Santorum, now in a contentious fight for the Republican nomination, has entered the playground taunts and mocking part of his campaign. You’ll remember his glee last week at equating rival, Mitt Romney with an Etch-A-Sketch symbolizing the former Massachusetts Governor’s penchant for flip-flopping on issues, at times within the same sentence.
Sunday night at a rally in Wisconsin Santorum regaled the crowd with a lengthy exposition on why Romney would be the worst opposition for President Obama – by actually saying that Romney is the “worst Republican to run against Obama.” He literally shouted it from the rafters, the country club quaking and thundering under the vitriol and outrage of the incensed senator who’s trailing in the polls. Following the rally, while Santorum was signing his autograph on posters, a New York Times reporter, Jeff Zeleny, asked Santorum about his comments.
“I said, ‘Do you think that Mitt Romney is really the worst Republican in the country to run against Obama?’ — which is what he said,” Zeleny recounted on CNN Sunday night. “And he said, ‘I didn’t say that. You guys are distorting what I’m saying. … Quit distorting my words. It’s [expletive].’”
Yes, what can be seen is a flustered, frustrated, sweaty Santorum teeing off at the reporter with barely restrained venom. His composure shot, his decorum in tatters (think Sarah Palin) as he leads up to saying that what the Times reports is “bullshit.” He was adamant that his comments were taken out of context and says the “Mainstream Media” i.e all media not run by Roger Ailes, likes to distort his comments, sounding much like the oft offended victim. He claims that he was speaking about how Romney is the worst Republican when it comes to healthcare and healthcare alone. Yes, sure, sure you were.
Here is Santorum’s full statement:
“Why would we put someone up who is uniquely — pick any other Republican in the country — he is the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama. Why would Wisconsin want to vote for someone like that?”
Sounds a lot like Santorum is splitting hairs with his defense, eh?
This defense of which he’s using to discredit the New York Times reporter as he makes all the rounds today on news networks and outlets to say yet again how bullied he is by the liberal media.
“I criticized Romney and Obama for their outrageous health care legislation,” Santorum wrote in an e-mail to supporters, which asked backers to donate the cost of a Times subscription to the campaign. “Predictably, I was aggressively attacked by a New York Times reporter all too ready to defend the two of them, and all too ready to distort my words. Let me assure you, I didn’t back down, and I didn’t let him bully me.”
Whatever Santorum is trying to sell with the “out of context” commentary, Romney’s supporters are having a field day and have named the outburst TANTORUM. HA! Good one, Robo Minions. And more have taken to twitter to mark Santorum as the “unhinged” candidate. Bloodsport and eating each other alive is what’s really best for the country, yes? Absolutely. Love how they’re basically saying, “We’re embarrassed for you.” And the little caption they use is priceless. “Profanity is the sign of a weak mind trying to forcefully express itself.”
Hey, Jeff Zeleny you should interview those guys! They have your lede all written!
Suffice to say this whole Romney – Anti Romney thing the Republicans have going on still continues to be the hootenanny we always hoped it would be. You’ve got name-calling, children’s toys, tantrums, pointed fingers, and bullies – truthfully it’s like watching the activities at a daycare center, except well, the contest is really about who seems the most presidential, and not whose turn it is for the $.25 pony ride outside the grocery store.
Here’s the full clip:
