Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Montgomery County Republican Party held their Annual Lincoln Reagan Day Dinner fundraiser Saturday, March 28 which featured former Pennsylvania Senator and 2012 U.S. Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum.
Close to 380 guests filled the Wilma Rudolph Event Center for the event which was attended by a long list of local and state officials like Tennessee State Senator Mark Green who hosted as emcee and former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales who introduced Santorum.
Santorum talked about the state of the nation and how the dreams and hopes of his father and grandfather was to hand-off a better America than they had. He said for the first time in American history we’re at a point where that may not happen.
“We may be in a situation, both economically, culturally and with respect with our security that we are a generation that let fundamental freedom slip away. We are a generation where people don’t think they have a chance to rise,” said Santorum.
In an interview before the dinner, Santorum talked about a possible run for the White House in 2016. “We’re very much considering that. We’re not going to make any definite decisions until late spring or early summer and we’ll see whether we can get the support both grassroots and financial to make a go at this,” Santorum said.
The topic of Islamic terrorism and talks with Iran about a proposed nuclear deal with the Obama administration were also part of Santorum’s speech Saturday which led him to mention the people of Clarksville-Montgomery and praise their support for Fort Campbell.
“Let me assure you that across our country there are still people flirting with the idea of cutting the defense budget. Of putting us in a position where the military cannot do what we are asking it to do. We have to be for a robust and strong military and put the funding there to make it happen,” Santorum said.
Santorum spent time at the Fort Campbell PX Saturday at a book signing for a book written with his wife Karen titled Bella’s Gift: How One Little Girl Transformed Our Family and Inspired a Nation, which is about the youngest of his seven children, Bella, who has Edwards Syndrome, a chromosomal disorder.
His political career includes two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991-1995 and in the U.S. Senate from 1995-2007. In 2012 Santorum was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President where he won 11 states, including Tennessee, and nearly 4 million votes in the primary.