Posted on 12/29/2011 1:36:38 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said Thursday that he's "proud" of the money he brought back to his state by way of earmarks, rebuffing new attacks by Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Santorum said that if he were elected president, he would oppose earmarks -- the process by which a lawmaker directs spending to a particular project -- because Congress had placed a temporary moratorium on the practice.
But he didn't back down from new attacks this morning by Perry, who labeled the surging Santorum a "prolific earmarker," and launched a radio ad, to boot, echoing that charge.
"If you look at the Constitution, the Constitution gives the power of the purse to Congress; the Congress is the one that's supposed to spend the money," Santorum said on Fox News. "So the idea that earmarks is somehow against the Constitution or something that is illicit, that the congressman can or shouldn't do is simply, factually incorrect."
He was pressed as to whether the practice should still be encouraged, even if it weren't illegal, because of the public's perception that earmarking contributes to corruption in Washington.
"Ive defended my earmarks in the sense that I'm proud of the money that I did set aside for things that were priorities in my state instead of having bureaucrats do that," Santorum said. "But I've recognized that the American public have sort of seen this as a pox upon the congress and that's where the American public is today and as a president, it's sort of easy for me to say I'll oppose congressional earmarks."
(Excerpt) Read more at firstread.msnbc.msn.com ...
Bottom line? These guys have far more in common with each other than either has in common with the tea party and reformers.
Perry changed parties in 1989, joining Phil Gramm and other conservative Texas Democrats, who now had a true ideological party with a burgeoning Texas GOP.
When Perry campaigned for Lt. Gov. [1998], he and his campaign staff were in it to win and his hard-nosed style was against the "friendly" advice and request of GWB [in re-election bid for Texas Gov] and Rove to run easy against Sharp, a popular democrat (and Aggie friend of Perry's from their A&M years together). Rove wanted to broaden Bush's base for his upcoming White House run. Perry told them he'd run his campaign his own way, because he knew the voters would vote for Bush for Gov. and then cross back over and vote for Sharp (D) for Lt. Gov, if he just walked through the motions like the Bush-Rove team asked him to do.
Perry won the seat for Lt. Gov. -- the first Republican elected to that office since Reconstruction. Now 13 years later and into his 3rd term as Texas governor, the GOP holds a super majority. So Perry has earned his conservative spurs -- fighting both parties!
[The Bushes and Rove supported Kay Bailey Hutchison's primary challenge against Gov. Perry in the 2010 election too]
Rick Perry endorsed Al Gore in the 1988 Democratic Party Primary that Michael Dukakus won.
......."During his time in Congress, [Al] Gore opposed federal funding of abortion, voting in favor of a bill which supported a moment in silence in schools, and voting against a ban on interstate sales of guns. His position shifted later in life after he became Vice President and ran for president in 2000 Source
Gore his wife led the charge on putting warning labels on records back in the 1980s. In fact, Gore had an 84% pro-life record back in the 1980s:http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Al_Gore -- According to ontheissues.org -- Gore had an 84% anti-abortion voting record and voted pro-life 27 times. Evolving Gore the "evolved" Al Gore lost his home state of Tennessee by 80,000 votes and those 11 Electoral votes in his 2000 bid for the presidency.
Perry: Al Gore's gone to Hell
“Likewise, Newt’s supporters have been constantly bashing Santorum for endorsing Specter after Rove & GWB twisted his arm, but they have no problem with Newt endorsing the even more liberal Dede Scozzafava on his own accord.”
I’ll forgive Newt if the Newt supporters forgive Santorum. :)
Gosh, nobody is perfect, but Santorum is as close to being perfect as it gets, and I’m finding it so heart warming when I see interviews of religious folks in Iowa supporting Santorum because he is a good and moral man which tells us there are still a lot of moral voters out there. It will be wonderful to have a moral person in the White House again. Keep praying!
Happy New Year!
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