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GULFPORT, Miss. – The Republican party will be in trouble come November if Mitt Romney attempts to inspire voters using math, Rick Santorum argued to a roomful of Mississippi supporters on Sunday.
"You have Gov. Romney now saying, 'Oh this race is over that mathematically it can't work," Santorum said. "When we have our nominee going out there and trying to sell the American public to vote for him because of mathematics, we are in very, very tough shape. This isn't about math. This is about vision, it's about leadership."
Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, will need to win 61 percent of the remaining delegates to win the nomination, according to calculations by the NBC News political unit. That’s a tall order, especially with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich remaining in the race and cutting into Santorum's support.
But the Santorum campaign has dismissed the delegate argument, and instead focuses on the upcoming states and the possibility of non-binding delegates coming their way.
As Santorum took his campaign to the South, he continued to stress how his grassroots campaign has been the key to his success, contrasting his style with that of his rivals. He said it is the aggressive schedule of town halls held in Iowa while he was at the bottom of the polls that led to his rise. "You keep going, because every meeting I've had like this, people walk out and they take a sign, they take the card and they say 'I'll make some phone calls,'" Santorum said.
He added, "We haven't run a campaign carpet-bombing people with calls and ads."
Santorum targeted Romney and President Barack Obama over one of the most heavily-used talking points used during this Republican primary – the teleprompter. "I always believed that when you run for president of the United States, it should be illegal to read off a teleprompter. Because all you're doing is reading someone else's words to people. You know, when you're running for president, people should know not what someone's writing for you after they've had pollsters and speech writers test it."
Santorum also acknowledged some of his own mistakes that have came from not using a teleprompter. "You know we get fired up sometimes and say some things that I wish I had a mulligan on if you will, but if you’re not scripted that’s going to happen," he said.
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Folks at the White House repeat with clarity that President Obama is the best writer they have. If you look at 'Speeches and Remarks' on www.whitehouse.gov, you will see there are endless presentations of all sorts, as well as formal speeches of every kind week in and week out. And often many times per day.
The President means what he says and says what he means, so there is no daylight between the longheld and recorded convictions and words spoken by the President, who is on tape and on-camera all day every day - and the media does not miss a beat.
Furthermore, Mr Santorum who believes that "birth control harms women" is not to be trusted with Mathematics, statistical anaysis or any kind of historical perspective on the American family. Who wants to go back to the days of families with seven or eight children & more - whether Mom or children can survive economically and thrive in such an environment, or not?
Are these the same people that let Biden's itinerary say he is going to Road Island? Not exactly the crew id take the word of.
"means what he says and says what he means" we must be thinking of a different panderer, which president are you refering to?
Well for a kick-off,
I am not talking about the President that started two unpaid-for wars (a first in the history of America) that we are still trying to end.
Not talking about the President who signed off on a decade of high-end tax breaks in a time of war (also a first in US history), that has hurt our economy & the GOP party is still trying to extend.
Not talking about the President who went into Afghanistan with zero cultural, linguistic, historic or geographic understanding of that country.
backhouse, But you are talking about the president that extended those tax cuts... You are also talking about the same president that reauthorized the Patriot Act, right?
I will give Santorum the telepromter credit: the guy says it how he sees it. He does not try to hide anything. Comments like " Seperation of Church and State make me want to puke" are real. They come from the heart.
I don't think he has a chance to win enough delegates because his volunteer seemed to screw up the paperwork in many states (yes, running for a president falls on the shoulders of Santorum's volunteer) but I would love to see the debates between him and Obama. The President would eat him alive!
JK1963
I do remember vaguely that there was a form of extortion going on at the time. In order for the President to get his way to take care of the hard working Middle-Class taxpayers, the Unemployed, and the 9/11 Responders, he had to give in to what the Repubs wanted. So you can give credit for the extention to the Republicans.
I do agree that he should have not extended this one.
Mr Santorums comments are valid, to appeal to voters strictly on the basis of mathematics is in essence telling voters that their vote doesn't matter and the whole issue has been decided without hearing their voices. Which is why we have a convention, if the "numbers" appear to be skewed and not reflective, it it the opportunity and option of the convention to correct that statistical fault. I have no earthly idea where you got to President Obama's glowing rhetoric and birth control, and huge families out of a discussion that is based in the outmoded electoral college, primary, and delegate system????? The comments regarding teleprompters are a side issue, and it is safe to say that the authorship of pre-prepared comments is always in question, no matter who delivers the address. And yes formal situations do often require, due to time constraint, that the message be prepared in advance. This is really frustrating, because the real points for discussion here are the practices that go into our political system and how it jeopardizes the system and prevents the people from feeling that they really have a voice.....and we are off on unfunded wars, who is a better public speaker, how hard the President works.....anything but the real basis of the topic. Just another chance for liberals to bash conservatives....
Backhouse,
You are trying to explain this logic to people who are against prevention (birth control) AND are against any help to those mothers with 8 kids. Birth control is bad and welfare is bad. I do understand how people like Santorum are out of touch with hard working mothers but I don't understand how regular people who live this life day after day still support this guy.
Bayllie,
I also remember that the president is the president and has to live with the decisions that he makes. He could have challenged the "extortion", instead he chose to fold to it. Life is full of challenges and how you deal with them ultimately is how you are judged.
JK1963
I am glad that he chose to "fold to it" as you put it. Helping the 9/11 responders who selflessly ran into these buldings while everyone ran out, helping middle class by not raising their tax cuts, helping the unemployed who have not been able to find jobs - yes, he will be judged for these decisions.
The other alternative was: tax cuts for the rich, everyone else can go EF themselves. This is what the Republicans wanted.
So then by your post, these tax cuts for EVERYONE are Obama's, right? It's clear that you don't keep an open opinion...just blame everything on the Republicans...you do realize there are Democrats in Congress that are equally to blame, right?
JK1963,
not all - just for Middle class.
not everything but we were discussing the fact why Obama extended all tax cuts - that was the topic.
I am fully aware that there are Democrats that should be replaced for different reasons but in comparisson to what the GOP/TP is representing today, I'll stick with the D's.
I'm going to make this simple for you. If you say that the Republicans are for the Middle Class, the Working Class, and the Poor, please prove me with facts that show what the Republicans have done, are doing, and/or have been planning to do for these three social classes (aka 99%).
Rick Santorum: Math is for snobs!
Nathan,
Rick should give up his degrees (like 3 of them) to prove a point that he is not a snob. He should also send his kids to war instead of college because I am sure he would not want his kids to be snobs either.
From the article: "Santorum also acknowledged some of his own mistakes that have came from not using a teleprompter."
When Santorum actually says what he is thinking, he terrifies people. He should definitley keep his psychopathic thoughts to himself.
Apparently, Ricks Tantrum thinks it's impossible for somebody to write their own material and put it on a teleprompter. He must think teleprompters just pull liberal speeches out of the air through witchcraft. After all, they're probably all designed by elitist snobs who went through collegiate indoctrination.
Dang those snobbish speechwriters, anyway.
Santorum should ask Al Gore if math does not count ?
Santorum needs 62% of remaining delegates. Is he on the ballot in every upcoming primary?
Ah... Come on Northstar you don't need math when you have God on your side. Or whoever those voices represents that he hears in his head.
Ricky's problem is that he can't hear the sound of his own footsteps. When he speaks contemporaneously, he wanders off and gets lost in the pope stuff.
The whole world is listening to the words of the prominent politicians. Ricky's constant need to explain and walk back his off-the-cuff remarks has seriously damaged his campaign. He really needs that teleprompter.
He keeps going, because every meeting he's had like this, people walk out! You might want to check the dumpster behind the building for those signs! And those phone calls? Well, Ricky, they just might be calling the local mental hospital. After all, you are not only a danger to yourself but a danger to others, too! ;-)
Rick, you ran a good race. Thank you for being a great conservative.
Now, we can face the truth. Romney will be the GOP Nominee, and the next President fot eight years.
Obama will be a bad memory.
Do the math, Romney cannot win. The republicans have demeaned, disparaged, and dishonored virtually every segment of the American population over the past two years, including their most recent and insane assault on women. Who do they really think will be voting for them? I truly believe that the Republican power brokers have decided to forfeit this election rather than embarass themselves any further, hence the cast of near do well canidates they have fielded. I guess they had to put someone in the race or cease being a party.
Joseph, I hate to break this to you... but you are going to be very disappointed on November 7.
You might want to go ahead and plan a vacation for the week after the election. :)
So many important issues for the GOP candidates to deal with, and yet they become obsessed with petty matters such as the use of modern technology by the POTUS or their competition.
Certainly teleprompters should be off-limits during a debate, but seriously, who gives a crap whether a candidate uses a teleprompter, a sheet of paper, or a stack of note cards, ... okay we can rule out crib notes written on the palm of your hand ... when giving a stump speech?
Just another desperate attempt to criticize trivialities due to the inability to develop a cogent, substantive argument about the candidate's programs. In other words, I'm more interested in discussing WHAT he says, not HOW he chooses to deliver the message.
What's next--the relative merits of belts vs. suspenders? Will Santorum attack his opposition for using a Blackberry or iPhone rather than two tin cans connected by a string?
Welcome to the social conservative movement -- the 21st century version of the Luddites.
Without the teleprompter he will keep saying dumb things, speaking off the cuff, and reveal who he really is. Given what we have seen so far this can only get more bizarre. And then someday he will realize that he needs a teleprompter to keep from shooting himself in the foot. Then how will he explain that? The Republican Canidates keep painting themselves into a corner, over and over and over again.
When will they realize that their lies, misrepresentations, and out of touch ideas only make them weaker?
Bull Crap! Watch the video.
Dee Dee Benkie on Shafting Dr Paul in Iowa and the establishment shifting votes to Santorum
He is where he is today because of fraud. She openly discusses the party actively trashing any aspect of a fair election process
Rick, math works, whereas your over confident grasping at straws, not so much!
Goodbye Rick.
Santorum's family story is disingenuous. His 'college is for liberal snobs' is hypocritical.
Santorum's 'immigrant' father earned a PhD in Psychology and his mother was a nurse. They never lived in public housing.
Do the math, Rick.
Lies and religious pandering will only take you so far.
Ask Santorum repeatedly--where does he stand on the Pope's attempt to meddle in the civil laws of the United States by urging his followers to work against marriage equality. Does he regard this as appropriate?