Romney Campaign Press Release - Santorum Joins the Fight Against Free Enterprise

"It used to be that Senator Santorum stood up for free enterprise and the private sector when desperate politicians went on the attack. Sadly, he has decided to join the assault on free enterprise in a way usually reserved for liberals. Once again, it appears Rick Santorum is putting politics over principle. We've seen this movie before, and we know how it ends." —Gail Gitcho, Romney Communications Director

Once Upon A Time, Senator Santorum Stood Up For Free Enterprise When Governor Romney Came Under Attack From Desperate Career Politicians:

Santorum Said Attacks On Governor Romney's Business Record Were "Probably Not Warranted." SANTORUM: "You know, you have capitalism where you have companies that are takeover opportunities because the management hasn't done a good job at managing the company, and someone comes in and tries to save that company and turn it around. ... I mean, I'd hate to sit here and be a defender of Mitt Romney, but to me, this is a defender of capitalism. And I have to say that, you know, this is an attack that's probably not warranted." (CNN's "The Situation Room," 1/11/12)

Santorum Noted That Romney "Had A Lot Of Success" In The Private Sector. "Speaking on CNN's 'The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,' Santorum said the line of argument against Romney didn't mesh with facts from Bain's history. 'Bain Capital, at least from the record I looked at, had a lot of success,' Santorum said." (Kevin Liptak, "Rivals Grudgingly Defend Romney From Bain Criticism," CNN.com, 1/12/12)

The New York Times: "Mr. Santorum Notably Did Not Join His Republican Rivals In Criticizing The Business Background Of Mr. Romney." (Jeff Zeleny, "For Romney, Attacks on Bain Career Have Upside," The New York Times, 1/14/12)

Santorum: "I Just Don't Think As A Conservative ... That We Should Be Out There Playing The Games That The Democrats Play." SANTORUM: "I just don't think as a conservative, and someone who believes in business that we should be out there playing the games that the Democrats play, saying somehow capitalism is bad." (Fox News' "Hannity," 1/9/12)

Now It Is Senator Santorum Who — As A Desperate Career Politician — Is Resorting To The Same Desperate Attacks:

Despite Once Declaring Such Attacks Off-Limits, Santorum Is Now Targeting Governor Romney's Work In The Private Sector. "Rick Santorum's rhetoric toward Mitt Romney has grown sharper in recent weeks -- to the point where he's now making an attack on Romney's record that he once suggested was off-limits. Case in point: On Tuesday, Santorum blasted Romney's private-sector record at Bain Capital. 'Gov. Romney has a career as an investment banker and someone who's a private equity guy on Wall Street. I'm not too sure that necessarily commends you well to be president of the United States,' Santorum said in an interview on the nationally syndicated show 'Kilmeade & Friends.'" (Michael O'Brien, "Santorum Sharpens Attacks On Romney To Include Bain Record," NBC's "First Read," 3/13/12)

Santorum Has Changed His Tune "As Romney Looks To Shut The Door On His Republican Challengers." "Yet two months later, as Romney looks to shut the door on his Republican challengers, Santorum identified Romney's private sector background as a key element of his weakness versus President Obama. 'We'll have a Wall Street banker going up against the president of the United States — not the best matchup for us,' Santorum told host Brian Kilmeade on Tuesday morning." (Michael O'Brien, "Santorum Sharpens Attacks On Romney To Include Bain Record," NBC's "First Read," 3/13/12)

Senator Santorum Should Note How Previous Attacks Like This Have Been Received By Conservatives:

The Wall Street Journal: "About the best that can be said about the Republican attacks on Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital is that President Obama is going to do the same thing eventually ... Yet that hardly absolves Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and others for their crude and damaging caricatures of modern business and capitalism. Politics isn't subtle, and these candidates are desperate, but do they have to sound like Michael Moore?" (Editorial, "The Bain Capital Bonfire," The Wall Street Journal, 1/11/12)

National Review: "[T]o abominate Mitt Romney for having been a success at the business of investing in struggling American companies, connecting entrepreneurs with capital and producers with markets, is foolish and destructive. Republicans ought to know better, and the fact that Gingrich et al. apparently do not is the most disturbing commentary on the state of the primary field so far." (Editorial, "Romney's Profitable Past," National Review, 1/10/12)

Club For Growth's Chris Chocola: "Newt Gingrich's attacks on Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital are disgusting. ... Attacking Governor Romney for participating in free-market capitalism is just beyond the pale for any purported 'Reagan Conservative.' Newt Gingrich should stop his attacks on free markets and apologize to Governor Romney for them." (Club For Growth, Press Release, 1/9/12)

Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips: "The American people deserve a vigorous campaign of contrasts on the records of candidates and their policy proposals, not heavy-handed, populist tinged attacks on free enterprise. ... [W]e are disappointed to see attacks from some Republican presidential candidates on Mitt Romney and Bain Capital, which sink to the level of some of the worst anti-free market, class envy politics constantly pushed by the Obama Administration and those in the Occupy camps." (Americans For Prosperity, Press Release, 1/11/12)

National Review's Jay Nordlinger: "The last two presidential election cycles have revealed a stinking hypocrisy in conservatives: They profess their love of capitalism and entrepreneurship, but when offered a real capitalist and entrepreneur, they go, 'Eek, a mouse!' And they tear him down in proud social-democrat fashion. In the off season, they sound like Friedrich Hayek. When the game is on, they sound like Huey Long, Bella Abzug, or Bob Shrum." (Jay Nordlinger, "Conservatives Vs. Capitalism," National Review, 1/9/12)

American Enterprise Institute's James Pethokoukis: "Romney's career as a free-market capitalist? No apologies necessary." (James Pethokoukis, "Romney Doesn't Need To Apologize For His Bain Career," AEI's "The Enterprise," 1/9/12)

The Washington Examiner's Philip Klein: "[Romney's] Republican rivals have now taken a page out of the left-wing playbook and begun to attack his successful business career. It's nothing short of disgraceful behavior ... Romney's rivals are engaging in the type of Marxist rhetoric that we're used to hearing from Occupy Wall Street protesters, promoting an imaginary view of capitalism that exists only in Hollywood." (Philip Klein, "In Defense Of Mitt Romney's Bain Record," The Washington Examiner, 1/9/12)

The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin: "Newt Gingrich's decision, for the second time in the race, to echo the left's anti-Bain, anti-capitalism themes against Mitt Romney is raising eyebrows. Ironically, it may boomerang, reinforcing Gingrich's reputation as a destructive force and giving Romney some brownie points with fiscal conservatives. ... Gingrich's decision to adopt the David Axelrod-Debbie Wasserman Schultz-Occupy Wall Street attack against Bain Capital has made conservatives more than a little queasy." (Jennifer Rubin, "Gingrich Is Up To His Old Tricks: Helping Democrats," The Washington Post, 1/9/12)

Investor's Business Daily: "It was only a matter of time before Michael Moore would do a number on Mitt Romney and his private equity firm, Bain Capital. ... But wait. That's not Moore putting out this stuff. It's Newt Gingrich. It's Rick Perry. ... All are taking shots at Mitt Romney for being a practicing capitalist. Capitalism is an economic system that, last we checked, all the Republican hopefuls heartily endorse. But lately they've been reading a script that sounds straight from the left wing of the Democratic Party." (Editorial, "What If U.S. Government Got The Bain Treatment?" Investor's Business Daily, 1/9/12)