Rickie on Romney
Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney's harshest critic during the primaries, continues to offer thoughts on why Mitt might not win.
Rickie on Romney
John Baer, Daily News Political Columnist
If Rick Santorum is anything, he is consistent.
He, for example, was consistently critical of Mitt Romney during the GOP primary race. He pounded the Mittman harder and longer than even the sharp-tongued Newt.
And the basic message was always the same: Romney is the wrong Republican to run against Obama.
Well, on the eve of Mitt’s coronation in Tampa, Rick remains a bearer of bon mots when it comes to Romney’s chances come November.
In an interview with Howard Kurtz for The Daily Beast, Rick said the following:
“If the campaign is about issues, we win. If it’s about Mitt Romney’s record as a businessman, then we don’t win. If it’s about Mitt Romney’s tax returns, then we don’t win. If it’s about whether people like Mitt Romney more than Barack Obama, then we don’t win.”
Hmmm.
Let’s see. Rick likely would say his comments are taken out of context if anyone in the liberal elite media were to point out sort of obvious conclusions about his comments, but here goes anyway.
A focal point of Mitt’s campaign is his ability to better manage the economy based mostly on his experience as a successful businessman. Yet Santorum suggests that record is not a winning one.
A backdrop of the race is Democrats’ contention that Mitt’s un-yielded tax returns prove that he’s got either politically-questionable investments or so much money overseas at a time the U.S. economy needs investments at home that he can be painted as a rich person who prizes profit over patriotism. So Rick suggests that discussion equals a Romney loss.
Finally, since so many elections are flooded with issues, facts, counter-facts and blurred arguments and often turn on something as simple as the likability of the candidate, Santorum flat out says people don’t like Mitt as much as they like Obama. And a new USA Today/Gallup Poll says Obama holds a 23-point advantage over Romney in likeability.
So Santorum might prove to be more than consistent. He might prove in this instance to be right – no matter what he says in his convention speech scheduled for Tuesday.
Comments (48)
This is why I wish that Santorum would have won the primary. He would have lost big in the general, but it would have been much more interesting than watching Mitt mangle his words and thoughts.— SoundGround- I agree. I wanted Rick or Newt to get the nomination. Rick would have also been better than Mitt The Twitt because I would have had less bouts of nausea. I swear every time I see Willard do his sissy pansy walk across a stage, sidewalk or platform, I have to reach for the barf bag. — CommonSense in Philly
- Release the tax returns, Mr. Romney.
Now.— MGarr - He will not release his 09 return because he took advantage of the Voluntary Disclosure Program which allow him to declare his previously undisclosed offshore accounts, which was a felony. — DavidAG
- His tax returns will also show donations to Planned Parenthood...a big big big no no no for that GOP ilk he just jumped into bed with. — tdoc
- Santorum is right, Mittens is a big spending liberal. Just look at how he smacked Akins around. TRUE conservatives don't support Mittens Mandate!— The Fundamentals of the Economy are Fine
This again highlights the Todd Akin / Jon Runyan Abortion problem. If GOP Republicans kick him out the likes of Santorum will stay home. If Akin/Runyan stays, the suburban female GOP vote will collapse.
— Cuddles- Mitt is scary!— woody56
- That's the problem with Americans these days. They elect someone because they're "likeable". I'd rather have someone like Christie, who's not very likeable, than Obama who's likeable but does nothing.— Commentdant_Klink
Romney is the clear winner, tax returns has nothing to do with anything, it's smoke being blown to cloud the current occupant of Pennsylvania Avenue's p-poor record. It's the economy stupid - plain and simple.- Wrong Dimwit. Tax returns show the character of the man. We should know how much money he's hiding in off shore accounts since he wants to give himself yet another tax cut. And if it's all about the economy, then Willard is the last person we need in the white house. Remember, when he was governor of MA, he did a lousy job with their economy. He had Massachusetts 47th out of 50 states in job growth. Citizens had to actually leave Massachusetts to find a job. So on all counts Willard is the clear loser. Willard might be good for the boardroom, but he'll be lousy in the oval office. — CommonSense in Philly
- Ignoring for a moment your childish name calling, your point makes no sense. Tax returns say nothing about the character of a man. Mitt fulfilled his legal obligation to pay taxes, and on top of that, he donated nearly $3 million to charity. If he (or, more likely, his accountant) is wise enough to use the tax laws to lower his tax burden, why shouldn't he be able to do that? If he did not minimize his tax burden, he'd be a fool.
Tell us, common sense, have you ever taken a deduction (assuming, of course, that you actually pay taxes)? If so, what does that tell us about your character?— jfar86 - Alright Jfar86, I'll break it down so you'll understand. Willard showing his tax returns is a reflection of his character (or lack thereof)in that Americans would see how much of his money he's hidden in off shore accounts TO AVOID PAYING TAXES. If may be legal to do that, but it's not honorable. And for me a president should honor his country, and not cheat his country out of his fair share of taxes. In fact, it's sleazy. And his $3 million to charity was to the Mormon church. Duh, he's mandated by the church to do that! As for your childish question, yes I pay all my taxes every year, and at a much higher rate than your sissy hero Romney. — CommonSense in Philly
- Dimwit? Sissy? The fact that you need to resort to name calling really tells us all we need to know about the intellectual heft behind your arguments.
Again, did you take lawful deductions? If so, does that make you sleazy?
The whole focus on tax returns is a giant red herring and straight out of Obama's playbook. He won earlier elections based on distorting information in sealed divorce records. Instead of focusing on personal details that, quite frankly, have no bearing on the election, why not focus on Obama's record? Unemployment is still over 8% and things don't look to be improving anytime soon. He's spent nearly $1 trillion in stimulus projects, and what do we have to show for it? Curb cuts in Philadelphia, Solyandra, and what else?— jfar86 - Jeez. I'm NOT running for public office, so what I deduct is none of your GD business. And Willard's deductions don't make him sleazy, it's his avoiding paying his fair share of taxes (at his reduced tax rate, no less) by hiding his money in off shore accounts, THAT is what makes it/him sleazy. Lastly, this article and the associated postings is about Willard, NOT Obama. Stay on point Jfar and not try to deflect or spin by changing the topic. Just shows your argument is weak. — CommonSense in Philly
- @Klink Really? I find Christie pretty likable. He's comes across who is mostly himself, and isn't overly worried whether you like him or not. People who try too hard to please others come across as fake.— SpecksBacon
- "much more interesting than watching Mitt mangle his words and thoughts".
Not nearly as interesting or funny as watching Barry do the same with:
shovel-ready
infrastructure
Green energy
wars
tax cuts
GITMO
Rendition
etc.,etc.,etc.
"Just look at how he smacked Akins around. TRUE conservatives don't support Mittens Mandate"!
LOL!!! After "smacking" someone by accusing them of murder,MURDER, being a felon and ignoring an idiot that could become President, it's clear TRUE Lib hates do support Barry, you know trolling sharks who have no crediable arguments so they turn to lies and personal "smacking"...best reason in the world to vote against Barry!
"they elect someone because they're "likeable"
Good point, it's all they got with the failures of the past 3 years. Otherwise they would be pushing the likeability of his successes and not saying "it's Bush's fault" "it's going to take 8 years", "The-Private-Sector-is-Doing-Fine", "they gona' put u'al in chains"!!! LOL!!!— sarah89 - Sarah, Sarah, dear. Again, your rantings are ignorant, and you come off as if you're worried. Why don't you get back in the kitchen and bake your husband a cake. Better yet, why don't you take a trip downtown and buy yourself a new hat. You'll feel so much better. — CommonSense in Philly
- I could care less about Mitt's tax returns or his likeability. The fact of the matter is that Obama has been an absolute disaster and needs to go now. If that means Mitt, so be it. I'll take my chances with him over 4 more years of the Obama debacle.— mvp15
- I despise all politicians but at least Mittens has a great track record in business behind him ,which is much better than the majority of pols who have been making their living off the public their entire lives .Rick Santorum needs to go away and find a real job .We have to fire Obama,he is the worst possible choice . The only way to rationalize your choice as a voter is to vote for the guy you dislike the least .Can you imagine four more years with Obama? It makes me cringe ,he is the Manchurian candidate— Jim v
- Willard has a questionable track record in business. His business record for himself was great, he made millions for himself, but his record was lousy for all the people who worked for the companies he closed down. Americans had to cringe for 4 more years of George Bush when you dopes re-elected him, so deal with 4 more of Obama. I always say better to have the devil you know, than the devil you don't know. And Willard has gone all out so we know as little as possible about him. — CommonSense in Philly
- " Willard has a questionable track record in business." tell me again what is Obama record on business? Has he ever been a small business owner? Been a CEO or upper management of a large corporation? Barry doesn't has a track record, because he has never accomplished any of those feats. So I ask again, what has BHO done?
- Well. I didn't know (and I doubt anyone else did either) that being a CEO or business owner was a requirement for the office of president. What DOES make Obama a much better candidate for President over Mitt the Twitt (not my name for him. That's Great Britain's name for him)is Obama has more government experience than Mitt The Twitt. Obama was a senator in the IL state legislature. Obama was a senator in the US Congress. Those 2 offices alone give Obama more government experience than Willard with his single miserable term as Governor of MA. Willard didn't run for a 2nd term as Governor because he knew he wouldn't be reelected. He tried running for the US Senate in the 90s, but lost that election too. Again, a feat Obama was successful at. So yes Barry does have more of a track record in government as well as more successful one than Willard's. And just because Mitt The Twitt can run a company so well for himself, no way means he can be the leader of the free world. He's already made a fool of himself on his single trip abroad in all 3 countries he visited. So you vote for the fool, and I'll vote for a proven world leader and President. — CommonSense in Philly
- I don't understand why Obama is running for President again. He could be the President right now, if he wanted, but he seems to have no interest in executing the duties of the President.— Mr. Smith
- As is reasonable, Romney loses by 9 points and he knows it. The key decision he has to make is how much of his personal wealth will he waste vs. letting other idiots fund his disaster for him.— BobSG
- My opinion is that the problem is the lack of good Republican candidates as evidenced by McCain/Pallin and Romney/Ryan. If this continues (and it probably will) the Democrats will win the next 1,000 Presidential elections (the Democratic candidate for 2016 will be the popular Latino Mayor of Los Angeles).— BobSG
- As an independant leaning Demodrat... I miss Santorum.. @Common I agree, this election would have been a lot more interesting. Call Santorum Nostradamus in what he said about Romney being the worst possible candidate.. Obama really doesnt have to do a thing because Romney is doing a good job of tripping all over his shoe laces. He piggy backs off of people like Ryan..refuses to stand on any of his own principles in the face of a leaderless party that is in total turmoil right now. I cannot remember the last time there may have been a worse candidate to try and unseat a sitting President. A strategist can wake up each day and pick on issue to poke Romney on nearly everyday while he and people create new gafs and controversies. Im sure Santorum is laughing in his sleep at Romney for what he did to him in the Primary.— nixman101
- What has Obama done to deserve being re-elected? Nothing. The economy is in the toilet, unemployment is still over 8%, housing prices continue to drop, gas prices continue to rise, Obamacare is an absolute disaster...I could go on and on.
It's sad that no one has paid attention over the past four years and this guy is going to get re-elected.— mvp15 - Christie is a mafioso in elephant's clothing. And watching the Mittster try to formulate a thought on the fly is truly an embarrassment. Plasticine mannequin doesn't have a self-firing neuron in that plastic skull of his. And hearing Ayn Ryan try to reconcile his atheist "Atlas Shrugged" lifestyle with his laughably "christian" "spirituality" makes me want to take a shower it's so vile. The Grand Ole Pustule needs to nominate a real human being at some point, not these amalgams of hypocrisy they pick to appeal to the intellectually-challenged that comprise the "base".— CiceroSpuriousDeodatus
- Show me a tax payer that does not want to pay less taxes? Show me a loop hole where I can legally pay less and get away with it and I will do it 10 times out of 10 as long as it's legal.. That's just common sense. Or maybe I do not have character? Or whatever this person under screen name “CommonSense in Philly’ is talking about.— Nitroglycerin
- Nitro. You lack the same reading comprehension skills that Jfar lacks. Last time, what I said was: Willard not showing his tax returns is a reflection of his character (or lack thereof)in that Americans would see how much of his money he's hidden in off shore accounts TO AVOID PAYING TAXES. If may be legal to do that, but it's not honorable.
Now, If you're ok with Romney hiding his money in off shore accounts so he doesn't have to pay taxes, so be it. I have a problem with it, and I'll wager so do a lot of other people who don't hide their money to avoid paying taxes.— CommonSense in Philly - .
.
.
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Caring whether or not Santor-nut is correct on any issue is way down there on my list next to
how long does the shedded skin of a snake take to decompose
into the dirt.— Redwoodser - Consider the source....— dogman5
- Mr. Obama made his one-and-only mark in the Illinois legislature by derailing a born-alive act that would have spared infants who survived abortion (arguments that existing legislation did the trick have been disproved). He used his opponent's divorce documents to gain an edge in his race for the U. S. Senate. As soon as he was elected senator, Mrs. Obama got a raise in salary from $120,000.00 to $300,000.00. Mr.and Mrs. Obama got a major down payment on their Chicago home from a deal brokered by a convicted felon. Mr. Obama's closest adviser, Valerie Jarrett, has holdings in Chicago properties that are appraised at ridiculous levels in comparison to market value.
Mr. and Mrs. Obama chose as their mentor a foolish, ranting old bigot and spent twenty years under his wing, until it was time to deny ever really knowing him. Mr. Obama fixed contracts for his campaign cronies in the solar industry, even after independent analysts warned him the business model of these companies was about to collapse. Mr. Obama and Mr. Holder shipped enough AK-47's to Mexico to get 200 people killed and they have spent the last several years in a Watergate-worthy cover-up of this disaster. They repudiated their own alibi that the program was a Bush carryover when they amended false testimony before the House. Mr. Obama: the competence of Carter, the charm of Nixon.— celtic - Very good Celtic. Now do that same analysis on Romney and Ryan and watch how your hair stands on end! — CommonSense in Philly
- I don't think Willard is worried about the election. I don't even think he's going to steal the election. I think he's going to overthrow the government. Look at his arrogance about his campaign in not answering questions. Look at how he dissed the President with a "birther" remark today. Everyone get out your copy of "Seven Days in May" and pray that there's a "Kirk Douglas" character in the Office of the Joint Chiefs. The Republicans are scaring me with their arrogance. The funny part is that,now, I really do think that Congressman Ryan may truly be the leader of the ticket.(gulp)— BigDipper
- AND, Willard has not released twelve years of complete tax returns that show the taxes he paid as an individual and the taxes that his trusts have paid. Willard's not running for President. He's taking over.— BigDipper
- Couldn't you just hear Paul Ryan yelling "tear'em up, Ben" like Willard did in both movies...this is getting sicker and sicker...no wonder the Second Amendments folks are polishing up their submachine guns and protecting the guns. "Lyin with Ryan" ain't gonna matte— BigDipper
- Can't you just hear Paulie Ryan yelling "tear'em up, Ben" to Willard like in the movies, "Ben," and "Willard?" These boys and their followers aren't racists. They are insane zealots! The Second Amendment folks are polishing up their submachine guys.
— BigDipper - I guess I shouldn't be surprised but it seems that Mr. Baer never learned about split infinitives.— factsarestubbornthings
- Poor Little Rickie you couldn't help yourself, your self destructive envy has probably put the nail in your pathetic political career. Once Romney becomes President you shall be forever be considered and outcast and a kook. So feed negative stories to your buddies in the liberal media all you want but the smart people are not listening to you. You shall be relegated to the land of Ron Paul and Linden Larouche.— Speak-truth-2-power
- Mr. Baer why don't you critique the flick about "Obama's America 2016." I'm sure we would all love to see your take on it. Unless you do not have the stomach for it.— FocusTruthFully
- Interesting...not since Joe (not LIAR/LIAR) stood up to his party before becoming an independent after he was censured, has a dumbocrat questioned Obama. So John, what's your point other than proof that republicans are not attached at the hip the way your party is?— lefty
- Mr. Romney has few topics about which he can now speak. One by one, the substantive topics for debate are disappearing, deemed too problematic for the Romney campaign to address. Business acumen, experience as governor, US Olympics, Romney budget, women's issues, immigration reform, all toxic. Mr. Romney is reduced to dragging out the birther baggage to pad his stump speeches and give his base a few crumbs. And to call attention away from his flip-flopping on all important issues.
But what is the single issue on which Mr. Romney has never flip-flopped? He stands doggedly firm on never, under any circumstances, releasing his tax returns.
Why?
It is not just liberals who want to see Romney's tax returns.
It is 63% of American voters who do.
The longer Mr. Romney delays, the more suspicious it appears.
Obama released 8 years of tax returns
GW Bush 10 years
Clinton 12 years
GHW Bush 14 years
George Romney 12 years.
What is there to hide?
Release the tax returns, Mr. Romney.
— MGarr - Well Said MGarr. And all true. — CommonSense in Philly
- A lot of ignorant leftwing comments. America will lose if Obamaa+ wins. It's all about the failed record and the ruinous ideology.— Thoughtful&concernedvoter
- Romney is a joke and Santorum knows it. Just saw on the news this morning where they recapped Paul Ryan's introduction to the Romney ticket. Mitt the Twitt introduced Ryan as the Next President OF The United States!! LOL. Romney is an A-Hole, and all you Conservatives are falling in line behind him and will follow him lock step right off the the edge! Dopes Dopes Dopes— CommonSense in Philly
- Commonsense, your lack of same is truly breathtaking.— Mirror
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About this blog
John Baer has been covering politics and government for the Daily News since 1987. The National Journal in 2002 called Baer one of the country's top 10 political journalists outside Washington, saying Baer has, "the ability to take the skin off a politician without making it hurt too much." E-mail John at baerj@phillynews.com.
John is the author of the book "On The Front Lines of Pennsylvania Politics: Twenty-Five Years of Keystone Reporting" (The History Press, 2012). Reach John at baerj@phillynews.com.
John Baer
Daily News Political Columnist
John is the author of the book "On The Front Lines of Pennsylvania Politics: Twenty-Five Years of Keystone Reporting" (The History Press, 2012). Reach John at baerj@phillynews.com.
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