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Romney Campaign Press Release - Santorum and Gingrich: Even More in Common Than You Thought

February 22, 2012

"Republican primary voters may be surprised to learn that Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have a lot in common. Aside from being career politicians who embraced earmarks and voted to raise their own pay, both stayed in D.C. after leaving office and worked in the lobbying community. Mitt Romney offers something different. He is not a creature of Washington. He offers the kind of private sector and chief executive experience that career politicians can't match." —Ryan Williams, Romney Campaign Spokesman

Speaker Gingrich And Congressman/Senator Santorum Worked As "Consultants" For D.C.-Based Lobbying Shops:

Gingrich Was Paid As A "Consultant" To Support Freddie Mac's Lobbying Operation. "[Gingrich's] Freddie Mac work gives off a whiff of lobbying, according to the contract he just released. Specifically, the Freddie Mac executive who hired Gingrich was not the CEO, nor the VP for operations, or the VP for communications, but Craig Thomas, the VP for Public Policy — that is, the head of Freddie Mac's lobbying operations. Thomas was a registered lobbyist at the time." (Timothy P. Carney, "Gingrich Worked For Freddie Mac's Lobby Shop," The Washington Examiner, 1/23/12)

  • Politico Headline: "Registration Or Not, Gingrich Was A Lobbyist" (Politico, 11/30/11)

Santorum Also Served As A "Consultant" To A Washington Lobbying Firm. "A review of the financial disclosure form for Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, shows he made $65,000 for 'legislative policy consulting services' from American Continental Group, a government affairs and consulting firm — a.k.a. a lobbying firm — in Washington in 2010 up until Aug. 2 of [2011] when he filed his form." (Domenico Montanaro, "Santorum's Also 'Not A Lobbyist'," NBC News, 11/26/11)

  • ABC News Headline: "Rick Santorum, 'Stealth Lobbyist'" (ABCNews.com, 1/5/12)

Speaker Gingrich And Congressman/Senator Santorum Each Appeared In TV Ads Touting Their Work With Liberal Icons From California:

In 2008, Gingrich Joined With Nancy Pelosi In A Television Ad Urging Congress To "Take Action To Address Climate Change." PELOSI: "Hi! I'm Nancy Pelosi, life-long Democrat and Speaker of the House." GINGRICH: "And I'm Newt Gingrich, life-long Republican, and I used to be Speaker. PELOSI: "We don't always see eye to eye, do we Newt?" GINGRICH: "No, but we do agree: our country must take action to address climate change." PELOSI: "We need cleaner forms of energy, and we need them fast." GINGRICH: "If enough of us demand action from our leaders, we can spark the innovation we need. PELOSI: Go to WeCanSolveIt.org. Together, we can do this." (The We Campaign, YouTube.com, 4/24/08)

In 2006, Santorum Noted His Partnership With Senator Barbara Boxer In An Ad For His Re-Election Campaign. "[W]hen running for re-election in 2006 against a tough Democratic challenger ... Santorum sought to portray himself as someone who worked with Democratic colleagues to get things done. In one vivid ad, Santorum stood in a pro wrestling ring to describe what politics should not be. ... He continued: 'I teamed up with Joe Lieberman to make college more affordable for low income families. And Barbara Boxer and I wrote a law protecting open space.'" (Jake Tapper, "Rick Santorum, Mr. Bipartisan Compromise — And Mr. Pro Wrestling?" ABCNews.com, 1/4/12)

Speaker Gingrich And Congressman/Senator Santorum Were Enthusiastic Proponents Of Wasteful Earmarks:

Earmarks Doubled While Gingrich Was Speaker — Setting The Tone For The Next Decade. "Over the next four years, while Gingrich was speaker, the number of earmarks doubled to more than 6,000 projects, while total earmark spending increased by more than 30 percent, according to data from the Congressional Research Service." (Kimberly Kindy and Dan Eggen, "Expansion Of Earmarks While Gingrich Was Speaker Could Alienate Tea Party Voters," The Washington Post, 6/8/11)

  • "'Speaker Gingrich Set In Motion The Largest Explosion Of Earmarks In The History Of Congress,' Said Tom Schatz Of Citizens Against Government Waste." (Jonathan Karl and Gregory Simmons, "Newt Gingrich: Big Spender," ABC News, 12/15/11)

Senator Santorum Brought Over $1 Billion In Pork-Barrel Spending Back To Pennsylvania. "In all, Taxpayers for Common Sense estimated, Mr. Santorum helped secure more than $1 billion in earmarks during his Senate career, which stretched from 1995 through 2006." (Michael Luo and Mike McIntire, "Donors Gave As Santorum Won Earmarks," The New York Times, 1/15/12)

  • Santorum: "I Have Had A Lot Of Earmarks. In Fact, I'm Very Proud Of All The Earmarks I've Put In Bills. I'll Defend Earmarks." (Fox News' "Hannity," 2/26/09)

Speaker Gingrich And Congressman/Senator Santorum Voted To Repeatedly Raise Their Own Salaries:

As Speaker, Gingrich Fought To Preserve Pay Increases For Members Of Congress. "House Speaker Newt Gingrich has shored up his support in the House by sparing members an embarrassing up-or-down vote on a $3,000 pay raise. Mr. Gingrich helped to block repeated efforts by Rep. Linda Smith, Washington Republican, and about a dozen other Republicans from getting a floor vote, which would very likely have killed the annual salary increase members are scheduled to receive under current law." (Nancy E. Roman, "Gingrich Safeguards Pay Raise For Colleagues," The Washington Times, 9/28/97)

  • "Mr. Gingrich Voted In Favor Of The Raise, One Of The Few Times He Has Voted On Any Measure During His Tenure As Speaker." (Steven A. Holmes, "House Approves 2.3% Raise For Lawmakers And Judges," The New York Times, 9/25/97)
  • In November 1989, Gingrich Voted For A Legislative Package That Included A Pay Raise Of Nearly 40% For Members Of Congress. (H.R. 3660, Vote #358: Passed 252-174, 11/16/89; Gingrich Voted Yea)

"Santorum Also Supported Raising Congressional Pay At Least Three Times, In 2001, 2002, And 2003." ("2012 Presidential White Paper #4: Former Senator Rick Santorum," Club For Growth, 6/6/11)

FLASHBACK — Santorum In 1990: "Whatever the salary is when I walk into office on January whatever, that's what I'll take. I won't take one additional penny for as long as I'm in Congress." ("No Raises For Rick," The Associated Press, 11/8/90)

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - Santorum and Gingrich: Even More in Common Than You Thought Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/300493

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