By Ben Griffiths, Contributing Writer

Republican Senate candidate Marc Scaringi released a statement last week praising his former boss Rick Santorum on his strong finish in the Iowa caucuses. In the same statement, he also praised Rep. Ron Paul on his Iowa success. Noticeably absent from the statement was praise of the winner of the caucus, Mitt Romney.

Scaringi originally joined as a volunteer on Santorum’s successful 1994 Senate campaign, before being asked by the Senator to come on as a staff member. Like Santorum, Scaringi’s own campaign is currently fighting the impossible battle of trying to get the Republican endorsement with insufficient funds. Relishing the underdog role, Scaringi praised his former mentor’s tenacity.

“Though lacking the financial resources of many of the other candidates, Rick proved, once again, that hard work and passion—not money—carries the day,” said Scaringi.

High praise was also given to Ron Paul by Scaringi, who called Paul the “great champion of personal liberty and freedom.” His support for Paul is not surprising, considering that “restoring individual freedom by returning to a constitutionally-limited government” is an important component of Scaringi’s campaign.

Scaringi’s Free America Agenda reflects these similarities, in particular the assertion that the Federal Reserve is in need of an overhaul.

Both men have proven to be reliable watchdogs for civil liberties, as in the case of the controversial National Defense Authorization Act, which President Obama signed into law as his last order of business in 2011.

The $662 billion dollar act includes a component that allows the military to temporarily detain all terrorist suspects, including U.S citizens, without charge.

Paul called the bill “a slip into tyranny”, Scaringi released a statement that struck a similar note.

“Our Founding Fathers, who fought the War of Independence against such acts of tyranny, are surely rolling in their graves today,” he said.

But despite these connections, Marc Scaringi is careful to clarify that he does not seek to emulate the Congressman from Texas. In fact, if there is any Paul who he feels comes closest to his political philosophy, it is Ron Paul’s son, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.

“My thoughts and positions are my own,” Scaringi told PoliticsPA. “I am not Rick Santorum. I am not Ron Paul. I am my own man.”