Rick Santorum draws crowd in Oklahoma City

Santorum said he stood for a limited government and that he backs hydraulic fracturing in natural gas fields, a message that set well with a mostly conservative audience of about 1,200 in a natural gas-rich state.

The free rally originally was to be at a west Oklahoma City gun range, but response to Santorum's visit was larger than expected and the site was switched to a nearby hotel's convention center.

“We need a government that understands that its place is limited,” said Santorum, who made his second trip to Oklahoma. He spoke in November 2007 at the University of Oklahoma.

“I have loved you guys from afar for a long, long time for what you do here,” said Santorum, who brought along his children, Elizabeth and John, the two oldest of his seven children. “You are ground zero of the conservative movement.

“In Oklahoma you do it the right way,” he said. “You believe in liberty, you believe in private enterprise and free economy. You believe in limited government. You believe in a foundation of our society based on faith and family. You understand that without strong families, you can't have a strong economy.

“I know why you're here,” he said. “Americans and conservatives are hungry ... for someone and for something that can put this country back on the track to what our founders created — the greatest country in the history of the world.”

Santorum, a former two-term GOP U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, said he supports hydraulic fracturing, which has been common in Oklahoma and Texas for about 30 years and has been introduced more recently in other states, such as his native state.

Santorum said environmental concerns are unfounded about the method of water, sand and some chemical additives being pumped into the well at high pressure to free gas from the rock.

He said hydraulic fracturing is “the new boogeyman” meant to alarm the public.

He said he wants to relieve the tax burden on American businesses, especially in the manufacturing and energy sectors.