New Book to be Released by Rick Santorum: “American Patriots: Answering the Call”

Posted on July 22, 2012 by brvanlanen

Rick Santorum’s second book will be coming out just before the November election.

The former Pennsylvania senator and presidential candidate will publish his second book, “American Patriots: Answering the Call,” on Oct. 2—exactly one month and four days before the election.

According to a forthcoming press release provided to Yahoo News, Santorum’s new book will focus on stories from American history, and will be promoted as “this generation’s ‘Profiles in Courage,'” John F. Kennedy’s acclaimed 1955 book. Published by Tyndale House Publishers, the book will highlight 25 “unsung” figures from the Revolutionary War, including Peter Francisco, Nancy Morgan Hart and Elias Boudinot.

“This book was written to remind us who we are,” Santorum says in a statement. “Americans today are faced with a decision. Do we want to leave our children a country that believes in the God-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit happiness? Or do we want to entrust the state to provide for us in exchange for our freedom?”

Source: Rick Santorum to release new book this fall | The Ticket – Yahoo! News.

In addition, Rick has also recently launched a non-profit group to advocate conservative ideas, Patriot Voices.

Considering his last book made the NYT best-seller list, the question is how long will it take this one to make the list.

Santorum announces book deal (thehill.com)
Santorum: Iowa is One of Those States That We’ve Got to Win (kcrg.com)

Santorum: Very Very Best Chance

Posted on February 15, 2012 by brvanlanen

Excellent ad by Team Santorum. Will the voters agree that he’s the best chance the GOP has of winning in November?

Rombo’s Mud Doesn’t Stick To Santorum (adpulp.com)
Rasmussen: Santorum Well Out Front of Romney, Nationally (minx.cc)
In New Ad, Santorum Is a ‘Full-Spectrum Conservative’ (thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com)

Falk Raised Taxes By Millions As County Exec

Posted on February 13, 2012 by brvanlanen

Politifact has rated that claim by Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch as true.

“In a national economic downturn, Wisconsin families cannot afford to have a leader with an addiction to taxing and spending,” Kleefisch wrote in an opinion piece published by Madison’s Capital Times on Feb. 3, 2012. “The failed policies Falk has consistently stood for throughout her career are exactly the same policies that led Wisconsin down an irresponsible path to a $3.6 billion budget deficit.”

Kleefisch went on to cite chapter and verse:

“As Dane County executive, Falk raised taxes by millions of dollars every year, most notably in 2010, when she increased taxes by 8 percent, the second highest increase across the entire state of Wisconsin.”

The op-ed piece contrasts these claims with Walker’s state budget, which Kleefisch says was balanced “without raising taxes on Wisconsin families.”

The proof behind this truth?

Asked to back up the claim about Falk, the Walker campaign — speaking for Kleefisch — pointed us to property tax figures compiled by Dane County and the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, a nonpartisan research group.

Falk’s approach as executive from 1997 to 2011 was to limit increases in the property tax levy to inflation with a factor built in for population growth. It was an effort to tie increases to service demand, said Scott McDonell, chairman of the Dane County Board, which largely approved of Falk’s approach.

Did Falk’s budget raise property taxes by 8 percent in 2010, “the second highest” in the state? Yes.

In 2010, Falk busted past her self-imposed levy limit of 1.19 percent for that year. She blamed lagging sales tax and other revenue due to the Great Recession, and said higher property taxes, a 3 percent wage cut negotiated with county unions and efficiency moves would preserve needed services.

Head to the source to see Politifact’s full assessment.

Foolish Absolute Liberal Kathleen (steveprestegard.com)
Falk You!!!!!! (silentespeaks.com)
Unions Looking For Puppet (brvanlanen.wordpress.com)

Santorum:”It takes a family”

Posted on February 13, 2012 by brvanlanen

Great analysis of the record of Rick Santorum.

Image via Wikipedia

It is hardly surprising that faith and family would be at the core of who Senator Santorum is. He is a very devout Catholic. Anecdotally, Brian Wilson — formerly Fox News correspondent and now co-anchor of The Morning Majority on Washington’s WMAL AM/FM — saw the candidate in an unguarded moment.

As Wilson was in South Carolina covering the primary there last month, it was very early in the dark of morning that he saw Santorum stop in what the senator thought was a private moment, and bow his head in prayer. “He didn’t know that I was watching him,” Wilson reported. The senator was unaware anyone had seen him. The point: When you don’t think anyone is watching, that’s the time when the authentic in you emerges.

Such a moment certainly adds credence to the label of “social conservative”. But Rick Santorum isn’t exclusively focused on social issues.

On National Security:

The Pennsylvania Republican was a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee for eight years, where he earned a reputation as a “hawk” in the sense that Americans deserved no less than a first-class military capable of providing the maximum strength to protect our homeland.

Santorum advocated an aggressive military posture toward regimes in Iran, Syria, and China. All three, in different ways, pose a threat to the United States — more so today than at that time.

…

As a senator, Santorum promoted support for opponents of the Iranian regime which today threatens Israel and the U.S. with nuclear weapons. In his presidential bid, he has laid out a 15-point plan for dealing with Iran’s current nuclear muscle-flexing.

On Terrorism:

In July of 2006, Senator Santorum delivered a major foreign policy address at the National Press Club where he said that America is not at war with “terror” per se. Terror, he explained, is merely the method of our enemies. The definition of our enemy, he stressed, is Islamic fascism, and we need to start calling it by its correct name.

Jobs and the Economy

The Santorum campaign advocates a zero tax on manufacturing industries. That should appeal to blue-collar workers.

Other proposals include cutting $5 trillion in federal spending in five years; repeal and replace Obamacare with market-based healthcare innovation; improve quality and access to healthcare; cut EPA resources for job-killing regulations; and eliminate funding for Dodd-Frank regulatory burdens.

Certainly proof that Rick Santorum is not just focused on social issues, with substantive views on a range of issues. And if he were to win the GOP nomination and the Presidency he would join some elite company.

If he ultimately wins the White House, Mr. Santorum will be only the third president in history to achieve that goal after having been defeated for a lower position. The previous two were Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and Richard Nixon in 1968.