Big government conservative?

Rick Santorum, thanks to his first-place tie with Mitt Romney in Iowa, is now in a position to be the conservative “Not Romney” and consolidate support in the GOP. And, perhaps, become our nominee.

Perhaps. Perhaps Fear the Vest Rick is not really a true-blue (would that be “true-red?”) conservative. There’s little question that on social issues, Rick Santorum is the real deal: a Catholic who practices what the Church preaches.

However, on fiscal issues? Perhaps not so much. Consider this from Erick Erickson in today’s Daily Events:

…the two front runners are, in effect, big government conservatives. Mitt Romney introduced the nation to gay marriage (you can blame the courts in Massachusetts for the first step, but Romney did not adequately fight) and the predecessor to ObamaCare.

Rick Santorum supported No Child Left Behind, Medicare Part D, filibustered the National Right to Work Act, opposed repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act, championed giving felons the right to vote, opposed food stamp reform and Medicaid reform and TANF reform, supported raising cigarette taxes to pay for healthcare and on and on and on.

I’ve got to say that none of these slams especially bother me. I can forgive both Mitt and Rick for sins of the past. Those sins were committed in different economic times than we now find ourselves. I believe that both of these men are temperate and smart; both would govern with far more fiscal restrain than Obama is ever likely to.