Santorum: Single mothers are political base of Democratic Party

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Friday said that eliminating single motherhood would help defeat Democrats at the polling booth, according to the liberal watchdog Right Wing Watch.

"Look at the political base of the Democratic Party: it is single mothers who run a household," he said on the American Family Association's radio show Today's Issues.

"Why? Because it’s so tough economically that they look to the government for help and therefore they’re going to vote. So if you want to reduce the Democratic advantage, what you want to do is build two parent families, you eliminate that desire for government."

Santorum is best known for this social conservative values, such as his opposition to same sex marriage. At the Bloomberg/The Washington Post Republican Presidential Debate last week, he said the .

"We need to have a policy that supports families, that encourages marriage, that has fathers take responsibility for their children," he said.

"You can’t have limited government — you can’t have a wealthy society if the family breaks down, that basic unit of society. And that needs to be included in this economic discussion."

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore