Santorum: "I don't care" about unemployment rate

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57400375-503544/santorum-says-i-dont-care-what-the-unemployme ^ | Mon Mar 19, 2012 | Rebecca Kaplan

[Josh Painter]

Rick Santorum is coming under fire for saying that the unemployment rate and economic growth are secondary issues to that of freedom in his campaign, a statement that rival Mitt Romney's campaign quickly seized on as being tone-deaf to the plight of out-of-work Americans.

"We need a candidate who's going to be a fighter for freedom. Who's going to get up and make that the central theme in this race because it is the central theme in this race," Santorum told a crowd of about 200 voters during a rally here on Monday. "I don't care what the unemployment rate's going to be. Doesn't matter to me. My campaign doesn't hinge on unemployment rates and growth rates. It's something more foundational that's going on."

The event had barely ended when Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul e-mailed reporters to offer up the statement as evidence of Santorum being an "economic lightweight," a charge that Romney has been making in recent days. The former Massachusetts governor gave a speech in Chicago on Monday attacking President Obama's stewardship of the economy.

"Wow. Sen. Santorum may not care about the unemployment rate in this country or the nearly 24 million Americans struggling for work, but Mitt Romney does and is running to get people back to work," Saul said. "If anyone needed evidence that Rick Santorum is an economic lightweight, they needn't look any further than his various statements today. We're not going to turn around this economy by replacing one former senator with zero job-creating experience with another senator with zero job-creating experience. He has proven it once again," she wrote.

Romney himself, in a subsequent appearance at Bradley University, reaffirmed his concern for unemployment.

[...]

Santorum sought to clarify his comments to reporters after the event...

[Gene Eric]

>> another Bush clone!

The humorless Bush reincarnate.

[EEGator]

Now with sweater vests!

[AmericanInTokyo]

I will much take FREEDOM and a lack of a job (because I and my family will be independent and resourceful enough to find one some how in a place of safety and freedom), than be a SLAVE with FULL EMPLOYMENT.

The cities were emptied in Cambodia in 1975. Yet they had "full employment" alright...along along the Mekong River and Tonle Sap in villages and hamlets run by the Khmer Rouge, who denied the people 100% Freedom and massacred them at will under the Red Flag.

When you think about it, THIS ELECTION IS ABOUT "FREEDOM" (BEING ENSLAVED BY "GREEN JOBS") MORE SO IN MY LIFETIME THAN I HAVE EVER SEEN NOR EVER BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT WITH APPROACHING TOTALITARIANISM AND RELIGIOUS OPPRESSION AND GUN GRAB AND OBAMACARE BY A DOCTRINAIRE MARXIST-LENINIST IN THE HENHOUSE. YOU better BELIEVE "FREEDOM" TRUMPS EMPLOYMENT. Every time.

And, well, truth be told, YOU seem to be, based on your accusation of Santorum, the actual "simpleton" here, not Santorum. Wake up and smell the Reverend Wright in the White House. What difference does it matter if it is 5% unemployment or 20% unemployment if we are all reduced to cowering chattel in a Police State with a Bill of Rights in shambles?

[Revolting cat!]

I just can’t wait to see the twice daily FR posts titled “A Day in the Life of President Santorum”!

[PghBaldy]

To be fair, it was taken out of context. I have to admit, I don’t know how pols do the soundbite thingie- some are wonderful at it, and some aren’t. Santorum needs some practice, as do Romney & Gingrich. Obama can’t speak off the cuff without getting into trouble.

[Miss Behave]

Rick doesn't care about unemployment rates...

but does care about Mitt's DOG.

Got it.

Is this some kind of sick joke?

[County Agent Hank Kimball]

"Hank, Rick did this to himself. Newt supporters did not make him say this."

I know. Just like Santorum supporters didn't make Newt talk about a moon-station. But both were all too eager to help Myth by making a major issue of a minor thing. It makes me sick.

Look at my tagline. I've had it since last Fall. I'm not a fair-weather Newt supporter. But he's done. And after tomorrow, I fear, Santorum will be too. The math just isn't there.

We'll get Romney, and frankly I won't care if he wins or loses. I'll vote 3rd party if I can even motivate myself to vote at all. It's all appalling and WE - ALL OF US - have only ourselves to blame. Any conservative that can't see that EITHER Newt or Santorum is 1000 times preferable to Romney is terminally clueless.

Hank

[altura]

I read on Rush’s website some of the comments Santorum made on the Joe Scarborough show. They were right on.

Most of his statements are right on. Why this desperation to paint him as too religious?

I’m religious. I thought we liked social conservatives.

I’m trying to figure out the Santorum hatred around here and I can’t do it.

Can’t anybody but a few of us see that it only helps Romney?

I admire loyalty but Newt hasn’t shown the hoped for rise in popularity. It ain’t gonna happen people.

Can’t we grow up and support the best guy we have left?

[Christie at the beach]

Well..of course the Santorum supporters mostly agree.
They basically agree with whatever he says. Read this forum of how they tell us what he means to say when he goofs up. Rush even helps him of similar sitautions. Are we going to have to go through this for 4 years..sure don't think so..

[true believer forever]

Breaking tonight... 9 Gingrich Delegates in Illinois announce they’re switching their support to Santorum during an East Peoria event. Al Salvi is breaking the story... don’t have more info. now or the names of the 9 Gingrich delegates. Will post a link once the names are confirmed.

this seems to be a pattern with the good principled conservative santorum... and it is very unseemly and unethical.

Super-Newt-Freeper, Marguerite, posted this this morning, about when Santorum did the same thing in Tennessee. Is there anyone who can picture Newt doing this?

GO BACK TO NEWT AND STAY THERE!!!!

"In Tennessee, they tried a different underhanded tactic and succeeded… Hours before the election, Santorum met with several state delegates declared on the ballot for Gingrich, one even the Co-Chair of the Gingrich campaign, convincing them to switch to Santorum delegates even though the state ballots declared them all for Gingrich.

It amounted to election fraud, as millions of Tennessee Gingrich supporters cast vote after vote for Gingrich delegates that had quietly switched to Santorum hours before the election. The old backroom switcheroo had worked and Santorum won Tennessee, snatching the number two spot in the GOP race from Gingrich for the first time."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2860896/posts

http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2012/03/09/gop-defeating-itself-again/

[Christie at the beach]

true believer forever, sure, no problem.

[altura]

Not sure about the truth of your post, but I like Newt also.

Cannot quite see the correlation between liking Newt and the virulent hatred for Santorum.

I don’t see anybody posting anything that makes any sense, just repetitive nonsense about Santorum is stupid, easily manipulated, too religious, blah, blah blah.

Why can’t Newt supporters (like me) support Newt without this crazy war against Santorum.

Obama couldn’t do it any better.

[Gene Eric]

Rick’s message is fine, but it’s ordinary and artificially elevated by desperation. Liberty is not about the ordinary.

Go Newt!!!

[County Agent Hank Kimball]

"I beg you not to give up. We need every conservative warrior this fall. It's going to be a major battle. If it's Santorum fine but I'm good with Newt. Just please help us put a conservative in the WH before it's too late."

I agree 100%. The problem is that barring something I don't expect to see tomorrow, the GOP nominee is going to be Myth Romney...and no conservative warrior is he. In which case, what's a conservative to do?

Hank

[married21]

I would like to like Santorum better than I do. He is making it more difficult every day.

[true believer forever]

Marguerite, I forgot to add you to this, sorry!

Breaking tonight... 9 Gingrich Delegates in Illinois announce they’re switching their support to Santorum during an East Peoria event. Al Salvi is breaking the story... don’t have more info. now or the names of the 9 Gingrich delegates. Will post a link once the names are confirmed.

this seems to be a pattern with the good principled conservative santorum... and it is very unseemly and unethical.

Super-Newt-Freeper, Marguerite, posted this this morning, about when Santorum did the same thing in Tennessee. Is there anyone who can picture Newt doing this?

GO BACK TO NEWT AND STAY THERE!!!!

"In Tennessee, they tried a different underhanded tactic and succeeded… Hours before the election, Santorum met with several state delegates declared on the ballot for Gingrich, one even the Co-Chair of the Gingrich campaign, convincing them to switch to Santorum delegates even though the state ballots declared them all for Gingrich.

It amounted to election fraud, as millions of Tennessee Gingrich supporters cast vote after vote for Gingrich delegates that had quietly switched to Santorum hours before the election. The old backroom switcheroo had worked and Santorum won Tennessee, snatching the number two spot in the GOP race from Gingrich for the first time."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2860896/posts

http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2012/03/09/gop-defeating-itself-again/

[trappedincanuckistan]

That’s dirty! I heard about a co chair of Newt’s campaign flipping in Tenn, but I had no idea about the rest of it.

[Josh Painter]

“Oh, boo hoo.”

Romney and Santorum are both big government Republicans, and they both have a bad habit of sticking their feet in their mouths.

For Santorum to pontificate about freedom is pure hypocrisy, given that he criticizes the libertarian concepts of small government & limited freedom that Ronald Regan claimed as essential principles of conservatism:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gwwmm-cQxU

Reagan didn’t believe in everything libertarian, but he fully embraced the ideas of smaller government and personal freedom (tempered by personal responsibility).

This is part of why Santorum is not a Reagan conservative. He’s not not even close. He’s a big government Republican. Romney is a liberal Republican who has flip flopped on ever major issue.

[Christie at the beach]

Hank, nothing good ever comes easy.

Romney cannot win if the base refuses him when he is short of the delegates. If people support Newt, we can make a difference, I know. If we continue splitting our strength, yes, it will be hard to get reforms. If Rick was a strong candidate, Newt would step outside or Newt would not even matter ..Newt even said that today..Please don't blame Newt's supporters. A man has to stand on his own, it's not fair to us to make excuses of things Rick has said himself.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

I no longer vote for the greater of two pathetics.

I have studied Santorum, since he was a Freshman Rep. in the House. His religion has nothing to do with it. Although that is most all that he knows how to talk about.

He is no way qualified to fix this mess. He has no executive or business experience and his past contribution to the House and Senate is highly exaggerated.

Santorum will lose to Obama if he is nominated. It's just that simple.