Rick Santorum opposes "gang of 8" on immigration, gays in the boyscouts

[dudeabides]

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, a likely 2016 presidential front-runner, stated he does not believe Sen. Marco Rubio, another likely 2016 presidential front-runner, should be dealing with some of the folks he's dealing with on immigration reform. Santorum also opposes allow gays in the boyscouts.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/05/rick-santorum-boy-scouts_n_2622775.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/rick-santorum-immigration_n_2615732.html

Not exactly a general election type candidate if you ask me......

[HagridOfTheDeep]

He's a foolish man who is certainly partly responsible for Romney's loss. I can't wait to see him trounced in the primaries.

[Fritz]

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, a likely 2016 presidential front-runner

Front-runner?  Yeah, right.

[Franzl]

Unrelated question: Why are there so many gangs in the Senate?

[Maxwell]

He's a foolish man who is certainly partly responsible for Romney's loss. I can't wait to see him trounced in the primaries.

Could you at least give Romney some credit for that? It seems that the Romney fans here like to blame everyone else for his loss when he clearly gets a big chunk of it.

Other than the bold, I agree with you 100%.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Of course Romney deserves part of the blame. But if Santorum had bowed out earlier and more gracefully, Romney's odds would've been better. Abortion was the make-or-break issue for way too many people this election.

[RogueBeaver]

I'd say Akin and Mourdock are more to blame for that than Santorum- but the blame is still overwhelmingly Romney's.

On the OP: agreed on the former, disagree with him on the latter.

[Ogre Mage]

One of the key factors for Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican Primary will be if he is able to pull social conservatives and religious conservatives away from whoever runs as the hardline representative of that group.  That representative is most likely to be Santorum as Perry's 2012 epic disaster performance will linger and Huckabee jettisoned himself as a serious candidate after the Maurice Clemons incident.  I think this will be key for Rubio as that crowd is more his natural base than Chris Christie's, who I regard as the other leading candidate for the nomination.  It also makes Rubio balancing act on immigration very difficult.

[afleitch]

'Santorum opposes 2013' would probably be an apt headline.

[Keystone Phil]

Santorum and the abortion issue are to blame for Romney's defeat? LOL

[tmthforu94]

Santorum and the abortion issue are to blame for Romney's defeat? LOL

They weren't the sole reason, but they certainly contributed to it.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I've said Romney made a lot of mistakes and deserves blame. But it would be very narrow-minded of me if I didn't take the whollistic approach and recognize that the primaries (in which Santorum figured prominently) did a lot of damage too. They did.

[badgate]

^Yes, well, that's what happens when Republicans open their mouths and express their thoughts.


I wonder if Rick Santorum supports the Girl Scouts. I wish a reporter would ask him.

[Mechaman]

Unrelated question: Why are there so many gangs in the Senate?

A bunch of old fat men trying to relive the glory days of their youths?

[Politico]

Santorum's antiquated antics cost us at least a percentage point in the general election (and these antics are responsible for the decline of the Republican brand since 2005 more than almost any other single individual). The same applies to Gingrich's "Moon Base" nonsense, not to mention his repulsive past. That's two whole percentage points right there. Consider Christie's decision to throw Romney under the bus with respect to Sandy, which has gotta be worth at least a point, and that moves Romney past the 50% mark.

Obviously mistakes were made along the way, but Santorum, Gingrich and Christie were too much to overcome.

Personally, I think Romney deserves another shot. Rehabilitate his image later this year by having him partner with Habitat For Humanity and various female groups that focus on domestic violence. Get him more involved with the Tea Party and NRA, giving them some real red meat, and have him work his butt off helping people with the midterms in 2014. Get some work done on his face at some point near the end of 2014. Get him tanned, rested and ready for the middle of 2015.  It can be done. He gave the best debate performance of any Republican in history. He should have won. It's just like after Nixon lost to a golden boy politician. Nixon got another shot after the golden boy was out of the picture, and so should Romney. I mean, nobody else in the current field is better prepared to be president.

[BluegrassBlueVote]

Santorum's antiquated antics cost us at least a percentage point in the general election (and these antics are responsible for the decline of the Republican brand since 2005 more than almost any other single individual). The same applies to Gingrich's "Moon Base" nonsense, not to mention his repulsive past. That's two whole percentage points right there. Consider Christie's decision to throw Romney under the bus with respect to Sandy, which has gotta be worth at least a point, and that moves Romney past the 50% mark.

Obviously mistakes were made along the way, but Santorum, Gingrich and Christie were too much to overcome.

Personally, I think Romney deserves another shot. Rehabilitate his image later this year by having him partner with Habitat For Humanity and various female groups that focus on domestic violence. Get him more involved with the Tea Party and NRA, giving them some real red meat, and have him work his butt off helping people with the midterms in 2014. Get some work done on his face at some point near the end of 2014. Get him tanned, rested and ready for the middle of 2015.  It can be done. He gave the best debate performance of any Republican in history. He should have won. It's just like after Nixon lost to a golden boy politician. Nixon got another shot after the golden boy was out of the picture, and so should Romney. I mean, nobody else in the current field is better prepared to be president.

LOL.

http://youtu.be/E1lJ3tfQFpc

[CountryClassSF]

I love how establishment Republicans want to scapegoat others for Romney's loss. No one on our side ever seems to comprehend that he raised almost a billion dollars and couldn't make a  coherent case against a failed entrenched incumbent with an approval rating that hovered around 50%.

If some of you feel Santorum was so flawed, what does it say about Mitt Romney, who couldn't clinch the nomination until April despite having an enormous financial/establishment/endorsement advantage over opponents?

The Supreme Court has already spoken on the Boy Scouts, it's a private organization and they can do as they wish. I'm a gay man and I agree with their stance.

Santorum is a good man and I was proud to vote for him in the primary even after he dropped out.

If the fact that Santorum may run worries establishmentarians, perhaps next time you should put up an alternative thats coherent and articulate enough to not throw his base under the bus.

Look at all the conservative voters that stayed home in Nov. because Romney threw them overboard. I had to hold my nose, but I voted and volunteered for Romney/Ryan.

Let's just stop placing blame on everyone but the poorly run general election campaign/47% et al

[TJ in Oregon]

Santorum wouldn't have lasted nearly as long as he did in the primaries if Romney hadn't so transparently flip-flopped on abortion to get elected. Minus that issue, I for one probably would have voted for him in the primary and I doubt I'm alone. I found myself in a situation where I couldn't justify either voting for or against Santorum, so I just voted in the Democratic primary for local issues. And being louder and more extreme on the issue doesn't help; some reason for me to actually believe him when he opens his mouth would.

Also, why should the Boy Scouts give a crap what Rick Santorum thinks? Does he have a kid in it? Is someone trying to pass a law about it?

[Keystone Phil]

I've said Romney made a lot of mistakes and deserves blame. But it would be very narrow-minded of me if I didn't take the whollistic approach and recognize that the primaries (in which Santorum figured prominently) did a lot of damage too. They did.

Right like how those brutal 2008 Democratic primaries did a lot of damage to Obama.

I'm so tired of whiney, sore losers blaming primaries for a General defeat. The primaries just exposed Romney for what he was going to be exposed as later in the year: an aloof, flip flopping imbecile. The primaries should have helped his team recognize and adjust. They didn't. That's their fault, no one else's. the extended calendar also allowed them the opportunity to build their organization. They didn't. That's their fault, no one else's.

[BluegrassBlueVote]

Obama and Clinton didn't really push each to the left on any social issues, they just quarreled like children for several months. That isn't a comparable situation.

[Likely Voter]

The movement conservatives need someone to back. Rubio is lucky that Satorum is the best they have so far.

[King]

If Santorum hadn't dragged out the primary process, Romney might have won, but if Obama wasn't asleep at the wheel during the first debate then Romney would have lost by 10 points so "what-ifs" could go both ways.

[dudeabides]

Rick Santorum is popular with social conservatives. Iowa GOP voters usually vote for socially conservative candidates, and the fact of the matter is Santorum was the most socially conservative candidate in the race. He will be a front-runner in 2016 with social conservatives, though fiscal conservatives and moderates will have other candidates to choose from and probably won't support Santorum in 2016.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Of course Romney deserves part of the blame. But if Santorum had bowed out earlier and more gracefully, Romney's odds would've been better. Abortion was the make-or-break issue for way too many people this election.

Romney still would've lost.

[Keystone Phil]

Obama and Clinton didn't really push each to the left on any social issues, they just quarreled like children for several months. That isn't a comparable situation.

And hardly anyone voted against Romney on social issues that wasn't already definitely voting for Obama anyway. It's stuff like "the 47%" and the general flip flopping that killed him.