Published: Monday, February 20, 2012, 7:34 PM
MUSKEGON – Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum took aim at President Barack Obama and chief GOP rival Mitt Romney during his campaign stop Monday in Muskegon.
The former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania focused on several issues – manufacturing, domestic energy, family values, the size of government – and outlined the specific differences he sees between himself and the two men he will likely have to defeat to become the next president.
Santorum spoke for more than 80 minutes and took some questions, drawing several rounds of applause from the audience at the Muskegon Harbor Holiday Inn in downtown Muskegon. The event drew about 500 people and kicked off a three-town tour of West Michigan.
Santorum, before leaving Muskegon for a Holland rally, asked the audience members for their votes in the Feb. 28 presidential primary, describing himself as the conservative to lead the Republican ticket in the fall against Obama.
Santorum described himself as a candidate where "you know where I stand" rather than a “well-oiled weathervane” on such issues as his stance on Iran.
“Wow, this is a big week coming up between now and what could be a sound heard 'round the world,” Santorum said. “Conservative West Michigan has a chance to speak loudly.”
Santorum spoke of his commitment, if elected president, to increasing America’s manufacturing sector, creating more energy independence, limiting government’s size and focusing on social issues, including the importance of the family unit.
Santorum’s stance on improvements to the manufacturing industry drew some of the loudest applause in Muskegon, a city that lost many manufacturing jobs in recent years, although some have returned.
He blamed Obama for the government regulations, “Obamacare” and other interference that he claims is limiting the American manufacturers. He said “making things matters” and his plan would mean more opportunity for Muskegon and other small towns.
“We’re going to repeal every one of those regulations,” Santorum said, taking aim at the current administration’s policies. “We’ve got to get businesses growing. We’re going to shrink the public sector and grow the private sector.”
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum signs an autograph for Phoebe Whitbeck, 10, of Montague after his town hall-style event.
In addition to manufacturing, affordable energy was described by Santorum as key to his plan for revitalizing the economy. He pointed to several domestic options, including hydro-fracking in shale, the proposed Keystone Pipeline project from Canada to Texas and natural gas deposits.
Santorum claimed environmentalists and Obama shut down several options to increase domestic energy supplies by inciting fear about potential pollution. Santorum said the country has an obligation to protect the earth and, at the same time, use its resources to improve life for humans.
“Folks, we have an opportunity to call out these radicals that are in the White House right now,” Santorum said.
Some of the people who attended the Muskegon event liked Santorum’s message and the direction he envisions for the country. The event also drew some protesters.
Chad Stewart, 39, of Custer, preferred the consistency he hears from Santorum as opposed to the different “pitches” he believes come from other candidates.
“I’ve never heard a candidate like that speak before,” said Stewart, who is anti-abortion and who has followed Santorum’s career for the last five years. “To hear it live, it changes your life. The sincerity was there; it’s not a sales pitch.”
Shirley George, 89, of Norton Shores, said she liked that Santorum talked about the issues and not his biography. She also was intrigued by Santorum’s call to repeal “Obamacare.”
“It’s key to be able to choose your own coverage and not have it chosen for you,” George said.
Tom VandenBosch, 41, of Grand Rapids, attended the Muskegon event with his family. He is a father of six children, all 13 and younger.
“It’s the family values he speaks of,” VandenBosch said. “He’s conservative through and through. That’s what it is all about for me.”
VandenBosch said he thinks Santorum can win.
“He has a lot of good people on his side,” Santorum said. “He’s building momentum.”
Rondi Fry, 64, of Lansing, is a military mother who enjoyed Santorum’s criticism of the cuts to military spending. She has a son and son-in-law in the U.S. Air Force.
Santorum’s visit to Muskegon was added recently to his schedule and surprised some who consider Muskegon a Democratic town. Some Muskegon County Republicans said the county does have thousands of Republican voters and Santorum’s Pennsylvania roots play well with working-class men and women.
Santorum recently took over front-runner status from chief rival Mitt Romney in the race to win the Republican nomination for president. The latest results from a Gallup poll show Santorum with an 8-point lead nationwide.
In Michigan, a battleground state for the nomination, Santorum also enjoys a lead in recent polls despite Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, being a Michigan native. Romney also won the Michigan primary in 2008.
Santorum’s Muskegon campaign stop came just over a week before Michigan’s Feb. 28 presidential primary.
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum greets supporters after his town hall-style event Monday afternoon, February 20, 2012 at the Muskegon Harbor Holiday Inn in downtown Muskegon. Chronicle photo by Hye Soo Nah
