Former Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum appeared on Morning Joe Tuesday morning to peddle his new book. During the segment, the panel asked him if he was considering another Presidential bid in 2016. Santorum first made sure to point out how ‘successful’ his 2012 campaign was, focusing on how many states he won during the primaries and that he had the most successful runner-up campaign since Ronald Reagan in 1976. He then made the statement that one of ‘Obama’s minions’ told him that they were scared of him in 2012 and didn’t want him to defeat Mitt Romney, as they were concerned that Santorum’s conservative credentials and blue collar appeal would defeat Obama.
Below is video of the segment:
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I am going to say this point blank — this was one of the most self serving, arrogant interviews I have ever seen on a cable news program. That is really saying a lot, considering the number of conceited, self-important politicians we see appear on television to do nothing else but talk about themselves. In his latest book, ‘Blue Collar Conservatives,’ Santorum paints himself as a champion of the working class and states that Republicans need to appeal to more hard-working, blue collar Americans. Of course, he doesn’t want to raise the minimum wage or fully support labor unions, but he totally likes working class people and for that reason, they should vote for him or other Republicans.
After engaging in a mutual stroke-fest with Joe Scarborough for a few minutes, where they each praised the other for their ‘blue collar’ cred, the other members of the panel got to speak with Santorum. Mike Barnicle asked Santorum why he didn’t support a minimum wage increase despite being a supposed champion of the working class and wanting to see workers’ wages increase. Santorum, like every good Republican, made the argument that an increased minimum wage ‘disincentivizes’ business owners to hire workers. Basically, Santorum just spouted some basic platitudes about tax cuts, tax reform and appealing to working Americans as a way to reduce unemployment and increase wages. Of course, he also had to throw Obamacare in the mix, because Obama.
However, the interview went from bad to worse when John Heilemann asked Santorum about the possibility of running again in 2016. Santorum’s personal ego-stroking was something to behold during this moment. Santorum kept telling Heilemann to heap more praise upon him in regards to his 2012 campaign. At the same time, Santorum kept interjecting all of his accomplishments during 2012. Based on his over-the-top self-congratulatory tone, you’d think that he not only won the 2012 Republican nomination, but defeated Obama in a landslide.
Of course, in Santorum’s mind, he knows for a FACT that he would have handily defeated President Obama if he would have captured the nomination. He knows this because Obama’s people told him so. Obama was shaking in his boots at the prospect of facing the juggernaut known as Rick Santorum. That is why they didn’t try to subversively help Santorum in his primary battle with Romney. Because, all along, Obama knew he could only defeat Romney due to Santorum’s strength with ‘real Americans.’
Santorum declined to say if he was going to toss his hat in the ring for 2016, stating that it would all depend on his family situation. However, he did make it appear that if he entered the race, he’d be seen as a heavy favorite because all of the working people in America would vote for him. He even pointed to a poll taken in Pennsylvania prior to him dropping out in 2012 that said that he was a heavy favorite among those who would vote after 5 PM, indicating that working class people with jobs preferred him.
You know, considering that Santorum actually LOST his Senate seat in 2006 by a whopping 17 points, and was really only a bit of a threat to Romney for a short period in 2012, you’d think he’d have a little more humility.
Justin Baragona is the Managing Editor at Politicus Sports as well as Senior Editor at PoliticusUSA. He was a political writer for 411Mania.com before joining PoliticusUSA. Politically, Justin considers himself a liberal but also a realist and pragmatist. Currently, Justin lives in St. Louis, MO and is married. Besides writing, he also runs his own business after spending a number of years in the corporate world. You can follow Justin on Twitter either with his personal handle (@justinbaragona) or the Sports site’s (@PoliticusSports).
