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 ...
Probably right but pray tell who is the all around conservative running here? In truth, we have none! You just have to pick the one who has some conservative values that you would like. Not so easy unless you have biases.
What BS! When did this country start taking the last statement made as the whole? Santorum's given his whole economic plan at least 50 times but suddenly he's a man without a plan?
And please spare me any more wringing of the hands about what Obama will do. A good percentage of Americans, many apparently right here on FR, are willing to play these silly media games and destroy a candidate who will fight for us. Are willing to let Obama destroy this country.
Well, I'm with Rick. I'm for freedom first.
THANK you for being one of the only rational people posting on this thread!
Did you ever imagine a day when FREEPERS would call a candidate 'an idiot' for proclaiming that the most important thing at stake is our FREEDOM??
Hell has surely frozen over, cripplecreek. It's a sad day.
Freedom of what?
Yeah he’ll fight for us........right before he takes one for “the team”
Rick is saying he won’t waste trillions on “stimulus” to “create jobs” like Obama did. Good.
Is he really that hell-bent on getting rid of porn?
Porn has existed for a while now.
It’s not going away.
It’s nasty and vile,but Santorum is just deluding himself if he thinks he can eliminate it.
There are so many more pressing issues on the table.
Santorum is smart enough to realize that Obama is manipulating the numbers.
And they ARE manipulating the numbers.
Everyone knows it. Santorum covered that base by saying that rates are not what his campaign is about.
Good for him.
Or more likely, the people who think that he's wrong about that fit that description.....
>> And please spare me any more wringing of the hands about what Obama will do.
What are talking about? Is that some kind of Rick-encoded message?
Sarah speaks at the “Extraordinary Women of Faith Conference” last weekend (Greenville, SC). Videos
Gut check....can you imagine any of the other candidates speak through the heart like this?
http://conservatives4palin.com/2012/03/governor-palins-speech-in-greenville.html
He needs to stay on point, and not let the media drive the conversation. He should have known a long time ago how the media would treat a Republican Presidential candidate.
Did he define what freedom means?
Free our nation from the socialists, the Obamas and the Romneys, and the unemployment rate will tumble.
We are bogged down by government and its dumbass crippling schemes, and Romney, like Obama, promises newer betterer schemes.
There is one idea that will fix this country - Liberty.
Agree its a matter of choice. For me it is Newt we have to fix the Economy first for alot of FR it is social fix morality first. Both are completely wrong if the other is ignored.
Not sure either can now be fixed. Matthew 24:32-34 cannot be avoided.
By freedom he means you do not have any mandates to buy health insurance. Let the hospitals go after the slackers without insurance, and then just pass on the cost to us fools who bother to buy health insurance. Most of the time the unpaid hospital bills are much higher than what the slacker’s net worth. We get to share in that also. I just love this freedom to pay higher rates in the name of freedom.
In recent months I have been a Santorum supporter, although I have now switched to Gingrich.
I'm certainly not a defender of pornography.
But if people want freedom, then they probably have to accept the fact that a whole lot of people want porn. Santorum seems to not really value freedom as a principle. He wants certain outcomes, and he seems willing to sacrifice freedom in order to attain his goals.
Rick’s fire-hose rhetoric requires discipline if he wants to broaden his fan base.
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