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 ...
Yep, that is exactly their game. They kill with a thousand cuts.
I’m amazed but not surprised.
FReepers have been doing this for years, then one of us pops in with some common sense. That normally ends the thread.
Well, yeah, psycho, he might lose with friends like you.
Hopefully, there aren’t too many.
Some are Newt people, but who are the rest of the clowns calling Rick and "idiot" for centering the question on freedom?
Most of the comments here completely misrepresent what Rick said. Most of the "Rick has committed suicide" are wishful thinking, I think.
I wonder how many Mitt, Paul, or liberal trolls are making these comments? There are the 'usual suspects' who hate Rick for some emotional reason, but are the rest even conservative?
I'm doubting it, Yaelle.....
Very few people who legitimately support Newt would act this irrationally toward the only other conservative candidate in the ring. It's bizarre to witness this whole thing.
Our problem is that most people only see headlines and even formerly reliable sources like Fox and Drudge don't provide all the details because they are in the tank for Romney. My hope at this point is for a brokered convention and a compromise candidate that understands the issues and knows how to get something done. My vote would be for Paul Ryan.
As it is now all I can do is help fund conservatives and pray the SCOTUS throws out obamacare in it's entirety.
Yes, barring the discovery that Ryan or Rubio are pro-abortion/choice or pro-gun control, I would prefer a Ryan/Rubio ticket.
The problem we all face is that if the nomination goes to the convention, the person most likely to determine who will be the nominee will be Ron Paul. Ron Paul will have enough delegates to push Romney over the top, but he won't have enough to push Gingrich or Santorum over the top.
The most likely scenario is that Paul will make a deal with the devil and Romney will be the nominee. Paul will get a choice cabinet position (Treasury) and Rand will get the VP nod.
Paul has nothing to offer Gingrich or Santorum. The only way either of them gets the nod is if one of them commits all of his delegates to the other. I don't see that happening unless they decide to agree to abide by a coin toss.
Of course I don’t believe he’ll shut down all porn. It’s impossible.
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