Rick Santorum is catching heat from Republicans for his latest attack on fellow candidate Mitt Romney and from everyone else for calling a reporter's question "bullshit." The "tantorum" as his opponents on Twitter have dubbed it, came at a Wisconsin rally on Sunday immediately after his big win in Louisiana. During his speech, Santorum attacked Romney over the similarities between Romneycare and Obamacare, adding "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?"
When asked about it later by Jeffery Zeleny of The New York Times, Santorum may have "lost his cool" a little bit, unleashing some colorful language in his response:
I ask Santorum if Romney is "worst Republican" to run. He says: “Quit distorting my words It's bullshit." He says he was talking health care
— Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) March 26, 2012
His fiery speech and equally fiery response to Zeleny are naturally being spun as an "epic temper tantrum" by the Romney camp who see his attacks as crossing the line of party unity. You can say pretty much whatever you want about your primary opponent — like "unhinged" — as long you don't say that he's worse than the guy in the other party. But with pressure mounting on the non-Romneys to call it a race and start supporting the "nominee", the counter-attacks on Santorum will increasingly paint him as a petulant spoilsport rather than the principled Republican warrior trying to stand up for his beliefs. However, if you want to be seen as the adult in the race, frustrated rants and swearing aren't going to help the cause.
UPDATE (7:30 a.m.): In the last hour, CBS This Morning broadcast a video of the incident with Zeleny. (via Business Insider). Does seem like a bit of a meltdown.
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Dashiell Bennett
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