As polls show Rick Santorum leading in Tuesday’s Minnesota caucuses and Missouri’s beauty-contest primary, the Mitt Romney campaign has turned its fearsome attack machine on the conservative former senator from Pennsylvania.
Santorum, while dinging Romney for negative politics, obviously seems to love the credibility that being a target brings to his campaign.
The Romney critique has centered on Santorum's record in the Senate as a seeker and defender of “earmarks,” the now-restricted practice by which federal appropriations are directed toward pet projects in a lawmaker’s state or district, outside the normal agency review process.
On Monday, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a former presidential candidate himself who now is backing Romney, called Santorum a “leading earmarker and pork-barrel spender” during a conference call with reporters.
Asked to predict the outcome of his state’s caucuses, Pawlenty declined but noted that it will be competitive and that caucus-goers tend “to gravitate toward the perceived most conservative candidate.”
Pawlenty said that Santorum has a “credible campaign” and has earned the scrutiny, citing stronger showings in recent polls that indicate the possibility of higher finishes than the third and fourth places he got in Nevada, Florida and South Carolina.
Indeed, Newt Gingrich’s campaign appears to have stalled after his strong Jan. 21 win in the South Carolina primary. In the wake of the Nevada caucuses Saturday, some conservative commentators have argued that Santorum might be the stronger right-wing alternative to Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.
“He's a credible candidate and deserves to be right in the middle of the back-and-forth of the campaigns, and I think that’s what you see happening,” Pawlenty said.
Campaigning in Rochester, Minn., Santorum both parried and welcomed the attack. (incidentally, a guy in a pink pig costume was picketing the event)
“This is typical Romney," Santorum said, the news site Politico reported. “This is a situation where someone is now doing well, rising in the polls, and instead of Governor Romney going out and talking about, you know, his plans and what he's going to do, he goes out and throws the kitchen sink.”
Added Santorum, “He simply goes out and attacks and tries to destroy. I don't think it's going to work this time.”
Do people actually vote for Ricky, or is it a protest vote against Anybody But Mitt?— PelosiForPrez- Pennsylvania's tart, GOP's national blossom :-)
Rick stinks; but GOP stinks even worse.— Seed - Shouldn't Ricky be praying for Terri Schiavo?— Vituperator
- Santorum IS unelectable. I know the GOP faithful have no interest in Romney and the poll numbers are WAY DOWN from '08. This is not a winning combination.— chasing history
- Has the GOP really sunk that far that Santorum is a choice ? I'm seeing a double digit victory for the President in November.— BobSG
- one candidate is gonna go after the other? no way really?????????????— 420Phillie
- Santorum is not going to last beyond the end of March---he's too far out. No reason make earmarks an issue--they stink for both sides. Oh wait until the issues of BHO comes up and then the Demos restructuring of our economy and unpayable deficits---kind of like mortgage foreclosure redux at federal level and we'll see who don;t get elected---still there is no leadership in the country and Romney has to answer his position on the cult that is LDS--he needs to assure that there will be a firewall to them and their values relative to women, history with blacks and multilayer marketing organization---OR Anybody but BAMACRATIC will not hold up for another election.— Obamasfool
- Lil Ricky is a potato head like Terry Schaivo.— Jimmy CrackHead
- Obama will win by a slight margin in 2112. Then, if his administration doesn't bring us to the brink of armageddon by 2016, a republican ticket headed up by Marco Rubio with Chris Christie as VP will set a record for accomplishing the larger landslide in presidential history. Let it be written, let it be done!— lefty
Comment removed.- Yeh, seriously. I really think that even though Obama doesn't deserve a second term, you'll be there pulling his chain, I mean lever.— lefty
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