Rick Santorum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Richard John "Rick" Santorum (born May 10, 1958) is an American attorney and Republican Party politician. He served as a United States Senator representing Pennsylvania (1995-2007) and was the Senate's third-ranking Republican (2001-07).[5] He ran as a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination,[6] finishing second to the eventual Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
Born in Virginia, Santorum was raised primarily in Butler, Pennsylvania. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University, an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, and a J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law (now part of Penn State). Santorum worked as an attorney at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, where he met Karen Garver. They married in 1990, and have seven living children (one child died shortly after birth). Santorum was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district in 1990 and later became a member of a group dubbed the "Gang of Seven".
Santorum was elected as a United States Senator for Pennsylvania in 1994. He served two terms until losing his re-election bid in 2006. A devout, practicing Catholic, Santorum is a social conservative who opposes same-sex marriage and artificial birth control. While serving as a senator, Santorum was the author of what came to be known as the Santorum Amendment, which promoted the teaching of intelligent design. In 2005, Santorum introduced the Workplace Religious Freedom Act along with Senator John Kerry.
In the years following his departure from the Senate, Santorum worked as a consultant, private-practice lawyer, and news contributor. On June 6, 2011 Santorum announced his run for the Republican nomination in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Upon announcing his campaign suspension on April 10, 2012, he had won 11 primaries and caucuses and received nearly 4 million votes. Santorum officially endorsed Mitt Romney on May 7, 2012.[7]
Although he was raised in a nominally Catholic household, Santorum's faith began to deepen when he met his future wife, Karen. Santorum said that he was a "nominal Catholic" when he met his wife, Karen. By his account, conversations with her father, Dr. Kenneth Garver, a staunch Catholic and pro-life advocate, solidified his understanding and opposition to abortion. He and his wife have since become increasingly religious.[177] Santorum now considers himself a devout Catholic and acknowledges his Catholic faith as the source of his politics and worldview.[178] He attends Mass almost daily and organized a Catholic study group for lawmakers while in Congress.179]
Santorum proudly calls himself a "culture warrior" and "true Christian conservative." In so positioning himself, he has garnered popularity among evangelicals, but his support among Catholics is not as robust.[180][181] Santorum's emphasis on his "Christian roots" to voters was especially favored by evangelicals in the Midwest and Southern states during the 2012 primaries, although he lost the Republican Catholic vote in most states to Mitt Romney.[182] Exit polls found only 42% of those Catholics and less than a third of Protestant evangelicals knew Santorum was a Catholic.[183] After Santorum won Protestant-majority states Alabama and Mississippi, but lost in heavily-Catholic Puerto Rico, the Huffington Post said he "seemed exasperated by the trend"[184] and said his base support came from "people who take their faith seriously", not necessarily fellow Catholics.[184]
Santorum has written for Catholic publications and frequently comments on political issues from a religious standpoint. He has said, "I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute. The First Amendment means the free exercise of religion and that means bringing people and their faith into the public square."[185][186] In an interview with the National Catholic Reporter, Santorum said that the distinction between private religious conviction and public responsibility, espoused by President John F. Kennedy, had caused "great harm in America". He said: "All of us have heard people say, 'I privately am against abortion, homosexual marriage, stem cell research, cloning. But who am I to decide that it's not right for somebody else?' It sounds good, but it is the corruption of freedom of conscience."[187] Santorum has been criticized for not separating his politics from his personal faith, and has been accused of advancing a "Christian theocracy" through his work.[188] He told a group of college students in 2008 that the United States had been founded on "Judeo-Christian" ethics, and now "it is a shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it."[189]
Santorum states that he values faith over politics and considers the theological views of a politicians' faith as significant. He questions whether President Obama truly has a religion, alleging that he may have chosen Christianity as a politically expedient platform for power.[190] Santorum stated, "if the President says he's a Christian, he's a Christian" but has stated that Obama's agenda is based on a "phony theology", not the Bible.[191] In an interview with Glenn Beck, Santorum said Obama's desire for greater higher education rates nationwide was a veiled attempt at "indoctrination", claiming that "62 percent of kids who go into college with a faith commitment leave without it." Santorum declined to provide a source for that figure.[192][193] He believes colleges reinforce secular relativism and antagonize religiosity, particularly of Christianity, and lists young people's support for abortion, gay marriage, and pornography as "symptoms" of indoctrination.[194]
He has been described as having a "confrontational, partisan, ‘in your face’ style of politics and government.” “I just don’t take the pledge. I take the bullets,” Santorum said. “I stand out in front and I lead to make sure the voices of those who do not have a voice are out in front and being included in the national debate.”
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