Rick Santorum delivered an emotional defense of social and economic conservatism on Friday, holding back tears as he repeatedly referenced the death of his young nephew just the day before.
“Yesterday he was not the one in pain,” Santorum said, describing the “surreal” scene at the hospital. “Medicines were effectively blocking all his physical pain — we were the ones in pain.” The circumstances of Santorum’s newphew’s death were not immediately available and the former Senator did not go into detail.
He employed this pain metaphor throughout the speech, attacking popular culture and progressive economic policy as an empty effort to dull national suffering.
“For 100 years, the left and govenrment have made it their mission to have a government program to address almost every pain,” Santorum said. “As their allies in education deny truth so there is no wrong and therefore nothing to worry about, and their allies in Hollywood and the media promote a culture of titillation and violence that numbs our senses in an attempt to please us — all of this has resultsed in an epidemic of psychological, moral, and spiritual pain and suffering.”
He continued, moving on to economic policy: “Objectively speaking, thanks to technology and the dynamics of our economy, a low income American has creature comforts that would exceed the wealthiest of Americans 100 years ago,” he asid. “Yet the suffering is greater today because our culture and our leadership has robbed them of the ‘why’ of America, our purpose.”
Benjy Sarlin
Benjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
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