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Santorum commits Republican sacrilege: Attacks Ronald Reagan (Barf Alert)
The Daily Caller ^ | January 5, 2012 | Jamie Weinstein

Posted on 01/05/2012 7:24:42 AM PST by Kaslin

BRENTWOOD, N.H. — Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum committed one of the gravest sins in Republican politics on Wednesday evening by knocking the revered former President Ronald Reagan at a packed town hall meeting.

While addressing America’s entitlement crisis at his first New Hampshire event since his stunning near-victory in the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday, Santorum said Reagan contributed to the entitlement crisis by pushing Social Security’s sustainability issues down the road instead of dealing with them head-on in the 1983 bipartisan deal to fix Social Security.

“If Rick Santorum gets elected and we do what I said that we need to do, which is to deal with the entitlement programs now, not 10 to 20 years from now,” Santorum said.

“You’ll know — unlike Ronald Reagan who maybe was a better politician than me — you’ll know that it was Rick Santorum that worked together and got the American public to gather together to fix this problem. Why? Because it is our problem.”

Santorum was walking the audience through what he called the “ancient days of yesteryear” in a interminable and incredibly detailed response to a questioner. He explained that in the 1983 deal Reagan brokered with Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil to fix Social Security, the retirement age was moved back to 67, but that change wasn’t slated to be enacted until the politicians responsible were out of office.

“This was the brilliance of the politicians that did this,” Santorum said sarcastically.

“They were absolutely brilliant. They passed a bill that didn’t take affect for 20 years so nobody blames them. It was brilliant. They increased the Social Security age by two years back in 1983 and it didn’t start phasing in, it doesn’t fully phase in for almost 40 years. And so Ronald Reagan did that. Most people have no idea — no one associates Ronald Reagan with raising the retirement age. Why? Because all of the people it affected were nowhere near retirement and they didn’t know about it.”

To another questioner, he continued his critique of Reagan for the Social Security deal.

“You know, I love Ronald Reagan, but if I would point to one thing during his administration that he did a serious wrong, it was this bill — it was this Social Security fix,” Santorum said.

“He bought the idea of increasing taxes now — that’s always what the left wants to do — increase taxes now, reduce benefits later. And that’s exactly what the bill did.”

Later Santorum invoked Reagan positively while explaining his plan to get rid of the tax code and create a new system with two rates: 10 percent and 28 percent.

Santorum said he chose 28 percent as the top rate, “Because that’s the top level Ronald Reagan put in place, and if it is good enough for Reagan on taxes, it’s good enough for me.”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
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To: GOPyouth
Kind of funny....I too rarely watch O’Reilly. last night while channel surfing I happened to catch that interview. It was typical, O’Reilly interviewing O’Reilly. That being said, Santorum did a good job in defending himself. Just wish he would lose the sweater vests.
21 posted on 01/05/2012 7:46:00 AM PST by Rational Thought
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To: Leto

“OTOH trying to discuss SS at that time was death for a politician.”

When is it not? HealthControl is intended to ‘fix’ social security.


22 posted on 01/05/2012 7:47:32 AM PST by Psalm 144 (Voodoo Republicans: Don't read their lips - watch their hands.)
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To: Kaslin

Reagan’s deal with Tip O’Neal demonstrates you cannot reach “bi-partisan” agreements with democrats. They are driven by power and politics, not the good of the country.


23 posted on 01/05/2012 7:47:44 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.)
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To: Rational Thought

I don’t think it’s the Daily Caller itself, but the author of this piece of crap. Btw, The Daily Caller was founded by Tucker Carlson


24 posted on 01/05/2012 7:50:09 AM PST by Kaslin (Acronym for OBAMA: One Big Ass Mistake America)
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To: Vigilanteman
Ronald Reagan was not God and would be offended if anyone said he was. He just happened to be the most capable president this country produced in more than the last century.

Well said!

25 posted on 01/05/2012 7:51:00 AM PST by Onelifetogive (I tweet, too... @Onelifetogive)
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To: Cringing Negativism Network

Sure looks like it


26 posted on 01/05/2012 7:52:03 AM PST by Kaslin (Acronym for OBAMA: One Big Ass Mistake America)
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To: Kaslin
Santorum said he chose 28 percent as the top rate, “Because that’s the top level Ronald Reagan put in place, and if it is good enough for Reagan on taxes, it’s good enough for me.”

Works for me!!!

27 posted on 01/05/2012 7:52:12 AM PST by Onelifetogive (I tweet, too... @Onelifetogive)
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To: Will88

Sorry but Rick is right. They, including regan, did what politicians always do. They pushed the hard stuff down the road for someone else to fix. Same as what they are trying to do with our debt crisis.


28 posted on 01/05/2012 7:55:03 AM PST by LevinFan
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To: Kaslin

There were many frustrations during the Reagan years, but looking back, and growing wiser, myself, one realizes that this is not a perfect world and even presidents have limitations as to what they can legally do. When you look at the Reagan years there were a lot of things that I wish had been done better, but the one thing that carried him through in our hearts was his love of America and the belief that the things he did, we knew he thought it was the best for that time. Unlike our current occupant of the WH, who loathes the country, can only see the bad, hates the Constitution, etc., Reagan was a shining star, with his faults and all. We knew he cared for us. The One would seemingly imprison anyone who doesn’t agree with him. The country had better wake up! Santorum would be like Reagan in a lot of ways, in my opinion. I like him and Perry the best.


29 posted on 01/05/2012 7:57:01 AM PST by Shery (in APO Land)
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To: RIRed

So my barf alert was justified?


30 posted on 01/05/2012 7:58:11 AM PST by Kaslin (Acronym for OBAMA: One Big Ass Mistake America)
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To: Kaslin
However, Santorum and others with his big spending of tax payers money, his love of earmarks outlook and background, are major reasons the economy is in the toilet.

I doubt Pennsylvanians would support him.

He's definitely not my my choice.

31 posted on 01/05/2012 8:05:31 AM PST by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said the goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda" and its allies.)
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To: LevinFan
Sorry but Rick is right. They, including regan, did what politicians always do.

So, you think if the SS retirement age is raised it should become effective immediately, or at the beginning of the next year?

Sorry, Santorum is half right at best on this one. Any change in any retirement age should give the affected individuals some number of years to make adjustments in their plans.

32 posted on 01/05/2012 8:07:49 AM PST by Will88
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To: Kaslin

What a stupid article. I worship Reagan just as much as anyone else yet Reagan did some very un-conservative things at times. In particular, he supported amnesty. When it comes to cutting back government, though, no one can match Reagan. Especially not Santorum, whose book is filled with big government, Compassionate Conservative solutions to issues.


33 posted on 01/05/2012 8:08:06 AM PST by Opinionated Blowhard ("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")
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To: elpadre

He is the top amnesty-blocker on offing. I will support him.


34 posted on 01/05/2012 8:10:52 AM PST by magna carta
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To: Kaslin
After the past couple of years, particularly with the hit pieces on Palin (by different writers), I have little respect for the DC or Carlson. I stopped visiting the site altogether a while back. Can't imagine they will be supporting anybody but Romney (on the whole).
35 posted on 01/05/2012 8:12:00 AM PST by Rational Thought
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To: Will88

You’re right, there should be no immediate affect to people who voted gimme their entire lives. We should all push the consequences for bad policy to our children.
Me personally, I’d rather fell the pinch myself than pinch my kids. But maybe I value their future more than you do.


36 posted on 01/05/2012 8:20:24 AM PST by LevinFan
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To: Opinionated Blowhard
In particular, he supported amnesty.

No, he agreed to it if the borders got closed. Guess who didn't live up to their end of the bargain?

simpson mazzoli act

37 posted on 01/05/2012 8:27:31 AM PST by Las Vegas Ron (Rush Limbaugh = the Beethoven of talk radio)
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To: LevinFan
Lol, what self-centered nonsense. So, people who paid into a system for forty or more years "voted gimme all their lives"? And they deserve no notice if, after forty or more years paying in, the retirement age is raised?

It's amazing that so many fail to see that the ones who paid into SS all their lives are not the ones who "voted gimme all their lives". Those would be welfare recipients and recipients of benefits from other programs they never paid into. But it's just so much easier (and cowardly) to make SS the political whipping boy.

Carry on.

38 posted on 01/05/2012 8:29:56 AM PST by Will88
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To: Kaslin
I watched and heard this....Santorum did not 'attack' Reagan.....

..for goodness sakes, he aligns himself with Reagan, calls himself a Reagan conservative...

..He simply stated, during the course of a question put to him about social security...... how Reagan passed a bill that is just now, 20 years later, coming to fruition.....and it has a differnt outcome for folks now....

It was not an attack!

THe place was packed out.....the questions were really intense, but the crowd was with him.........

..and he attempted to answer ....and answer well....all the questions put to him.

39 posted on 01/05/2012 8:31:53 AM PST by Guenevere (....We press on.....)
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To: Will88

Bump


40 posted on 01/05/2012 8:45:16 AM PST by Kaslin (Acronym for OBAMA: One Big Ass Mistake America)
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