No, Senator Santorum, Obama and Romney aren’t the same

Hot Air ^ | March 22, 2012 | Ed Morrissey

[RobinMasters]

As someone who supports Rick Santorum for President, and who will caucus tomorrow in the next phase of Minnesota’s political process as a delegate, I understand the need to replace Barack Obama in 2012 in order to right the American ship of state and address the serious problems that Obama has either created, amplified, or ignored over the last three years. I do, however, wonder whether Senator Santorum understands that need. Yesterday, as Allahpundit noted with excellent analysis, Santorum told a Louisiana audience that if Mitt Romney won the nomination, we’d be better off sticking with what we’ve already got:

“You win by giving people a choice. You win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country, not someone who’s just going to be a little different than the person in there. If you’re going to be a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk with what may be the Etch A Sketch candidate of the future,” Santorum told a crowd at USAA.

Er, no, we wouldn’t be better off with Obama than with Romney, for many reasons. Before we get to those reasons, let’s note that Newt Gingrich, at least, does get this right:

[Dante3]

Obama: Eric Holder; suing states that want to prevent voter fraud; position on illegal aliens; Solantra; dislike of this country; lack of administrative experience; many others.

I was a Santorum supporter in spite of his support for Specter, etc. He did well in debates and is the most conservative of the candidates. But this statement is so far out that it will only cost him support and reveal he is not ready to take on Obama. What a shame.

[sodpoodle]

Criticizing the candidates’ FReeper supporters is unproductive.

The discussion should be based on the candidates, their experience, their policy proposals and ability to communicate a conservative message.

[MIchaelTArchangel]

If we ignore the color of their skin and try to delve into their character, we are left wondering what the difference is between Romney and Obama. Both have no core convictions. Both will say anything to get elected. Both will do whatever they want the Constitution be damned.

The only differences I really see other than pigmentation are one has ears that stick out and one plays basketball and golf to excess.

[Girlene]

I don’t see what the point is of making a big deal out of the statement.

Well, there must be a point. Have you seen the large thread about this subject? I guess FReepers want the primary over. Never thought I'd see such a pro-Romney thread on FR. lol.

[Diogenesis]

Romney Hates America, too.
If the GOP is defined by backstabbing, RomneyCARE,
pandering and the rest, WE WILL NOT VOTE FOR ROMNEY.

"As U.S. real output grew 13 percent between 2002 and 2006, Massachusetts trailed at 9 percent.
* Manufacturing employment fell 7 percent nationwide those years, but sank 14 percent under Romney, placing Massachusetts 48th among the states.
* Between fall 2003 and autumn 2006, U.S. job growth averaged 5.4 percent, nearly three times Massachusetts' anemic 1.9 percent pace.
* While 8 million Americans over age 16 found work between 2002 and 2006, the number of employed Massachusetts residents actually declined by 8,500 during those years.
"Massachusetts was the only state to have failed to post any gain in its pool of employed residents," professors Sum and McLaughlin concluded.
In an April 2003 meeting with the Massachusetts congressional delegation in Washington, Romney failed to endorse President Bush's $726 billion tax-cut proposal."
[Cato Institute annual Fiscal Policy Report Card - America's Governors, 2004.]

---

Alex Beam: “In truth, Ronald Reagan
and Mitt Romney have as much in common
as Cardinal O’Malley and Conan O’Brien.
Deservedly or not, Reagan earned a reputation for constancy.
Once he turned against communism, he opposed it big-time.
…. And our former governor? Inconstancy, thy name is Mitt!
A woman’s right to choose? Yes! No! Yes!
Are we in Massachusetts? Yes! Are we in Iowa? No!
Are we on TV? Whatever!”

[Sybeck1]

Santorum wins big Saturday and the story changes. I am for Newt, but Rick is better than Willard.

Can anybody name the two candidate that socialized medicine in there jurisdictions when they had a chance?

[LibLieSlayer]

True... obama is a muslim.

LLS

[old school]

“It’s almost comical to see the Newt crowd just gloat over this gaffe.”

That’s childish! This isn’t a game. We’re not electing anyone to the all-star team. It’s about who we think is best suited to defeat Obama and the democrats. To say were for or against some candidate because of some intemperate remark made in a political context is ridiculous. In unguarded moments, they’ve all done it. I’m not a Romney supporter but I thinker Obama’s a bigger threat right now.

[Guenevere]

No...Drudge has stepped into the dark side....He's a Romney guy all the way.

Must be nice to have your own personal webpage promoting your candidacy, eh Mitt.

Drudge has jumped the shark into loss of credibility

Sad really......

[JLAGRAYFOX]

I would urge and request the voters in tomorrow’s Louisiana POTUS primary to vote for any candidate other then Rick Santorum!!! The words uttered by Santorum are uncalled for and unacceptable. Barack Hussein Obama is a serial liar, an America hater, an adoree of the anti-American “Muslim Brotherhood, a follower of America haters, Wright, Jones, Ayers, Alinsky, Jarrett, Holder, Farrakhan, Sharpton, Jackson, etc., etc. I would vote for a blind monkey, with one hand tied behind his back, before I would cast a ballot for Obama. Rick Santorum in not only toast, he is burnt toast. For goodness sakes, Obama is the absolute worst President our country has ever had. How Santorum could have uttered the words he said has to make one wonder if Mr. Santorum has all his marbles.

[LibLieSlayer]

It will not be long before Jim Robinson will have to make a decision... mine has been made. I will NEVER vote for romney for any reason and I have been upfront and vocal about that since the last election. I have written letters, sent faxes and made phone calls to the rnc and the leadership. I have done all that I can, including voting for Newt in our Primary. If FR decides to back romney... I will not be a part of that Amen chorus.

LLS

[JediJones]

Romney is right in bed with Obama on economic policy as well. His left-wing record on economics follows. Here is all the evidence you need that he’s the next John Corzine, i.e. a liberal high-finance businessman who’s incompetent on government fiscal policy and cannot be trusted...

* Socialized medicine under Romneycare, his staff went on to help design Obamacare

* Taxpayer-funded abortion through Planned Parenthood

* Raised taxes/fees to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars in Massachusetts, including 400% hike in the gas tax

* Massachusetts ranked 47th out of 50 in job creation under his tenure as governor

* Wants taxes to be higher on people making $200,000 or more; even Obama only wants them higher on $250,000 or more

* The Wall Street Journal said his tax plan is “timid” and similar to Obama’s

* Said the poor are doing just fine by being stuck in the safety net and he isn’t concerned with them

* Refused to speak out in favor of John Kasich’s efforts in Ohio to curb union abuses

* Said the minimum wage should be indexed to inflation, a classic bleeding heart liberal job-killing policy

* Believes in the class warfare mantra that creates policies to help some classes but not others

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Santo won't win big tomorrow. If he does win, it will be within 5 points. And, you keep on thinking that if Santorum wins the nomination, the White House is his. Why is that?

[wallcrawlr]

For Rick to be right then Rush must be wrong because even he has been stating for months that any Republican candidate is better then Obama.

If we don’t put decent candidates in the House and Senate to back him up at a local and federal level then it wont matter because the Repub Pres is not going to make the necessary changes anyways.

And I’d say the socialist disaster has been happening for many many years with uncontrollable spending. There has been shared responsibility in never ending it.

[FryingPan101]

Santorum is a loose cannon. A disgrace. His delusions of granduer have seized his ability to reason. He had dreams of being the first Italian-American immigrant son and Catholic to grab the reins of politics. Instead of playing with the knobs of an etch a sketch before a distinguished group like USAA in San Antonio, he should be sitting in a corner playing with his navel. Newt has been drowned out because of Santorum. The ongoing debate between Romney and Newt was important. Thanks to people like Mark Levin, Santorum has been made into some special answer to Conservative questions. He was not the answer, my friend! There. I said it! Drop out, Rick. Let the primary dust settle so we can get about the business of winning this election. Take your petty silliness to some other arena like a kitchen table. I understood the point Romney’s aide was making with the etch a sketch analogy. It was a stupid comparison but I got it. Candidates have always talked about running toward the right in primaries and ending up in the center for generals.

[JediJones]

Etch a Sketch just hit the campaign trail for the year because you know Obama will use it , too.

Yep, this is the John Kerry windsurfing moment of 2012. Romney is now more unelectable than ever. As far as I saw, Drudge never even mentioned the Etch-A-Sketch gaffe on the top of his page. It only appeared lower down later in the day with a defensive headline saying it wasn't that bad, or something. It's stunning how many supposed Republicans swallow Drudge's sludge. I thought after years of dealing with the MSM they'd be better at detecting liberal bias in the media. Rick was simply voicing what he thought the average voter would think, he wasn't advocating voting for Obama over Romney. Just like with ABC, Drudge is working in coordination with the MSM directly to sabotage conservative Republicans, in this case by cooking up a bogus headline that doesn't represent what the candidate actually said.

[throwback]

The truth hurts. Obamacare is the biggest socialist power grab by the Federal government in a generation. Romney advocated a program just like it. Do a Google search and you'll find the Left is in full agreement that Romneycare is the forerunner of Obamacare. Romney would approve the Keystone pipline, but if he would not do due diligence to remove the beginnings of a takeover of 1/6th of the economy is he really different on the big things?

[Girlene]

psycho-freep, your response makes no sense. Here's my post:

...."I would expect no less of a headline from Drudge these days."...........

Here's your response:

You hardly would think of blaming your pathetic candidate for something he did to cause the uproar in the first place.

I can recall 10 different major gaffes from Santorum in the last month alone. Since he suddenly became a front runner in the last 2 months, it is quite obvious that he seriously lacks the ability to be a great leader. His entire candidacy is a complete joke, and his followers keep on having to explain what he “really meant”, or what he was “actually saying”.

Santotum is in WAY over his head, as are his ignorant supporters. And this is why we are losing. All blame belongs to the source, (Santorum himself) not the press, or the Newt supporters.

I made a comment on Drudge's jumping on the bandwagon about this topic as part of his continuing endorsement of Romney. You went on some tirade about blaming "my pathetic candidate" (your words not mine). ???????

Or is it because you will use any excuse to bash Santorum and anyone who might consider supporting him? I don't know, just guessing. lol

[lonestar]

Do you think what Santorum says should be hidden?...when it shows what he really thinks.

I don't like Romney but I am sick of Rick!

[joe fonebone]

Here are the choices...

White version of fubo with an r after his name.

The bushes fourth term.

Nut job through and through.

Pissed off former conservative revolution leader, smarter and more savvy than the rest combined.

Did I miss anything?