Want to photograph scenes of fervor and passion? Bring your camera to a rally featuring presidential candidate Rick Santorum. Check out the audience. Social conservatives, most of them Christian, are fired up. Sometimes their passion is expressed with religious symbolism and prayer.
Outside Santorum’s campaign venues (and sometimes inside), fervor is expressed in a different way. Protestors oppose Santorum with an intensity greater than directed at other Republican candidates. The messages on their signs are often scathing with criticism for his social conservatism.
All this fervor and passion make for effective stock photos. The images depict not only a presidential campaign, but a flashpoint in the so called cultural wars.
Christopher Fitzgerald is a photographer covering his second presidential campaign. His business, CandidatePhotos.com, licenses photos via Newscom.
College student Spencer Austin prays for Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum. He stands in the side of a ballroom during a campaign rally featuring Santorum. Austin wears rosary beads over a Santorum sweater vest. Nobody else is praying or noticing him pray. His prayer was brief. Austin is a staunch Roman Catholic (as is Santorum). He always wears a cross and sometimes wears the Santorum vest at his college where he's a sophomore. He says these additions to his attire result in harassment on campus. "I get things thrown at me--paper wads. People heckle me. I was called a gay hater for supporting Santorum and being pro life." Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003877
Rochester, New Hampshire: November 7, 2011 Presidential candidate Rick Santorum campaigns inside the Salmon Falls Church (Church of Christ denomination). This phase of his campaign was dubbed the Faith, Family, and Freedom Tour. Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003385
Bowling Green, Ohio: March 3, 2012 Graduate student Elisabeth Woronzoff (at right) joins demonstrators in opposition to Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum who would appear minutes later at a Lincoln Day dinner in a nearby building at Bowling Green State University. She said, "I support women's rights; that includes availability of birth control, right to abortion, and access to Planned Parenthood facilities." Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003932
Leighton, Iowa: December 31, 2011 A sign supporting presidential candidate Rick Santorum is posted near a cross situated on private property alongside a road in a rural part of Iowa. The property owner describes himself as a Christian conservative. The owner said that Santorum shares the same values of himself and his wife. Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003647
Huntsville, Alabama: March 8, 2012 Linda Myers prays to Jesus during a campaign rally featuring Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum. She said later that she was praying that Santorum "would be confident in his cause." She took the word 'cause' from the passage 1 Samuel 17 in The Bible--the story of David and Goliath. David said in that story, "Is there not a cause?" This event happened at the Pelham Civic Center. Myers is a member of the Church of God, a Protestant church in nearby Birmingham. Santorum is a Roman Catholic. Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003926
Steubenvile, Ohio: March 6, 2012 Christiana Achebe holds rosary beads and prays a chaplet along with a prayer for a Rick Santorum victory in the Ohio presidential primary election. She was attending a Super Tuesday election night party at the Steubenville High School Gymnasium where Santorum would later deliver remarks. She is a resident of this community and a devout Roman Catholic. Santorum is a Roman Catholic. Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003920
Steubenville Ohio: February 20, 2012 Roman Catholic priests Father Ray Ryland, left, and Father Dennis Gang, T.O.P, attend a campaign appearance featuring presidential candidate--and Roman Catholic--Rick Santorum. Gang said afterwards, "Freedom to practice faith in America is being challenged for the first time in my life--I'm 62--by the Federal Government." (He refers to regulations that would require employers or their insurers to include birth control without co-pays or premiums in their insurance plans. The Catholic Church opposes birth control). This event happened at Froehlich's Classic Corner. Gang is a Franciscan friar. Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003822
Akron, Ohio: February 18, 2012 Matthew Rubin holds a sign criticizing presidential candidate Rick Santorum outside a Republican Party fundraiser keynoted by Santorum. Forty people protested against Santorum. Rubin said of Santorum, "He does not accept gays, abortion, or birth control pills. He bases his views on a Christian standpoint and tries to force it on the rest of America." Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003821
Lady Lake, Florida: January 23, 2012 Al Exner wears an anti abortion shirt while attending a town hall meeting featuring presidential candidate Rick Santorum. He describes himself as a Christian conservative and supports Santorum's candidacy. "I've been pro life for the last thirty years because I truly believe the unborn child is a human being." This event happened inside an American Legion hall. Exner is not related to the children standing beside him. Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003742
Mason, Ohio: March 3, 2012 Student Mary Sharpsharr, 13, (at left) and Marilyn and Fred Westermeyer join in prayer during an ecumenical Christian rally in support of religious freedom. It happened at Royalmont Academy, a Roman Catholic School. Attendees opposed a provision of the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - also known as Obamacare - mandating employers or their insurers to include birth control coverage in their insurance plans. Some attendees of this event, including Sharpsharr, had attended a campaign event one hour earlier, at a nearby venue, featuring presidential candidate Rick Santorum. Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003895
Mason, Ohio: March 3, 2012 An American flag and a crucifix are positioned in close proximity on a stage at Royalmont Academy, a private Roman Catholic School. The flag was positioned in the center of the stage during an ecumenical rally in support of religious freedom and in opposition to a provision of the Federal Affordable Care Act requiring employers or their insurers to include birth control coverage in their insurance plans. This rally was attended by supporters of presidential candidate Rick Santorum one hour after their attendance at a nearby rally featuring Santorum. Find in on Newscom.com: cpphotos003890
New Boston, New Hampshire: November 10, 2011 Citizens roll up a campaign poster used as a backdrop during a town hall meeting with presidential candidate Rick Santorum. This phase of Santorum's campaign was dubbed the 'Faith Family & Freedom Tour.' The event happened at the Whipple Free Library. Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003393
Blue Ash, Ohio: March 3, 2012 A member of an audience holds up a campaign sign with words added to it that disparage presidential candidate Rick Santorum's social conservatism grounded on Catholic principles. This event was a campaign rally featuring Rick Santorum. It happened at Crowne Plaza Hotel. Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003915
Troy, Michigan: February 22, 2012 Sharon Snyder, a Tea Party activist in Michigan, watches a televised presidential debate between Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum. She watches from inside the Rick Santorum Michigan campaign headquarters. She said, "I personally support Rick Santorum" but clarified that she was not speaking on behalf of the Tea Party. A cross of ashes on her forehead marks Ash Wednesday. "I am a convert to Catholicism," she said. "I was a baptist. I believe God founded this country and inspired the founding fathers. I would like to return this country to a Constitutionality of limited government. I'm also pro life and believe that people's consciences should be respected." The debate took place in Arizona and was broadcast by CNN. It happened six days before the Michigan presidential primary election. Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos003941
Columbus, Ohio: February 18, 2012 Presidential candidate Rick Santorum delivers remarks during a meeting of the Ohio Christian Alliance. He questioned the Christian beliefs of President Obama. "Obama's agenda is not about you. It's not about your quality of life. It's not about your jobs. It's about some phony ideal. Some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology." This event happened at the Hilton Columbus Polaris Hotel. Find it on Newscom: cpphotos003812
Meridian, Mississippi: March 11, 2012 A volunteer removes from a pickup truck Rick Santorum presidential campaign yards signs. They will be distributed to people during a rally featuring Santorum occurring minutes later. Stickers affixed to the truck identify this person as a conservative, a Republican, a born again Christian, and a supporter of Santorum. Find it on Newscom: cpphotos003939
Goffstown, New Hampshire: June 8, 2011 Presidential candidate Rick Santorum gathers his thoughts while campaigning at a meet-the-candidate backyard party. Find it on Newscom.com: cpphotos002833
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Tags: 2012 us presidential election, gop candidate, protestor, rick santorum, supports