I'd certainly rather have Santorum over Romney. And I'd vote for him in a general election or in a primary over Romney. But I'm just not sure how much higher I can rank the man. He can't win a PA primary. Too many grass roots people like me had our hearts broken by the man when he endorsed Specter over Toomey.
I understand your point about Rick, but I have to give him a pass on Specter. He had to support that RINO, otherwise that snarlin' pit bull would have made life difficult for Bush in his second term with judicial nominees (unfortunately, that is what you get when you have a petty, vindictive, self-interested and self-aggrandizing politician as your senior senator).
For the primary, I think I have to go with Santorum, since he is the candidate that I most agree with. Primaries are for choosing the candidate that most aligns with your views, not the time to hold your nose and vote. That comes in November.
-K51
He sided with Specter because he has integrity. Specter went full throttle for Santorum in 1994 and 2000 which no doubt helped him win fairly close races. To have not backed Specter when Specter then needed his help would have required a complete lack of integrity. If a man having integrity “breaks your heart” that’s pretty sad.