Romney Campaign Press Release - On Earmarks, Newt Opened the Door and Santorum Walked Right Through It

"Speaker Gingrich and Senator Santorum have over half a century's worth of time in Washington between them. They can't fix our country's spending problem because they helped create it. While Newt Gingrich may have opened the door to the abuse of earmark spending, Rick Santorum walked right through it. He renounced his belief that deficits are bad and voted to raise the debt ceiling by trillions — all while supporting billions in pork-barrel spending in Pennsylvania and across the country. That is not a record that fiscal conservatives will embrace once they know the facts." —Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

Newt Gingrich Set In Motion The Largest Explosion Of Earmarks In History:

Earmarks Doubled While Gingrich Was Speaker — Setting The Tone For The Next Decade Of Spending Growth. "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)

But If Newt Gingrich Opened The Door To Earmarks And Wasteful Spending, Rick Santorum Walked Right Through It:

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, In 2009: "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)

Santorum Voted For The Bridge To Nowhere — And Continues To Defend That Vote. "Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum is defending his votes to spend federal money on politically earmarked projects, including the so-called 'Bridge to Nowhere' in Alaska that was never built. ... [Santorum:] 'People say that I voted for "The Bridge to Nowhere." I did. I went with the federalist argument, which is, "Who am I in Pennsylvania to tell Alaska what their highway priorities should be?"'" (William Petroski, "Santorum Defends Votes For 'Bridge To Nowhere' And Other Political Earmarks," Des Moines Register, 12/29/11)

In His Final Years In The Senate, Santorum's Spending Record Got Even Worse. "In the 2003-2004 session of Congress, Santorum sponsored or cosponsored 51 bills to increase spending, and failed to sponsor or co-sponsor even one spending cut proposal. In his last Congress (2005-2006), he had one of the biggest spending agendas of any Republican..." ("2012 Presidential White Paper #4: Former Senator Rick Santorum," Club For Growth, 6/6/11)

Cato Institute's Michael Tanner: Fiscal Conservatism Is "Not Santorum's Strong Suit ... He Never Met An Earmark That He Didn't Like." "[T]he Tea Party and 2010 elections were largely about economic issues and the desire to limit the size, cost, and intrusiveness of government. And those issues are not Santorum's strong suit. ... He never met an earmark that he didn't like. In fact, it wasn't just earmarks for his own state that he favored, which might be forgiven as pure electoral pragmatism, but earmarks for everyone..." (Michael Tanner, "Santorum's Big-Government Conservatism," National Review, 1/4/12)

Santorum Also Abandoned His Position As A Deficit Hawk And Repeatedly Voted To Raise The Debt Ceiling:

Santorum: "I Came To The House As A Real Deficit Hawk, But I Am No Longer A Deficit Hawk ... I'll Tell You Why. I Had To Spend The Surpluses." "Confronted with projected deficits until fiscal 2007, senior GOP lawmakers are backing away from long-standing rhetoric about the government's duty to live within its means. 'I came to the House as a real deficit hawk, but I am no longer a deficit hawk,' said Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.). 'I'll tell you why. I had to spend the surpluses. Deficits make it easier to say no.'" (Hans Nichols, "Leadership Lines Up With Deficit Doves," The Hill, 2/5/03)

"Santorum Acknowledged Voting To Raise The Federal Debt Ceiling At Least Five Times While In Congress." (Charles Babington, "Gingrich Defends His Attacks," The Associated Press, 1/15/12)

By The Time Santorum Was Crushed By Nearly Twenty Points In His 2006 Re-Election Bid, Pennsylvanians Saw Him As Part Of The Problem When It Came To Spending:

The Associated Press: "Even Some Conservatives Were Frustrated ... [And] Saw Him As Too Much A Part Of The Big-Spending Establishment." "By the time of his defeat as part of an anti-war, anti-incumbent tide, even some conservatives were frustrated with Santorum. Some saw him as too much a part of the big-spending establishment and others didn't like that he chose to endorse Arlen Specter, then a moderate Republican senator who years later would switch to the Democratic Party, over conservative Pat Toomey in the state's close 2004 Republican primary." (Andrew Miga, "Santorum Cites Appeal As Reliable Conservative," The Associated Press, 12/31/11)