NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who very well may have been a Michigan primary win away from being the Republican nominee, gave a rousing defense of social values here at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

“For those in our movement who want to abandon our moral underpinnings to win, what does it profit a movement to gain the country and lose its own soul?" Santorum told this room of thousands of conservative activists at CPAC to raucous applause. "The left in America has made that Faustian bargain… We must not.” 

Santorum’s speech, which led off with an emotional recounting of the untimely death of his nephew, will only likely stoke speculation that he is thinking about another run in 2016. He set out what conservatives should fight for, had plenty of attacks on President Barack Obama, distanced himself from Congress -- despite having served there for 16 years, and even noted that he had created a conservative advocacy group, something that will help keep him in the conversation on the right.

Santorum accused the president of wanting to “close the deal” on a transformation of America 100 years in the making. He said Obama “wants to replace the ‘why’ of American Revolution for ‘why’ of French revolution –- a society that is Godless without faith,” that is “anti clerical, anti-God, where the government is the center, and they are the ones who care for us. This is President Obama’s New Deal.”

He added, “How do we turn this around? How do we make a difference in America today? I’ve tried to do my part.”

He contended that the problem on the right is not that there are not enough conservatives, it is that that conservatives -- and churchgoing social conservatives, in particular -- are not fired up enough.

“The passion in America has been on the other side,” Santorum said before warning, “They live their lives every day to transform us. Those who think America will be just fine … we just go about our lives. But we don’t have the passion that they do. To rise up and fight against what our founders said was the greatest threat to freedom -- time. Time. The erosion of our values over time, that we will lose that revolutionary fervor… Karen and I are committed that we are not going to let that happen on our watch.”

Of course, after the 2004 election, there were books written about the influence of social conservatives. They had helped re-elect President George W. Bush and were being touted as potentially spurring a permanent “Red America.” But white born-again Christians actually made up a higher share of the electorate in 2012 than 2004. In 2004, they made up 23 percent of the electorate; in 2012, they were 26 percent. 

Santorum continued, “Don’t look to Washington, D.C. to solve this problem. There are very few leaders in Congress. There are a lot of followers. If you look to them to solve their problems, you will be disappointed. … The answer is here.”

WASHINGTON -- Appearing at an annual gathering of conservative Christian voters, former presidential candidate Rick Santorum accused President Barack Obama of "coddling and appeasing" America's enemies and said the Obama administration is at least partially responsible for ongoing violence in post-Arab Spring nations.

"This president has to take a share of the responsibility for what the Middle East looks like today because he helped structure it," Santorum told attendees at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., adding that Obama has "turned his back" on allies like Israel and the government of Egypt.

"He has sent a very clear message to that area of the world," he said of Obama. "If you're a friend of the United States, you're on your own. If you are an enemy of the United States, let's talk."

Anti-U.S. protests rocked over 20 nations across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia this week, and four Americans were killed during an attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has slammed the Obama administration for "apologizing" for American values in its dealings with Islamic militants, a sentiment that his former rival Santorum echoed today.

"Gov. Romney boldly went out and called this administration on their policies, their weak, lead-from-behind appeasing policies against those who threaten us and our security," Santorum said. "He stood up and called them what they were."

While he fought bitterly against the now-GOP nominee in the Republican primary, the former Pennsylvania senator repeatedly praised Romney before the audience of Christian social conservatives, a group that represents the backbone of Santorum's political base.

"I'm so encouraged that Gov. Romney has embraced some of the things I campaigned upon and that you across America have encouraged me to give voice to," he said. "He's giving voice to those things because he understands who we are. Mitt Romney understands America. He understands those values. And he shares those values."

In a convention with few reminders of the 2012 Republican primary just a few months ago, Rick Santorum brought everyone back.

The former Pennsylvania senator delivered a somber speech that was more about his personal story than a ringing endorsement of Mitt Romney. It hit on many of the same themes he pushed while pursuing his longshot presidential bid, including family values, marriage and abortion. 

In fact, even though Santorum was the first speaker to raise the welfare issue, his allusion to abortion was the best-received line of his speech.

“I thank God that America still has one party that reaches out their hands in love to lift up all of God’s children -- born and unborn -- and says that each of us has dignity and all of us have the right to live the American Dream,” Santorum said to a standing ovation.

On welfare, Santorum, who touted his work on welfare reform in the 1990s, accused the president of trying to “weaken our republic” and acting as if he were “above the law.”

“President Obama’s policies undermine the traditional family, weaken the education system,” Santorum said. “And this summer he showed us once again he believes in government handouts and dependency by waiving the work requirement for welfare.

“I helped write welfare reform; we made the law crystal clear -- no president can waive the work requirement. But as with his refusal to enforce our immigration laws, President Obama rules like he is above the law. America take heed, when a president can simply give a speech or write a memo and change the law to do what the law says he can’t, we weaken our republic.”

Of course, the welfare attack has been widely discredited, and there is still a work requirement for welfare. There also was limited crowd reaction to the attack, which has become a mainstay of the Romney campaign on the trail and in millions of dollars in television ads.

TAMPA, FLa. -- Rick Santorum on Tuesday accused President Obama and liberals of advocating for abortions, an attack aimed at discrediting the notion that the Democratic Party is more inclusive than Republicans.

"I love how the left and this president talk about inclusion as they advocate the discarding and destruction of over one million children every year," Santorum said. "Some inclusion."

The former Republican presidential candidate spoke here at the "Treasure Life" event sponsored by the Republican National coalition for life and Family Research Council. His remarks came just days after Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin's controversial statement that women are unlikely to become pregnant from rape and referred to "legitimate rape." It's also just hours before Santorum will take the stage at the Republican National Convention, where he is expected to deliver a speech centered on work and welfare reform.

In an appearance on CBS earlier today, Santorum delivered much milder words than many of his Republican colleagues who have weighed in on Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin's controversial statement the women are unlikely to become pregnant from rape. He called Akin a "good man" who made a "ridiculous statement."

At the "Treasure Life" luncheon, Santorum received an award for his work as an anti-abortion rights advocate, as did former presidential hopefuls Rep. Michele Bachmann and Gov. Rick Perry. 

This was not the first time Santorum has accused the president of advocating for abortions. While campaigning in Ohio in February, the former Pennsylvania senator accused Obama of requiring free prenatal testing in the Affordable Care Act because it would detect if children were disabled, encourage more abortions and save money. 

"One of the things that you don't know about ObamaCare in one of the mandates is they require free prenatal testing," he said. "Why? Because free prenatal testing ends up in more abortions and, therefore, less care that has to be done, because we cull the ranks of the disabled in our society. That too is part of ObamaCare -- another hidden message as to what president Obama thinks of those who are less able than the elites who want to govern our country."

Santorum was known for his fiery rhetoric on the campaign. His strongest advocates were those in the Republican Party who place the heaviest emphasis on social issues. And though he was presumptive nominee Mitt Romney's biggest critic during the primary, he will defend the former Massachusetts governor when he takes the stage tonight.

"We can walk out of Tampa proudly with a platform and a nominee that stands for life," he told the crowd this afternoon.

Not all who spoke used such harsh words. Perry ended his speech with a plea for compassion for the women who decide to undergo an abortion.

"You know, we talk a lot about protecting unborn children, and we should," he said. "But we also need to recognize that there are women who ache because of the decision that they made to terminate the pregnancy. They live with those emotional scars.... Our message to these women that feel this pain from abortion, is not that we judge you, but we love you. And in you, that your heart aches, the pro-life movement looks upon you with open hearts. Our No. 1 imperative is to protect innocent lives." 

Stan Honda / AFP - Getty Images

Delegates watch campaign videos of presidential candidate Mitt Romney after RNC chairman Reince Priebus gaveled the convention to order at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Monday.

TAMPA, Fla. -- With Hurricane Isaac moving west of Tampa, Republican convention organizers said tonight they are “full speed” ahead with the next three days of events.

“We expect no change over the next three days,” said Russ Schriefer, a Romney adviser, on a conference call with reporters. “We are full speed planning ahead with our Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday schedule.”

Schriefer, however, said the campaign is monitoring the storm’s path closely and are leaving open the possibility of more changes. 

“Our thoughts are with the people in the path of the storm,” Schriefer said. “We hope they are spared any major destruction." 

Tuesday’s events will begin at 2:00 pm ET with convention business, then the roll call, and nomination of the vice-presidential candidate.

Tuesday night will be highlighted by the keynote speech of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ann Romney, the wife of presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Both will speak in the prime-time broadcast televised hour between 10:00 pm ET and 11:00 pm ET. They will be the only speakers in that window.

But Schriefer also pointed, in particular, to former Sen. Rick Santorum’s speech earlier in the evening. The former Pennsylvania senator is expected to focus his speech on “work,” and possibly hit on welfare.

Santorum’s speech is “going to be particularly good,” said Schriefer, who noted that he had read both Santorum’s and Christie’s speeches. Santorum will stress his family upbringing, being a son of immigrants and “how work is such an important part of the tradition of this country,” Schriefer said, stressing that Santorum was a “leader in the fight to reform welfare in 90s,” and that he “believes strongly in dignity of work.”

“It’s going to be very good,” Schriefer said.

Schriefer also addressed the potential controversy with Ron Paul delegates. Paul said yesterday he wouldn’t “fully endorse” Romney and his delegates gamed many of the rules at state conventions to get an outsized delegation on the floor of the convention.

“In terms of disunity, we are a big party,” Schriefer said. “We have people with different opposing viewpoints. I don’t think this a particularly divisive point of view people are divided on. We are all united in defeating Barack Obama. I guarantee that, on Thursday, we’ll be 100 percent united behind Mitt Romney and defeating Barack Obama for the good of the country.”

CHICAGO -- Rick Santorum is fully behind Mitt Romney.  Kind of.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his address to the Conservative Political Action Conference here, the former Republican presidential candidate called Romney "a tremendous improvement" over President Obama. But, he added, "As I said during the campaign, I think we could have been even more of an improvement, but that issue has passed."

The former Pennsylvania senator said he will be campaigning for Romney, though he did not have any specifics on when the two will be together.

Instead he said he will support the GOP nominee through his new non-profit group, "Patriot Voices," launched Friday to promote conservative candidates and the issues he pushed in his campaign.

Santorum endorsed the former Massachusetts governor in a late-night email to supporters last month after the two held a private meeting in Pittsburgh.  He has dismissed speculation that any bad blood exists between the two after what became a fierce and negative primary battle.

The role Santorum will play at the convention is still unclear. He met with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus recently to ensure his delegates are able to play a role in Tampa.

"I want to make sure that the folks who represent the values that I did during this campaign are also able to come to that convention and have their voices heard," said Santorum. "I certainly have encouraged everyone to support Gov. Romney as I have, but there are a lot of other issues at a convention other than just, you know, voting for the nominee.”

Like the annual CPAC event in February, Santorum took the stage after an introduction from Foster Friess, the chief backer of the pro-Santorum Super PAC Red, White and Blue Fund.  Back then, Friess joked that Romney was a conservative, moderate and liberal all wrapped into one.  But on Friday, he had nothing but words of encouragement for the man he spent so much money trying to defeat. In front of the crowd of conservative activists, Santorum also expressed support for Romney when he took the stage.

And Santorum declined to weigh in on what will be one of Romney's vice presidential pick. "If I was the nominee I wouldn't want other people telling me who to put in."

Nati Harnik / Associated Press

Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer applauds her supporters with her husband Bruce Fischer, left, at her election party May 15 in Lincoln, Neb.

Updated 11:20 p.m. — Insurgent Republican candidate Deb Fischer bested two rivals with superior financing and organizations to win the Republican Senate nomination in Nebraska on Tuesday. 

Fischer earned the right to face former Sen. Bob Kerrey in a Senate race seen as crucial to Republicans' chances of retaking the Senate next year. She and Kerrey will battle to succeed the retiring centrist Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson. 

Fischer bested her two Republican rivals, state Attorney General Jon Bruning and Don Stenberg, according to Associated Press projections. Bruning had enjoyed establishment support and had raised the most money, while Stenberg, who'd previously run for the Senate three times before, had worked to consolidate support from conservatives. 

A state senator who heads the Nebraska legislature's transportation committee, Fischer made a late charge for the nomination aided by a nearly yearlong fight between Bruning and Stenberg. 

Adding to that momentum was former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who on Monday released a letter in support of Fischer.

Romney wins Nebraska primary

“We admire your conservative principles and know that you will not go to Washington to amass great wealth or power. You will go to Washington to serve the people of Nebraska, protect our Constitution and work for common sense solutions to help restore America,” wrote Palin, who made a habit of backing insurgent and Tea Party Senate candidates in 2010, often shortly before Election Day.

Fischer won't face a cakewalk on her way to Washington, though. Democrats tapped former Sen. Bob Kerrey, who served two terms representing Nebraska before becoming president of The New School in New York City, to succeed Nelson.

But Republicans are optimistic that they can paint Kerrey, a Vietnam War hero who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992, as an out-of-touch liberal. Kerrey, for instance, said last week that he also supports same-sex marriage in light of President Barack Obama’s similar pronouncement – a position that might not prove popular with Nebraskans come November.

Fischer has been the least well-funded of the candidates, and her small organization relative to her two primary challengers could prompt more assistance from the national Republican Party.

Moreover, were Fischer to become Republicans’ candidate, she would be facing statewide exposure for the first time, and against a seasoned political figure like Kerrey.

Republicans' chances of winning the Senate could be diminished, though, if they fail to win over Nebraska. While Democrats will play defense this fall in more Senate seats than the GOP, Republican candidates have struggled to catch fire in some states that had been previously seen as opportunities, narrowing the party's pathway to a majority.

While Fischer's victory would seem at first glance to fall along the fault lines in 2010 Senate primaries, which pitted less-experienced conservative insurgents against establishment-backed Republicans, the three-way primary in Nebraska made for a more complex breakdown in political loyalties. 

Bruning had raised the most money and developed the most extensive organization. Both Rick Santorum, the erstwhile presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania senator, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee had endorsed Bruning, giving him particular heft among the state’s social conservatives.

Stenberg, who had hoping the fourth time was a charm in his bid to win a Senate seat, won the backing of Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a conservative kingmaker in primary races, along with the fiscally conservative Club for Growth.

Both Bruning and Stenberg had been fighting intensely in the GOP primary for much of the past year, aided in part by outside groups who have assisted each candidate.

Rick Santorum had three main topics to hit on when he met with presumptive nominee Mitt Romney in Pittsburgh on Friday, a senior adviser to the former Pennsylvania senator told NBC News.

John Brabender, who served as Santorum’s senior strategist during the campaign, said that when the former Pennsylvania senator sat down one-on-one with Romney, he wanted:

• To discuss Santorum’s manufacturing plan, the keystone to the former candidate’s economic platform
• Assurances that Romney would work to repeal President Obama’s health care law and that it would not be replaced with a plan containing a mandate
• A commitment from the former Massachusetts governor to pursue “economic solutions that are pro-family"

The meeting, which took place in Brabender’s office, lasted longer than expected -– almost 90 minutes -– which Brabender said was a good sign.  But it ended with no endorsement from Santorum and no clear plans for how the underdog candidate might help the presumptive Republican nominee in the future. Brabender said there will be “further discussions” between Santorum and Romney staffers about an endorsement. Combined, the two candidates have won all but two primaries.

But it has been more than three weeks since Santorum has left the race, and he has repeatedly punted when faced with questions about when he will back Romney. Santorum continues to say he will support the GOP nominee and is committed to electing a Republican to the White House. Still, despite that commitment, Santorum aides said before the meeting that it would not result in an immediate endorsement, and Santorum would not accept any offer from Romney to help pay down his campaign debt.

“From the standpoint of the senator, he wanted to talk about issues important to his blue collar, working class, conservative roots,” Brabender said.

Friday’s meeting was the first opportunity the former rivals have had to speak at length, and Brabender, who spoke to Santorum briefly after the meeting, said the dialogue was “very friendly.”

“The main focus of both of them is to defeat Barack Obama in the fall,” said Brabender.