Santorum on Romney ad: 'Yuck'

By NBC's Andrew Rafferty

FLORENCE, SC -- Rick Santorum has only one word to describe the pro-Mitt Romney Super PAC television ad now running in South Carolina and Florida.

"Yuck."

The presidential hopeful said today that the Restore Our Future ad -- which claims Santorum voted to allow convicted felons vote -- is dishonest. "Now Gov. Romney has taken that and said Rick Santorum is for felons voting, and that is a lie," he told a crowd of nearly 150 people packed into Percy & Willie's restaurant. "And by the way, I think there is only two states that don't allow that. And so to go out and mislead the people of South Carolina as to what our record is on this, is just yuck."

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Instead, Santorum said he supported a measure that would allow felons who have successfully completed parole to apply to have their voting rights restored.

The former Pennsylvania senator pledged to run a campaign based on integrity that would not "make claims about someone else that aren’t factually based." But he did not rule out going negative, the infamous pledge presidential rival Newt Gingrich made and has since broken. It was negative ads from the Romney Super PAC that have largely been credited for Gingrich's drop in the polls.

"I know a lot of candidates have been very upset about Gov. Romney and his PAC and what he’s doing attacking, as you know, Gov. Romney and Congressman Paul have been running for now for three states, a pretty hard negative campaign, which I think tells you a little bit about what they think of their ability to appeal to people’s better sides that now they have to go out there and just hammer everybody out there," said Santorum.

"If you do it legitimately that's fine, if you do it legitimately. But repeatedly I think Cong. Gingrich has made the comment, made the point that Gov. Romney has not been accurate in what his assessment is," he added.

With a spike in the polls and yesterday's endorsement from a group of conservative leaders, the Santorum campaign will have deeper pockets than ever before. The hit from Romney supporters shows he being taken seriously as a contender, but learning from Gingrich's fall in Iowa, there will be increased pressure for him to respond to the negative ads and mailers now beginning to flood the Palmetto State.

"I expect that from Barack Obama I don’t’ expect that from a Republican running for president," said Santorum.

"We are better than that."

Explore related topics: decision-2012, mitt-romney, rick-santorum, andrew-rafferty, embed-santorum

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fire.camp

...i have one word to describe all republican candidates and their rhetoric: yuck! why would anyone want to vote for any of them after the things they have said about each other, and what obama will add when the campaigns get into swing? now huntsman has dropped out of the race and endorsed romney, someone who was not suitable as a candidate just a week ago! what cabinet post was promised in return for the endorsement? politicians are like cat litter in a house with three cats--they need to be changed regularly!

1 vote

#78 - Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:38 PM EST

marty-2890428

Now that the evangelicals have come out for Santorum, I say YUCK!!!! S.C. is poised to vote for Romney, the only man who can never represent the poor working people of S.C.. Romney was gracious enough to give a lady $50.00 for her light bill, really, $50.00. I have a smalll home and havent seen a light bill for less than $165.00 in over three years. As a S.C. resident, the poorest of the poor southern states, high unemployment, worst schools in the country, we have what we call the corridor of shame- schools with sewage in the halls, roofs falling in, buildings as old as 100 years old, highest teen pregnacies, right to work state, ( meaning no rights at all for workers). I am allways amazed to see uninformed toothless rednecks vote against their own best intrest, time and time again. To my fellow South Carolinians, vote for your needs, leave your hate at home, your hate for people of color, your hate for sexual orientation you dont agree with. Vote for yourself for a change. You cant believe that Mitt Romney knows anything at all about you, born with a silver spoon in his mouth and up his pink little butt too. He dont know us, and wont remember we are in this world should he be elected, he will bypass S.C. like the plague.