Rick Santorum

Rick Santorum was a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007. During his tenure, he served on several important committees, including eight years on the Armed Services Committee and six on the Finance Committee. He is the author of "It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good." He is writing a second book on the war against a radical, Islamic fascist enemy and its growing global alliances. He is VP of Business Development at Reston, VA-based MPower Media and is a commentator on the Fox News Channel.

His column, "The Elephant in the Room," appears every other Thursday on The Inquirer's Commentary Page.

The Elephant in the Room: A war of ideas within Islam

Backward views hold sway in much of the Muslim world. And yet there is hope.

By Rick Santorum

Posted 11/05/2009

Three Muslim students approached me after I had finished a speech at Harvard University. I was there to talk about the threat of radical Islam across the globe, as part of the Ethics and Public Policy Center's Program to Protect America's Freedom.

The Elephant in the Room: Obama's failing Iran policy

The president stiffs the pro-democracy movement and boosts Ahmadinejad.

By Rick Santorum

Posted 10/22/2009

Who says campaigns are mere exercises in the politics of personal destruction? Take my last ad against Bob Casey in our 2006 Senate race. An Iraq war veteran spoke into the camera, demanding that the then-state treasurer stop investing state funds in corporations doing business with our enemies - enemies like Iran.

The Elephant in the Room: Christian freedoms at risk - 10/08/2009: Why would the U.S. government force a Catholic college to pay for birth control?

By Rick Santorum

What do liberal proposals in Congress and state legislatures on marriage, health care, welfare, and employment rights have in common? All will profoundly damage two of our country's most important rights: freedom of conscience and belief.
The Elephant in the Room: Promises have been broken - 09/24/2009: Obama's proposal would force many into a government plan, despite his guarantees.

By Rick Santorum

Nothing is more critical to the success of President Obama's health-care legislation than his promise that no American will have to give up his or her health plan. A related promise runs a close second: that the "government option" will create competition for the private sector, not replace it.
The Elephant in the Room: Who will collect the dots? - 09/10/2009: Nine years after 9/11, Obama's plan will make it more difficult to protect the country.

By Rick Santorum

Tomorrow is the eighth anniversary of 9/11. I remember the vast destruction that rained down from the heavens. I remember the thousands of innocents slaughtered and the bravery of average Americans on the ground in New York and Washington and in the skies above Pennsylvania. I remember, too, the anxiety about the next terror attack, and I remember the dots.
The Elephant in the Room: Ignoring a doomsday scenario - 08/27/2009: By Rick Santorum

Congress created a commission to study it in 2001. The commission concluded in 2004 that it was "one of a small number of threats that has the potential to hold our society seriously at risk and might result in defeat of our military forces," and that a determined adversary could use the weapon against us without "a high level of sophistication."
The Elephant in the Room One-two punch for Pa., city - 08/13/2009: Obama's lofty health- care and climate- change measures would hurt badly.

By Rick Santorum

Barack Obama campaigned on change - big change. When members of Congress return from the August break, having received an earful from their constituents, they'll go to work on two bills that put the big in big change.
The Elephant in the Room: Why conservatives should support McCain - 04/21/2008: By Rick Santorum

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't shy away from offering my two-cents on the issues of the day, particularly in presidential races. And anyone who has heard me talk about the presidential race over the last few months knows that I've had, shall we say, some serious reservations about John McCain's candidacy.
The Elephant in the Room: Mandate for Catholic colleges - 04/10/2008: By Rick Santorum

Is Pope Benedict XVI coming to America to drop the hammer on the president for the Iraq war? You might think so if your gospel comes courtesy of the mainstream media.
The Elephant in the Room: One-Day Democrats: A bad idea - 03/27/2008: By Rick Santorum

The results are in. Democratic registration numbers have surged to a record four million, and an equally impressive record of an 800,000-vote advantage over Republicans in the state. Have things gotten so bad for the GOP in Pennsylvania that a stampede has begun?
The Elephant in the Room: McCain must change views on social issues - 03/13/2008: By Rick Santorum

I attended the Council for National Policy meeting last week in New Orleans and listened to John McCain address the who's who of Hillary Rodham Clinton's vast right-wing conspiracy. It was another chance for McCain to, in his words, "not just unite, but reignite the base."
The Elephant in the Room: Obama: A harsh ideologue hidden by a feel-good image - 02/28/2008: By Rick Santorum

American voters will choose between two candidates this election year. One inspires hope for a brighter, better tomorrow. His rhetoric makes us feel we are, indeed, one nation indivisible - indivisible by ideology or religion, indivisible by race or creed. It is rhetoric of hope and change and possibility. It's inspiring. This candidate can make you just plain feel good to be American.