Rick Santorum: Sarah Palin May Be Skipping CPAC Due To Lack Of 'Financial Benefits'

Former Pennsylvania Sen. and possible 2012 GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum provided a questionable analysis of Sarah Palin's decision not to attend the annual Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend, saying that it might have something to do with the former vice-presidential candidate's priorities being focused on engagements that promised more "financial benefit."

"I have a feeling that she has some demands on her time, and a lot of them have financial benefit attached to them," Santorum, who will be at CPAC, told conservative commentator S.E. Cupp on a radio program Tuesday, according to Politico.

Santorum then noted that Palin likely had "other business opportunities," seemingly implying that the former Alaska governor's standard $100,000 speaking fees for her "prior obligations" were more important to her.

The former Pennsylvania senator also appeared to take a sarcastic swipe at Palin's family dynamic.

"I don't live in Alaska and I'm not the mother to all these kids and I don't have other responsibilities that she has," Santorum, a father of seven, said.

Palin's absence from CPAC this year won't be a new phenomenon. She didn't attend the previous three, either.

As Politico reports, other guests this year will include potential 2012ers such as Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Mitch Daniels, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Perry, Haley Barbour and John Bolton.

In a tweet on Wednesday morning, Santorum called the story from Politico "garbage." Linking to the piece, he wrote, "This article is garbage.All I said was- she is VERY busy, PERIOD. Reporter trying to create something out of nothing."

WATCH via Mediaite:

Comments

[vtracy95]

10:01 AM on 02/22/2011

santorum wants to run for president....lolollollolololololo....please ,he can't even handle the local problems.....lolololololo....palin just doesn't have anything better to say but "one liners" and jokes...

[conservativelady]

07:32 PM on 02/12/2011

It's a good questions to ask, why does Palin always aviod this conference? I think it could be that she wants to win the White House so badly that she is afraid to put herself in a position where she could be challenged by anything or anyone. She is afraid to be anywhere near her competition because secretly she knows she is incompetent, but can't bear to face the truth. So far, she has just been getting by on her sex appeal, she hopes to win the White House continuing with this strategy, she can't let anything get in her way, not even the chance of being compared to others who are much more capable then her, she justs wants to skate on by. But she is really ambitious, despite all of her challenges.

[Boopsie2008]

09:03 PM on 02/12/2011

She would be upstaged by the more confident, competent, intelligent candidates and horrified by the open press. THAT's really the issue -- staying as far away as possible from reporters who could ask her penetrating questions. She needs to be carefully shielded from any reporter that could expose her half-inch deep grasp of the issues and zero ideas for solutions.

[jonjon tha 5 8]

09:37 AM on 02/12/2011

I knew if I agreed with Rick Santorum about anything other than being attracted to dudes, something must be wrong.

[JUSTSAYING--]

10:04 PM on 02/10/2011

Todd and Sarah--you all got some splaining to do-Tripp's interview at Immoral Minority..Google it!

[madskillzdotcom316]

07:11 PM on 02/10/2011

Wow, Rick - you are just realizing Sarah has Sarah's best interests at heart? Slow much?

I enjoyed the interview. Cupp runneth over ...

[nofriendofrepublicans]

04:55 PM on 02/10/2011

Meeting of the mindless.

[vtracy95]

09:40 AM on 02/22/2011

best 4 word comment ...ever....lolololololololo

[barry444]

03:50 PM on 02/10/2011

Both of them suck.

That's all.

[justjp]

06:27 PM on 02/12/2011

your mom, sister???

[JUSTSAYING--]

10:02 PM on 02/10/2011

BIG PROBLEMS AT THE CASTLE TONIGHT..Wonder what her flying moneys are going to say about this situation..have they showed up yet??

[lindabear]

02:31 PM on 02/10/2011

Oh goody, the snakes are eating their own.

[thromulese]

02:25 PM on 02/10/2011

Why is Santorum’s take on this labeled a “questionable analysis”? I don’t like Santorum much but his analysis of this seems right on to me.

Palin is just out to sell herself and her books.

[whoknew42]

01:13 PM on 02/10/2011

What is this, middle school?

The both of them just need to have sex with eachother and get it over with

jesuschrist

[torgman3]

01:33 PM on 02/10/2011

Middle school is the perfect description of the GOP atmosphere.

[justjp]

06:32 PM on 02/12/2011

They are all taught by a liberal

[hugoal]

03:52 PM on 02/10/2011

have sex with each other? Palin preaches abstinence. Outside of her own home of course.

[klort]

01:08 PM on 02/10/2011

Palin retorted with, "I know you are, but what am I?" When Fox reporters suggested that her response was unrelated to the issue, she replied, "It's just another sign that, you know, the liberal communist fascist nazi, uh, you know, lame-stream Obama media has for too long been changing the way that America gets its information."

[justjp]

06:32 PM on 02/12/2011

link? FAIL

[Aview Nolastname]

12:42 PM on 02/10/2011

Immoral Minority!
Go, Go, Go!!

[JUSTSAYING--]

09:39 PM on 02/10/2011

That interview with Gryphen is blockbuster..seems the massage therapist may know the whole truth about the pregnancy.

[Douglas Campbell]

12:36 PM on 02/10/2011

I'm beginning to have trouble telling Santorum apart from Stephen Colbert.
One is an hilarious, ridiculous caricature of a Right Wing Conservative and the other is Stephen Colbert.

[BadgersBite]

12:35 PM on 02/10/2011

Love to watch the repubs eat their young.