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AP
Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum waves as he leaves after speaking to supporters at Westminster Christian Academy Saturday, March 17, 2012, in Town and Country, Mo.
EFFINGHAM, Ill. -- Rick Santorum on Saturday guaranteed that a win in the Illinois primary will result in his nomination as the Republican presidential nominee.
"This is a primary, and turnout is everything. You do your job, you do your job, then this is the pledge," Santorum said. "If we're able to come out of Illinois with a huge or surprise win, I guarantee you, I guarantee you that we will win this nomination."
Illinois has largely been predicted to favor Mitt Romney for Tuesday's primary. The vote is expected to be driven by Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, pegged as unfavorable territory for the former Pennsylvania senator's brand of conservatism. But in areas like Effingham, hours south of the Windy City, Santorum hopes to fire up a Republican base that is often overshadowed by its Democratic counterparts to the north.
"You know you don't get a chance to out-vote your friends up in the Chicago-land area very often, but this is a primary and turnout is everything," he said, standing in a warehouse of a local business specializing in kitchen equipment.
While stumping in the Land of Lincoln, Santorum said he feels like he's already running in the general election.
“People ask me why I’m the best candidate to run against Barack Obama," said Santorum. "It’s because I feel like, in many respects, I am running against Barack Obama here in this primary because Mitt Romney has the same positions as Barack Obama in this primary.”
The health care bill that Romney signed as governor of Massachusetts is the issue Santorum has been hammering him on most frequently.
Santorum says the legislation laid the groundwork for the health care bill Obama signed in 2010, and therefore a Romney nomination would prohibit him from successfully running on a platform of repealing it.
Energy is another issue Santorum claims his Republican rival shares with Obama. “Why, with sky rocketing gas prices, would we nominate someone who had the same position as President Obama with respect to fossil fuels?" he asked.
Santorum began his day stumping in neighboring Missouri, a state that held a non-binding primary that he won last month, but today is holding caucuses. During a visit to a caucus site in Hazelwood, Santorum claimed dominance: "If you look at the Midwest, all of the Midwest is one color. It’s our color. We’ve won every state in the Midwest."
That statement dismisses Ohio and Michigan, two states Romney won, as part of the Midwest. Asked about it later in the day, Santorum said, "Well, I meant the heartland."
But even in the Show Me State, it was clear how important the primary happening happening across the Mississippi River will be to the Santorum campaign. “When you leave here, go home, sign up on our website, start calling folks in Illinois. Because we’ve got a big election coming up in a couple days in Illinois," he pleaded. "Please help us out there. If you’ve got friends over there, make sure they get out and help us out."
And even with an aggressive campaign schedule in two states today, the Italian American still found time to show his St. Patrick's Day spirit. On the stump he wore a green boutineer and his campaign manager tweeted out a picture of him enjoying a Guinness at an Irish pub between stops.
"I usually get there in the morning so I felt a little bad I didn’t get there until lunch time," he said of his March 17 traditional pilgrimage to the pub.
Update: In response to Santorum's comments on Saturday, Romney campaign spokesperson Ryan Williams had this to say:
"Senator Santorum is an economic lightweight who has precisely zero job creating experience. He ought to scare every conservative when it comes to his economic record. We won't get the economy going again by replacing one senator with no job creating experience with another with no job creating experience."
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And if frogs had longer legs they would be giraffes.
The three stooges... howdy-doody romney: plastic everything, and a hand up his back to make his mouth move.
isantorum: why someoe had not long ago brained this religious-right idiot, is anyone's guess. Maybe they did?
the grinch: can you just imagine a catholic adultress as, "first ho", for surely she is unworthy of the title, "lady"? what does limbaugh say??
The NEW 3 stooges - Willard, Frothy, Grinch and Ronpaul. But it's REALLY too bad that someone can't do any of them as well as Tina does Failin' - they would have enough material for 4 more years (of Obama)
the canary in the coal mine just died - Ron Paul is no stooge and 1+1+1+1 doesn't equal three even if Obama said so. Hope you don't get indefinitely detained!!
what you say we give you a dose of HISTORY and REALITY "simultaneously" - The "original" 3 Stooges were MOE Howard, Curly Howard, and Larry Fine. Curly died in 1945 (or so) and was replaced with SHEMP Howard. In the 1960's "Curly Joe" was added to replace Shemp.
At any rate - RP has under 50 votes for some reason - could be that he doesn't fit the mold of the "leadership" of the RETHUG party. HE WILL NOT EVEN COME NEAR THE NOMINATION (no matter WHAT - but at any rate ALL 4 OF THEM are slightly "cracked pots" (with some more cracked than the others). For what it's worth - RP is probably the most sane of the refugees from the asylum.
CHIRP CHIRP - funny - I'm still alive and SINGING
Who in the hell is voting for this Jacka$$. There can't be that many TeaBaggers out there.
I would be willing to bet in the states that have open primarys Democrats are voting for him.
don't forget the tea-tardvangelicals - they would rather DIE and meet their mythical sky daddy than vote for the MORMON!
...and if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle.
she could always go thru the "addaDICKtome" ROFLMAO!!
Really Ayatollah Santorum? When did Illinois get 900 delegates? Or have all the remaining states agreed to pledge their delegates to you without telling their voters? I know this whole democracy thing confuses you, as shown by your ignorant claim that Puerto Rico HAD to adopt english as an official language before becoming a state, but you really should learn to obey the rules.
Rick, you have to do the math. Delegates, dude. Mitt has more and will have more. I wish you could win because you'd definitely would lose in the general.
That's the WHOLE IDEA...
GOP equals Greedy Old Party
Or
Guardians of the One Percent
Or
Greedy Old and Pasty
well... we KNOW frothy santorum is the dumbest of the dumbFU CKS running for the RETHUG nomination. WE KNOW he does a massive crash and burn in NOVEMBER IF the runs against Obama, but oh, to just a a real TARGET rather than this mish-mash of revolving idiocy.
See frothy. See frothy run. Run frothy run!
(had to make it at a level that even the illiterate RETHUGS could understand...)
Okay, so if he wins Illinois, he will win the nomination......
does that mean if he loses Illinois, and can't win the nomination, he will drop out?
We could only hope, but I am sure if he loses Illinois, it was the big, bad medias fault and he will keep on plugging along.
Sarah worked so well for Mc Cain!!! She is a scary witch with a B
I think the left should just take a chill pill and relax. None of the GOP contenders will be able to defeat Obama, so why get your panties in an uproar over something that Santorum says? Seriously. Relax.
I know Ricky rooster can not win anything. It is maddening to think people vote for him. Who is this guy? How in this day and age can anyone who says the things santorum says be taken seriously. I mean really he said there is not a separation of church and state. OMG
Ian - it's called "bear (or is that "bare"?) baiting". WE WANT frothy to be the nominee - it will merely compound the LOSS. The only disadvantage might be that complacency might set in and DEMs wouldn't go VOTE in November and then we'd get stuck with a big pile of SH IT
What? This GOP thing is still going on? Even the NCAA Final Four knows when to call it quits.
There are 2 CONTENDERS and 2 "also rans". The final 4 is relatively evenly matched. This pack of running dogs are just showing what can be accomplished with MONEY.
Nice try Santorun,the Dr Joseph Goebbels of the Party of No...
Have McCain give him some advice like how to choose a running mate such as Palin. Maybe he needs to know how many houses he owns and if he wants to keep in Afganistan. Graham could advise him on where to start the next war. It's ashame that Petraeus is not running. The Republicans will just be creamed this fall. No one to really step up. Romney always uncomfortable when speaking... very nervous!
Romney sounds like a Confused Daffy Duck who lost his train of thought when he talks...
It sickens me to think of all those Millions he is throwing down the toilet on Overwhelming Campaign Commercials when that Money could have been put to so many more better uses...
I want to see Rick and Sarah doing Porn
ricky don't do porn - besides he'd ONLY be on the bottom - he wife just keeps mentioning about him always FUC KING UP Besides, he's not SMART enough to do porn or good looking enough for the gay stuff
frothy rides again...
@!$%#ing stupid @!$%#ing @!$%#ing ugly? You really must be perverted. ((8^))
Does this fool not yet realize that he's only running to head the losing ticket?
My 401k is up Three Thousand Bucks And the Stock Market is above 13,000.
The Republicans better pull a Rabbit out of their Pasty Old Butt Cracks or start looking for McJobs...
So if Romney wins, does that mean Romney is guaranteed to win the nomination? Or does it only go one way? If Romney wins, will Santorum drop out since Romney has a lock on the nomination?
If it were only true. Quit selling us hope Santy.
Illinois is stupid.
Santorum..Palin that would be a great ticket!!! The best Republicans have to offer... let's go for it!!!
Failin' was the kiss of death for McSenile - Frothy deserves "better" have him run with BACHMAN!
A couple of comments on that ticket:
If God told Ricky-the-Pope to run, she was f***ing with him. If he continues to run, an exorcism would be in order. They now use holy lubricant and a trans vaginal wand (with claws).
If you shoved a piece of coal up Ricky's butt, in two days you'd extract a diamond. Makes a great fundraiser.
And Sarah, that cutie, can suck a golf ball through a garden hose, the chrome off a bumper, and mount a moose and 'beat' it to death.
God I hope he wins, we need more drama in the GOP race. Keep it up, it's like watching a car wreck or cannibals eating themselves. The only really sad thing is wasting all that money for stupid robo calls and stupid TV and radio ads - how many people could they feed or help with all that cash?
love the cannibals eating themselves comment
Tig #49.1
"Love the cannibals, hate the cannibalism."
I think that's in the Bible.
I guess Illinois has about 900 delegates no one but Rick knows about.
This from another story on MSNBC.
Yep; it's true. Ther further south you go, the more hillbilly it gets. It's definitely Santorum Country down there.
God, this guy is an arrogant creep. Makes me root for Romney, whom I'm not a big fan of. Hell, I'd rather see Gingrich. Although he is incredibly corrupt, at least he's smart.
We are talking leader of the free world here. Gingrich said he would attack Iran the day he was sworn in. Wake up people. The world is laughing at us.
or (alternatively) HATES OUR ASS
Sure. Gingrich is smart. He is smart enough to know most of the electorate has forgotten his history. Kinda of ironic for a guy who raked in millions after being tossed out of his speakership and then working as a lobbyist as an "historian."