By John Hart

Today I had the pleasure of interviewing C3 Solutions advisor and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) for our “Right Voices” series. In addition to being the runner-up to the GOP nomination in 2012 and the former chair of the Senate Republican Conference, Sen. Santorum literally wrote the book on “Blue Collar Conservatives” back in 2014. I asked him to reflect on his book and weigh in on the current debates about the future of the conservative movement that are revolving around a vision he cast before Trump arrived on the scene.

You can watch and listen here. We covered a lot of ground but below are a few key excerpts from our discussion.

On conservatives and the environment:

“The Left perpetuates the narrative that conservatives and Republicans don’t care about the environment, but the Republican Party has a long history of caring about this.”

“I believe we have to be good stewards of our environment. I’m Catholic. The Lord said you have dominion over the earth, that’s what he says in the Old Testament, you have responsibility for that, and we have to take that responsibility seriously.”

“We just believe there are efficient and really good ways of protecting the environment and at the same time have a strong and healthy economy and quality of life. We can do both. It’s not one or the other.”

“I want to make sure the environment is good for my children and their children going forward. I believe that the best way to do that is through innovation.”

“We can’t be the party of ‘no’ or ‘not now.’ Americans want to know how to solve the problems that are real. C3 Solutions is stepping forward to provide the background info and support for intelligent solutions that will make our environment better.”

On Trump, the future of conservatism and the GOP:

On Trump reading his book, Blue Collar Conservatives: “We both saw a socialist march we’re now seeing from the progressives.”

“Trump is a T-rex in a china closet.”

On Trump losing: “It’s sad because he did a tremendous amount of good, he just did it in a way that turned a lot of people off.”

On DC politicians: “There are a lot of politicians out there who there’s an ‘I’ in team and are more focused on themselves than the team. In many respects, they are like progressives. They think they are the solution.”

On Liz Cheney controversy: “I agree with her point that Trump lied about the election being stolen” but “poking the bear” isn’t the best strategy.

“Civil wars don’t usually help win elections.”

“I don’t think she’s doing it in the right way. This abject loyalty to Trump, no matter what, is just as counterproductive in bringing the party together.”

“The Republican Party [needs to] stand behind the truth, not as we want it to be, but as it is.”

On Biden’s infrastructure plan:

“I’m all for the family, but paid family leave is not infrastructure. You can’t just throw everything you want in there and call it infrastructure.”

“The federal government is impeding infrastructure with overregulation.”

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.