Yesterday, from a factory floor in Cabot, PA, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum announced his candidacy for Presidency of the United States.  He began by paying tribute to his grandfather, who was a coal miner.  With a piece of coal in one hand and an American flag in the other, he stated of his grandfather, “…He didn’t come (to America) for this,” showing the coal, “he came for this–freedom,” holding high the American flag.

Back in 2012, he won eleven state primaries, including the Iowa Caucus.  His candidacy, starved for funds, could not keep pace with Mitt Romney’s.  It’s generally supposed that an initial, erroneous vote tally giving Iowa to Romney cost the Santorum campaign both in momentum and campaign contributions.

Known as a strong social conservative, he made plain his pro-life positions, mentioning his voting record as U.S. Senator. He is hoping for the same support from Catholics and Evangelical Christians he received four years ago.  He will be competing for their support with several other conservative Republican candidates this time around.  Should he win the nomination his Democratic opponent, most likely Hilary Clinton, will surely revive the “war on women” tact.

At one point in his speech, he took a swipe at the presumptive Democratic nominee by saying,  “Working families don’t need another President tied to big government or big money.”  The obvious reference to Mrs. Clinton’s charitable trust serving as a conduit for campaign funds and alleged quid pro quo deals with donors from foreign countries who just happened to have  business before the U.S. State Department while she was Secretary of State.

Santorum touted his foreign affairs credentials, both in the areas of bringing back jobs from overseas and with regards to national defense. He noted that he was mentioned on one of ISIS’s online magazines as an example of their enemy.  He bore that distinction with pride stating that they knew who he was and he knew who they were.  He promised to defeat the ISIS threat if elected President.

Domestically, he spoke about abolishing the IRS and instituting a “Fair, flat, tax” in its place.  He also promised to roll back all of the regulations and executive orders that he sees as holding back business growth and production, and to oppose Common Core, the federally mandated school curriculum.    He made a point several times in his speech to declare his support for the American middle-class worker and the middle class family.

Rick Santorum is an underdog to be sure.  He currently ranks behind many of the other announced Republican candidates.  It is a position he has found himself in many times before, only to surprise many of his doubters.  He will have to pull off a few more upset victories this time around in the primaries if he is to win the nomination.