Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum endorsed his one-time rival Mitt Romney in an email sent to his supporters Monday evening. Santorum did not discuss why he chose to issue his endorsement via email, instead of scheduling a press conference or joint appearance with Romney, as Newt Gingrich decided to do.
Like Gingrich, Santorum waited a while to issue his endorsement. His lengthy email, which can be read in its entirety at Santorum’s website, made it clear that he had some issues to discuss with Romney first. These issues were tackled in an “over-hour long one-on-one meeting” the two held in Pittsburgh on Friday.
Santorum said Romney did not ask for his endorsement at this meeting. Instead, he was moved to issue the endorsement because of feedback he received from his supporters. “Clearly without the overwhelming support from you all, I never would have won 11 states and over 3 million votes, and we would not have won more counties than all the other candidates combined,” Santorum declared in his email. “I can assure you that even though I am no longer a candidate for president, I will still continue to fight every day for our shared values – the values that made America the greatest country in the history of the world.”
Santorum was not subtle about assessing Romney’s commitment to those “shared values,” paramount among them strengthening the American family, and restoring America’s status as a manufacturing superpower. He urged Romney to reach out to conservative leaders for policy and political advice.
“Above all else, we both agree that President Obama must be defeated,” Santorum wrote. “The task will not be easy. It will require all hands on deck if our nominee is to be victorious. Governor Romney will be that nominee and he has my endorsement and support to win this the most critical election of our lifetime.” He laid out the stakes for the 2012 election in detail:
The America we know is being fundamentally changed to look more like a European socialist state than the land of opportunity our founding fathers established.
Freedom and personal responsibility are being replaced with big government dependency. The greatest and most productive workers in the world are being hamstrung by excessive regulations making it impossible to compete. Our healthcare system had been socialized, and the worth of each life dictated by some government bureaucrat. Our allies are insulted while our enemies are appeased. And our religious beliefs and freedom have come under attack.
What is even more troubling is what a second term of an Obama administration could bring. President Obama's admission to the Russians that he will have more flexibility in a second term can only be translated to "if you thought I was liberal in the first four years you haven't seen anything yet!"
Santorum concluded by extending prayers and best wishes to the Romney family as they navigate the campaign trail, whose difficulty “Karen and I know firsthand.” He also promised another big announcement would be coming soon, “and I will be asking you to once again join forces with me to keep up the fight, together.”
