Posted on 04/16/2012 10:39:08 PM PDT by svxdave
Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Monday sounded no closer to endorsing Mitt Romney than when he dropped out of the race last week, telling supporters on a conference call that he hasn’t even had a chance to speak to his onetime rival.
Santorum said he has talked with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. “I haven't had a chance yet to talk to Governor Romney, but we'll be talking to both of them and we’re going to go out and do what we believe is in the best interest of our country,” Santorum said in the call, which had at least 4,000 participants at its peak, according to host and Santorum aide Mark Rodgers.
To crystallize the point that he isn’t going to make an endorsement in the immediate future, Santorum told his supporters that it was entirely up to them whom to vote for in next week’s Pennsylvania primary. “I haven’t supported any candidate at this point,” he said.
When Rodgers, acting as the call's host, asked him in jest whether he would un-suspend his campaign if enough people voted for him in Pennsylvania, Santorum offered little in the way of advice.
“I would just say this: The best thing that they can do is stay tuned, and we really are serious about making sure that the issues that we brought up during this campaign are continued going forward,” he said.
Throughout the call, the former senator from Pennsylvania alluded to having plans to build a conservative movement outside of the framework of the presidential election in order to make sure his message is still heard. He said he was working through ideas for a “structure to promote these ideas” and promised an announcement in the next week or two. As for delegates, those may not be released even if he does back another GOP candidate.
“We still have delegates, many of them committed, and we want to make sure that our delegates get a chance to go to the convention and have a say,” Santorum said.
Reflecting once again on the reasons he exited the race, Santorum tried to downplay the importance of his financial troubles -- a “very, very small piece of the story,” he said -- but suggested for the first time that his campaign had actively, and unsuccessfully, tried to convince other candidates to drop out and support him.
“We sought to get a coalition of the rest of the conservatives in the race to join in, the other candidates who were still in the race; we solicited them to see whether they might be willing to join our team and help us be successful in a coalition of conservatives,” Santorum said. It was almost certainly a reference to Gingrich, the other candidate considered to be a more conservative alternative to Romney.
Santorum’s comments come amid warnings from the likes of Iowa conservative leader Bob Vander Plaats, who recently told the Sioux City Journal that the base of the Republican Party may stay home on Election Day.
But that doesn’t seem to worry Santorum. In the meantime, he’s been spending time with his family. He was joined on the call by his wife, Karen, and his three-year-old daughter Bella -- who was hospitalized shortly before he dropped out -- could be heard in the background as she ate dinner. And like so many Americans, Santorum said he spent the weekend finishing his taxes.
I am not sure about all of romney's support coming from Rick, as his coronation has been in full swing for the past week, I mean everyone is caving in, and that maybe reflected, still he has his 57% of Republicans...
Thanks for posting this. I was worried and this isn't too bad at all, it could have been better, but it certainly could have been worse, a nice little bump for Newt...
One step at a time...
Now get a clue and get on board with Newt...
JCBreckenridge
Since Mar 10, 2012
“How does it feel to support a stalking horse?”
Perhaps you should ask the owner of this forum.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2872793/posts
Since Mar 10, 2012
Yeppers. I have had a few run-ins with him already, and I knew his birthday, why I wouldn't open a pdf file from him... the dysfunction is difficult to pinpoint but it certainly is there...
Still lovin' on Newt?
You’re quite welcome. If things were otherwise and there were a poll showing Newt at 30 percent, I’d be thrilled to post it.
Alas, not the case. Gotta go with the information we do have over how we would otherwise prefer things to be.
I just don’t see Newt catching fire with the folks that he needed to get. Which is unfortunate.
Blessings to you.
Do you think Newt said that just to make Santorum think it was true, so as to get Santorum to drop out, which he did, leaving Gingrich the only conservative in the race?
Gingrich might have pulled a fast one.
Now your man has a chance to show us what he can do with no Santuckabee in the head to head vs Romney.
I wonder if there is back-biting going on because of the amount of delegates not committed to the front runner. Must be jockeying going on to influence the party platform before releasing the delegates.
Of course, I have no idea how these things really work as another puppet appears being setup. To what end, I don’t know.
Maybe he could make a few more stupid ill-informed accusations about George Zimmerman before he does anything else.
You can talk down to me all you like. The fact is, when your talking points involve “Miracle A and B”, you are living on borrowed time. On Tuesday my family and I are voting Santorum here in PA as a final thank you and to vote against Milt. He fought a hard fight and we are supporting the home town boy. Rick has a better shot of upset here in PA than Newt does. After that, I will focus on getting boob Casey thrown out of office.
Oh, I am sure you would be thrilled... you're so magnanimous tonight, looks like you got Rick's email - show Newt's supporters your kind side, and try to get them to give up the way Rick did...
Only Newt' supporters are quite a bit smarter than Rick's..just so you know.
Yeah. You got it. It is all a Jedi Mind Trickery from Newt.
“Now your man....”
Just to be clear, for me this has never been about any given man, this has been about the survival of our country. It has been about the conservative movement and principles, and electing someone that I believe can turn this country away from the abyss, intelligently and quickly.
That's the money quote: he is going to start an organization, outside the election, to keep his followers close, and not lose them to Newt. Instead of getting in the battle, and in the fray, and helping Newt, the last conservative standing, he wants the luxury of quitting and still maintaining his supporters, and they are likely to follow him...
This in the election of 2012, when the fate of the nation hangs in the balance, and Newt the only possible way to dispense with Romney, Santorum will do what he always does best, look out for Rick...
Why would I want Newt to drop out at this point when it’s clearly in his best interest for him and his supporters to stay in and continue to accumulate debt?
Far be it from me to dissaude them. I’m simply arguing that the facts are on my side and that there was a time when he could have won the nomination, but that time has slipped by.
No. When your talking points involve Miracle A and Miracle B it means you are right up there with a lot of heroes who have accomplished amazing things, precisely because of Miracles A B C D and so on and so on ...
Well, here's hoping Rick gets your thank you vote. That is certainly meaningful to the battle at hand.
Then you ought to be upset that the current division between conservatives has permitted Romney to win the nomination outright.
We needed to come together and work together, but that didn’t happen when it needed to happen.
We needed you badly.
If you read my post, there will be no hope needed. It will be done.
BTW, what's the bet that Rick beats Newt in PA on Tuesday?
Let’s see, you were for Saintorum because he was pure, but he quit.
You don’t like Newt because he is..... oh so evil.
Okay, so you must now be for Romney...... or you simply want to stir shi!, while you whimper and wait for the pain of the loss of your alter boy fades.
I will wait for the convention and if Newt doesn’t pull it off, I will watch Romney lose.
Then we can all watch four more years of that corrupt bastard, Obama, burn this country to the ground.
“BTW, what’s the bet that Rick beats Newt in PA on Tuesday?”
I’m sure he will. Newt hasn’t even campaigned there. What’s the bet Rick will beat Romney? That’s who he wanted to go head to head with...
“Still lovin’ on Newt?”
All the way to Tampa......
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