Santorum, the Blue-Collar Brawler

[Valin]

National Review:

His message for Romney: Bring on the re-match.

Eliana Johnson

Jan. 12 2015

 

I’m sitting across from Rick Santorum at a Corner Bakery Cafe on North Capitol Street near the Capitol when a news alert flashes across my phone. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Mitt Romney has told a group of his top donors that he is seriously considering a third White House bid.

 

Santorum smiles broadly. “Bring it on,” he says. The surprise runner-up in the 2012 Republican primary, Santorum won eleven primaries and caucuses before eventually conceding a hard-fought battle to Romney. Now, he wants a rematch.

 

(Snip)

 

“If we get in, we’re getting in to win,” Santorum says. “I’m not getting in to play a role. I’d get in because I think I have what it takes to win a primary and because I think I have what it takes to win a general election.” He talks like he’s already announced his campaign. “I’m not just in it to win a primary,” he says.

 

Santorum isn’t shying away from a confrontation with Jeb Bush, either. “Most Americans earn what they get. They don’t start off with a head start,” he says. He acknowledges that there are benefits and drawbacks to nominating somebody like Bush, a political legacy with near-universal name recognition, but it doesn’t take much prodding to get him to offer his own opinion. “Obviously if I thought it was really a good thing, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here at the table,” he says.

 

(Snip)