Santorum Visits Coeur d’Alene

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum is speaking to a packed house at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Events Center (at the golf course) as I type this. I don’t know the two people to the far left seated behind him. But Hagadone Hospitality partner Jerry Jaeger, then Tina Jacobson, Katie Brodie, and Ruthie Johnson. (SR photo: Jesse Tinsley)

SReporter Jonathan Brunt (@bruntjon) & Chris Stein of the Inlander (@InlanderChris) are live-tweeting Santorum visit:

• 1:27 p.m. Finishes after nearly an hour and a half — Brunt.
• 1:27 p.m. “I hope the conservative bastion of Idaho speaks loudly” on Super Tuesday — Brunt.
• 1:26 p.m. As he wraps up urged people to become delegates. Calls Idaho Iowa — Stein.
• 1:25 p.m. “Why do we let people at age 62 to collect” Social Security benefits? — Brunt.
• 1:21 p.m. “[Obama] thinks that you are incapable of freedom” — Stein.
• 1:19 p.m. Santorum talks about welfare reform, audience claps for requirement to look for work. Says would be model for other programs — Stein.
• 1:17 p.m. Corrects himself before almost making an “Iowa” reference instead of Idaho — Brunt.
• 1:15 p.m. backs foreign aid, says money spent in country. “Not the panacea some people think… Entitlements are the problem” — Stein.
• 1:13 p.m. Would reduce federal pay 10 percent “across the board” — Brunt.
• Much more below

• 1:13 p.m. Santorum says won’t cut defense, leave as-is in budget. References Defense Sec. Leon Panetta — Stein.
• 1:12 p.m. Rips on Ron Paul without using his name for Paul’s criticism of defense spending — Brunt.
• 1:10 p.m. “I am a believer in the flat tax at the corporate level” — Brunt.
• 1:08 p.m. “Not a big fan of” Endangered Species Act — Brunt.
• 1:07 p.m. Says will “fire all the Czars” if in office to loud applause — Stein.
• 1:05 p.m. Lots of jokes about sweater vests — Stein.
• 1:05 p.m. “There is an open hostility to religion in this administration, and: Santorum oftens says “rights given by” then let’s audience say “God”. Seems key to his message — Stein.
• 1:02 p.m. Santorum calls TSA “harassment agency of all time” says will instead “profile folks who are most likely to harm” country (huge applause for TSA comment) — Stein
• 12:58 p.m. Obama has tried “to embrace Castro and Chavez” — Brunt.
• 12:55 p.m. Santorum: European Union issues many “Obama-like edicts” and undermines the culture of many European countries, and: I don’t think we should be bailing them out (Greece and other countries with debt problems) — Brunt.
• 12:51 p.m. Speaker wishes #Santorum happy Valentines, calls him “hardest working politician” in modern history — Stein.
• 12:48 p.m. Santorum criticizing Obama on environment. “It turns out man made global warming wasn’t climate science. It was political science” — Stein.
• 12:40 p.m. “I do not believe life begins at conception. I know life begins at conception.” Loud applause — Stein.
• 12:38 p.m. “My policy’s not going to be called Santorumcare. It’s called YouCare” — Brunt.
• 12:37 p.m. Taking audience questions — Brunt.
• 12:36 p.m. Criticizing Romney idea to do waiver for healthcare overhaul as “insincere.” “California’s not going to waive it” — Stein.
• 12:35 p.m. “Goverment spending is obveroulsy not doing the trick” — Brunt.
• 12:33 p.m. Santorum promises that government will shrink each year he is president — Brunt.
• 12:33 p.m. Obama “just dodesn’t want to reduce government. Well, I do” — Brunt.
• 12:31 p.m. Standing ovation when #Santorum says he is the best qualified to run against Obama — Stein.
• 12:30 p.m. Obamacare “is the best example of crushing the business community in this country” — Brunt.
• 12:26 p.m. “This is our chance” … “to roll back all of those huge and oppressive government regulations” — Brunt.
• 12:25 p.m. “If we don’t win this election Obamacare will be implemented and if Obamacare is implemented America as I describe it will be no more” — Stein
• 12:22 p.m. This election is about the economy and jobs, “but ultimately it is about the role of government in your lives” — Brunt.
• 12:21 p.m. Santorum criticizing #Obama admin for arguing against ministerial exception in hiring. “who are these people?” Crowd responds, “Dictators” — Stein.
• 12:19 p.m. future of Obama’s America is “people holed up in their homes at night who look to the government to sustain them” — Brunt.
• 12:16 p.m. Santorum gets big applause when he talks about homeschooling his kids: “I fit into Idaho pretty well” — Brunt.
• 12:10 p.m. Crowd seems solidly supportive of Santorum message, clapping often — Stein.
• 12:09 p.m. Events center employee says people started showing up at 830 a.m. — Stein.
• 12:07 p.m. Santorum in CDA the Constitution exists to: “protect one thing and that’s to protect the rights given to you by God” — Brunt.
• 12:05 p.m. Packed house of more than 500 — Stein.