Erick Erickson of Red State (except for Pro-Life) doesn’t view Santorum as a consistent conservative.
Take a look here:
Excerpt:
Let’s remember Rick Santorum could not even win re-election in his home state of Pennsylvania.
Rick Santorum also supported Arlen Specter over Pat Toomey in the U.S. Senate back in 2004.
But most damning to me is Rick Santorum’s actual record in the Senate and House of Representatives. I keep hearing him say he was such a paragon of fiscal conservative virtue, when he was anything but that. He was as go along to get along as all the other Republicans who led to our downfall.
Making Santorum worse, he was always the guy saying, “I had to do this, but wait till I get to leadership. I’ll be there for you in leadership.” It’s what he is saying now. Only it isn’t true and never was.
He supported steel tariffs in Pennsylvania, which did him little good in his own re-election effort.
He supported No Child Left Behind.
He supported the prescription drug benefit.
He supported the Bridge to Nowhere. In fact, according to Club for Growth, “Santorum had the audacity to vote to continue funding the Bridge to Nowhere rather than send the money to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.”
Santorum decided, after leaving Congress, to oppose earmarks, but he sure did love them while he was there. He voted against the Farm Bill in 2002, but he voted to extend milk subsidies to save the poor Pennsylvania farmer.
In the House, Santorum opposed NAFTA and offered legislation to impose steel tariffs. He wanted to tax imported honey and Chinese imports.
Throughout his career, Santorum has tried to have it both ways. For example, as the Club For Growth documents
He voted NO on raising the minimum wage in 1995 and 2005. But on the same day he voted NO in 2005, he sponsored an amendment that would increase the minimum wage, which he later boasted about to skeptical voters in a 2006 campaign brochure he released called “50 Things You Didn’t Know About Rick Santorum.”
In other words, the Santorum I have observed for a decade is the Rick Santorum on the campaign trail now — a guy trying to have it both ways through too clever by half stunts like voting against the minimum wage while authoring a bill to raise the minimum wage so no one can pin him down on his record.
Who ever told you Rick Santorum was “such a paragon of fiscal conservative virtue”? While most applaud his social conservatism, I don’t think much of anyone ever saw Santorum as a fiscal conservative, and he certainly was not touted as virtuous while he was actually IN Congress.
In fact, Santorum has also had some “personal” fiscal policies have raised some eyebrows. He received more money donations from lobbyists than ANYONE else on Capital Hill in 2006 election cycle - http://newsbusters.org/node/3588 and took oversight for the Republican K Street Project after they lost Tom Dulay - http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/598/326/050/
I have always like hearing Rick Santorum give a speech. I read somewhere they he even used to be labeled as similar to Winston Churchill as he speaks, and he does seem to be a social conservative, but I would not think anyone would ever label Rick Santorum a fiscal conservative, and I’m not sure who told you that, dear child!
While Bachmann is clearly the more “conservative,” IMO she flamed herself by allowing the Gardasil to become a political Tar Baby. Bad judgment there. Moreover, Santorum has a far better grip on foreign policy and the need to drain the swamp at the DOS than does Bachmann.