Is Rick Santorum a Fiscal Conservative?

Perception is everything, and Santorum is generally perceived as conservative. However, I've read some things about him the last couple of days that are making me reconsider my view of him. Namely, the fact that he defended earmarks. Specifically in South Carolina against Senator Jim DeMint, the man who I consider to be the Tea Party's best friend. Santorum was also against the National Right to Work Act, siding with Democrats in 1995. He has a record of being a big spender, supports ethanol subsidies, and routed lots of federal money to historic minority colleges. He supported Sarbanes Oxley.

I am definitely a Reagan conservative - social, fiscal and strong defense conservative, and I concede that Santorum is great on social issues. Pro life, pro traditional marriage, strong family values. But the fact of the matter is that our country and our economy are in deep trouble, and we must consider the fiscal record of a candidate. So I ask you to take a few minutes and read up on Rick Santorum. If you choose him as your candidate, that's your right to do so. All I want is for us to choose our candidates knowing both their strengths as well as their weaknesses. Santorum's weakness is his fiscal policies.

Here are 2 articles that lay out Santorum's fiscal record.

http://www.redstate.com/erick/2012/01/04/this-wont-play-well-in-sou...

http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/12/28/no-surprise-iowa-social-co...

Thanks for reading.