June 6, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a hard-hitting speech launching his presidential bid this morning, former Senator Rick Santorum took aim at President Obama, accusing him of having “devalued” both the United States’ currency as well as its culture.
“He’s devaluing our dollars, and he’s devaluing our other currency, our moral currency,” he said in Somerset, Pennsylvania.
The staunch pro-life Republican did not shy away from controversial subjects, slamming Obama specifically for his refusal to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act, and for supporting federal funding of abortion.
He also focused heavily on the national health care reform law, known as Obamacare, which Santorum criticized as an unprecedented government power grab.
“Every single American now will be hooked to the government with an IV,” he said. “And they will come to you every time they want to do more and say, ‘you want that IV, you want that healthcare?’” as a way to get more power.
“I believe now that Americans are not looking for someone they can believe in, they’re looking for a president who believes in them,” Santorum concluded. “I’m ready to lead.”
Earlier in the day Santorum had appeared on ABC’s Good morning America, where he affirmed his intention to launch his campaign. “We’re ready to announce that we are going to be in this race and we’re in it to win,” he said.
Santorum is a Catholic and father of seven children. His youngest daughter, Isabella, is three years old with Trisomy 18, a rare condition which kills 90 percent of those with the disability within the first year.
Santorum has been mulling a presidential run for well over a year and a half. FOX News suspended his contract as a contributor for 60 days in March to avoid conflict of interest problems as Santorum vocalized the possibility of a run for U.S. president.
The former senator announced in April that he was forming a presidential exploratory committee to raise funds and test interest.
Once the number three Republican in the U.S. Senate, Santorum exited politics in 2006 after losing his seat to sitting U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. in 2006. Casey ran on his father’s pro-life reputation, and voters had soured on Republicans overall that year.
The former Senator will have a lot of heavy lifting to do to rally Republicans and overtake GOP frontrunners. The latest Gallup poll shows Santorum’s support at 2 percent among GOP voters, even when Sarah Palin (who is raising suspicions of a presidential bid) is not included.
The GOP’s frontrunners, according to Gallup, are Mitt Romney (19 percent) and Sarah Palin (15 percent), followed by Ron Paul (10 percent), Newt Gingrich (9 percent), and Herman Cain (8 percent) in a statistical tie for third.