“Santorum was a prolific supporter of earmarks, having requested billions of dollars for pork projects”
In 2006 at the Pittsburgh Zoo, Santorum boasted in front of local reporters about how he’d fetched $500,000 from federal taxpayers’ money to build one of the most luxurious polar-bear exhibits. “If the pot of money is there, I’m going to make sure we get a piece of that money,” he said.
Also in 2006, he earmarked $500,000 for the completion of the Pittsburgh bike trail.
Another pork secured by Santorum in 2003 was $3 million for building a parking garage, another $2 million for another parking garage in 2005 ...
In his career as senator, he required $3.5 billion in earmarks and sponsored spending bills of a total $53 billion.
Just imagine if 100 Senators did the same as Santorum, the government spending would have grown by $5.3 TRILLION.
“Rick Santorum is a pro-life statist. He is. You will have to deal with it. He is a big government conservative. Santorum is right on social issues, but has never let his love of social issues stand in the way of the creeping expansion of the welfare state. In fact, he has been complicit in the expansion of the welfare state.” Erick Erickson
http://www.redstate.com/erick/2012/01/06/what-a-big-government-conservative-looks-like/