Charleston, S.C. – Rick Santorum had some harsh words for rivals Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney today.
“Both of them supported individual mandates,” he said at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, his voice sounding hoarse and worn-out. With cadets from the Citadel and his wife Karen standing behind him, Santorum continued his argument. “Both of them supported global warming,” he remarked, “and one of them sat on a couch with Nancy Pelosi to talk about how they need to do so something. And … both of them supported the Wall Street bailout.”
“How are we going to differentiate ourselves on the major issues of the day if we nominate Tweedledee and Tweedledum instead of someone who stood up [for conservativism]?” Santorum asked.
Speaking about the 1980 election, Santorum compared himself to Reagan. “Let me remind you all that when you took that chance in South Carolina for Ronald Reagan, he wasn’t the Reagan we now admire and know,” he said.
Instead, Santorum reflected, “he became that Reagan because South Carolina knew we needed someone like a Reagan.”