Santorum sends late-night email to supporters endorsing Romney because "Obama must be defeated."

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rick Santorum is endorsing his one-time bitter rival Mitt Romney in a late-night e-mail to his supporters.

Santorum on Monday urged his supporters to join him in working with the effective Republican nominee to deny President Barack Obama a second term. In his message, Santorum reminded his supporters of areas where he disagreed with Romney during their slog of a primary.

Yet Santorum says that, in his words, "above all else, we both agree that President Obama must be defeated."

During their contest, Santorum bitterly clashed with Romney. At one point, Santorum called Romney the worst Republican in the country to challenge Obama.

The two met on Friday at the office of Santorum's strategist, and Romney sought to assure Santorum of his conservative credentials.

VIDEO ~ Santorum: 'Of course' I'd consider being Romney's running mate !!!

For all the scalding comments Rick Santorum has made about Mitt Romney over the past week, he'd still consider joining the Republican presidential front-runner's ticket.
The trailing GOP candidate talked about that possibility in an interview Monday with the Christian Broadcasting Network.
"Of course," Santorum said, when asking whether he'd consider being Romney's running mate.
"This is the most important race in our country's history. I'm going to do everything I can," he said. "We know their future and all of our children's future is at stake in this election, and I don't want to be the guy who has to sit with my granddaughter 20 years from now and tell stories about an America where people once were free. I don't want to have that conversation."
Asked if he's keeping his options open, Santorum responded: "I'll do whatever is necessary to help our country."
Santorum made the comment a day after he declared in Wisconsin that Romney is "the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama."
Last week, Santorum suggested Americans might as well vote for Obama if Romney wins the nomination -- a remark he later walked back.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/03/26/santorum-course-id-consider-being-romneys-running-mate/#ixzz1qGCgtv2O

Santorum: Restore Don't Ask Don't Tell

Rick Santorum tells FRC head Tony Perkins he will restore Don't Ask Don't Tell if elected.

Santorum Gets Testy Over Joe Paterno, Porn Question

Rick Santorum had a testy exchange Sunday when asked by a Chicago radio host whether his statements about the president and child pornography could be compared to Penn State's response to sexual abuse allegations against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

Santorum's campaign website states that President Barack Obama "seems to favor pornographers over children and families" by failing to prioritize prosecution of child pornographers.

Santorum On Obama 'What A Snob'

Speaking to a crowd at the Americans for Prosperity Presidential forum in Michigan Saturday, Santorum said he planned to "talk to minority communities, not about giving them food stamps and government dependency, but about creating jobs." (CBS News)

A vote tomorrow for Santorum still is a vote for Romney

HT~ LI By William A. Jacobson 

I’m sure this headline drives Santorum supporters wild, and I understand why.  If the roles were reversed, I would feel the same way.

But sometimes reality is what it is.  Both Newt and Santorum have said they will soldier on indefinitely and I don’t doubt their intentions.

But if Romney wins by a commanding margin in Florida — and the polls say that is a strong possibility if not a likelihood — the media narrative and Republican Party pressure will be to stop fighting amongst ourselves in the name of defeating Obama.  Money also will dry up for others.

The reality is that only Newt is within striking distance of Romney tomorrow in Florida, Santorum is the margin of difference, and only Newt tomorrow can derail the narrative of Romney inevitability.

If the narrative of Romney inevitability is derailed, Santorum politically gets to fight on and see if he can stage another Iowa in caucus states or elsewhere.

It’s similar to a general election where a candidate who pulls only high single digits or low teens can result in a plurality for a candidate they do not support.

Unless, of course, the Santorum supporter ultimately would be okay with Romney winning.

And that may be part of the equation.  If a Santorum supporter is okay with Romney as the nominee, really doesn’t want Newt, and wants to vote his or her conscience, then a vote for Santorum makes sense.

Otherwise, it’s wasted.

Update:  Well, they certainly don’t help the situation:

Rick Santorum Surrenders Florida, Leaves State; Heads Home.

All Rick Santorum Supporters, Please Read: Rick has Surrendered Florida, He's Left the State; Gone Home. Should Mitt Romney Win Tuesday Night, the Nominating Process is Over; Mitt Will Be the Nominee. Barracuda Brigade as a Devout Conservative Page is Pleading With You, Do Not Let Romney Win the Nomination Tuesday Night. Romney is No Conservative, You Know That; We Know That. Please Vote for Newt in Florida's Primary. Should Newt Win, the Nominating Process Continues. Rick and Newt Will Be Able to Continue to Espouse All of Our Conservative Values. We're Not Asking Rick to Withdraw. Together We Can Prevent Romney From Becoming the Nominee Tuesday Night, Divided, Romney Will be the Nominee. Barracuda Brigade Does Not Want That, Do You...???


PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP) — Rick Santorum is tired, almost broke — and going home.

The former Pennsylvania senator is taking a pause from Florida campaigning just days before the Tuesday primary that even he expects to deal him a third consecutive loss.

Santorum says he would rather spend his Saturday sitting at his kitchen table doing his taxes than campaigning in a state where the race for the Republican presidential nomination has become a two-man fight between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

The cash-strapped candidate acknowledges that he simply can't keep up with the GOP front-runners in Florida.

"We're going to talk about the Constitution and talk about being a strong conservative," Santorum said at an event here this week. "And that's all we can do."

Outside advisers are urging him to pack up in Florida completely and not spend another minute in a state where he is cruising toward a loss. But Santorum insisted on Friday that he would return once he has readied his taxes for public release.

"I'm coming back within 24 hours, and I'm here through up to election day," Santorum told Fox News. "I've spent every minute here in Florida, and I'm going to work in Florida."

Santorum has yet to announce his schedule for Florida's primary day. He says it was a mistake for him to remain in South Carolina on its voting day.

"We can't let grass grow," he told reporters Thursday. "South Carolina Election Day was sort of a wasted day for us."

He pledged to continue his campaign regardless of the Florida outcome.

It's a grim period for Santorum, who just three weeks ago was riding high on a strong finish in the Iowa caucuses; after first saying the result was a virtual tie with Romney, the Iowa GOP ultimately declared Santorum the winner. The victory was short-lived. He lost big in both New Hampshire and South Carolina.

He faced an uphill battle even before the race turned to Florida. He doesn't have the money to spend on television ads in Florida's expensive media markets. He couldn't compete with the thousands-strong crowds his rivals have been drawing. And he wasn't able to find a moment here that crystalized the rationale for his candidacy.

"Other candidates tell you they need your help," Santorum told Florida Republicans this week, almost pleading. "They're lying. I really need your help."

But help didn't come — at least in this state — for a candidate who is visibly exhausted and running on, at most, four hours of sleep each night.

So Santorum is going home to Pennsylvania, which he represented in the Senate, and Virginia, where he lives with his wife and seven children, to get some rest and, he says, prepare his own taxes. He also plans fundraisers in both states as he works to rebuild his campaign account to pay for upcoming contests in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado.

Santorum also is looking at Arizona and Michigan, states that vote at the end of February — if he makes it that far.

His inner circle of advisers is looking at the campaign checkbook. They say they can keep a lean campaign rolling in case Gingrich or Romney implode.

"This race is just starting. It's a three-man race," Santorum insists. "We're going to be in this race for the long term."

For now, at least, polls show Santorum dramatically trailing in Florida, the largest and most diverse state in the early nominating schedule. And he seems to be coming up short as he tries to win over voters with his everyman persona.

"I wish he had a little more passion in the belly," said Don Waldt, a Punta Gorda retiree who attended a Santorum rally at dusk this week. "He is conservative and authentic. But he isn't on top and doesn't seem to have a clear path to the top."

Santorum hints at leaving FL before Tuesday primary

NAPLES, FL -- Failing to show early signs of momentum in the Sunshine State, presidential hopeful Rick Santorum on Wednesday signaled he may be cutting out of Florida before the state's Jan. 31 primary.

Speaking to reporters here, the former Pennsylvania senator said was unsure if he would be in Florida the night of the primary, committing only to campaigning in the state over the next two days. On Saturday, he'll head home to Virginia for fundraisers and to prepare his tax records which he plans to soon make public.

Santorum said this weekend will be the first time he's slept in his own bed since Christmas.

His campaign has acknowledged that the large and expensive state of Florida would be a tough place to do well. His war chest is dwarfed compared to that of frontrunners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, who each also have well funded Super PACs.  A Quinnipiac Poll released today shows Santorum running nearly 20 points behind the top candidates.

But the GOP hopeful has been seen strong crowds in the South, drawing more than 1,000 supporters to a Megachurch here. And his rhetoric suggests he has no plans to leave the race anytime soon.

"This race has just started.  It's a three man race.  We're going to be in this race for the long term," he said.

Santorum will campaign in the Florida Panhandle on Thursday before tomorrow night's debate in Jacksonville. But plans after that remain fluid, his staff has advised. The candidate has dismissed any change in schedule is a sign of a waining campaign. His trip is a chance to raise money and prepare his tax documents, said Santorum.

"I want to get that issue, you know, out there and behind me so I'm not the guy thats not doing their taxes."

Rick Santorum defends SOPA and says any freedom has to be regulated. Bye Bye Rick !!!

SOPA Is a bill which will allow the U.S Government to regulate the internet and remove websites, Rick Santorum Doesn't think the internet should remain free.

Political Suicide ??? Santorum singles out Blacks for entitlement reform.

While campaigning in Sioux City, Iowa Sunday, GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said if elected he plans to cut regulations and entitlements and he doesn't want to "make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money."

Santorum says debt crisis demands immediate cuts in Social Security, even if it hurts !!!

KEENE, N.H. (AP) -- Risking the wrath of older voters, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is calling for immediate cuts to Social Security benefits and says the country can't wait to phase in reductions as most of his rivals have advocated.


"We can't wait 10 years," even though "everybody wants to," Santorum told a crowd while campaigning in New Hampshire Friday, breaking with opponents who say immediate cuts would be too big a shock to current and soon-to-be retirees.


Calling for cuts in Social Security often triggers strong opposition, and politicians typically suggest phase-in periods of up to a decade when broaching the topic.


Santorum, who was trying to leverage his strong Iowa showing in New Hampshire, argued that everyone must sacrifice now because the nation's "house is on fire" with soaring federal debt. He argued that he is being courageous and honest by telling Americans they can't afford to wait to rein in Social Security's growing costs. And he said he anticipated possible attack ads on his position, four days ahead of New Hampshire's GOP primary.


He made a similar pitch last week in Fort Dodge, Iowa, when he was getting little attention in the GOP race - and before he came from the back of the pack to nearly win the Iowa caucuses.


At that event, Santorum said: "the Democratic National Committee is going to say, 'Ah,... he's for changing benefits now.' Yes, I am. Yes, I am."


"We need to change benefits for everybody now," Santorum said at the time. "Is everybody going to take a little bit of a hit? No, but a lot of people will."


Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, says changes should include a higher eligibility age to qualify for Social Security benefits, and tighter restrictions on benefits for upper-income people. Americans now qualify for reduced Social Security benefits at age 62 and full benefits at 66, soon to rise to 67.


Social Security pays proportionately higher benefits to low-income people. But Santorum says wealthy retirees' proportionate benefits should be trimmed further. He did not offer details.


This week, he told New Hampshire audiences that Americans over 65 were society's poorest age group in 1937, when Social Security was created. Now that group is the wealthiest, he said.


He also noted that Americans now live much longer, putting far bigger demands on the government retirement program.


Santorum offers only modest details on how he would implement his proposed changes. He has not said how much money he hopes to save.


In a brief interview Friday as he plowed his way through a crowd after the Keene event, he was asked if the nation should make the changes now.


"I think we should, yeah," Santorum said. "Obviously we're going to have to go through a debate next year and figure out ways in which to make the revenues meet the expenditures."


He tells voters he would rule out higher taxes or more deficit spending to help the Social Security program. That leaves benefit cuts as the only way to match revenues and costs, he notes.


Santorum's call for immediate benefit cuts puts him at odds with his Republican rivals.


Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who came under fire for calling Social Security a "Ponzi Scheme," tried to recover in part by emphasizing that any changes in benefits would not affect current or soon-to-be retirees.


Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has said in a statement, "we must keep the promises made to our current retirees: their Social Security and Medicare benefits should not be affected."


Like Santorum, Romney has called for increasing the eligibility age for Social Security and slowing benefits to high-income recipients. His aides have said the pace of change has yet to be decided, but soon-to-be beneficiaries would not be affected.


Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich calls for giving younger workers the option of diverting Social Security taxes to private retirement accounts. Some independent groups say his proposal, which is based on a Chilean program and does not anticipate automatic benefit cuts, is unduly optimistic.


President Barack Obama last year discussed possible reductions in Social Security benefits as part of a large debt-reduction deal with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. The talks collapsed, however.


The Romney and Gingrich campaigns had no immediate comment Friday on Santorum's proposals.


A House Republican budget-cutting plan, authored by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would exempt everyone now over 55 from proposed reductions in Social Security benefits.


Ryan and others have said a phased-in change would give Americans time to plan their retirements without surprises. But Santorum says those officials are seeking political cover by delaying their proposed changes.


"That's why you see Paul Ryan saying, `Oh, I'm going to fix Social Security, I'm going to fix Medicare in 10 years,'" Santorum told a crowd Thursday in Northfield, N.H.


He said Ryan assumes, "well, if you're under 55, you won't be paying much attention, right? Well, the problem is, this is not a problem that we can wait 10 years to solve."


Max Richtman, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in an interview that cuts in Social Security benefits are not justified under any timetable.


Santorum, he said, "is willing to change the rules in the middle of the game." He called Santorum's proposals "Ryan on steroids."

Sarah Palin reacts to Santorum's surge, Bachmann's exit and Perry's push forward

Iowa Caucuses Shake Up GOP Field.

Four candidates join Perry in suing Virginia !!!

(CNN) - Four candidates left off the Virginia Republican primary ballot joined Rick Perry Saturday in suing the state's board of elections over laws they say are "unconstitutional."


Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum joined the lawsuit, originally filed Tuesday, challenging provisions that determine who can appear on the primary ballot.


On Wednesday, Gingrich cited fraud as the reason he didn’t make it onto the ballot, laying the blame on one of his campaign's paid volunteers.


"We hired somebody who turned in false signatures. We turned in 11,100 – we needed 10,000 – 1,500 of them were by one guy who frankly committed fraud,” Gingrich said.


On Saturday, Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said they were looking into the petition fraud case, but that their top priority was getting on the ballot.


All five candidates filing the lawsuit failed to qualify for the ballot.


Huntsman, Bachmann and Santorum did not file petitions with the Virginia State Board of Elections that would have allowed them a place in the state's primary. Gingrich and Perry filed petitions that were later rejected by the Republican Party of Virginia for not meeting requirements.


Virginia requires candidates to obtain 10,000 signatures from registered voters in the state, with at least 400 signatures coming from each of the commonwealth's 11 congressional districts.


In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Perry said the statutes of Virginia law that regulate access to the ballot were "among the most onerous in the nation and severely restrict who may obtain petition signatures."


In their release Saturday, Bachmann, Gingrich, Huntsman and Santorum request the board of elections add their names to the ballot, saying it will avoid "unnecessary costs and expenses to the state and the parties" that would be incurred by moving the lawsuit forward.


Immediately after his petition was rejected by the Virginia GOP, Gingrich said he would launch a write-in campaign. It was later determined that Virginia specifically prohibits write-in candidates in primary elections.


Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Rep. Ron Paul both successfully filed petitions to appear on the Virginia ballot.


The state holds its Republican primary on Super Tuesday, March 6.

Radio spot from Perry hits Santorum on earmarks !!!

(CNN) - Rick Perry's campaign wasted no time going after Rick Santorum following the release of a new CNN/Time/ORC International poll that showed the former Pennsylvania senator surging into third place in Iowa.

In a new radio ad released by Perry's team Thursday, Santorum is portrayed as a free-spending Washington insider who voted for earmarks and wasteful spending during his time in Congress.

The ad mimics a game show, asking questions of contestants like "Which Republican running for president voted for the bridge to nowhere?" and "Who personally demanded more that $1 billion in earmarks to his sixteen years in Congress?"

Each time the announcer proclaims the answer: "Rick Santorum!"

The spot features a clip of Santorum saying he was "very proud of the earmarks" he wrote into spending legislation.

"Rick Santorum is proud of feeding at the earmark trough in Congress," Perry's ad proclaims.

Fiasco: Bachmann, Huntsman, Santorum fail to make Virginia ballot

HOT AIR
That’s not even the worst part. The worst part is that Perry and Gingrich, either one of whom could still become the Great Grassroots Hope against Romney, might not have qualified either. You need 10,000 signatures to make the ballot but 15,000 are recommended since a bunch are bound to be thrown out as false or duplicative as the petitions are scrutinized. You also need at least 600 signatures from each of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts. Romney submitted 16,026 and Ron Paul submitted 14,361. Perry’s total: 11,911. Gingrich’s: 11,050. If they end up getting bounced, the Republican primary ballot for one of America’s key swing states will consist exclusively of … Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

You know who that benefits?

Romney was the first Republican presidential candidate to file his petitions. His Virginia campaign chairman, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, delivered them on Tuesday. President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign filed earlier this month.

The State Board of Elections will turn over the petitions to the respective political parties for validating. Republican will begin the process Friday morning and have sought volunteers to help with the process…

The parties have until Tuesday at 5 p.m. to tell the State Board of Elections which candidates qualify for the March 6 primary ballot. The order of names will be decided by lottery on Wednesday.

Larry Sabato expects the state GOP will turn a “blind eye” to any signature problems on Perry’s or Gingrich’s petitions. I’ll bet. Question for political junkies, then: How could Bachmann, Huntsman, and Santorum have failed this epically? Is it a simple matter of lacking the resources to put people in the field collecting signatures or is it a sign of deep organizational dysfunction that should rightly disqualify them from the race? Every day, it seems, the bar for the nomination gets pushed a bit lower by the incompetence of someone running, and every day that makes me ever so slightly and grudgingly more open to the idea of nominating Romney. He gets his ballot homework in early; he doesn’t say catastrophically stupid things at the debates; he doesn’t have any racist newsletters to his record. He is, in other words, a minimally capable candidate, which apparently means he’s more capable than anyone else in the field. The one consolation if he wins is that we don’t have to worry about him, say, spacing on the date to file general-election petitions in Florida. Thank heaven for small favors.

Two clips for you, one from Romney’s PAC tearing into Perry and Gingrich and the other, from 1994, of Romney denouncing … attack ads. Have you noticed, by the way, that you never see an ad from Team Mitt laying out Ron Paul for any of the million shady things he’s said in the past even though he’s the frontrunner in Iowa right now? There’s a reason for that, of course, and Perry and Gingrich really, really,really need to start pointing it out soon. It won’t change any minds among the hardcore Paul fans, but not all of Paul’s supporters in Iowa are hardcore. Some are with him because they’re looking for a Not Romney, they like what he has to say on spending and abortion, and they haven’t heard much yet about those newsletters or the fact that, oh, for example, he wouldn’t have given the order to get Bin Laden. Those people need to understand the implications of their vote and Perry/Gingrich can drive it home to them in nine words: A vote for Paul is a vote for Romney. If they’re aware of that and want to vote Paul anyway, that’s fine, but let’s make sure they realize that they actually can choose the nominee this cycle — namely, Romney — with their vote on January 3rd. And they don’t have to vote for Romney to do it.

Santorum: I Adopted Newt's Vision for Conservative Governance

In the ABC News Presidential Debate at Drake University, Senator Rick Santorum said he listed to Newt's tapes on conservatism when he first ran for Congress.

"[Newt] laid out a vision for conservative governance that I adopted."

Rick Santorum on Moderators: Trump Wouldn't Be Any Worse 'Than What We Get from the Mainstream Media'

The media are all in a tizzy about the idea of real estate tycoon Donald Trump moderating a Republican presidential debate.

On Tuesday, one of the candidates, Rick Santorum, told KLIF substitute radio host Steve Malzberg, "I can't see in some cases where Donald Trump would be any worse than what we get from the mainstream media" (video follows with transcript):

STEVE MALZBERG: What about Donald Trump as a moderator? Is that something you're comfortable with or not?

RICK SANTORUM: Well, I, you know, if you look at and see the, particularly who somebody the mainstream media has put up. You know, Brian Williams I wasn't comfortable with, and I had every right not to be given the questions he asked. Charlie Rose was, I mean, you go on down the list of all the people that they've had, these reporters who have tried to make this debate about them and not about the candidates and what they believe in, and rearranging times to make sure that the people that they wanted to have time get time, I can't see in some cases where Donald Trump would be any worse than what we get from the mainstream media.

MALZBERG: You must have been listening, because that's what I said an hour ago. I said Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper. Blitzer in fact mocked all of you after the debate prior to the CNN debate. He put together a montage, I forget in what context, but it was mocking of all the Republican candidates, and he knew that he was moderating the next one.

SANTORUM: Well, like I said, I mean, these debates have not, I think, reflected well on the media. They've been a lot of gotcha moments. They've been a lot of steering questions to whoever the flavor of the month is, and it's been more about trying to create conflict instead of trying to create light and give candidates really the opportunity to explain their position instead of this, you know, silly 30-second answers to, you know, how do you solve world peace. I mean, those are the things that I think really agitate a lot of the voters out there, and I guess that I'm not too sure Donald Trump will do any worse than any of them.Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/12/06/rick-santorum-moderators-trump-wouldnt-worse-what-we-get-mainstream-m#ixzz1fnldhDbs

Iran Lurching Toward War with the West ???

Rick Santorum weighs in.
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Brian Williams and John Harris moderate a debate between 2012 GOP presidential candidates live from the Reagan Presidential Library

Rick Perry takes the heat but keeps on smiling !!!

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