Posted on 03/19/2012 7:03:28 PM PDT by 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...
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
He told the voters in N. Dakota..the Iranians are coming
this is one of many links available about what happened in Tennessee, including Newt's State GOP chair, and 2 others, defecting to Santorum the night before the vote...
http://theothermccain.com/2012/03/03/huge-gingrich-tennessee-co-chair-resigns-and-endorses-rick-santorum/
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/03/03/co-chairman-of-gingrich-tennes
Santorum was making the oint that pornography laws will be enforced. Children and adults are hurt every day as a result of pornagraphy law violations and it’s more than just a local issue. People are abused and entrapped into this crap and it’s wrong. It has nothing to do with freedom to allow damaging wickedness in society and culture. This has been true since our forefathers wrote the DI and since the Constitution.
Umm, Santorum won the TN promary by getting more votes than Romney of Newt. If some of the delegates allocated to Newt now support Santorum, it has nothing to do with how Santorum won TN, because the numbers reported were primary votes received, not how the elected delegates say they will vote.
It shows weakness- people jumping teams to go where they think one side has the momentum. Not loyal people; very shameful and reminds me of democrats changing party affiliation when their side is doing so badly. Imo.
Santorum just lost the nomination. If somehow he is the nominee, then Obama just got a second term.
It is the economy stupid.
Well Gingrich would not even get out of the starting box. So we might as well take our cookies and go home. Gingrich wouldn’t have a chance. I love him as a person and a mind but he is political damaged goods to the vast majority of the voting public.
“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.”
“It’s something more foundational that’s going on.”
Would that “foundational” thing be an unclad body on a legal website? Would that include my statue of David who is unclad? Or my Venus statue with one breast uncovered?
Santorum needs to take his moral perfect self home and stare at a mirror.
Newt has sense, Santorum does not. Our country is bleeding to death due to no growth due to Hussein.
It seems to me that the same people that elected Soetero, or perhaps the same MINDSET, are now selecting the GOP candidate. Whatcha gonna do?!
He should have said the Obama phony Unemployment rate I don’t care about. The real unemployment rate is much higher since the labor force keeps shrinking to lower it.
All from the media spin-Newt did well in FL even with a 17- to 1 negative ads against him. He probably won TN AL MS if not for the Daily Kos team asking dems to vote for Rick Santorum. Why do that!? This has all been manufactured. Newt is a heck of a strong candidate-his ideas and leadership skills alone would cream Obama. People have to wake up.
It doesn't have anything to do with who won the primary. The issue speaks to integrity. The delegates and the chair defected the night before the primary... and it seems to be happening again... there is something to be said for staying with your captain and your ship when the waters are rough... and not bailing.
I think the final tally had 6% dems voting for santorum... Newt's internal polls, which are notoriously correct and pinpoint, had him winning... the final vote was very close.
get it?
Freedom and the unemployment rate, the true one not the Obama magical mystical number, are intertwined anyway. Economic freedom certainly, but the other sorts as well.
But even CBS allowed Santorum to clarify:
""Of course I care about the unemployment rate. I want the unemployment rate to go down, but I'm saying, my candidacy doesn't hinge on whether the unemployment rate goes up and down," he said. "Our candidacy's about something that transcends that; its about freedom, its not about, you know, Governor Romney's idea that he's going to fix the economy which is something that, of course, we as Republicans don't believe that presidents fix the economy; we believe that we try to do things to create an atmosphere for the economy to fix itself."
Sounds right to me. I'm sure Newt would agree with that statement... Romney?? What week is it?
Romney's destroy attacks remind me of obama, right down to ex-wives and Newt's divorce papers found in a clerk's drawer in GA. where they had been for many many years... gag.
And Santorum's behind the scenes and dirty tactics remind of dems in general.
I am not saying this like the paulbots do, when they scream we were robbed, we were cheated. but I think when Newt and his own campaign do their gut checks and math, they consider those 3 states, for all intents and purposes, as his. That is how they calculate them. they don't scream about it, and have never said a word to the media, or whined anywhere, but I think very realistically, they consider those states Newt... and that his southern strategy did work, and those dems that gave santorum his wins will be nowhere to be found in the fall.
Newt is a hardnosed realist, and he's headed for tampa.
That's not government creating jobs, it's the government getting out of the way, since they have no Constitutional authority for being in the way in the first place, and letting the private sector create them. However it's also pretty much what RS said in his clarification reported at the end of the CBS article.
"... we as Republicans don't believe that presidents fix the economy; we believe that we try to do things to create an atmosphere for the economy to fix itself."
I prefer Newt as well, but fair is fair.
Newt has made some worse boners in the past.
Romney can’t wrap up the nomination tomorrow. No matter how they try to spin it, it’s not over. Hang in there.
It was just another stupid thing that will be disseminated over and over again by the Obama Campaign if Rick gets the GOP nod. Rick is already being pigeon holed as a Religious Wacko and he does himself (or our cause) no favors by not thinking before opening his mouth.
Preaching to the Choir in a Church full of empty Pews will not get a Republican / Conservative elected Dog Catcher, much less POTUS. These “Rickisms” will drive the Voting Congregation into the streets.
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