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Rick Santorum suspends campaign

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    Former senator bows out of presidential race, thanks supporters

  • Duration 13:54
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This transcript is automatically generated

Thank you thank you very much it's.

It's always an -- to be here in this.

Beautiful town of Gettysburg such a historic town.

First and foremost I just want to thank everybody.

For the outpouring of prayers.

Over the past weekend.

We had a hey have a difficult weekend we Good Friday was a little bit of a passion for us with -- -- -- -- daughter bella.

Who is the joy of our lives -- unfortunately very sick.

And wind up in the hospital weekend but -- your district for different to start out things that.

She is a fighter and she is do an exceptionally well and is back with us in the family and we are looking forward to spending.

Lot of great time with her.

But it didn't.

Pluses to it to think and as the role that that we have this parents and -- her life and and and with the rest of our family and this was a time for prayer and thought over this past -- -- Just like it was frankly when we decided to -- to get into this race.

Karen and I and and the kids -- the kitchen table and talked about.

Our hopes and fears and our concerns and we were very concerned about.

Our role is being the best parents we possibly could to our children.

In making sure that they had the country that was.

Well with the American dream was still possible.

And I think a lot of lot of concerns that we had.

The Karen and I had and particularly for our family was that.

With what was going on a Washington DC and all of the the problems that you've heard me talk about on the campaign trail.

That that American dream was slipping not just from Dave -- Average.

Americans.

But for all Americans.

That that dream was slipping away.

And that we had and as good parents to go out and do we could.

Two take on that responsibility for our children and four children across this country.

And so we started out.

Almost a year ago now and Somerset Pennsylvania and I told well my story our story.

Of our family.

My grandfather.

Who came to this country and worked in the coal mines and my father who served our country more work to -- -- you had throughout the course of this campaign.

Talked about my stories and stories of our families.

But after while.

It became less about my stories and more about.

What kept us going where -- stories.

Stories of people across America that we had the privilege.

Of getting a chance to no -- to -- to interact with.

Know when you we travel around one such story was a guy named chuck who had to pick -- truck and and joined our team.

And drove us around in his Dodge Ram pickup truck for months on ended.

I did so as a volunteer to because he believed he believes that we provided the best opportunity.

Two to turn this country around and I met a lot of folks in Iowa that I'll never forget.

Folks.

Like Sam Clovis there's a talk show host and I'll never forget this fighter pilot.

Man a very strong convictions Welling up in tearing up about what was going all American.

Tree and particularly with our national security.

And laying out not a three legged stool of Ronald Reagan metaphorically it's still with the constitution being.

One of those vitally important links that we had forgotten about.

People like Wendy -- who.

Was our best volunteer.

5000 phone costs.

And just a few days before the primaries she because she was someone who was dealing with a disability dealing with an illness.

She passed away shortly before the the caucus but.

It was a the someone that I remembered her passion.

For the least of us saved those who -- on the margins of society is many would have looked at her.

Folks that he hadn't even today is because of our daughter bella.

Who come to came to our rallies.

One after another in wheelchairs.

Bringing their special needs children in.

Holding signs -- of children saying.

I'm for -- dad.

Just -- a beautiful.

Idea of again not.

My story but their stories.

Was what really fueled our campaign and gave us the the energy at a time -- over and over again we were told forget that you can't win.

We were winning we're winning -- a very different way because we -- touching hearts we were.

Raising issues.

That well frankly a lot of people didn't want to have raised our.

This -- car after Iowa was a young man.

Who came to our first.

-- -- and Oklahoma.

In a wheelchair named Daniel let's find a definite.

And one is someone who spoke about.

People again that.

Are overlooked by society or don't seem to be is valuable as others in society.

Folks like.

The bloggers who did the does the dug her family traveled around with this in their bus and and gave their time and energy because again they believed -- The basic importance of having strong families.

As part of a strong country that.

We can't have.

A strong economy is you've heard me say over and over again without.

Strong families and strong moral fiber that makes us the moral enterprise that is America.

Even fun things like the sweater vest.

Amazing thing that sweater vest.

That happened on night I was doing an -- Mike Huckabee and de Moines and showed up and everybody was and suits and ties and I showed up and a sweater vest and turned out I gave a pretty good speech that night and all of a sudden the Twitter verse one while saying -- must be the sweater vest and from that point on those sweater vest became the the official wardrobe of the the Santorum campaign and the cool thing was -- Obviously you have a big part of our campaign is a manufacturing base in the economy and so we of course source that sweater vest.

-- in a company that was making them here and in the United States and so -- and going to that little company up and that means you Minnesota.

In the middle of winner it was a beautiful day and got a chance to.

To see that little plant.

That had been around for almost a hundred years and we turned out -- where the best company best customer that the meiji.

Woolen mills has ever had in their entire history.

So it's it's been a it's been a wonderful.

Story after story of of people who have come forward.

Two girls who put together a song and and -- also Oklahoma called game on.

Who have traveled -- followed us around and over and over a million hits on YouTube.

That catchy little tune that that they were inspired to give an even today.

We have folks working force in Texas to make it a winner take all primary because they want to make sure that we have.

The best opportunity.

To for Texas and for conservatives to have a voice throughout the course of this primary it.

It has been inspiring to me the story after stories that we've been we've been engaged with them.

It turns out that he really wasn't my voice.

That I was out communicating.

It was your voice.

The voice that you gave me from the stories and experience I had.

And that's what people say how did this happen how how were we able to come from nowhere.

It's because I was Smart enough to figure out that -- -- Understood and felt at a very deep level what you were experiencing across America and tried to be a witness to that.

To try to be an -- cents an interpreter of that that.

Your voice can be heard in miracles can happen and so it did.

Miracle after miracle this race was as improbable as any race that you -- from president.

Want to thank god for that and I want to thank all of you.

Thank all of you across this country for what you have given well hopefully not just me.

And our family but what you've given which is a voice.

To those who are many cases voiceless.

And we have tried to be a witness not just for the year for your stories in your voice but provide a positive and hopeful vision.

Not a negative campaign.

We traveled around and -- 385 town hall meetings and in Iowa we weren't out there trash and anybody.

We went out in our campaign says from that point on we've putted -- painted a hopeful positive vision for our country one that was based on.

How would he get this country turned around not just economically.

Not just economically but.

Reflecting.

The hopes and hopes of Americans not just the fears of -- -- it's the hopes of Americans as -- what we can do to confront -- Violent radical Islam and particularly the the scourge of Iran and what we could do that.

Take on the the problems of a sluggish economy in -- Washington -- grown so big.

We put forth concrete solid plans that many of which came from the people that I had an opportunity to interact with throughout the course in time in this campaign.

We didn't focus a lot yes on the families on the dignity of human life and on the moral enterprise that is America.

And I know Joseph Klein of the upset about this but one of my favorite articles was -- -- that he wrote.

Where is headline was Rick santorum's inconvenient truths.

And talked about things that maybe.

We should talk about a little bit more but somehow gets shoved aside in the public discourse.

We talked about how we -- gonna build a great country from the bottom up and we carried around our copy of the constitution.

And of course it was that constitution that got the Tea Party folks excited.

Legitimately so about the operator's manual of America being discarded.

By those in Washington and I think what I tried to bring to the battle is what Abraham Lincoln brought to this battlefield.

Back in 1863 in November 19.

When he talked about this country being conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

He was -- of course the declaration independents.

-- seat.

In that declaration.

We talked about that declaration is the heart of American exceptional -- -- who we are.

Because we will never be a country they can go forward.

As a great and powerful country again unless we remember who we are and what makes us Americans.

That's what our campaign was about.

About what made us Americans how we built this country from the bottom up and how if we are gonna be successful in the future.

How we must believe in ourselves.

And believe -- that ability to go forward.

And do the same thing.

Against all odds we won eleven states.

Millions of voters.

Millions of votes we won more counties and all the other people in this race combined.

We were able to spread that message far and wide across this country and what we found is that while.

We've shall we found that support.

I found -- deeper love for this country.

Every step went to and those of you follow me around I would say I'd really love this state it was.

-- love affair for me going from state to state and see the difference -- the -- the wonderful wonderful.

People of this country who cared deeply.

About where this country's going in the future care deeply about those who are.

Out -- patently Malone who are feeling left behind and in some respects feeling hopeless.

And want to do something.

Ladies and gentlemen.

We.

We made -- decision -- in this race and our kitchen table against all the odds.

And we made a decision over the weekend.

That.

While this presidential race for us is over for me.

And we will suspend our campaign effective today.

We are not done fighting.

We are gonna continue to fight.

For those voices.

-- continue to fight for the Americans who stood up and gave us that.

That air under our wings that allowed us to accomplish things that.

No political expert would have ever expected.

There's a lot of greatness.

A lot of greatness in this country.

We just need leaders who believe in that -- willing to give voice to that who willing to raise us up.

Instead of trying to.

Provide for us and do for us what we can better do for ourselves.

That's the message that they came for it to me and -- -- that I feel very very good about continuing to talk to Americans about.

There are.

I walked out after the Iowa caucus victory and said game on.

An all lot of folks are gonna right.

Maybe there's even at the White House came over.

But this game as long long long way from over.

We are going to continue to go out there and and fight to make sure that we defeat president Barack Obama.

That we win the house back and that we take the United States senate.

And we stand for the values.

That make us Americans.

That make us the greatest country in the history of the world that shining city on the hill.

To be a beacon for everybody for freedom around the World -- -- very much got bush.

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