Santorum: Declaration is the 'Why' of America

In a crowd with some sporting U.S. Constitution T-shirts, GOP presidential nominee hopeful Rick Santorum said the U.S. Constitution is not the "why" behind America.

"I'm a Declaration of Independence guy," Santorum said to the crowd of 150 during the Berkeley County Republican Breakfast at American Legion Post #166 in Goose Creek. "What's in that document is our founding principle."

He called the declaration "the most transformative document in history."

Like fellow Republican and GOP hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) , Santorum stressed the importance of 2012.

"If Barack Obama is reelected you — everyone in this room — will be the generation that lost America," Santorum said.

Saturday's event was the first time a Republican presidential candidate has made a stop in Goose Creek, a town known for its military and veteran population, according to Orval Mills, chair of the Berkeley County Election Commission. Others candidates visiting the county have chosen the more affluent Daniel Island.

Why Berkeley County?

"Berkeley County is one of the largest counties in the state, certainly Berkeley County will be a key player (in 2012 Republican primary)," Mills said.

Santorum was one of the first in the GOP field to gain endorsements in the state. In June, former S.C. Rep. Gresham Barrett gave Santorum an endorsement.

Santorum most recently visited the Beacon Drive-In in Spartanburg, according to this Fox News article. 

"Our goal is sort of a gradual ground swell," Santorum told Fox News. "We haven't burst on the scene. I tend to think slow and steady wins the race and that's what we're doing."

Santorum added: "We knew I was going to be the tortoise in this race, not the hare. And there are going to be lots of rabbits out there running ahead and we're just plugging along."

In August, Santorum finished fourth in the Iowa straw poll, behind Tim Pawlenty who dropped out the next day. Bachmann finished first.

During Saturday's stump speech, Santorum said the candidates that finished ahead of him all spent in excess of $1 million — not something the mainstream media reported, he added. Santorum said he lost by only a few hundred votes and has spent less than $100,000. 

Santorum was also recently snubbed by Sen. Jim DeMint's Republican forum, which will . 

The most who have attended the county's party breakfast is 300, during Sen. John McCain's visit in 1999, prior to the 2000 GOP primary in the state, according to Charles Schuster, moderator of Berkeley County Republican Party Breakfast.

Many of those coming to the breakfast were either regular breakfast or regular legion post members, like Speedy Felkel of Hanahan. 

"I come every month," he said. "It's a good place to get a barometer." 
Felkel said he will vote for Santorum in 2012. 

"I'm very much in favor of him," Felkel said. "He's a down-to-earth man. He gets close to the people."

But not everybody was ready to hand Santorum — or anyone, for that matter — his vote. 

"Just like in Vietnam, you're not just going to follow anybody — you're going to follow the best leader and there ain't no best leader yet," five-time Purple Heart recipient and Vietnam veteran Larry Courtney of Goose Creek said. "I can't say that he's not it; he's got some good ideas." 

Courtney liked what Santorum said about shutting down the Environmental Protection Agency, using a quote that Bachmann has said.

"We need to turn the lights off and shut the door," Courtney said. 
But he still wants a candidate to come out more on veteran issues.

"He said nothing of the veterans except to say thank you for serving," Courtney said.

Goose Creek 9-12 member Barbara Bates came away from the event with a better impression of the candidate. 

"I'm more impressed this time," Bates said, adding she has seen Santorum speak before. "He's not afraid to stand up." 

Bates said while Santorum has now joined her like list, which includes Bachmann, other candidates like Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman have not. But she doesn't have a favorite for 2012 just yet.

"I'm going to have to let it play out," Bates said. 

Santorum also impressed Deanna Trout of Moncks Corner.

"Our founding fathers would have embraced him today," Trout said.