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After wins, Rick Santorum rips Mitt Romney

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February 09, 2012|By Shira Schoenberg and Bobby Caina Calvan

Rick Santorum spoke to supporters in Missouri last night. (Getty Images )

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, fresh off his upset victories in three non-binding nominating contests, has immediately started attacking the Republican frontrunner, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Speaking in a series of TV appearances this morning, Santorum referred to Romney as “Mr. Big Government.”

On CNN, Santorum said Romney “was for government takeover of health care, was for government takeover of the private sector in the Wall Street bailout, and was for the government takeover of industry and energy with cap-and-trade.”

He pointed out that while Romney has tried to portray himself as a Washington outsider, the only reason he did not spend time in Congress was because he lost his 1994 Senate race against Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy. Santorum said Americans want a leader, rather than a CEO – attacking a core tenet of Romney’s candidacy, that Romney’s business experience makes him best suited to turn the economy around.

Romney had already turned his fire on Santorum before Tuesday’s contests, hitting Santorum for taking earmarks when he was a senator. The attacks on both sides are only likely to intensify after Santorum’s victories in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri, which are giving Santorum momentum in his attempts to become the more conservative alternative to Romney.

For Romney, there was no doubt that the results staggered his momentum after decisive victories in Florida and Nevada, but it’s unclear whether the setback will be sustained or momentary. None of the votes were binding. After Maine completes its caucuses Saturday, the next vote will not be until primaries on Feb. 28 in Arizona and Michigan, where he has been heavily favored.

Yet after Romney banked on his vastly superior organizations in Colorado and Minnesota, his weak showing could persuade more conservatives to flock to Santorum.

Romney spoke directly last night about who carried the day.

“This was a good night for Rick Santorum,’’ Romney told supporters in Denver. “But I expect to become your nominee.’’

He then quickly reassumed a front-runner posture, pivoting into how President Obama’s promises, many made in Denver when he accepted the Democratic nomination, have been barren and peppering his speech with a mantra he uses often in stump speeches: “President Obama has failed, and we will succeed.’’

The Missouri primary was considered little more than a straw poll, with the actual delegates decided at the state caucuses on March 17. And both caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado were nonbinding, with the delegates distributed at state conventions in the weeks to come.

Yet, the decisive wins by Santorum were startling: