Malkin, resoundingly, for Santorum

Michelle Malkin has an exceptionally forceful column posted Monday in which she supports Rick Santorum for the GOP nomination, dismisses Romney, and eviscerates Gingrich. She admits Santorum’s defects (e.g. his record in the Senate as a “big government Republican”), but argues that overall he is a man of principle who has repeatedly and consistently opposed leftist initiatives when both the R man and the G man were embracing them.

Here are the first few paragraphs:

Rick Santorum opposed TARP.

He didn’t cave when Chicken Littles in Washington invoked a manufactured crisis in 2008. He didn’t follow the pro-bailout GOP crowd—including Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich—and he didn’t have to obfuscate or rationalize his position then or now, like Rick Perry and Herman Cain did. He also opposed the auto bailout, Freddie and Fannie bailout, and porkulus bills.

Santorum opposed individual health care mandates—clearly and forcefully -as far back as his 1994 U.S. Senate run. He has launched the most cogent, forceful fusillade against both Romney and Gingrich for their muddied, pro-individual health care mandate waters.

He voted against cap and trade in 2003, voted yes to drilling in ANWR, and unlike Romney and Gingrich, Santorum has never dabbled with eco-radicals like John Holdren, Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi. He hasn’t written any “Contracts with the Earth.”

Santorum is strong on border security, national security, and defense. Mitt the Flip-Flopper and Open Borders-Pandering Newt have been far less trustworthy on immigration enforcement. [LA replies: be sure to check out Santorum’s statements on immigration matters that Malkin links to. He has been stronger and more articulate on the issue than I had given him credit for.]

Santorum is an eloquent spokesperson for the culture of life. He has been savaged and ridiculed by leftist elites for upholding traditional family values -not just in word, but in deed.

As stated before, I have not given much attention to Santorum, mainly because his personality turns me off and he conveys no presidential quality. But those admittedly impressionistic reactions become less important, when the leading candidates are so profoundly flawed. I wish that Michele Bachmann had done better, much better, in Iowa. I wish that she were the remaining alternative, not Santorum. But Santorum is the remaining alternative, and I need to give him more consideration than I have so far.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 31, 2012 10:51 AM | Send