In tearful remarks, Santorum speaks of pain

(CNN) - Former Sen. Rick Santorum delivered a solemn but forceful rallying cry when speaking about the death of a close family member Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

With tears in his eyes, the former presidential candidate talked emotionally about his nephew who passed away Thursday in Pittsburgh from what Santorum described as "a horribly painful disease that almost overnight began ravaging his body."

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"Medicines were effectively blocking all of his physical pain. We were the ones in pain," he said.

"I couldn't help but have my experience yesterday impact my message here to you today. I thought of Buddha's first noble truth – to live is to suffer," the devout Catholic added.

As the silent crowd listened, Santorum spoke with conviction from his speech, which he hand-wrote an hour beforehand, an adviser told CNN. While society has made immense progress in stopping physical pain, he said, Democrats have gone too far in trying to use government programs to address almost every other pain.

"The left can always promise more stuff and make it sound like they care more, because they make it easier for Americans by providing the stuff for them through government programs paid for by somebody else's money," he said.

Santorum, who battled eventual 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney deep into the primary season and who is considered a potential 2016 candidate, squarely placed blame on President Barack Obama for trying to "transform" the country and reorder its priorities.

"Obama has offered a new deal. He and his friends will reduce the pain and the suffering," Santorum said, adding that all Americans have to do is abandon their principles. "He wants to exchange the why of the American Revolution for the why of the French Revolution."

The former two-term senator urged the audience to not look to lawmakers to solve their problems. Rather, it was up to private individuals to take care of each other.

"We have to rededicate ourselves in our churches, in our families in our communities, in our local school boards," he said. "We have to fight for those who are suffering and being left behind. They don't want government money, they want your money. They want what comes and they need what comes with it: your caring, your mentorship, your love–all things government cannot give."

Following his address, Santorum was scheduled to attend a number of events at CPAC, including two meetings with members of Patriot Voices, the political action committee that the former senator from Pennsylvania chairs.

- CNN's Mark Preston and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.