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Subscribe to RSSCOLUMBUS, Ohio -- As Mitt Romney spent Saturday in Salt Lake City celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Winter Olympics held there, his chief rival in the Republican presidential race is claiming the games are an example of the former Massachusetts governor's hypocrisy.
Stumping in Ohio, Rick Santorum defended himself against Romney's portrayal of the former Pennsylvania senator as a wasteful spender.
It's an attack Romney has repeated on the campaign trail and that a pro-Romney super PAC has made into a TV ad running in Michigan, Ohio and Arizona. The focus is on Santorum's record on earmarks; the ad contends he called for projects that counter the fiscal conservative record he touts on the trail.
But it is the 2002 Olympic Games that Romney gets credit in helping rescue that shows the hypocrisy of the attacks, Santorum said Saturday.
"That tells you that all of these scurrilous attacks — Mitt Romney saying, 'Oh well, Rick Santorum voted for earmarks and promoted earmarks.' What he doesn’t tell you is one of Mitt Romney's greatest accomplishments, one of the things he talks about most is how he heroically showed up on the scene and bailed out and resolved the problems of the Salt Lake City Olympic Games," said Santorum.
"He heroically bailed out the Salt Lake City Olympic Games by heroically going to Congress and asking them for tens of millions of dollars to bail out the Salt Lake games -- in an earmark, in an earmark for the Salt Lake Olympic Games."
Santorum continued, "And now Gov. Romney is suggesting, 'Oh, Rick Santorum earmarked' as he requested almost half a billion dollars in earmarks as governor of Massachusetts to his federal congressmen and senators. Does the word hypocrisy come to mind?"
The Romney campaign was quick to refute the claim. Campaign spokesperson Andea Saul e-mailed reporters, "Sometimes when you shoot from the hip, you end up shooting yourself in the foot. There is a pretty wide gulf between seeking money for post-9/11 security at the Olympics and seeking earmarks for polar bear exhibits at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Mitt Romney wants to ban earmarks, Senator Santorum wants more ‘Bridges to Nowhere.’”
Being attacked on his spending record is not new for the candidate now considered a front-runner in the nomination contest. It was Rick Perry who originally rolled out the attack in Iowa, citing projects like an indoor rainforest and the 'Bridge to Nowhere' in Alaska as proof that Santorum is a Washington insider who did not practice the fiscal conservatism he now preaches. But the attack did not gain much traction, and Santorum went on to win the Iowa caucus.
His defense has always been that — as a member of Congress — Santorum had the power of the purse, and earmarks were at one time a helpful resource.
"So lets just not condemn all...there was abuse, and we stopped it. But the idea that every earmark is a bad one is simply false," he said.
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"Does the word hypocrisy come to mind?" Hypocracy is a compound word coming from the Greek, hypo, meaning "less than", and krinein, meaning to sort-out, to separate, i.e. criticize. A hypocrite then is one who is less than critical, less than willing or able to sort out the things that he/she wants to be true from what is the actual fact. The descriptive phrase "less than critical" applies to both candidates and constituency. At the root of that lack of critical analysis is a psychological dynamic that is appropriately labeled "confirmation bias". That term is perhaps best defined in the lines from that old Simon and Garfunkel song, "The Boxer" - "I have squandered my existence on a pocket-full of mumbles such are promises all lies and jests, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest lie la lie..."
If you want real brith control put a poster of Santorum above your head board that should take the heat out of any room.As far as being consistent on your views Hitler and Stalin were consistent to.
Oh, Lord Sanctimorum, please give us the truth that we may worship appropriately.
The media wants to propel Santorum because that is exactly the "Crazed Republican" they want running against Obama! It is how Obama will win a second term. Otherwise, there is no substance to him. He can't understand simple math: if you earn X then you can't spend X + Y where Y = X.
If Romney and Santorum keep jabbing at each other, they will just guarantee that the muslim communist Obama anothe 4 years, and that is all he will need to enslave the ordinary citizen and set hiself up as dictator.
Than you'll be blaming Who? For muslinging.
Perpetuating the "muslim communist" sound bite is a ridiculous thing to do.
fastedd, stay on the drunken pool table where you belong. You embarrass yourself and likely don't know it.
As bad as Santorum is, he's still 100 time better than the incompetent jerk in the White House today.
Fortunately, we will not have a chance to test your unlikely hypothesis. Sanctimorium will be smashed by the rationalists of America. Rummy will too if he is unlucky enough to have to waste more of his inheritance. This laughable Republican 3 Stooges episode is so funny!
Santorum is a nut! Do we want a nut for President? Roimney's a hypocrite! Do we want a hypocrite for President?? NOPE! So, we're arently going to have a change in the WH because the GOP has been exposed for what they are. They will do ANYTHING to win, to no avail!
PS ... Yahoo chat is being ruined by so called conservative chatters who boot, block accounts, bot chatrooms and even reveal personal information of others in the chat room as a way of intimidation!! Yahoo has known about this for at least 2 years and it persists!! Apparently they have done nothing and dont care to.
pot callin the kettle black. WAKEUPAMERICA.
Can someone tell me which one is the pot and which is the kettle?
Santorum needs to be reminded that the one finger he points at others causes three of his own to point back at him.
Listen to all the GOP & Teabaggers R the party of No: No & Newt: that wants to go to the moon. & Mitt: sending his money off shore, so he doesn't have to pay Taxes.T Its all about the Wealthy getting richer and the middle class getting poorer.....They don't want to help out the poor, I do mean the poor not the lazy good for nothings...Who are the one's that leach off the taxpayer. They: are the Wealthy that get welfare both for themselves or for the Corps.TRUE So really All party are at fault...But it seems that the Wealthy get away with it like the .(.Democrat )... They steal billions and the few poor steals a few thousands. So what does the GOP want to do is Screw the MIddle Class to get even with the few. As I say its the me me me and F everyone else.... The failures of the Republicans party trying to take away SS and Medicare so they can give their wealthy Blackmailers more money... To hell with the Poor and Needy. Let them freeze in the winter and stave the Old and Babies,let them die from bad water, do away with the EPA and thats what you'll have, just like all you Teabaggers want...You make me sick with your Me Me Me altitude. It just a matter of time before the masses raise up against you . Greedy and you all call yourself Christains.Christains: What a laugh: Your no better than all the Muslims you all hate. Wake up America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WAKE UP. We R Next in line...Stop the crooked Banks and Wall Street.
Willard Romney "turned around" the Olympics with a federal bailout. LOL.
but he did turn them around! Has Onuthing done anything but keeop Union members in jobs with federal money?