Santorum’s record in congress is generally one of favoring bigger government and more spending – not atypical during the Bush years where Santorum served in Senate leadership. (See the Club for Growth’s first fact-check on Santorum, earmarks, and the “Bridge to Nowhere” for more information on Santorum’s spending record during the Bush era.) That Santorum might be better relative to other members of Congress is irrelevant: the claim about him is an absolute statement.
It’s impossible to say that Santorum is 100% a “big government conservative” because he did vote for many things that limited government, but it is certainly clear that Santorum’s record reveals a Member of Congress who stood on the side of big government on several major issues more than he did on the side of fiscal conservatism and economic freedom.
It’s impossible to say that Santorum is 100% a “big government conservative” because he did vote for many things that limited government, but it is certainly clear that Santorum’s record reveals a Member of Congress who stood on the side of big government on several major issues more than he did on the side of fiscal conservatism and economic freedom.
The deal is that he supported the agenda of a sitting GOP President. This is what most Senators will do. That is why a moderate Republican President is more dangerous than a leftist Democrat.