Santorum: McCain NO, Romney yes

Tribune-Review ^ | salena zito

[Salena Zito]

Santorum throws his support behind Romney

Salena Zito

ST. LOUIS -- Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., threw his support this morning to Mitt Romney for president. Santorum’s endorsement was sought by all of the Republican candidates in the past year.

"In a few short days, Republicans from across this country will decide more than their party's nominee,” Santorum says in a statement released by the Romney campaign. “They will decide the very future of our party and the conservative coalition that Ronald Reagan built. Conservatives can no longer afford to stand on the sidelines in this election, and Gov. Romney is the candidate who will stand up for the conservative principles that we hold dear."

Santorum, a darling of conservatives across the country, was referring to Super Tuesday balloting. He has a close relationship with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who dropped out of the race and said he’s supporting U.S. Sen. John McCain. In a conversation last year, Santorum was adamant that he’d never support McCain.

Giuliani campaigned hard in 2006 for Santorum, who lost his Senate seat to then-state Treasurer Bob Casey.

John Weaver, a longtime McCain advisor who left the campaign last summer, said of Santorum's Romney endorsement: "I just remember how desperate Sen. Santorum and his consultants were to have John McCain campaign for Rick.

"I guess it goes back to the political rule of 'There is no interest like self-interest.' "

[Antoninus]

I’m sorry I ever supported you, Rick. First Specter, now this.

[DannyTN]

Rick, Rick, Rick

First you supported Specter, then Romney. :(

[GeronL]

Better than backing
McCain

[sageb1]

I miss Fred

My state delegates will go for McCain anyway. I'm writing in Fred.

[MrChips]

Thank you, Senator Santorum!

[Retain Mike]

McCain Lacks National Security Credentials

John McCain lacks leadership for the War on Terror. His leadership codified the Army interrogation manual making terrorists legal combatants. His leadership granted terrorists American citizenship rights under Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. He ensured information vital for terrorist defeats remain sacred and unobtainable. Terrorists are unresponsive to direct questioning and psychological gambits. Therefore, interrogators need all techniques our military encounters in survival schools. McCain embraces liberal orthodoxy considering those methods torture, but his searing experiences enable contrary insights.

McCain especially understands terrorists are not insurgents or freedom fighters; when captured, certainly not prisoners of war. They are not armed forces, militias, or volunteer corps of any country or authority. These killers are not members of organized resistance movements carrying arms openly. They have no distinctive identifier. McCain understands Geneva Conventions intended to isolate such forces, provide no protections, and allow destruction with any overwhelming fury needed to crush their abominations.

McCain especially appreciates that laws guaranteeing civil liberties presuppose operation within an invincible society. Considerations for devastating, unforeseeable perils must lead legislative deliberations. The Federal government’s primary responsibility is to pursue Alexander Hamilton’s admonition that powers exist without limitation; providing capabilities thwarting dangers as well as repelling attacks. McCain understands powerful warfare capabilities require potent intelligence acquisition and exploitation.

McCain continually seeks popular advancement by placating those coveting luxurious morality sheltered from hard choices and danger awareness. His crime is repudiating military and intelligence professionals facing hard choices when confronting shrewd, ruthless enemies obscured behind frightening uncertainties.

[GeronL]

Maybe he can help us get a brokered convention by boosting Mitt

[apocalypto]

We need more Republicans to speak out against John McCain. Anyone who watched the debate saw McCain give muddled answers, inability to comprehend issues, and giggle and talk to himself. His mind is giving out. His physical health also is said to be poor.

[SatinDoll]

If you want to know about how McCain will govern as President, go to his ReformInstitute.org website. It is a nonprofit educational organization he founded as a think tank and widely supported by radical left-wing groups including the likes of Tides Foundation (George Soros) and the Environmental Defense Fund.

Dr. Juan Hernandez, who has dual U.S.-Mexican citizenship and is a Hispanic activist desirous of adding a third of the U.S. to Mexico, is a major part of McCain’s think tank.

If Senator McCain is elected you can expect: a dissolution of U.S. sovereignty and our borders with Canada and Mexico; global warning treaties that will destroy our economy; and possibly worst of all, legislation that will dissolve the first ammendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech.

[mmichaels1970]

John Weaver, a longtime McCain advisor who left the campaign last summer, said of Santorum's Romney endorsement: "I just remember how desperate Sen. Santorum and his consultants were to have John McCain campaign for Rick.

"I guess it goes back to the political rule of 'There is no interest like self-interest.' "

Now wait a minute. Isn't it "self-interested" to expect that because someone campaigns for you, you are expected to campaign for them? Isn't this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

[Count of Monte Logan]

So what...

[Antoninus]

Better than backing McCain

Not really. He should have stayed out of it or said "none of the above".

[Defiant]

You know, the thing about McCain is, he is anti-conservative, to his very core. The comment about Alito is just one recent example of his true feelings. Guys like Giuliani and Romney may not BE conservative, but they are not ANTI-conservative. McCain's goal is to kill once and for all conservative power in the GOP, rather than work with conservatives to forge a shared vision under a large tent. Which makes sense, since he is not really a Republican anyway.

Can anyone explain why we would vote for McCain and not Lieberman? They are the same on the war, better than Hillary and basically moderate Democrats in a world where there are no more moderate Democrats.

[Vigilanteman]

Rick was a great senator who undoubtedly had his share of run-ins with John McCain. Looking at the people jumping on the McCain bandwagon, one has to conclude they mainly fall in two catagories:

1. Nostalgia holdovers from the days of Nixon-Ford-Reagan and Bush I who remember McCain as he was before he turned to the dark side.
   
2. Those angling for jobs in a new McCain-Clinton administration.

Rick's jumping in at this time when the chances of stopping McCain are only 20% or less means he either has a soft spot for lost causes or he is a true patriot who wants to slow the lemming-like rush to McCain and sees Romney as the best alternative at this point.

I'm betting on the later.

[Miss Didi]

We need more Republicans to speak out against John McCain. Anyone who watched the debate saw McCain give muddled answers, inability to comprehend issues, and giggle and talk to himself. His mind is giving out. His physical health also is said to be poor.

You would think the RNC would step in and stop this before it's too late. Who do they think is going to fund this campaign? Most of us haven't given a dime in years.

[GeronL]

McCain envisions a Republican-Democrat Unity Party to come from his White House bid. We might be force to go third party if he gets control of the party machine

[Dane]

Maybe he(Santorum) can help us get a brokered convention by boosting Mitt

LOL! He got beat by the most braindead candidate there was.

Santorum is showing his true colors of sticking his finger in the wind to see which way it is blowing. The point is that the wind is a minor wind in US politics but a hurricane in the "true conservative" echo chamber.

[GeronL]

The GOP establishment was happiest as a minority moderate party that din’t make liberals mad. Remember when 1994 happened many newsrooms just din’t know anything about these upstart conservatives.

[Little_GTO]

I just posted this on another thread.

I guess it’s like working for the mob. You do a job for them once and you have to keep doing things for them to feed your family.