Romney Campaign Deploys Surrogates to Santorum Events

ABC News ^ | February 25, 2012 | Emily Friedman

[Pinkbell]

TROY, Mich. — Employing a trick they used during the hotly contested Florida primary, the Romney campaign is deploying surrogates to Sen. Rick Santorum’s campaign events.

At least two surrogates — former Michigan State Rep. Rocky Raczkowski and current State Rep. Aric Nesbitt from Kalamazoo — will be attending Santorum events throughout the state in the days leading up to the Michigan primary on Tuesday, a campaign official told ABC News. Other surrogates attended Santorum events held earlier in the week.

Nesbitt was spotted at Santorum’s event this morning in St. Clair Shores.

Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla., and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, were among those Romney surrogates who were dispatched to some of former Speaker Newt Gingrich’s events in the days leading up to the Florida primary in January, Chaffetz on a few occasions butting heads publicly with Gingrich’s spokesman R.C. Hammond.

While Santorum has yet to respond to the new faces at his campaign stops, Gingrich at the time had said he would have preferred Romney to come himself, rather than sending others on his behalf.

[Pinkbell]

Romney can't run on his own merits, so he destroys the competition. First Gingrich, now Santorum.

[meadsjn]

Romney’s Reptiles — snakes, lizards, belly-crawling soulless scumbags.

[jimbo123]

[annieokie]

Romney has nothing new, no real ideas of his own. Therefore he has again stolen a NEWT tactic.

Remember NEWT has said he will follow Obama every where he goes and refute what he says, if Obama will not debate him. Lincoln/Douglas style.

Romney the snake is using the Lincoln/Douglas style here, which was Newts idea.

[CainConservative]

Let’s see Willard try that crap in the South.

RT @teamsantorum: CNN Live stream NOW - @RickSantorum in Chattanooga at Tea Party event: http://ht.ly/9hY1U #Santorum #jointhefight

[Red Steel]

No surprise that the Romney trolls are at it again.

[throwback]

If I was Santorum, I'd point them out to the crowd and remark, “my town hall meetings are so popular I even have governor Romney's supporters coming to them to see how it's done”.

[JohnBovenmyer]

Wasn’t FL at least sort of part of the South?

[Venturer]

Not in the least. Florida is geographically south, but politically New York and northern Snowbirds.

[OrioleFan]

Romney is showing the Republican establishment how Obama will run his campaign in the fall. The problem is the Republican establishment doesn’t get it.

[murron]

I remember seeing Bay Buchanan at one of these events in Florida, and after following her for many years as a conservative on TV, I was extremely disappointed that she would take part in such tactics. I thought she looked ridiculous.

[Ladysforest]

What do the Mitt people do while they are at these events?

[Moorings]

The supporters who attend these events need to tell these surrogates to go home.

[Moorings]

Find them and tell them to go home.

[Timber Rattler]

Rat stalking tactic PING!

[IM2MAD]

I think Rick should point them out and hold them up to ridicule by saying they’re there looking for new ideas.

[Lazlo in PA]

Santorum for President Ping List.

FReepmail “Antoninus” to be added or removed.

[throwback]

What I read in another story is they talk to people in the background to try to undermine the speaker. Nice huh? Nobody is innocent, but Mitt seems to push the envelope. At this point I will vote for Newt or Santorum, whoever is most up in my state, and I will not vote for Mitt in the general. But we'll see what more head games they do to me before then. I'm trying my best to ignore all the nasty pro-Newt people on here in the meantime.

[House Atreides]

How can these Romney supporters be spotted? Do they wear clown suits and use clown makeup?

[Fresh Wind]

How can these Romney supporters be spotted?

You can probably recognize them from the Ron Paul buttons they're wearing.