Posted on 01/19/2012 8:45:39 PM PST by Steelfish
Santorum Goes After Romney, Gingrich On Healthcare
By Kim Geiger January 19, 2012
Rick Santorum, in third or fourth place in South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary race, managed to bruise the two leading candidates in Thursday night's debate – in a matter of minutes – by casting them both as advocates of big-government healthcare.
Santorum criticized front-runner Mitt Romney for the healthcare plan that he signed into law in Massachusetts and cast Newt Gingrich as unelectable because of his past support for requiring Americans to buy insurance.
Romney has long been criticized for his role in enacting the Massachusetts healthcare law, which was the foundation for the federal law that President Obama signed in 2010. But in most debates he has been able to brush the topic off by saying it was a state law that shouldn’t be forced on the rest of the country.
Similarly, it’s no secret that Gingrich backs – or at least used to support – an individual mandate. There’s even video floating around that shows him proposing a requirement that people carry insurance or post a $100,000 or $150,000 bond. Gingrich also has generally succeeded in disavowing the topic.
As we reported last year, the individual mandate was once supported by many Republicans. As lawmakers on the left advocated for expanding the government or employer role in providing health insurance, it was Republicans who proposed the individual mandate as a private-sector solution. It became toxic in the mainstream of the Republican Party once Democrats embraced it.
ThinkProgress dug up some old newspaper clips suggesting Santorum also supported the mandate when he was running in a Republican primary in the 1990s. But that position is not well-known. And on the debate stage Thursday night, Santorum refused to let either of his rivals off the hook.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
The sweater vest wearing dweeb will be lucky to get past single digits in SC, and should get on with his life.
I am sure he has a bright future in losing some more elections.
So you support one of the other 3 fools the race to the nomination?
“Santorum is a degenerate lawyer megalomaniac mental case and voted against right to work.”
Between him and a backstabbing, flip-flopping, lying pervert like Gingrich, I’ll pick the ‘mental case’ every time.
Such a freak geek. Santorum should look in the mirror...this is how he voted..
Spending and Entitlements
Voted to make Medicare part B premium subsidies a new entitlement.
Voted against paying off the debt ($5.6 trillion at the time) within 30 years.
Voted to give $18 billion to the IMF.
Voted to raid Social Security instead of using surpluses to pay down the debt.
Health Care
Voted to allow states to impose health care mandates that are stricter than proposed new Federal mandates, but not weaker.
Voted twice for Federal mental health parity mandates in health insurance.
Voted against allowing consumers the option to purchase a plan outside the parity mandate.
I’m sorry but I didn’t see this. Santorum came across as big government.
You don't grasp that there are only two choices left at this late date -- Newt and Romney? And, that Newt is a better choice than Romney?
Santorum has zero chance of winning anything.
Santorum is trying to present himself as a conservative. His voting record shows otherwise. He is lying...flat OUT. Could NOT even win his own state of PA! he is a geek freak
I think the individual mandate would cause an immense amount of economic hardship to the majority of Americans especially if implemented during an economic downturn such that we have been mired in for the past several years. When implemented in conjunction with an obvious socialist power grab, it was double plus dangerous. This is why I was against the current mandate. 20 year old opinions on the subject are largely irrelevant imho.
Congratulations, you just picked Mitt Romney by supporting a candidate with no chance of winning and have left conservatives with the choice of Romney or Obama. Brilliant!
Well said. Santorum is the ONLY candidate who will not put off the female voters (a crucial demographic that shows Newt losing in spades) and his blue-collar appeal will peel of blue states into the Republican column. He wins PA and with Rubio as his VP, FL falls into the red column and its all over for Obama. This is about winning the general and is much more than derailing Romney. While Newt dishes out red meat, he is undisciplined and unelectable and un-telegenic and Obama will scald him over his prior support of mandatory health insurance purchase.
I'd love to see some evidence Santorum was opposing the individual mandate back in the 1990s when the Heritage Foundation first proposed the idea.
Santorum wants to take away my S/S. Well guess what? Me and millions of other Boomers (and some are Freepers) say go away!! Wa torun sucks!
You’re right, Rome.
Tired of listening to his faux angry self righteous retorts uttered between gritted teeth as well.
Go home, Rick.
This is silly. Santorum bruised no one tonight but himself. I have always thought there was more to Rick than this. Today I saw two opposite sides of the political coin. Rick Perry totally blew me away with his sincerety and his humanity and marvelous grace and class. Tonight, Rick Santorum showed me the exact and complete opposite.
He was petulant, spiteful, and nasty and his cultivated facade of schoolboy innocence is utterly gone. He was absolutely hateful lashing out like a spoiled child. I say this as someone who supported him through thick and through thin and defended him as few as several days ago. Never again.
6,210 votes in sixteen years and you pick 7 or more you don’t like. Yet, you rally behind Gingrich who is not even close. That makes you a hypocrite.
Obviously I am in the minority here, but we can use Santorum in the race longer. As Sarah Palin said, from the Bible, steel sharpens steel, and they all could use the practice. Going up against the Obama machine in the fall won’t be easy.
My opinions that Santy decided he needed to Go Hard or Go Home tonight, and I thought he brought it. He needed to show differences between himself and both Newt and Mitt, and he did. Not one of the three is a conservative from central casting. It is fair to delineate where you differ, and it is fair that with Perry gone, and with Santy only today receiving credit for Iowa, that he have a shot in SC.
FReepers were harsh and unhappy with Santorum tonight. But some of the comments were about how he looked or sounded, and certainly fault could be found with how mitt and newt look and sound at times.
Still, I do think Newt, as he is wont, wom the debate.
Almost as petulant and spiteful as your hypocritical post.
I was proud of our candidates tonight...I thought they all did a good job and any one of them will be a great improvement over the democrats.
There isn’t one that I would agree with on everything...but boy, it is refreshing to see such articulate and well thought out men striving to be our President. All stand up for freedom and American values...makes me damn proud!
He lost his state in a year that had many republicans losing their seats...strong argument you have.
http://www.issues2000.org/senate/Rick_Santorum.htm
Pretty sure he’s ranked a pretty stout conservative...if you even look through the link.
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