Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Paul A. Rahe ·
February 15, 2012 at 7:39pm
Anyone inclined to be misled by the Romney advertisement posted by Troy Senik below should read the article Was Santorum a Senate Spendthrift? posted by Jeffrey Anderson and Andy Wickersham on the website of The Weekly Standard. It turns out that the National Taxpayers Union -- no friend to big spenders -- consistently gave Rick Santorum higher grades than almost any other Republican Senator.
Santorum has his weaknesses. But in this particular he is unassailable. What will the Romney people do next? Accuse him of having committed nepotism with his own sister?
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Feb '12
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Skyler: The good news is that Romney is going to fight hard to beat Obama, and will use every means he can to stop Obama from continuing as president.
The bad news is that Romney will be president. · 1 hour ago
Romney is incapable of fighting hard to beat Obama because he does not understand what the election is about. He thinks it is about competence and experience. Those are both distantly secondary considerations. The election is about our freedom, and about whether, to coin a phrase, government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall perish from the earth. Santorum understands this and says it. Romney does not understand it, has not said it, and will not say it.
Sep '10
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Santorum is more conservative than Romney and Romney will look foolish trying to say the opposite. Santorum is more qualified in the foreign policy area but does not have the executive experience of Romney. When challenged on this Santorum might be smart to offer to make Romney his chief of staff. That clearly is a position Romney is qualified for.
Mar '11
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Stuart Creque
Paul A. Rahe: For the record, I have never wanted to commit nepotism with my sister, I would like to do so with my wife, but I have never been able to offer her a job. · 3 minutes ago
Edited 2 minutes ago
To my great shame, all of my daughters have dabbled in thespianism. · 8 minutes ago
I used to be both a philatelist and a numismatist, when I was young and reckless.
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
A low blow, a low blow!
Feb '11
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Paul A. Rahe
A low blow, a low blow! · 11 minutes ago
But a very funny one!
Apr '11
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Chris Deleon
I guess Santorum's intervening votes since then don't mean anything, do they?
By the way, I'm actually for protectionist tariffs in certain circumstances. How about you? · 53 minutes ago
Edited 52 minutes ago
In the bit that you snipped, I discussed his improvement and the reasons for it. Around half of my double length comment was on it. Did you not read the comment, or do you have some argument for why you could describe it in that way in good faith?
I'm not for protectionist tariffs under any circumstances. I do favor sanctions as a punitive measure to respond to unlawful behavior. I've worked on both sides of that dichotomy, against Iraqi tariffs and implementing sanctions against Iran.
May '10
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Leporello
Romney is incapable of fighting hard to beat Obama because he does not understand what the election is about. He thinks it is about competence and experience. Those are both distantly secondary considerations. The election is about our freedom, and about whether, to coin a phrase, government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall perish from the earth. Santorum understands this and says it. Romney does not understand it, has not said it, and will not say it. · 34 minutes ago
Excellently well put.
Apr '11
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
katievs
Leporello
Romney is incapable of fighting hard to beat Obama because he does not understand what the election is about. He thinks it is about competence and experience. Those are both distantly secondary considerations. The election is about our freedom, and about whether, to coin a phrase, government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall perish from the earth. Santorum understands this and says it. Romney does not understand it, has not said it, and will not say it. · 34 minutes ago
Excellently well put. · 1 minute ag
This, to me, is the telling point.
Feb '12
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Hey, thanks, guys. I think I'll cut out, now that I'm ahead. :)
Apr '11
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Paul A. Rahe
A low blow, a low blow! · 11 minutes ago
Romney isn't saying that Santorum is less conservative than Romney, but that he's worse on spending, which is true. He could also make the argument on trade, labor law, Specter endorsements, and so on. The headline label doesn't mean that all the subheadings under it conform.
Nov '11
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Leporello
Romney is incapable of fighting hard to beat Obama because he does not understand what the election is about... The election is about our freedom, and about whether, to coin a phrase, government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall perish from the earth... Romney does not understand it, has not said it, and will not say it. · 37 minutes ago
But Romney does say this. If you doubt whether he truly means it -- you have reason. But coming from anyone else, we would call this good:
"For three years we have suffered through the failures not only of a weak leader, but of a bankrupt ideology."
"They think government knows better – and can do better – than a free people exercising their free will. And this President is the worst offender. Barack Obama is the poster child for the arrogance of government.
"...it’s going to come down to a choice between whether we want to be a nation of and by Washington … or a nation of and by a free people."
"To change Washington, we must change the relationship between government and citizen. These are moral choices that will define us for generations to come."
Edited on February 15, 2012 at 10:52pmMay '10
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
I guess Romney is not your man then, since he supports slapping tariffs on China.
A position I can actually agree with, depending on the circumstances.
My point here? No one is perfect for everyone here, and we're arguing relative merits. It's clear to most of us that on the balance of the issues, Santorum is more conservative, and more consistently so, than Romney. Attacking Santorum with distortions of his record, or cherry-picked votes, to make us like him less, will not make us like Romney any more or change our minds about him.
Edited on February 15, 2012 at 11:22pmMay '10
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Leigh
Leporello
Romney is incapable of fighting hard to beat Obama because he does not understand what the election is about... The election is about our freedom, and about whether, to coin a phrase, government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall perish from the earth... Romney does not understand it, has not said it, and will not say it. · 37 minutes ago
But Romneydoessay this. If you doubt whether he truly means it -- you have reason. But coming from anyone else, we would call this good:
"For three years we have suffered through the failures not only of a weak leader, but of a bankrupt ideology."
It is good. But you're right, it's not convincing coming from the man who implemented government-mandated health insurance and called it a matter of "personal responsibility".
Someone who can misunderstand the nature and meaning of personal responsibility that egregiously (Gingrich did the same thing) is someone who is not up to slaying the Leviathan looming over us, belching fire and blowing smoke.
Edited on February 15, 2012 at 11:30pmOct '10
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
I don't find NTU's endorsement of Santorum very convincing. Santorum is a "spend through the tax code" kind of guy--and don't get me wrong, I support some of his ideas, like expanding the child tax credit--but I imagine NTU ignores such things.
It's important to emphasize that there are no more free lunches in taxes, and any further cuts will have to be fully paid for. The Bush tax cuts were paid for by the "free" revenue provided by inflation (you can run sustainable deficits of 2-3% of GDP thanks to inflation). We can only do that once.
Jun '11
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
I can't believe I'm writing this, but you know what this thread is giving me a hankerin' for? Another debate!
Let Mortal Kombat begin...again!
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
One thought. This whole thing may be decided right here in Michigan. It is or ought to be Romney territory. But he appears to be under water. Santorum was whiney and even nasty in most of the debates. But he appears in Florida to have found his footing. The humorous advertisement fits in nicely with this.
If Romney cannot carry the state where his father was Governor, he may sink fast. I doubt that attack ads will do the job. Santorum is not Gingrich. He has not painted a target on his back. And Romney would be unwise to get dirty in attacking him. It really could backfire.
Everything could turn on the 22 February debate. Hold onto your hats, folks! Things are going to get hot.
May '10
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Paul A. Rahe: One thought. This whole thing may be decided right here in Michigan. It is or ought to be Romney territory. But he appears to be under water. Santorum was whiney and even nasty in most of the debates. But he appears in Florida to have found his footing. The humorous advertisement fits in nicely with this.
If Romney cannot carry the state where his father was Governor, he may sink fast. I doubt that attack ads will do the job. Santorum is not Gingrich. He has not painted a target on his back. And Romney would be unwise to get dirty in attacking him. It really could backfire.
Everything could turn on the 22 February debate. Hold onto your hats, folks! Things are going to get hot. · 1 minute ago
It's going to be a bumpy ride, isn't it?
I'm just afraid that, starting soon, I won't get anything done until after November.
Oct '10
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
katievs
Leigh
"
It is good. But you're right, it's not convincing coming from the man who implemented government-mandated health insurance and called it a matter of "personal responsibility".
I know the individual mandate is what irks and rallies people the most. But I really think the regulations are much, much worse. The mandate is meant to force people to pay for their own healthcare. On paper, it's a great idea; it's the implementation (the insane regulations) that sucks.
May '10
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Joseph Eagar
I know the individual mandate is what irks and rallies people the most. But I really think the regulations are much, much worse. The mandate is meant to force people to pay for their own healthcare. On paper, it's a great idea; it's the implementation (the insane regulations) that sucks. · 2 minutes ago
I don't see the two as separable.
In any case, what gets my goat is the abuse of language--a vicious stratagem of the left.
Steal a word and concept basic to small government conservatism and use it to mask a big government, liberty killing mandate.
May '10
Re: Rick Santorum, Big Spender?
Romney is aware of this and is already tempering his strategy. Don't expect as much of a carpet-bombing, but do expect a set of positive pro-Romney ads, contrasted with negative anti-Santorum ads. That's OK as long as they're honest.
But also expect falsehoods and unflattering, out-of-context tidbits to "leak" into the press, or be raised by Romney surrogates, a lot more this time. In effect, he'll try to get someone else to pull the trigger for him, so he comes across looking clean.
One advantage Romney has, which is also his disadvantage, is that there's nothing really new we haven't heard about before. There's not much new dirt that could be revealed, but there's also not much he can do to alter the well-known negative parts of his record, for which we rightly wish to pass on his candidacy.
Santorum has a great opportunity, but there's also a risk he could get defined by Romney before he gets a chance to define himself in the public eye.
Edited on February 16, 2012 at 12:08am