Santorum cites appeal as reliable conservative

Yahoo News! ^ | 1-1-2012 | ANDREW MIGA

[bimboeruption]

Is he a TRUE, RELIABLE, CONSERVATIVE?

What do you think?

[chevydude26]

What’s his stance economically what is his tax plan? He will probably be like Bush with compassionate conservatism and he’s way to beta to actually beat Obama. We need someone who looks and talks like a leader and isn’t afraid to tell it how it is. Nobody left fits that criteria...Cain should have never dropped out and Palin should have ran.

[garjog]

He is a nice guy who opposed abortion. But, did almost nothing else in his career.

Look, he has never ran a huge organization and has only managed his Senate staff.

It would be on the job training and we know how that worked out last time.

He is lack luster as a speaker or debater.

Just because he is a upstanding moral person doesn’t mean he is the guy for our troubled times.

[Rooivalk]

Is he a TRUE, RELIABLE, CONSERVATIVE? What do you think?

Considering the field I would vote for him

[trumandogz]

“What do you think?”

Does Rick support granting Illegal Aliens In-State Tuition?

Did Rick ever sign a bill giving state funding to Planned Parenthood?

Did Rick attempt to vaccinate 11 year old girls against a Sexually Transmitted Disease?

Did Rick advocate a bi-National Socialized Medicine for the US and Mexico?

Did Rick sign legislation to require school kids to be tested for steroids?

Did Rick sign legislation to use taxpayer dollars to pay for kids braces and provide rides to the dentist?

The answer to each question is Yes and No.

Rick Perry did each of the above.

Rick Santorum is opposed to each.

Now, who is the Real Conservative?

Rick Perry or Rick Santorum?

[COgamer]

“Considering the field I would vote for him”

Me too... None of the front-runners are even close to getting my vote.

[EGPWS]

Is he a TRUE, RELIABLE, CONSERVATIVE?

Relatively speaking in comparison, YES!

[CainConservative]

1998 ACU Ratings: Gingrich 100%, Santorum 84%

1998 was the last year that Gingrich and Santorum were BOTH in Congress.

100% - Gingrich: Annual 1998 ACU Rating (90% Lifetime Rating as of 1998)

84% - Santorum: Annual 1998 ACU Rating (83% Lifetime Rating as of 1998)

Source: http://www.conservative.org/ratings/ratingsarchive/1998/98houseratings.htm

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What did Rick exactly say at one of the debates about how much he admired Speaker Newt? : )

[CARTOUCHE]

Is he a true reliable conservative? WELL, HELL YEAH! If you regard earmarksism a conservative value. Or if you regard losing Pennsylvania in a LANDSLIDE a remarkable feat of conservative politicism. Sure Santorum’s a shoe-in. Rave on!

[EGPWS]

Bachmann
Santorum
Perry
Gingrich

and Mitt can go fight like hell over who is the better BIG government socialist, him or 0bama!

[Utmost Certainty]

A few things of note about Santorum here

- He voted for the 2005 highway bill that included thousands of wasteful earmarks, including the Bridge to Nowhere. In fact, in a separate vote, Santorum had the audacity to vote to continue funding the Bridge to Nowhere rather than send the money to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

- Indeed, Santorum was a prolific supporter of earmarks, having requested billions of dollars for pork projects in Pennsylvania while he was in Congress. Perhaps recognizing the sign of the times, Santorum finally reversed his position in 2010, saying that he was opposed to them , but one must remain skeptical about his sincerity. As recently as 2009, he said, “I’m not saying necessarily earmarks are bad. I have had a lot of earmarks. In fact, I’m very proud of all the earmarks I’ve put in bills. I’ll defend earmarks.”

- And while Santorum voted against the Farm Bill in 2002, he sponsored a bill to extend milk subsidies in 2005, which he claimed he did to “save countless Pennsylvania dairy farmers.”

- An examination of his scores in the NTU rating of Congress shows that Santorum compiled a very strong record on taxes and spending in the first four years of each of his two Senate terms, then a sharp swing to below the Senate Republican average in the Congress before his reelection campaign.

- In the 2003-2004 session of Congress, Santorum sponsored or cosponsored 51 bills to increase spending, and failed to sponsor or co-sponsor even one spending cut proposal. In his last Congress (2005-2006), he had one of the biggest spending agendas of any Republican -- sponsoring more spending increases than Republicans Lisa Murkowski, Lincoln Chafee and Thad Cochran or Democrats Herb Kohl, Evan Bayh and Ron Wyden.

- Santorum also supported raising congressional pay at least three times, in 2001, 2002, and 2003.

- He voted NO on raising the minimum wage in 1995 and 2005. But on the same day he voted NO in 2005, he sponsored an amendment that would increase the minimum wage, which he later boasted about to skeptical voters in a 2006 campaign brochure he released called “50 Things You Didn’t Know About Rick Santorum.”

- In the same “50 Things” campaign brochure, Santorum boasts about sponsoring a bill to regulate “price gouging and unfair pricing by the big oil companies.” This contradicts his opposition to a “windfall profits tax” that Democrats tried to impose on oil companies in 2005. He also voted YES on Sarbanes-Oxley, which was an overreaching bill that tried to tighten accounting regulations following the Enron scandal.

Also see this post.

[sodpoodle]

I have the vision of Santorum on the debate stage - he appeared intimidated and unsure of himself - also angry and whiny when he felt he was being ignored by the lefty moderators.

It takes no spine to stand up to other wussy GOP colleagues - but it does take courage to fight DemocRATs. Has he ever done that?

[freespirited]

Is he a TRUE, RELIABLE, CONSERVATIVE?

On social issues, yes. On fiscal, no. Have you noticed how little he has talked about the economy in his campaign. I think it has been a mistake on his part.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

wOOt!!

GO RICK

[Theodore R.]

I was for Santorum before I was for any of the others. I can
‘t imagine the field being open in that the establishment has nailed it shut with Romney. Santorum 2012, Why Not? Less Baggage

[Theodore R.]

Having voted seven times in the past for Rick Perry, I am now ready for the other Rick. Santorum 2012. Less baggage.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Santorum is a George Bush Compassionate Conservative. Good on social issues like abortion but horrible on earmarks and spending. He was in charge of the GOP.lobbying effort in the Senate.

[SatinDoll]

Both Ricks are big government politicians.

I found this on another thread:

We tend to forget all of Santorum’s garbage because of his strong social values, likeability, and more importantly, he has had a couple years to buffer himself from his history in Congress and from the old boys group he associated with when he was there. But WE NEED TO REMEMBER Santorum received more campaign funds from lobbyists in 2006 than any other member on The Hill at that time, even more than John Murtha and Tom Delay ever did, met regularly with K Street lobbyists every Tuesday morning as a Senator, loves earmarks for special interests and still defends them today, and believes it is fine to keep collecting federal tax dollars to give to Congress to determine what lobbyist-driven projects the Congress would like to provide funds for back in the states.

Having home schooled all my children to the time they all entered college, and having had to live a sacrificial life as a family for us to have done so, I am ALSO very put off by the Santorum family taking over $100,000 of state entitlements from Pennsylvania just to home school their children with a public-school-provided virtual school (not actually even permitted since they lived in Virginia and should have lost the almost $7,500 per child / per year entitlement they were being paid by Pennsylvania just to home school their children using a charter-school internet education provided by Pennsylvania for Pennsylvania residents). That is not even mentioning he had to lie about his residence to get it and then was sued by Pennsylvania when they found out (and had to pay some of that back, not all, but some as they settled).

So Rick Santorum pushes old fashioned earmarks and lobbyist connections and he doesn’t mind state entitlements either. That is not fiscal conservatism,..

For me, while I really respect Rick Santorum’s social conservatism, and that is very important to me, I think our country needs a fiscal conservative who can get our country back on track before we completely fall apart economically.

A big government politician like Rick Santorum just couldn’t do that.
****************************************

Thank you for the information on Gov. Rick Perry. He, too, is a big government type who talks about being a fiscal conservative yet isn’t anything of the sort.

[freespirited]

Eric Erickson calls Santorum a “pro-life statist.”

http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/12/29/rick-santorum-earmarxists-and-the-pro-life-statist/

[JohnBovenmyer]

The Speaker of the House rarely casts a vote and thus offers little data from which to compute ACU, or other, ratings. That odd but true fact is often overlooked in comparing Newt's latter years in Congress with other candidates.

As for his lifetime rating, which includes many votes cast before becoming Speaker, then the question of any candidate who's served in Congress should include discussion of whether, like many, they became more liberal the longer they were there or were they one of the few who stayed true. And of those who are several years out of Congress we must look at other evidence whether they've gotten more liberal since leaving Congress.

Newt's record since leaving, IMHO, isn't as good as his record before his Speakership. And although he did accomplish grand things in capturing the House and some as Speaker he wasn't able to defeat Clinton with the (paid) government shutdown and he wasn't able to defend himself well enough to retain the Speakership. Newt's record demonstrates he's smart. It doesn't show he's bulletproof. The left has defeated him, more than once, and has a fat playbook of anti-Newt options. Part of Newt's recent drop in the polls likely results from his failure to survive 'friendly' fire just as much as his rise reflected the then popular opinion that he was a sure bet.

Similar questions should be asked of Santorum or any other candidate. He's not been very vetted yet this go around. However, like Newt, those with long memories should have known quite a bit about Santorum before the campaign started. He had a fairly high profile. The left certainly still remembers him and their continued hate is a good point in his favor.