thumbsup:

Offline kevindavis007

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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2014, 11:33:33 pm »
Populism is not Conservatism..
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Offline truth_seeker

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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #9 on: April 29, 2014, 12:06:03 am »
Father Santorum is probably testing a new niche, to carry him further into the primaries, to prolong his public life.

What does he do to support his family? You say he left the Senate 2007 and has had no visible means of support, outside "running," "talking about running" etc. ?

Wiki has him as a "political consultant," "lawyer" and "commentator." He lost in 2006 and failed in his bid(s) for President.
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Offline NavyCanDo

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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #10 on: April 29, 2014, 12:12:10 am »
If he was talking about the false image that Republicans don't care for the poor, and then correct it with some cold hard facts, I would not have a problem with it. But he is agreeing with the myth, and breathing more life into it right at the start of election season.    Its silly comments like this why I had a difficult time latching on to him the last time he ran.   
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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #11 on: April 29, 2014, 12:36:09 am »
What does he do to support his family? You say he left the Senate 2007 and has had no visible means of support, outside "running," "talking about running" etc. ?

Wiki has him as a "political consultant," "lawyer" and "commentator." He lost in 2006 and failed in his bid(s) for President.
He probably collects a pension from his days as a Senator, and Pennsylvania isn't exactly an expensive place to live, unless you're in Philadelphia.
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Offline Fishrrman

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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2014, 01:26:50 am »
mountaineer wrote (of Rick Santorum):
[[ He adds nothing to the conversation... ]]

Hmmmm..... lemmmmeeeseeee here....

I think Mr. Santorum adds "more to the conversation" than any of the following:
- Jeb Bush
- Chris Christie
- Paul Ryan
- Marco Rubio
.... and a WHOLE SLEW of the GOP-e types who (in my opinion) really DON'T "care" about the working-class person. Or, more succinctly, they don't give a damn about the proletariat...

They're more interested in improving their positions in the politcal oligarchy.

On the other hand, it's the much-maligned Tea Party faction of the party that actually seems to voice more concern about issues that affect folks at the middle- and working-class levels.

Mind you, I'd rather that Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee both stay OUT OF the presidential race this time around.

Although I think he's correct in his assertion that the Republicans are perceived to be the party that "helps big business" amongst the voters, I don't get the "cutting taxes" part of it. Cutting taxes for everyone, helps everyone. Didn't we see that with Mr. Reagan?
« Last Edit: April 29, 2014, 01:32:09 am by Fishrrman »

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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #13 on: April 29, 2014, 02:13:24 am »
Quote
On the other hand, it's the much-maligned Tea Party faction of the party that actually seems to voice more concern about issues that affect folks at the middle- and working-class levels.


Then why aren't they gaining more traction with the middle and working classes?

Offline evadR

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Re: Rick Santorum: Yes, Republicans care less about poor BY PAUL BEDARD
« Reply #14 on: April 29, 2014, 02:43:32 am »
On the other hand, it's the much-maligned Tea Party faction of the party that actually seems to voice more concern about issues that affect folks at the middle- and working-class levels.

Then why aren't they gaining more traction with the middle and working classes?

An excellent question. Do you have an answer or are you simply challenging the premise?

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