(CNN) – Days before American shoppers rush to the stores for Black Friday deals after Thanksgiving, former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum joined a political choir urging Americans to buy at home this holiday season.
The Patriot Voice, a non-profit organization Santorum created in June after suspending his bid for the presidency, announced he and his wife, Karen Santorum's, "Made in the USA Christmas Challenge" Tuesday pushing holiday shoppers to buy gifts made in the United States.
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"Whether Republican or Democrat, we can all agree that buying products made here at home makes sense," said Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, who during his White House run touted a "Made in America" plan aimed at deterring job creation in other countries and eliminating U.S. corporate income taxes on companies manufacturing domestically.
Santorum gave former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney a run for his money in the GOP primaries earlier this year and won praise from the conservative wing of the party for his stances on abortion and traditional marriage.
The issue of products not manufactured in the United States during tough economic times popped up frequently during the Republican primaries and the general election.
Romney, a successful businessman, was slammed for off-shore tax havens and investing in companies abroad while Republicans hit President Barack Obama for trade policies they said favored businesses shipping jobs overseas.
Amid the flurry of anti-American job creation accusations, the concurrence of a campaign season and the Olympic Games created controversy around the U.S. Olympic team's uniforms. As Team U.S.A. represented the leaders of the free world in London, their uniforms were made in China causing a whirlwind of outrage from both lawmakers and on social media.
Earlier in the presidential contest the issue showed up again when it was found that former Republican candidate and House Speaker Newt Gingrich's campaign t-shirts were made in El Salvador, an embarrassing moment for a candidate campaigning against companies shipping manufacturing overseas.