NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Imagine neighborhoods that are safe, prosperous, free and healthy – even though the families have disintegrated and there are no two-parent homes.
“They don't exist,” explained former presidential candidate and former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.
“The idea that we can have a strong economy without strong families is just a lie,” he told WND's Gina Loudon in an exclusive interview at CPAC, the annual gathering of conservatives just outside Washington, D.C.
A devout Catholic, Santorum said he believed it is imperative for conservatives to keep social issues in the political dialogue and to keep promoting traditional values.
TRENDING: St. Patrick's role on the 'external hard drive'
Loudon asked him about the divide within CPAC, and in the GOP, over whether to press the social issues in the upcoming elections. Santorum saw social issues as inseparable from all other issues.
He had statistics to back up his contention that the increase in children born out of wedlock is contributing to income inequality, saying the marriage rate for the top 20 percent of income earners has not changed in 30 years.
“We know what leads to success. Three things: Graduate from high school; work a full time job; and get married before you have children.
“The root of the economy is family. I'm not talking about defining marriage. I'm talking about reclaiming marriage and promoting marriage. That's what we need to be doing.”
Santorum represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2007. He finished second to Mitt Romney, the eventual GOP candidate for president in 2012.