Repealing and replacing Obamacare is one of the main issues Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is campaigning on while touring Iowa this week. Known for his more social conservative values, the former Pennsylvania senator has recently come out hard against the Affordable Care Act, and touts a constructive reform plan. He spoke to the Torch’s Robert Rees this morning.
“I will get rid of it, and I will replace it with a system that provides for an opportunity for everybody through a private insurance market to get health insurance,” said Santorum on the Torch. “We’ll have support for folks both who work for companies that provide for health insurance and those that don’t. We’ll give them support through the federal tax code to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to go out and buy health insurance.”
Santorum promoted one of the bills in the Senate that he is most proud of getting through: health savings accounts.
“I was the author of that, the first person who introduced health savings accounts way back 20 years ago, and now every conservative running for president this year is running on health savings accounts, and I created health savings accounts,” said Santorum.
The Republican contender said repealing and replacing Obamacare comes down to common sense.
“And liberalism is not common sense,” said Santorum. “People ask me to define conservatism-it’s common sense. It’s not an ideology. See, liberalism is an ideology. It says we’re going to do things and people will do what we’re going to tell them to do and go against human nature. Well guess what? Human nature trumps every time. Well, I shouldn’t say that.”
Santorum admits, however, that Obamacare was created with good intentions.
“The welfare program, the great society of the New Deal, a lot of those were good intentions and a couple of the programs worked out ok but most of them have not,” said Santorum. “It’s harmed people. Look at the destruction of the family in this country and a big part of it is the role the government plays in it. Look at what’s happening in our poor communities.”
Santorum is wraps up his swing through Iowa with a speech at Iowa Caucus Consortium Candidate Series in Des Moines. He is the first Republican candidate in the race to complete the 99-county tour of Iowa earlier this month.
