At CPAC 2012, Republican presidential hopefuls Rick Santorum,
Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich vied Friday for the support of
thousands of U.S. conservatives at a conference in Washington, painting
the November presidential elections as a battle for the soul of
America.
Romney, 64, was battling to prove his conservative bona fides to
the key party activists amid ongoing concerns about his moderate
policies as governor of Massachusetts and attacks from opponents that
he is too liberal to represent the centre-right party.
"I know conservatism because I have lived conservatism," he said,
detailing his years in business and 42-year marriage and family
values.
The annual gathering of the Conservative Political Action
Conference (CPAC) in the nation's capital comes as the Republican
Party is deeply fractured over who it should send up against US
President Barack Obama in November's elections. The three candidates
who spoke on Friday all have notched victories in the eight state
primary events so far.
Hitting on a series of policies to prove his positions aligned
with the crowd on reducing government, lowering taxes and opposing
abortion and gay marriage, Romney also stressed he was the only true
outsider among the field of Republican candidates.
Romney said that with the conservatives at his side he could take
on Obama.
"He will not be lecturing to us on values as a man whose
ineptitude and failure has created so much unnecessary pain for
Americans," he said.
Romney is seen as the frontrunner for the party's nomination, but
has so far failed to garner much enthusiasm among conservatives who
point to his changing policy positions and moderate record in a
liberal state.
Still, many have argued that he is the party's best hope of
unseating Obama thanks to his widespread appeal to moderates and
swing voters and his extensive business management experience.
Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, 53, and former speaker
of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, 68, are vying to be
the conservative challenger to Romney in the hope of rallying a key
segment of the party.
Gingrich, who has gone on the attack against Romney and who won
the primary in South Carolina last month, painted himself as the
anti-establishment candidate despite his decades in Washington.
"For the Republican establishment managing the decay is preferable
to changing the trajectory," he charged, accusing them of not having
the "toughness" or "philosophy" to build a majority.
Santorum earlier Friday urged the crowd to stand by their
principles and not simply settle for a candidate they think is
electable.
"We've learned our lesson and we will no longer compromise on the
principles that made this country great for a hollow victory in
November," Santorum said.
Santorum gained a key boost from three surprise victories in
contests Tuesday, leaving the Romney campaign to point out that every
general election candidate loses some races on the path to the
nomination.
"There's a lot of excitement here because this election is about
very big things," Santorum told an enthusiastic crowd, arguing that
the campaign against Obama is about "more than just about the
economy, it's about foundational principles" such as freedom from
government intervention in citizens' daily lives.
He has garnered most attention for his stances on social issues,
such as strong opposition to abortion and gay marriage, prompting
attempts to scuttle him by gay activists and others.
But Santorum has also sought to capitalize on populist economic
rhetoric by stressing his roots as the grandson of a coal miner and
Italian immigrant.
