Santorum Speaks to Republican Gathering in Downtown Greenville

In the race for the GOP presidential nomination former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has been perceived as the candidate who speaks most about social issues such as abortion. In a speech at the Poinsett Club in Greenville on Tuesday, Santorum aimed to dispel that perception. After being introduced by Lindsey Graham, touched on a full range of topics—and did not mention social issues.

Graham referred to the time he and Santorum spent together in the Senate and praised Santorum for being the only candidate in the presidential field to speak forcefully about international affairs. “(Santorum) brings a great depth of foreign policy experience to the race,” Graham said.

After Graham’s introduction, Santorum spoke at length about his own experience with the Middle East, Iran specifically, both in the Senate and with a think tank after he lost a bid for re-election in 2006. Santorum was highly critical of President Obama’s handling of issues related to Israel. “Look at where Israel was at before he took office and look at where they are now,” he said. “He’s complaining about settlements in Jerusalem, the capital of the country. That’s unprecedented.”

During his remarks on foreign policy, Santorum also seemed to .

Later, Santorum criticized candidates who are ahead of him in the polls—Mitt Romney, Herman Cain and Rick Perry—for supporting the bailout of Wall Street during the first stages of the financial crisis. “I don’t think it’s good for us as a party to have a nominee who supported that,” he said. “It takes away an issue that’s very important for conservatives.”

Santorum then put forth his argument on why he is the best choice for voters, drawing distinctions between himself and Romney, Cain and Perry.

• On Romney: “When he ran for Senate in Massachusetts he was to the left of Ted Kennedy. It’s stunning how liberal he was.”
• On Cain: “Do we want someone who’s never won an election going up against the biggest re-election machine ever created?”
• On Perry (and his recently announced 20 percent flat tax): “It’s simple and you can put it on a postcard, but it’s a huge shift in the tax burden on to the middle class.”

Santorum went on to say that Republicans need to make a special effort to appeal to the lower 40 percent of the tax base and the way to do that is to talk about manufacturing jobs. Santorum then listed a series of strategies he would use to incentivize companies to do their manufacturing here in the U.S. as opposed to China.

The hour-long session from Santorum concluded with him sizing up his chances. He emphasized the commitment he’s made to Iowa and South Carolina, particularly to the Upstate. He’s made more visits here than any other candidate and is second in fundraising behind Rick Perry. “The reason we come to the Upstate,” Santorum said, "is because there are a lot of good conservatives here.”