Mr. Santorum offered that critique from the podium of the Detroit Economics Club, a traditional high profile forum for the state's political and civic leaders. But even as he scorned the federal aid he dismisses as bailouts, Santorum proposed an equally ambitious program to aid manufacturers in another way. He reiterated his plan to free manufacturing firms of all corporate taxes. It's an element of his platform that he can be expected to emphasize repeatedly in coming weeks as the nomination fight moves through states like Michigan and Ohio bettered by a generation of blue collar job losses.
"We need to create that opportunity for people to rise, and I believe manufacturing is the key to that," he said.
In a long congressional career, Santorum was active on a wide array of issues, from welfare reform to foreign policy. But his name is most often associated with his conservative views on social issues, particularly abortion. Santorum has not soft-peddled his views in this campaign. His victory in Iowa, in particular, was rooted in his unbending views on those social issues.
But Thursday's speech was evidence of another thread in the narrative of his bid for the White House. From the day he announced his campaign last summer in Somerset County, Santorum has repeatedly sought to strike chords of blue collar empathy, invoking again and again his grandfather's career as a coal miner. It's a calculated effort to broaden the Santorum brand, to introduce himself to a national audience as a figure who is more multi-faceted than just a culture warrior.
That effort was clear Thursday as Santorum detailed his tax plan while assailing economic stands by Romney and President Obama.
Distinguishing his position from those of some of his GOP rivals, he said, "We can't just go out there and say, 'cut axes, cut spending . . . everything is going to be fine'?" he said. "Everything isn't going to be fine."
