LIVONIA, Mich. – Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum made a last-minute appeal to voters outside of Detroit Monday morning, telling a suburban Chamber of Commerce that he is the only true conservative among the four remaining candidates and would “return power back to the American people” by ending bailouts, lowering taxes and removing burdensome government regulations.
Santorum talked for about an hour to the Livonia Chamber of Commerce, the first of three scheduled campaign stops he will make ahead of Tuesday’s Michigan and Arizona primaries, promising reforms that would return manufacturing jobs to the economically troubled state.
Part of Santorum’s plan includes zeroing out the corporate income tax for manufacturers and processors, the very kinds of businesses Michigan has lost in droves.
“We are going to build an environment that will strengthen America, that will give average blue collar workers…an opportunity to thrive in America again,” Santorum said.
Polling shows Mitt Romney with a healthy lead in Arizona, but Michigan remains almost too close to call and is considered the more critical of the two contests. Romney was born and raised here and his father served as governor in the 1960’s so a loss for him would be considered a significant blow to his efforts to win the nomination.
Both Romney and Santorum all but abandoned Arizona and have concentrated their efforts on the Wolverine State.
Romney will hold campaign events in Rockford, Albion and Royal Oak on Monday.
Santorum over the weekend has been battered in the press over comments made about the separation of church and state, but he hit the issue against Monday, attacking the Obama administration for what he called an attempt to restrict the way Americans are allowed to practice their faith.
“And I know the media will say, there’s Santorum talking about social issues again,” Santorum said. “No. I’m talking about freedom. This is an election about freedom. It’s about not buying into the idea that the government can do things better than you can do for yourself.”
Santorum is outspent and out organized by Romney in Michigan, but his personal appeal and passionate speeches are helping him gain support.
“He’s moved up on my ranks since I came here,” said Dave Simon, of Grand Blanc, who owns a basement-waterproofing business and came to hear Santorum address the chamber. “This is about a fundamental belief in an individual’s liberty and Santorum embodies that quite a bit more than Romney.”
