Britney Ryan (’13)
As the Republican debates continue, Mitt Romney has consistently been a frontrunner in the conservative polls. His position as a clear leader has been challenged recently by the emergence of Rick Santorum on the campaign trail. The former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania has been making waves, winning four states in the primaries, which made him the second leader after Romney. With a current delegate count of 71, Santorum is posed to steal the race for the Republican presidential candidate from right under Romney’s nose.
The Romney campaign clearly have noticed the rising popularity of Santorum, and this past weeks debate in Arizona provided opportunity to bring up some inconsistencies in Santorum’s record in front of the primary voters. Romney questioned Santorum’s support in the 2004 Republican primary in Pennsylvania for Senator Arlen Spector. Though at the time a conservative, Spector switched to the Democratic Party in 2008 and voted in support of President Obama’s health reform plan. While Santorum defended his support of Spector, Romney was not finished questioning the past decisions of the former senator.
The most unfortunate sound bite of the evening came from Santorum when discussing George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind education law. The former senator was quoted as saying that he voted for it even though “it was against [his] principles.” Republicans want a candidate who will stand by his convictions—something that Santorum has been unable to do.
All things considered, this was not the best way for Santorum to win the vote of Arizona in this Tuesdays primary. Unfortunately, being a Senator and having a history of decisions does not always play into potential candidates favors. Romney efficiently exploited the weaknesses of Santorum’s past choices, and Santorum did no favors to himself by admitting to choosing politics over values. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the voting.