Santorum Says Equality 'Doesn't Come from Islam' But From 'God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob'
BOILING SPRINGS, SC-At his last town hall before South Carolinians vote, Rick Santorum was discussing the concepts of freedom and equality that the nation was founded on and said the concept of equality "doesn't come from Islam" or "Eastern religions." Instead "it comes from "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
"I get a kick out of folks who call for equality now, the people on the left, 'Well, equality, we want equality.' Where do you think this concept of equality comes from?" Santorum asked the enthusiastic crowd packed into a restaurant here. "It doesn't come from Islam. It doesn't come from the East and Eastern religions, where does it come from? It comes from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that's where it comes from."
Santorum then said that since equality comes from God, people should live "responsibly in conforming with God's laws."
"So don't claim his rights, don't claim equality as that gift from God and then go around and say, 'Well, we don't have to pay attention to what God wants us to do. We don't have to pay attention to God's moral laws.' If your rights come from God, then you have an obligation to live responsibly in conforming with God's laws, and our founders said so, right?" Santorum asked.
The crowd of over 200 packed into the Clock Restaurant started clapping, cheering and shouting; one little girl was jumping on her chair in the back of the restaurant to show her support. The enthusiasm turned rowdy when Santorum mentioned President Obama on two occasions and one man yelled, "He wasn't born here" and another, "He hates America." Santorum did not respond, and it wasn't clear if he heard the comments or not.
Friday evening Santorum gave his final pitch to the crowd, asking them, "What message are you going to send to the country as to who the conservative standard bearer will be out of South Carolina?"
"It's decision time in South Carolina, it's a decision as to what South Carolina is going to communicate to the rest of this country, what the upstate in particular, this is the conservative heartland as I mentioned before, what is the upstate going to say? Who are they going to stand behind?" Santorum said to cheers of "We pick Rick!" ("Upstate" refers to the northern part of South Carolina, which is the state's most conservative area, where Santorum needs to do well in Saturday.)
Since Ronald Reagan won the state in 1980, the winner of the South Carolina primary has gone on to become the GOP nominee.
"This is a wide-open race, the inevitability card that was being played by the media of the moderate candidate in this race is now gone since somebody else won Iowa yesterday," Santorum said to cheers. "Someone who actually believes what they say, someone who actually when they are accused of being a conservative on an issue and being an extremist says, You're darn right, I'm a conservative and you are the extremist, not me."
An overflow crowd waited out in the cold rain for an opportunity to listen to and meet the former Pennsylvania senator. He has even scheduled a stop at a polling place in Greenville tomorrow, a last-minute effort to convince voters he's the man to vote for, not Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich, who are currently polling higher than he is.