Rick Santorum: I Feel 'Absolutely No Pressure At All' To Drop Out Of The Race

WASHINGTON -- Rick Santorum says he's under no pressure to quit the GOP presidential race so conservative voters can coalesce around Newt Gingrich.

"Absolutely no pressure at all," he said on CNN. "I think people realize that Mitt Romney is now no longer the inevitable."

The former Pennsylvania senator told CNN's "State of the Union" that his campaign is building momentum even after a third-place finish in South Carolina. He says he expects to run well in Florida's Jan. 31 primary.

Santorum said the suggestion that conservatives will have to coalesce to beat former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is "objectively false."

Santorum pointed out that he beat Romney in Iowa and says Gingrich "smoked him here in South Carolina."

However, Santorum criticized Gingrich as a "high-risk candidate." "Not only is he wrong on the individual mandate, in other words government-mandated health insurance, which he supported for 20 years, he's wrong on the Wall Street bailout. He was wrong on global warming. He was wrong on the immigration issue. These are probably the four biggest issues the tea party has, which is really the conservative base of the Republican party now. And Newt's just not in the right place on those," he said. "And I think the more focus as we've now gotten down to three serious candidates, the less attractive I think Newt's going to be," he continued, marginalizing Ron Paul, who finished fourth in South Carolina.

 

 

Comments

[plerave]

07:02 PM on 01/29/2012

Hang in until the convention Rick. Maybe we can stop Newt and Romney and let the convention delegates pick someone else.

[jamforchrist]

03:31 AM on 01/26/2012

NEWT ALL the WAY! Newt for a TRUE CHANGE!!!! GO! GO! GO! NEWT

[no tubes]

05:13 PM on 01/24/2012

Santorum will probably be out after Florida. He doesn't have much of a campaign beyond that, AFAIK. Newt will probably win Florida, but he has very little appeal outside of the deep south. He will, however, heavily damage Mitt's bid. Once the contest shifts to the western states, look for Ron Paul to pick up steam again. Hopefully in a big way.

[mrmoonlite5]

03:30 PM on 01/23/2012

RICK IS YOUNG HE HAS ALOT OF IDEAS AND SPUNK OBAMA KEEPS BRINGING IN ILLEAGES TO THE UNITED STATES GIVING JOBS AND HoMeS HEY MR> PRESIDENT didint YOU promis JOBS to the American People?

AND one more if you failed to keep all that you said true YOU WOULD NOT run a 2nd TERM so ZZZZZZZZZZZOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM get going

[jordoom]

02:16 AM on 01/23/2012

"And I think the more focus as we've now gotten down to three serious candidates, the less attractive I think Newt's going to be," -- Well, its nice to hear that Rick Santorum finds Newt "Attractive". Here's something that might help with that Ricky...Soft light, to set the mood, a little Perry Como music, and 4 Boilermakers. I'm sure Newt will look darn fine to you then, you hopeless romantic, you.

[mccorpuck]

10:56 PM on 01/22/2012

Why would he feel any pressure? He barely has any support, and he is quickly becoming irrelevant.

http://paranoidpolitico.blogspot.com/2012/01/santorum-unplugged_22.html

[OldGent]

09:35 PM on 01/22/2012

Good, keep running Rick. Use all that money til it's 2016.

[NYC619]

09:29 PM on 01/22/2012

Perhaps Little Dicky Sanctimonious does not know what drop out means, telling him to pull out instead might work.

[LeftFoLyfe]

07:46 PM on 01/22/2012

Ah well, santorum always finds a way to get out.

[Zippy1169]

07:44 PM on 01/22/2012

Can you say MEGALOMANIAC.....

He is a very scary man.

[Gidster]

06:46 PM on 01/22/2012

No pressure to drop out, not enough wit to know what the job is, or understand the establishment clause of the Constitution.

[nappyman]

05:57 PM on 01/22/2012

Drop out why? The establishment would pay him to stay in. They are scared of Newt. And the evangelical leadership would have to eat their words and support Newt. But SC showed the religous emperors had no clothes. They held their big conclave and it didn't have zilch of an effect.

[Gidster]

06:47 PM on 01/22/2012

End of Democracy Spring 2013....

[Ozarks]

05:47 PM on 01/22/2012

Right Ricky, no pressure because you have no money to compete in Florida

[Mariel]

06:10 PM on 01/22/2012

As of yesterday morning his funds had reached $1.1 million over a few days of donations; the kitty is probably higher now. I think Gingrich and Santorum might run together as Toffee suggests. They like each other but are feuding over the points noted in the article. They can resolve this feud and run together. But I personally think Santorum would be a steadier President if the ticked won...that's so far down the Pike right now that no one can predict.

I would be distressed if Jeb Bush was pushed into the ring, when we do have some hard working passionate candidates who were willing to try. The Bushes did not bring us prosperity or peace. Let someone else have a chance.

[Gidster]

06:51 PM on 01/22/2012

Lil Ricky is far too theocratically driven to be a steady president. As long as he believes that certain American citizens are inferior, and that he can wave his magic jebus wand and dissolve legal contracts, he has no future in public service.

[Zippy1169]

07:47 PM on 01/22/2012

"Steady" yes steady at eroding women's rights and disenfranchising and if possible eradicating Gay Americans.

[SolarArray]

05:14 PM on 01/22/2012

He has his Imaginary Being guiding him all the way.