We will likely never really know what he was entirely thinking, but when his political survival is threatened, he ran to the center and to the Dems as we see here.
Have you seen this Santorum 2006 political ad?
FR article: Rick Santorum, Mr. Bipartisan Compromise – and Mr. Pro Wrestling? {Praised Hillary/Boxer/Lieberman)
[An excerpt]
"In one vivid ad, Santorum stood in a pro wrestling ring to describe what politics should not be.
“Too often, this is what it seems like in Washington,” narrates then-Senator Santorum over images of muscular costumed fellows beating each other. “But to get things done, you’ve got to work together.”
He continued: “I teamed up with Joe Lieberman to make college more affordable for low income families. And Barbara Boxer and I wrote a law protecting open space [Google: Open space generally refers to undeveloped land or water area].”
“I’m even working with Hillary Clinton to limit inappropriate material for children’s video games,” Santorum said as the wrestlers all stop for a moment, seemingly stunned, “because it makes more sense to wrestle with America’s problems than with each other. I’m Rick Santorum and I approved this message.” "