Santorum Vaults Into Virtual Tie with Romney. Declares, "Game On!"

Posted @ Jan. 04 2012 04:14AM by Len Boccassini - city-beat

The former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum, campaigned across Iowa in a pick-up truck meeting as many activists as possible and paying attention to the state where precinct caucuses launch the presidential nominating season. It was a journey of incredible proportions. In his own words he visited, "...all 99 counties, 381 town hall meetings and 36 Pizza Ranches."

His hard work paid dividends last night when he vaulted into a virtual tie with the well-funded former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, trailing him by a mere 8 votes as the Iowa caucus results were released; 30,015 to 30,007 to be exact. Surging ahead of Texas representative, Ron Paul, and Texas governor, Rick Perry, Santorum declared his strong showing in Iowa means it's "game on" for the party's presidential nomination and that he's heading to New Hampshire for round two.

"Thank you so much, Iowa, for standing up and not compromising; by standing up and being bold you've taken the first steps towards taking back this country," he told exhuberant supporters who were elated by his surge into the top tier of candidates.

To date, Santorum's most pressing dilemma has been a lack of funding, which pales in comparison to his opponents. But the former U.S. senator has not let that deter him and has taken his campaign to the ground; door-to-door and face-to-face. That up close and personal campaign style has been beneficial thus far, however, it doesn't take a clairvoiyant to see that if the campaign is truly to take flight and his presidential aspirations realized, the dollars must roll in. That fact hasn't been lost on Santorum and he hasn't wasted any time as he immediately fired forth a funraising appeal on the heels of his strong finish last night.

"It's now or never for conservative voters," he pleaded, "I am the only authentic, passionate conservative who can unite the GOP."

His message to date has been different than that of the other Republican candidates. His focus has been on curbing government waste and doing that by not simply cutting taxes and reducing spending as his opponents have preached, but rather, focusing on bolstering the nation's industrial base which has faltered because the government has made the cost of doing business probihibitive. Though many of his detractors have labeled him "too conservative", particularly with his stance on ending abortions, his message for smaller government and restoration of American values has obviously caught fire in the final days of a fluid primary and propelled him into the front tier of candidates for the presidential nomination.

Where this will lead and can his momentum continue to build? Only time will tell. Until that point, however, "Game on".