Posted on 04/28/2014 12:42:16 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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.
“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.
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.
The book provides a policy blueprint for Santorum to use if he decides to run again in 2016.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Rick Santorum, yep ANOTHER GOP-e “Has-Been”, Go away Rick, your “Time” has COME and PAST!
Where’s my sweater vest ?
He’s right.
Jon Huntsman/Tim Pawlenty/Jack Kemp repackaged.
Sam’s Club is upscale compared to WalMart and the Dollar Store.
But I go to Costco and value the Constitution.
yeah, he’s right IF you want the GOP to be another populist whore that panders for votes and tries to out-Santa the Democrats. He’s right IF you want the political “tent” to be so big it becomes just another flop-house for the gimme-gimme crowd. The GOP that I once loved, was a party that honestly represented EVERYONE in this country, without favoring one faction or another. NOT stealing from people with higher incomes is not stupid, it’s just not stealing. If the GOP backs another candidate that echoes the “spread the wealth” mentality, there are a bunch of us blue collar slobs out here who won’t be voting at all. I don’t vote for my personal selfish interest-— I try to vote for the person who I think will do the best for my COUNTRY, not my bank account. I supported Santorum’s campaign last time around right up thru the primaries, but I won’t support someone spouting crap like this.
Stupid navel gazing. Whether his point about Sams Club/Whole Foods is right or not, the above statement is just horse hockey. The elitist and wealthy liberals are the hypocrites.
Conservatism is compassionate. Conservatism is sustainable; Big Government is not. Conservativism respects the dignity of the individual and his/her freedom and independence. A hand up, not a hand out.
It is the democRATs who could give a rats arse about 'the person at the bottom of the ladder'. In fact, they want to keep them there ... downtrodden, envious, angry, dependent, wanting entitlements ... in other words continuing to vote for their democRAT slave masters.
Good God yes instead of thinking about skin color and amnesty, republicans should be appealing to the average American of every background.
It’s pathetic how these politicians are elitists who do not understand the value of their own (supposed) political ideas.
It’s reunion week. The retreads of the Stupid Party trying out their new campaign slogans. Wretch.
I’m the furthest thing from a fan of Santorum, but he is right here.
Cutting corporate taxes needs to be accompanied by an end to loopholes and tax shelters. Many of the largest corporations are paying effective tax rates in the single digits. General Electric has in some recent years actually received more in Gov’t subsidies than the tiny tax rate they pay, effectively giving them a negative tax rate.
Bigger firms are better positioned to exploit loopholes, so the current high corp. tax rate with loopholes serves as an advantage for larger, more politically connected firms against upstart competitors.
Dividing people based on where they shop is wrong. The GOP needs to appeal to all who value freedom and limited government.
He's mostly right.
I agree about the extreme individualism. I see it here on FR all the time.
I don't agree about cutting the income tax won't have an effect. But you have to fund government spending somehow or stop the spending. Cutting taxes while spending at the same level, will likely increase the debt.
And while we should try to cut business taxes and regulations, I don't think we will have a lot of success.
What he is missing is addressing the off-shoring that has killed our industries. We need to raise import tariffs. that would provide funds to cut the taxes. And at the same time, the tariffs would help level the playing field and provide incentives to produce in America.
That would put Americans back to work. Providing even more funds flowing into the economy and more funds to bring down the debt.
Santorum, please go away.
I don’t like him either, but I read nothing in the article which I disagree with.
Corporations do not pay taxes, shareholders, workers and customers do.
You are right about the subsidies, though.
sounds great in theory but unworkable in practice. once elected, politicians cannot say no to the big interests that offer campaign funding and jobs in their districts.
so, no, corporate welfare is not going away anytime soon under our current system.
Its exactly the reason he was able to tie Romney here in Michigan when Romney beat McCain by nearly 10 points in 2008.
The guy on the factory floor couldn’t care less about capital gains taxes but he does understand his paycheck and he does understand the taxes imposed at the manufacturing level.
Eliminating the idiotic tax imposed for having the audacity to make something is a direct job creator. In fact, I’d combine it with some big tax cuts at the top for money reinvested in this country.
I reject Rick Santorum as a POTUS candidate. He has many good qualities, but does not get my vote.
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