‘If we had just stayed out of it completely and let the market work, I believe the market would have worked,’ says Santorum in Detroit

DETROIT, Mich-- The manufacturing and energy industries--if freed from the shackles of the Obama administration--hold the keys to economic recovery, Rick Santorum told guests gathered here today at the Detroit Economic Club.

Brandishing a hunk of coal (which he said he received during a campaign stop yesterday in North Dakota), Santorum touted the energy industry as a path forward for the U.S. economy in addition to manufacturing-- an issue of great importance to this area, which was hard hit by the collapse of the auto industry.

"The average job in western North Dakota: $90,000 dollars a year," the former Pennsylvania senator said. "Goes a long way in Tioga, North Dakota. There's the opportunity for you, folks. That's what energy and manufacturing can do."

Santorum attacked President Obama for rejecting the Keystone XL Pipeline and failing to support other U.S. energy sources, and for allowing union ties and bailouts to stifle the country's manufacturing industry.

"This is a president who is suffocating this economy. This is a president who doesn't care about you and the cost of living you have to deal with," Santorum said.

Santorum, who was not in office in 2008 when Congress voted for the TARP auto bailouts, took a hard stance against bailouts during the question-and-answer session following his speech. Contrasting himself with opponent Mitt Romney, Santorum said that while Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who earned significant wealth from a private equity firm, supported the Wall Street bailout but rejected the auto bailout, Santorum has been consistent in his opposition.

"If we had just stayed out of it completely and let the market work, I believe the market would have worked," Santorum said. "Would the auto industry look different than it does today? Yes, it would be. Would it still be alive and well? I think it would be alive and equally as well if not better."

In explaining his opposition to the auto bailout, Santorum, grandson of a coal miner, cited his experiences in Pennsylvania dealing with a struggling steel industry, which he concedes today is smaller and experiences inconsistent profits, but is alive and competitive.

Santorum used Thursday's appearance ahead of Michigan's Feb. 28th primary to contrast himself with Romney, who was born in Michigan where his father served as governor, and to argue against some of the attacks he's recently faced.

"I know you folks here in Michigan have been hearing some things on the television from one of my opponents that I am a big spender," Santorum said, referencing a recent ad from Romney's super PAC. But Santorum said any objective look at his records says otherwise, noting a Weekly Standard article published Wednesday that reported the National Taxpayers' Union gave Santorum high-- sometimes even the highest-- marks on spending during his tenure in the Senate.

Santorum also alluded to a statement that continues to haunt Romney-- Romney's comments about being unconcerned about the "very poor," because there are safety nets in place for many of these individuals. "I'm a candidate who cares about 100 percent," Santorum said.

Santorum criticized President Obama for creating class warfare, creating a system where Americans are reliant on government support, and where union bosses rule the public sector. Santorum, who mentioned his grandfather was his union's treasurer, said he does see a place for private sector unions. It's public sector unions that he's "not quite as warm and fuzzy about," Santorum said.

In between arguing that the president's first priority is the government, and Romney's is Wall Street, Santorum spent much of his speech arguing that he's for all Americans. I want to create "an atmosphere for everyone to rise in America," Santorum told the audience.

Recent polls show Santorum cutting into and even overtaking Romney's lead in Michigan as the state's "native son." Santorum is scheduled to hold two more public events in Michigan-- one Thursday night and another Friday morning-- before heading to Ohio, one of the states where voters head to the polls on Super Tuesday Mar. 6.

More popular Yahoo! News stories:

• Romney's softer side: flaunting his home state appeal in Michigan

• Can Obama's plan for 'insourcing' help revive American manufacturing?

• Obama catches Lin-sanity: 'He is very impressed' by Jeremy Lin, White House says

Want more of our best political stories? Visit The Ticket or connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or add us on Tumblr. Handy with a camera? Join our Election 2012 Flickr group to submit your photos of the campaign in action.