Santorum: Romney "doesn't have a core" - CBS News

Rick Santorum accused rival Mitt Romney of not having "core" beliefs and Republicans will ultimately pick a true conservative to take on President Obama in the fall.

Romney "is someone who doesn't have a core. He has been on both sides of almost every single issue in the past ten years," Santorum said in an interview on "CBS This Morning."

Romney has more than twice as many delegates as Santorum in the race for 1,144 of 2,286 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination for president. CBS News has estimated that Romney has just shy of 500 delegates, while Santorum has more than 200.

Full CBS News coverage: Rick Santorum

Santorum suggested that none of the candidates would be able to get that "magic number" and the nominating convention in Tampa in August would be the ultimate decider.

"The convention will nominate a conservative," Santorum said, "they will not nominate the establishment moderate candidate from Massachusetts," referring to Romney, who served as the Bay state's governor from 2003 to 2007.

The former Pennsylvania senator, who is known for his strongly held social conservative beliefs, said he is the best messenger for Republicans.

"When we nominate moderates, when we nominate Tweedledum versus Tweedledee, we don't win elections. We win elections when there are clear contrasts and bold choices and that is what we are going to do in this election," Santorum said.

"And that is why we believe that ultimately we will be the nominee," he said.

View the original article here

Santorum: Romney "doesn't have a core" - CBS News

Rick Santorum accused rival Mitt Romney of not having "core" beliefs and Republicans will ultimately pick a true conservative to take on President Obama in the fall.

Romney "is someone who doesn't have a core. He has been on both sides of almost every single issue in the past ten years," Santorum said in an interview on "CBS This Morning."

Romney has more than twice as many delegates as Santorum in the race for 1,144 of 2,286 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination for president. CBS News has estimated that Romney has just shy of 500 delegates, while Santorum has more than 200.

Full CBS News coverage: Rick Santorum

Santorum suggested that none of the candidates would be able to get that "magic number" and the nominating convention in Tampa in August would be the ultimate decider.

"The convention will nominate a conservative," Santorum said, "they will not nominate the establishment moderate candidate from Massachusetts," referring to Romney, who served as the Bay state's governor from 2003 to 2007.

The former Pennsylvania senator, who is known for his strongly held social conservative beliefs, said he is the best messenger for Republicans.

"When we nominate moderates, when we nominate Tweedledum versus Tweedledee, we don't win elections. We win elections when there are clear contrasts and bold choices and that is what we are going to do in this election," Santorum said.

"And that is why we believe that ultimately we will be the nominee," he said.

View the original article here

Santorum: Romney "doesn't have a core" - CBS News

Rick Santorum accused rival Mitt Romney of not having "core" beliefs and Republicans will ultimately pick a true conservative to take on President Obama in the fall.

Romney "is someone who doesn't have a core. He has been on both sides of almost every single issue in the past ten years," Santorum said in an interview on "CBS This Morning."

Romney has more than twice as many delegates as Santorum in the race for 1,144 of 2,286 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination for president. CBS News has estimated that Romney has just shy of 500 delegates, while Santorum has more than 200.

Full CBS News coverage: Rick Santorum

Santorum suggested that none of the candidates would be able to get that "magic number" and the nominating convention in Tampa in August would be the ultimate decider.

"The convention will nominate a conservative," Santorum said, "they will not nominate the establishment moderate candidate from Massachusetts," referring to Romney, who served as the Bay state's governor from 2003 to 2007.

The former Pennsylvania senator, who is known for his strongly held social conservative beliefs, said he is the best messenger for Republicans.

"When we nominate moderates, when we nominate Tweedledum versus Tweedledee, we don't win elections. We win elections when there are clear contrasts and bold choices and that is what we are going to do in this election," Santorum said.

"And that is why we believe that ultimately we will be the nominee," he said.

View the original article here

Santorum: Romney "doesn't have a core" - CBS News

Rick Santorum accused rival Mitt Romney of not having "core" beliefs and Republicans will ultimately pick a true conservative to take on President Obama in the fall.

Romney "is someone who doesn't have a core. He has been on both sides of almost every single issue in the past ten years," Santorum said in an interview on "CBS This Morning."

Romney has more than twice as many delegates as Santorum in the race for 1,144 of 2,286 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination for president. CBS News has estimated that Romney has just shy of 500 delegates, while Santorum has more than 200.

Full CBS News coverage: Rick Santorum

Santorum suggested that none of the candidates would be able to get that "magic number" and the nominating convention in Tampa in August would be the ultimate decider.

"The convention will nominate a conservative," Santorum said, "they will not nominate the establishment moderate candidate from Massachusetts," referring to Romney, who served as the Bay state's governor from 2003 to 2007.

The former Pennsylvania senator, who is known for his strongly held social conservative beliefs, said he is the best messenger for Republicans.

"When we nominate moderates, when we nominate Tweedledum versus Tweedledee, we don't win elections. We win elections when there are clear contrasts and bold choices and that is what we are going to do in this election," Santorum said.

"And that is why we believe that ultimately we will be the nominee," he said.

View the original article here

Santorum wins in Mississippi, Alabama - Washington Post

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Santorum wins in Mississippi, AlabamaView Photo Gallery — March 2012:?The Republican hopefuls continue their pursuit of the presidential nomination.

Text SizePrintE-mailReprints By Karen Tumulty,

Former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.) pulled out narrow wins in the Alabama and Mississippi presidential primaries Tuesday, bolstering his claim to being the conservative alternative to Republican front-runner Mitt Romney.

“We did it again,” Santorum told cheering supporters in Lafayette, La.; that state will hold its primary March 24. “Who would have thought .?.?. that ordinary folks from across this country can defy the odds day in and day out?”

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Mississippi and Alabama play-by-play Washington Post Staff

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Here are some of the highlights on what the electorate looks like and what voters were focused on as they left polling places.

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THE FIX | None of the three top Republican candidates are a good fit for Tuesday’s primaries in Alabama and Mississippi.

Santorum had been heavily outspent by Romney and did not have anything close to the front-runner’s superior organization.

“The time is now for conservatives to pull together,” Santorum said, adding that “the best chance to win this election is to nominate a conservative to go up against Barack Obama who can take him on on every issue.”

Romney had put an aggressive, late-hour effort into a part of the country that was considered hostile territory for him — one where a win seemed almost inconceivable only a few weeks ago.

Romney won the two smaller contests of the day: the caucuses in Hawaii and American Samoa, where he picked up all six delagates and three superdelegates. In Hawaii, Romney won 45 percent of the vote, followed by Santorum with 25 percent and Ron Paul with 18. Gingrich came fourth with 11 percent.

The former Massachusetts governor had played down his expectations in the South. But in an interview on Tuesday with CNN, he spoke dismissively of his closest competitor.

“Senator Santorum is at the desperate end of his campaign,” Romney said.

Santorum and former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) have both laid claim to the conservative mantle. But without a win Tuesday in what is essentially his home region, Gingrich may find it difficult to marshal the resources — and a rationale — to continue his campaign.

Gingrich gave no indication Tuesday night that he would end his bid, and he grasped for a silver lining in the fact that Romney also fell short.

“The elite media’s effort to convince the nation that Mitt Romney is inevitable just collapsed,” Gingrich said at a rally in Birmingham, Ala. “If you’re a front-runner and you keep coming in third, you’re not much of a front-runner.”

In both states, Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) ran far behind the three leading contenders.

With Santorum and Gingrich remaining in the race, Romney has been able to exploit the split they have created among the most conservative Republicans, and to build a slow but steady lead in the contest for convention delegates.

Going into Tuesday’s primaries, Romney had 438 delegates, about twice as many as Santorum, who was in second place.

“He’s far behind in the delegate count; he’s far behind in the popular-vote count,” Romney said of the former senator, adding: “If you look at the math .?.?. it’s a very difficult road for him.”

Romney himself remains well short of the 1,144 delegates it will take to clinch the nomination.

At this point, it is almost mathematically impossible for any of Romney’s rivals to reach that goal, but they are holding on to the hope that by denying him the number he needs, they can take the fight into August and to the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

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