Rick Santorum kicks off 2012 presidential bid

Former Sen. Rick Santorum formally kicked off his 2012 presidential campaign in Somerset, Pennsylvania Monday, saying the birth of the Tea Party helped him understand that the "anxiety and concern that [he has] for the future of this country" is shared by Americans across the country.

"They understand that something is wrong," the Pennsylvania Republican argued, suggesting President Obama has failed in steering the economy and has devalued "our moral currency."

"He's devalued our currency, and he's not just devalued our currency, he's devalued our culture," said Santorum.

Santorum, a former two-term senator who lost his 2006 reelection bid by 18 points, is best known as a staunch social conservative. In his address Monday, he assailed the president for his decision not to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman. He also lashed out at "federal funding of abortion," though federal law has long barred such funding.

But he also made an economic case, saying Mr. Obama has spent recklessly to prop himself up and has lamented high gas prices even while limiting domestic oil supplies. The president, he argued, has "wrecked our economy and centralized power in Washington DC and robbed people of their freedom."

The Obama presidency has left Americans seeking a president "who believes in them," said Santorum, surrounded by his wife and seven children.

"It is our watch, it is our time," he added.

Rick Santorum Returns - And Eyes The White House

Santorum was most scathing on the topic of the federal health care law known to Republicans as "Obamacare." He said that the law is the "lynchpin" of Mr. Obama's belief that "America's greatness is in government, not its people."

The health care law, he said, allows the government "to have its clutches to create dependency on every single American," suggesting it will make all Americans be effectively "hooked to the government with an IV." He went on to suggest that the government will force Americans to "give us more power" in exchange for health care services.

"They wanna hook you, they don't want to free you, they don't want to give you opportunity, they don't believe in you, they believe in themselves, the smart people, the planners," said Santorum.

Santorum criticized Mr. Obama for suggesting America was not great before the establishment of entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid, saying, "America was a great country before 1965." He complained that Democrats were engaged in a "Mediscare" campaign to mislead Americans about Rep. Paul Ryan's proposal to transform Medicare into a voucher-style system.

Unwilling govs plotting to scuttle new minimum wage – NLC ...

ABUJA — LEADERS of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday in Abuja, said they had uncover plot by unwilling governors to scuttle the implementation of the N18,000 new minimum wage, even as they asked such governors to quit instead of disobeying the law of the land.

Addressing journalists at the end of their National Executive Council, NEC, meeting, President of NLC, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, claimed that unwilling governors were putting pressures on willing governors not to implement the new wage in order not put them in trouble.

Omar advised such unwilling governors to quit because NLC would battle them to a stand still and said NEC had directed state councils to enter into negotiation with the state government on the modalities for implementation.

He said not even the Federal Government could implement the new wage without meeting with appropriate unions to formulate the modalities and table of implementation.

The NLC President said leaders of NLC met with officials of Natioanl Wages and Salaries Commission on Monday and during the NEC meeting, the leaders of commission came to address the NEC on the issue of guidelines and modalities for implementation.

According to him, “some of those state governors are trying to influence even those who have accepted publicly that they would be ready to pay. It is as if they want to pull them down. They are saying do not pay so that you do not put us in trouble.

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