“Governor Romney asked for that earmark,’’ he said. “That’s really the point here. He’s out there on television ads right now, unfortunately, attacking me for saying that I’m this great earmarker, when he not only asked for earmarks for the Salt Lake Olympics in the order of tens of millions of dollars, [he] sought those earmarks and used them.’’
The former Massachusetts governor seized the offensive in the first debate since Santorum took the lead in national polls and moved into a close battle with Romney for the lead in Michigan and Arizona. Romney subjected Santorum to withering attacks throughout the evening.
Santorum sought to challenge Romney as well. But in perhaps his biggest event in the race, he was often pushed into lengthy explanations of years-old votes he said he now regrets.
The audience, as in past debates, was lively and vocal and often interrupted Santorum with boos when he waded into arcane legislative language to explain his deviations from conservative orthodoxy.
The debate, sponsored by CNN, was the 20th of the primary season but the last before the Michigan and Arizona primaries and before 10 states vote on Super Tuesday, March 6.
Romney put Santorum on the defensive by ticking off item after item in his rival’s long record in Congress that he said were inconsistent with conservative principles. Romney pointed, for example, to spending bills that Santorum supported that included financing for Planned Parenthood, and to Santorum’s support for Arlen Specter, a Republican who later turned Democrat, instead of a conservative Republican challenger in the 2004 Pennsylvania Senate race.
Santorum accused Romney of raising taxes and fees as governor of Massachusetts and using federal money to prop up the state’s universal health care law.
He also pointed out that the Massachusetts Constitution required Romney to balance the budget.
