Rick Santorum kicked off his remarks at the Values Voter Summit today by declaring that the United States will never be a great nation or receive God’s blessing so long as gay marriage and the right to an abortion remain legal.

Bragging that he has attended every VVS event since it began 10 years ago, Santorum thanked those in attendance for “standing up and bringing to this city the issues that are at the core of the problems in this country.”

“America is never going to be a great country if we’re a country that kills our children in the womb, ever!” he said. “We’re never going to be blessed by God if we’re a country that kills our children in the womb. We are never going to be a great country if we allow for the destruction of the American family, that’s what’s happened over the last 50 years.”