Rick Santorum gave one of the strongest speeches of his presidential campaign on Friday, repeatedly bringing a crowd of influential conservatives to its feet.
In his remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Santorum drew sharp contrasts between himself and both President Obama and Mitt Romney, although he didn't mention the former Massachusetts governor by name.
But he did attack Obama for his controversial mandate requiring religiously affiliated institutions to cover contraception — a move that infuriated conservatives.
“We've seen the president of the United States not only tell you what insurance coverage you should have, how much you’re going to pay, how much you’re going to be fined if you don’t, but now he's telling the Catholic Church that they are forced to pay for things that are against their basic tenets and teachings, against their First Amendment right,” he said, framing the issue not just as a religious one but one of personal freedom.
For more on Santorum's speech, click here.
