Former US Senator Rick Santorum was the runner up to Mitt Romney for the Republican Party nomination for president in 2012. On this edition of New Hampshire Now, Santorum talked about his book “Bella’s Gift”; another potential run for president; and the current Republican field of candidates.
Senator Santorum co-wrote “Bella’s Gift” with his wife Karen. Their eighth child Isabella Marie was born in 2008 with a rare genetic condition called Trisomy 18, or Edward’s Syndrome. Only 10 percent of children with Trisomy 18 are born alive, and 90 percent of those children do not make it to their first birthday. Bella has survived a number of serious health issues. In addition, she is a special needs child with characteristics similar to down syndrome. Everyone in the Santorum family helps out with Bella. That is why Rick Santorum states that Bella is a gift. The plight of special needs children is one reason why he entered the race in 2012. He came into contact with families from around the world who discussed how socialized medicine programs in these countries denied treatment for these children. Faceless bureaucrats had decided that caring for these children was not “cost effective” because they could not contribute to society. Santorum’s opposition to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was personal because he foresaw that this type of attitude would become the policy towards special needs children like Bella. As you might expect, Senator Santorum is staunchly Pro-Life because he wants to be the voice for the humanity of the unborn. In 1996, the Santorums lost a son named Gabriel. He only lived for a few hours due to prenatal health problems. This experience reaffirmed Santorum’s Pro-Life beliefs.
At this point in the 2016 presidential race, Santorum is pretty much where he was in 2012–no money, no recognition, and little coverage. Somehow he persevered in 2012 by hammering away with a Republican populist message. He maintains that for the Republicans to be successful they need to be the pro-growth and pro-worker party. It can’t be just about the entrepreneurs. When he evaluates the current field, Santorum believes that he has more national security experience than his rivals. He served for 8 years on the Senate Armed Services Committee and other important subcommittees. Also he sponsored numerous bills related to national security, such as the Iranian nuclear program. The senator also pointed out that President George W. Bush was reluctant to define our enemies as “Islamic” terrorists. In 2006, after a speech at the National Press Club, Santorum confronted the president and urged him to be more direct instead of constantly referring to Islam as the religion of peace. He believes that President Obama’s terrorist rhetoric is even worse that George Bush’s.
Senator Santorum described the Obama Middle East foreign policy as “clueless.” In regard to ISIS, the senator claimed that Obama has misguided ideas and has mishandled the situation. He pointed out that the three groups which are willing to fight against ISIS are Egypt, Jordan, and the Kurds. In Egypt, Obama has backed the Muslim Brotherhood rather than the current leader President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has spoken out against ISIS. During his visit to the United States, King Abdullah of Jordan was ignored by the Obama administration until the you tube video of a Jordanian pilots execution by ISIS. The king was then given a 20 minute meeting with the president. In Iraq, the Kurds have fought well against ISIS. They have repeatedly asked for arms which have not been delivered. Santorum considers Iran to be a bigger threat because they are well on their way to developing nuclear weapons.
