Romney Campaign Press Release - "It Was Against the Principles I Believed In, But... Sometimes You Take One for the Team"

"As pitchers and catchers report for spring training, Rick Santorum eloquently reminded us last night that he reported to the team in Washington for a long time." —Gail Gitcho, Romney Communications Director

Senator Santorum Admitted He Abandoned His Principles To "Take One For The Team" On No Child Left Behind:

In Last Night's Debate, Santorum Claimed He Had A "Strong, Principled Voting Record." SANTORUM: "If I can stand up in the state of Pennsylvania, which hasn't elected a Republican president since 1988, and have a strong, principled voting record on issues that were tough in my state, senior issues, imagine now, as president of the United States, with a Tea Party movement and a conservative — a riled-up conservative base, what we can accomplish in Washington, D.C." (GOP Presidential Debate, 2/22/12)

Santorum, Later In The Debate: "I Supported No Child Left Behind ... It Was Against The Principles I Believed In, But ... Sometimes You Take One For The Team." SANTORUM: "I supported No Child Left Behind. I supported it. It was the principal priority of President Bush to try to take on a failing education system and try to impose some sort of testing regime that would be able to quantify how well we're doing with respect to education. I have to admit, I voted for that. It was against the principles I believed in, but, you know, when you're part of the team, sometimes you take one for the team, for the leader, and I made a mistake. You know, politics is a team sport, folks." (GOP Presidential Debate, 2/22/12)

• The Washington Examiner: "It Was An Easy Opportunity For Any Of The Candidates To Paint Santorum As An Establishment Republican And A Washington Insider." "When asked about education reform and the 'No Child Left Behind' act, Rick Santorum admitted that he voted for the Bush legislation even though he didn't agree with it. ... It was an easy opportunity for any of the candidates to paint Santorum as an establishment Republican and a Washington insider." (Charlie Spiering, "Santorum Blows It: 'I Took One For The Team,'" The Washington Examiner, 2/22/12)

• The New York Times: "For A Presidential Candidate, It Was A Curious — And Unusual — Acknowledgement Of Politics Trumping Values." "Mr. Santorum just offered up what may be the evening's most wince-inducing moment: he declared that he had voted for President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind education law even though 'it was my against my principles.' For a presidential candidate, it was a curious — and unusual — acknowledgement of politics trumping values." (Michael Barbaro, "A Negative Ad In The Making?" The New York Times, 2/22/12)

Around The Same Time, Santorum's Campaign Deleted A Portion Of Its Website Defending His Vote For No Child Left Behind. "Up until today, Rick Santorum didn't seem too shy of defending his vote for the Bush-era education reform known as No Child Left Behind. He even had a web page on his campaign site backing up his position. Then in Wednesday's debate he did a 180, called it an accident, said sometimes you take one for the team and that politics is a team sport — all after being called out on his support for the law. Now the page that used to defend his NCLB decision on his website is gone, reading only 'the requested page could not be found.' ... [A]s recently as yesterday, the page was still up ... No mention of taking one for the team or an accident." ("Santorum Campaign Removes Web Page Defending No Child Left Behind," The Right Sphere Blog, 2/22/12)

For A Vote That Went "Against The Principles [He] Believed In," Senator Santorum Spent A Lot Of Time Promoting It:

Santorum Voted For The No Child Left Behind Act. (H.R. 1, CQ Vote #192: Passed 91-8: R 43-6; D 47-2; I 1-0, 6/14/01, Santorum Voted Yea)

Federal Spending For No Child Left Behind Increased 40% To $24.4 Billion Between 2001 And 2007. "The President's budget includes funding for No Child Left Behind that would increase to $24.4 billion, up 4.6 percent from 2006 and up 40 percent since 2001." (U.S. Department of Education, Press Release, 2/6/06)

In His Failed 2006 Senate Race, Santorum Touted His Votes For "Record Levels" Of Federal Funding For Pennsylvania Schools. "Rick has voted for record levels of funding for Pennsylvania's public schools." (Santorum 2006, "50 Things You May Not Know About Rick Santorum," Campaign Brochure)

• Santorum Now Decries That Increase In Funding. SANTORUM: "And in this case, you know, I thought testing was — and finding out how bad the problem was wasn't a bad idea. What was a bad idea was all the money that was put out there and that, in fact, was a huge problem. I admit the mistake. And I will not make that mistake again." (GOP Presidential Debate, 2/22/12)

In 2001, Santorum Suggested Federal Education Mandates Were Okay As Long As They Were Paid For. "Senator Santorum has visited nearly 150 Pennsylvania Elementary and Secondary Schools to hear local concerns: Key points heard repeatedly from these teachers, principals, school board members, and parents working hard to provide a quality education for all children are the importance of local control, parental involvement, accountability, flexibility, and no more federal mandates without adequate federal funds." (Sen. Rick Santorum Website, Archived 12/21/01)

• Santorum Then: "The Federal Government Can Be An Effective Partner To Schools." "By giving states and communities control over their children's education and providing flexible resources, the federal government can be an effective partner to schools working to give all of America's children a world class education." (Sen. Rick Santorum Website, Archived 12/21/01)

• Santorum Now: "I'd Get The Federal Government Out" Of Education. SANTORUM: "Well, as I said before, first I'd get the federal government out. I would, to the extent possible with respect to mandates and designing curriculum and the like, I would get the state government out." (CBS News' "Face The Nation," 2/19/12)