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 ...
Does anyone think he can afford to make boneheaded pronouncements he has to explain later once he’s the nominee? Geez, I can’t believe I gave this guy money.
He's right.
Freedom is fundamental. A free economy is a prosperous economy, but freedom comes first.
A guy like Romney will give up freedom in exchange for prosperity but it backfires every time.
I'm a Newt supporter, and Newt could no doubt express this thought more articulately than Santorum can. And they will both be right, and Romney (and your typical Dem) will never get it.
Actually, it’s time to look in the mirror before jumping to conclusions about Santorum being an “idiotT
Rebecca Kaplan at National Journal, provides context for the Santorum quotation. “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 said, according to Kaplan’s report. “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.”
Santorum’s response to the Romney campaign where he told reporters:
“freedom supersedes the unemployment issue.” How true is this!
Santorum speaks to the big issues on the future of our nation. It’s about liberty. Here’s he’s response in full lest this anti-Santorum jihad goes unchecked:
“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.”
The details are coming out now... looks like he has only himself to blame for alienating his downstate supporters. My favorite choice at the start of the primaries was Michele Bachmann but she made a similarly poor move in arranging a tea party rally in Illinois and then abruptly pulling the plug on it, which left a lot her fans in Illinois with a bad taste. I was sad to see Michele Bachmann’s Illinois team defect to other candidates like Perry and Cain but I wouldn’t blame underhanded tactics from their camps for that happening...
15th CD Gingrich delegate and alternate switch to Santorum
Downstate 15th CD alternate delegate candidate for Newt Gingrich notified Illinois Review Monday night that he - Brian Milleville - and 15th CD Gingrich delegate candidate Earl Deckard, Crawford County GOP Chairman, are switching their support to Rick Santorum for Tuesday’s GOP primary.
Disappointed that Gingrich cancelled an Effingham rally and unhappy that their Congressman John Shimkus endorsed Romney, Milleville said, “We have to stop Mitt [Romney].”
The anti-GOP establishment voters, frustrated with a poorly functioning party, are advocating an “Anyone but Romney” response, but sense a growing Santorum surge in the last hours. With a low vote possibility, every vote will count for all candidates and races.
http://www.sandyrios.com/blog/
Dear Illinois friends,
After the same pondering we’ve all faced in this primary, I wholeheartedly threw my hat in the ring for Rick Santorum! I don’t support Mitt Romney because I watched him implement gay marriage by forcing Townhall clerks to begin enforcement under threat of their jobs in Massachusetts while claiming he was opposed. I heard him claim to be pro-life ( after adamantly declaring he was pro-choice) then offer abortions in his healthcare plan for a $50 co-pay. He went into a rage and called me a liar in a private meeting in 2008 when I presented evidence of his deceptions.
I have been thrilled by Newt Gingrich’s hard-hitting challenges during debates. I do believe in redemption and new beginnings, but as the weeks have unfolded, I have realized more and more that Rick is a candidate I can trust...in season and out of season. He has Newt’s boldness if not his eloquence. He did very well in debates, it’s just that at the time NO ONE was acknowledging it. He is someone I will be proud to support. His wife, Karen, would make an incredible First Lady. A neonatal intensive care nurse and an attorney...mother of 7 including disabled little Bella, I would rejoice to see her bring grace and dignity to the White House.
How long have we sat by helpless as Illinois politicians...Democrat and Republican pad their own pockets and bring disgrace to us all? Right now I speak to the leadership of the Republican Party. They are pro-choice, morally rudderless, and pro their own power. They do not represent conservatives, they disdain them and are backing Mitt Romney who shares that disdain.
Illinois is a crucial primary. I urge you to vote tomorrow for Rick Santorum. In spite of what the Republican establishment says, Rasmussen just today reports that in the three key swing states, Santorum is leading Obama while Mitt is behind. The Illinois primary is tomorrow and Rick Santorum is only single digits behind in the polls. As in all other states, Mitt Romney is better organized and exponentially more financed. This is a way we can fight back against the corruption and degradation that has taken hold in our state.
Rick is the real deal. Principled...committed..a man of his word. He lives what he says. We will never be sorry we gave him our best as he is giving his for the country.
I encourage you to vote for Rick tomorrow and tell your friends...neighbors. Just as in the recent primaries, Rick Santorum CAN win. But not without your help.
Thanks so much!
Sandy Rios
http://republicannewswatch.com/wp/?p=11942
Doug Ibendahl is a Chicago Attorney and a former General Counsel of the Illinois Republican Party. He writes:
At one of his Illinois rallies a couple of days ago, Rick Santorum exhibited better insight about Illinois politics and showed more courage than 99% of conservatives who have lived here all of their lives.
As POLITICO reported, Santorum said this to a large crowd of supporters:
“Conservatives don’t have much of an opportunity in Illinois to speak; don’t have much of an opportunity to get statewide folks nominated and elected who are conservatives. But you do. You can make up for all of that frustration. You can make up for all of the slights by the leaders of this party here in Illinois. You can go out and win us this race!”
Santorum gets it. He nailed the exact theme I had been urging Newt Gingrich’s team to run with in Illinois for months, to no avail.
Gingrich instead wasted part of his short time in the state last week at the company owned by one of the biggest sellouts of the conservative movement and one of the biggest funders of Team Romney (anyone funding Pat Brady and the Illinois Republican Party these days is in fact funding Team Romney). While Santorum was waging a serious fight, Gingrich spoke about algae. (I wish I was making this up.)
I like Gingrich. I’ve said for a long time he was my candidate. I meant it. But it’s futile to waste our votes on a candidate who is clearly not serious about his own campaign in Illinois.
Santorum is a bit too “churchy” at times for my personal taste, but he’s right on the big issues. More importantly, he’s a fighter. Santorum’s staying in the battle in Illinois, long after Gingrich flew the coop.
I’ll be voting for Santorum. Romney will likely win Illinois handily thanks to a huge war chest and the misuse of the State Party franchise by Romney backers like State GOP Chairman Pat Brady (good going SB 35 sellouts).
I live in the 7th U.S. Congressional District which is one of the four where Santorum didn’t get delegates on the ballot. That’s okay. I’ll just vote for Santorum in the “beauty contest” portion.
I’m certainly not rewarding Romney for his over-the-top nasty attacks on good Republicans. And sorry Newt, I can’t reward you for your refusal to hold ranks and fight back in the face of Romney’s vicious carpet-bombing of Illinois.
Rick Santorum is the only candidate left with the courage to speak truth to power when it comes to Pat Brady and the rest of the Illinois GOP’s selfish, corrupted Old Guard. Santorum’s earned my vote.
So, tell me, when the unemployment rate is down to 4% and we’re all working as slaves to the government, will we have then reached nirvana? What good is full employment if we’ve lost our freedom?
Gator, those of you who are expressing shock and disdain over Santoum’s statement, including Romney, are full of it. You know EXACTLY what he means. Unemployment and gasoline prices will remain disastrously high as long as decisions are made from the top down. He has said that over and over again. It is a FREE people who create a thriving economy. Of course, you DO know that he meant that, don’t you? Bob
Is he really that hell-bent on getting rid of porn?
Porn has existed for a while now.
It’s not going away.
It’s nasty and vile,but Santorum is just deluding himself if he thinks he can eliminate it.
There are so many more pressing issues on the table.
Please tell me that Freepers are not so dense as to believe that Santorum would shut down all porn. That’s nuts. This is willful stupidity. Bob
It’s nice to read the words of someone who actually understands what America, (and Santorum’s campaign) is all about. Thanks! *Phew*!
The old USSR had FULL employment!
We've got to stamp out the root cause. And that's delivering it to them on a silver platter.
“Shock and disdain...” Could you get anymore melodramatic? I was mocking him for being foolish. How long has he been in politics? Does he think the R’s get a fair shake with the press? It doesn’t matter what I know, it matters how the average person will receive his comments.
If we delve into this we will find that the dems are pushing false numbers on unemployment rates and using a lower percentage to jutify re-electing Obama.
The false economic numbers out make the fiscal case even harder because the sheeple believe those numbers whether they are true or false.
I noticed the context was missing too. I also noticed that people around here just accept what CBS says and play along with Mitt.
Sad thing that is.
Thank you. The context was left out of this and people don’t even bother to see if CBS is playing with us again.
These guys, yes, like bush and Obama, misspeak on occasion. There is a difference between just “talking” and making a Poor turn of phrase accidentally, and meaning to say something. Romney did not mean to say he didn’t care about the poor. And Santorum didn’t mean to say he didn’t care about the unemployment rate.
Is it smart and mature to slam them the second they misspeak and pounce? Is every mistake Freudian?
Look, “corpse man” was said 3x in one prompter speech. Obama was an idiot. This was Santorum speaking off the cuff, trying to say “unemployment #s are not an issue if we aren’t free or if our constitution, which makes us great, no longer matters.”. I’d prefer that kind of error.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment dfroest. I listened to Santorum explain this to van Susteran last night. She wanted to act as if Santorum had said he didn’t care about people without jobs.
He immediately contradicted her and said that was not what he said. He said the unemployment rate is just a symptom of a problem, and that’s why the rate isn’t what’s important. What’s important is the loss of freedom in business, the government dictating the economy, that is CAUSING the unemployment.
Anyone with half a bit of sense could see that in his comment. It’s only a man with an agenda (Romney) who would lie about the message Santorum was sending.
But Romney is a liar from the beginning.
And I have no doubt in my mind that Romney’s being picked by a group of Utah bigwigs to get an olympics on track is not a qualification for the presidency. He was an insider in that region picked by insiders in that region.
Nor do I think his running a financial business to be a significant qualification. It sure didn’t help him when he screwed up Massachusetts the way he did.
He did such a terrible job that he was afraid to run for re-election.
Did you ever imagine a day when FREEPERS would call a candidate 'an idiot' for proclaiming that the most important thing at stake is our FREEDOM?? Hell has surely frozen over, cripplecreek. It's a sad day.
I was noticing yesterday that the media, including FOX and Drudge, were doubling down at helping Mitt and trying to finish off Santorum with using snippets of soundbytes. Just like they did Newt.
They know Newt’s done, all they have to do is finish off Santorum, and Mitt sails to the nomination.
I’m sorry, I don’t think I get your point. Even if the Newt delegates in TN who switched support to Santorum deserved to be condemned to the lowest circle of Hell, it would not change the fact that when someone in TN voted for Newt, it was reported as a vote for Newt, and that more voters in TN cast their vote for Santorum than did for Newt or Romney. If you want to call shenanigans because of the delegate allegiance switches and point out that the delegate count from TN is not indicative of how people voted in the TN primary. But that does not mean that “faithless delegates” are to blame for Santorum having received more votes than anyone else.
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