Romney Campaign Press Release - Santorum Took One for the Team on Earmarks

"Last week, Senator Santorum accused others of 'misrepresenting the facts' on his history of prolific earmarking. It turns out Senator Santorum was the one misrepresenting the facts. For someone who defends earmarks so passionately, it is surprising he didn't tell the whole story. Perhaps Senator Santorum was just taking another one for the team in Washington." —Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

Congressman/Senator Santorum Has Said He Views Politics As "A Team Sport" And That "Sometimes You Take One For The Team":

Senator Santorum: "Sometimes You Take One For The Team ... Politics Is A Team Sport, Folks." SANTORUM: "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. And sometimes you've got to rally together and do something." (GOP Presidential Debate, 2/22/1/p>

Congressman/Senator Santorum Was A "Prolific" User Of Earmarks And — Perhaps Taking One For The Team — Continues To Defend The Practice:

Club For Growth: "Santorum Was A Prolific Supporter Of Earmarks, Having Requested Billions Of Dollars For Pork Projects In Pennsylvania While He Was In Congress." ("2012 Presidential White Paper #4: Former Senator Rick Santorum," Club For Growth, 6/6/11)

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'm Very Proud Of All The Earmarks I Put In Bills. I'll Defend Earmarks." SANTORUM: "I'm not saying necessarily earmarks are bad. I have had a lot of earmarks. In fact, I'm very proud of all the earmarks I put in bills. I'll defend earmarks." (Fox News' "Hannity," 2/26/09)

2012: "[Santorum] Declined To Identify Any Earmarks He Regretted." ("Under Attack, Santorum Defends 'Good' Earmarks," The Associated Press, 2/9/12)

Congressman/Senator Santorum Worked With His Closest Teammate — Former Senator Arlen Specter (R/D-Pa.) — To Bring Pork Projects Back To Pennsylvania:

Senator Specter Used His Appropriations Committee Influence To Secure Additional Earmarks On Santorum's Behalf: "When I'm Putting Him First On Earmarks, That Shows That He's The Guy Who's Got Clout." "Perhaps most important, Specter has leveraged his perch as a subcommittee chairman on the Appropriations Committee to deliver federal dollars to Pennsylvania to help Santorum. 'When I'm putting him first on earmarks, that shows that he's the guy who's got clout,' Specter said, adding that he helped Santorum secure a major job-training grant and that last year they jointly announced earmarks for defense companies in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley." (Jonathan E. Kaplan, "Specter To Repay Santorum," The Hill, 5/18/06)

Santorum On Specter, 2004: "You Have To Put Your Own Personal Issues Aside And Carry The Water For The Team." "Sen. Arlen Specter yesterday went before his toughest audience to date — all the Republican members of the U.S. Senate — and won fresh support from many of his colleagues in his quest to secure the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee. ... Santorum described Specter as someone who recognized the responsibility of a chairman to support the team 'that put him there.' He noted that as chair of an Appropriations subcommittee, Specter voted against some things that he might have voted for had he not been chairman. 'You have to put your own personal issues aside and carry the water for the team,' Santorum said." (Steve Goldstein, "Specter Gains Support In Talks With Full Caucus," The Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/18/04)

In An Attempt To Defend Earmarks Before The American People, Congressman/Senator Santorum Ran Into Some Inconvenient Truths:

In Last Week's Debate, Santorum Insisted "There Was Transparency" In The Earmark Process And That Members Would "Publicly Request These Things." SANTORUM: "What happened in the earmark process was that members of Congress would ask, formally, publicly request these things, put them on paper, and have them allocated, and have them voted on a committee, have them voted on, on the floor of the Senate. ... The issue is, were they transparent? And the bottom line was, when I was in the United States Senate, there was transparency." (GOP Presidential Debate, 2/22/12)

As Multiple Sources Noted, Santorum Was Totally Wrong: Earmarks Were NOT Transparent During His Sixteen Years In Congress. "As for earmarks, Santorum staunchly supported them for years, and he defends his own use of the funding mechanism to this day. ... During the debate, Santorum defended his penchant for earmarking by insisting that the process was open to the public. But that wasn't the case until he left office. Congress passed reforms to deal with the issue in 2007. ... Santorum oddly accused Romney of misrepresenting the truth about earmarks when it was actually he who was wrangling for credibility in this case." (Josh Hicks, "Rick Santorum's Defense Of Debt Ceiling Votes," The Washington Post, 2/24/12)

The Washington Post: "[Santorum's] Remarks About The Transparency Of The Earmarking Process Were Dead Wrong." (Josh Hicks, "Rick Santorum's Defense Of Debt Ceiling Votes," The Washington Post, 2/24/12)

FactCheck.org: "Santorum Said That When He Was In Congress The Members Would 'Publicly Request' Earmarks In An 'Open Process.' That's Not True." (FactCheck.org, 2/23/12)