Senator Rick Santorum has been the conservative’s conservative in the race for the 2012 GOP nomination for president, stating biblical perspectives on homosexuality, marriage and other key social issues.For that, he’s earned the support of dozens of key conservative leaders around the nation, from Family Talk radio founder James Dobson to Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Preparedness.
The announcement was made today by Richard Viguerie, the chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, and author of “Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause.”
In his statement, he said last week some 150 conservative leaders met at Nancy and Paul Pressler’s ranch in Texas to talk about the campaign and the candidates.
What resulted was an overwhelming 75 percent consensus to back Santorum.
The list, Viguerie said, “demonstrates that Rick Santorum is the best candidate to bring together social conservatives, national defense conservatives, economic conservatives, and the newly energized constitutional conservatives of the tea party.”
The statement said, “Rick Santorum is the only reliable conservative left in the race. He has a long involvement in the conservative movement, and he has demonstrated his commitment to hiring conservatives on his Senate staff and in his campaign. On the issues of vital importance to conservatives, such as the right to life, the pro-family agenda, national security, and fighting the growth of government, he has walked with us even when the path was hard.”
The text of the adopted endorsement says: “Conservatives are the largest ideological bloc in the American electorate. In this election cycle, a number of candidates with legitimate claims to conservative support have considered or sought the Republican nomination for president, but this has left the conservative vote divided, empowering those who do not share our views and values. To defeat Barack Obama, now is the time for conservatives to rally behind the most electable conservative candidate, and we believe that candidate is former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.”
Those signing included (organizations listed for identification purposes only):
- Cathie Adams, president, Texas Eagle Forum
- Gary Bauer, president, American Values
- Brian Burch, president, CatholicVote.org Candidate Fund
- Tim Busch, businessman, philanthropist, and attorney
- Ken Campbell, California conservative leader
- Peggy Dau, special liaison representative, Voice of the Martyrs
- Penna Dexter, radio host and commentator
- James Dobson, Family Talk
- Elaine Donnelly, Center for Military Readiness
- Tim Echols, Georgia Public Service Commission
- Kirk Elliott, Philanthropia, founder and chairman
- William J. Estrada, director, Generation Joshua
- Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer, WND.com and WND Books
- Robert Fischer, president, Fischer Furniture, Inc
- Richard Ford, president, Heritage Alliance
- Foster Friess, Friess Associates
- Maggie Gallagher, Institute for Marriage and Public Policy
- Michael Geer, Family Policy Leader, Harrisburg, Penn.
- Ellen Grigsby, director of Institutional Partnerships, Open Doors USA
- Rebecca Hagelin, president, Rebecca Hagelin Communications and Marketing, LLC
- Patrick and Toya Hall, vice president, Guadalupe Radio Network
- Jason Jones, producer of the film “Bella”
- Tim LeFever, chairman of the board, Capitol Resource Institute
- Brad Mattes, executive director, Life Issues Institute
- William J. Murray, chairman, Religious Freedom Coalition
- Richard Neill, Texas conservative leader
- Preston Noell III, president, Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
- Pam Olsen, president, Florida Prayer Network
- Paul and Nancy Pressler, justice, Texas Court of Appeals (ret)
- Penny Pullen, Illinois State Representative 1977-1993
- Jill Stanek, pro-life activist and blogger
- John Stemberger, Florida Family Action
- Stacy Taylor, Texas conservative leader
- Richard A. Viguerie, chairman, ConservativeHQ.com
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