Rock Rapids, Iowa — Between 150 and 200 people attended a picnic-style event at Island Park in Rock Rapids Tuesday evening to celebrate the fact that former Senator and GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum had spoken with Iowans in all 99 counties again.
The candidate had done the same thing in 2012. Santorum started his speech by thanking those present for giving him the highest percentage of votes of any county that year — at 62 percent of the vote.
He contrasted his campaign style to that of his opponents, some of which tend to make appearances only near the population centers, and several who tend to court the high-dollar donors. Santorum said that money is not the issue. He says the issue that’s important is the vision of the candidate. He said, “You can’t buy the Presidency.”
He said that horrible things are happening in Iraq and Iran that put Americans in grave danger. He says our allies need to know they can trust us and more importantly, our enemies need to know who they’re dealing with.
The Senator says that strong families mean a strong America. He compared his book, “It Takes A Family” to Hillary Clinton’s book, “It Takes A Village.” He says in one of his Senate races, the Clintons were in his state constantly campaigning against him, and he beat them then.
Santorum said that people are sick of politicians who are afraid to stand for issues because they are afraid it will affect their next election. He says many in the Republican party want to “play defense” and not stand up for controversial issues.
After his remarks in Rock Rapids, Santorum was scheduled to speak at the Family Leader rally in Sioux Center.
A charter bus with 45 to 50 people from Cornerstone World Outreach church of Sioux City also came to the Rock Rapids event.
Pizza Ranch Pizza and Blue Bunny Ice cream were free to all who attended the Rock Rapids event.
