Republican presidential hopeful Senator Rick Santorum continued to distance himself from opponents Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.
He spoke Thursday at Florida State, just hours before a scheduled debate in Jacksonville, Fla., lobbying for last minute support at the event hosted by the FSU College Republicans. In four days, Florida voters will pick their favorite Republican nominee as the primary run arrives at this state.
Santorum addressed the crowd first by outlining the importance and responsibility of voting and civic duty, as it relates to the Constitution. He said that although countries around the world are different, they do not offer the freedoms that are quintessential to American democracy.
“You tend to think people (in other countries) are just like us; that society is just like America; that’s just not true. We’re different,” he said. “What the Constitution does is recognize the freedoms to protect certain rights. When you hear the left in America go out and fundamentally try to change this document and ignore our founding document it puts in jeopardy everything that America has accomplished and stood for in the world.”
Although the room was filled with supporters, outside, a small battery of demonstrators gathered to show their displeasure. On the block: the senator’s stances on gay rights, abortion and Iran.
One student said although he didn’t agree with any of Santorum’s message it may not be bad to have him run against President Barack Obama. “I don’t agree with his message, but I hope he will win the primary so he can run,” said senior Florida State philosophy student Daniel Silver who said if Santorum were to win, he would easily be defeated by Obama.
Santorum distanced himself from Romney and Gingrich by targeting the overzealous media attention that both his opponents have attracted. “The folks who are getting the most attention right now are, well let’s just put it this way, have not been as consistent in standing up for principals of our country,” said Santorum.
He also mentioned Romney’s health campaign in Massachusetts, which he said mirrors the government healthcare bill that Obama implemented in 2010, and Gingrich’s who he said has pushed to give the federal government power to require citizens to purchase health insurance, calling both supporters of government mandates that he feels are a violation of people’s rights.
Jean Joseph, an intern at the International House of Prayer said, “I felt his passion in his speech, I felt his heart.” Joseph said the biggest issue for him this election was doing away with abortion, a topic that Santorum has been openly strong about.
Nicholas Harvey, an FSU student and member of the FSU College Republicans said the biggest thing that he took a way from the senator’s speech was the message of unity. “The only way to get America back on track is taking the “I” out of the equation. It’s about us as a whole. We need to work for each other not for ourselves. I feel he speaks that very profoundly.”
Harvey said his main goal in this year’s election was to not only pick the best candidate, but to get President Obama out of office.