Rick Santorum In 'Deja Vu' Stop in St. Charles

For the second time in a little more than a year and a half, Rick Santorum was back in St. Charles Saturday and on stage at the St. Charles Convention Center talking to a conservative audience.

The former Pennsylvania Senator and 2012 GOP Presidential candidate who celebrated victory in Missouri's non-binding primary at the Convention Center's ballroom was back here to address the American Conservative Union's Political Action Conference.

Before taking the stage, he talked to Patch about what he said was a bit of deja vu.

"The fights are still the same unfortunately, because we didn't win, so we're now fighting ObamaCare," he said of President Barack Obama's healthcare legislation, the Affordable Care Act. "We've got to stop it, slow it down or delay it in some fashion before it's fully implemented."

Some conservatives in Congress are seeking to tie a stipulation defunding the ACA to passing a federal budget by Monday, which is necessary to avert a government shutdown. Santorum said he hoped a shutdown was avoided, but said "establishment Republicans" have undermined efforts to "move the ball on ObamaCare." He backed a delay of the individual mandate component of the ACA as a "very nice compromise" for all involved. Santorum cited the proposal suggested by West Virginia U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat, who floated the idea earlier this week. The Huffington Post reports that Manchin would vote against the idea.

Santorum is here in part to promote his efforts as CEO of EchoLight Studios, which is releasing The Christmas Candle later this year. He'll travel to 30 cities over the next 6 weeks as part of an acknowledged effort to "move the needle on the culture." 

And as for 2016?

"I'm just engaged right now on another front in the battle. We'll wait and see whether we're going to get involved back in that other front more fully as a candidate," he said.