Sarah Palin gave some reenforcement to GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum Thursday, telling Fox News that Republican voters concerned with "ideological consistency" might end up turning to him.
"If voters start kind of shifting gears and deciding they want ideological consistency, then they're going to start paying attention to say, Rick Santorum, who has been consistent on being a hard-liner against Iran to help protect Israel, he's been consistent in wanting to protect the most vulnerable and the sanctity of life, he's been consistent in saying we need to slash the federal income tax," Palin said.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but certainly positive -- so much so that the Santorum campaign made sure on Friday that people were aware Palin's comments.
Santorum quickly blasted out an email to supporters giving them the information:
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said that last night on Fox News about me, and I wanted to make sure you heard about it as well.
I am grateful for those kind words from a strong conservative like Governor Palin. And it’s becoming more clear that other conservatives are starting to rally around our message of passionate conservatism.
A real endorsement from Palin, which this is not, will no doubt be a coveted prize for whichever candidate receives it. As HuffPost's Paul Blumenthal noted last month, some of Palin's most avid supporters are still not ready to give up on the idea of her embarking on a White House run, despite the fact that she has said she's almost ready to throw her weight behind a contender.
Others have decided that the current crop of GOP candidates is unacceptable and have mounted a campaign to persuade Palin to change her mind -- or, as the campaign is titled, "Reconsider." The Reconsider campaign was launched on Conservatives4Palin.com and has received play across the Palin blogosphere.
But success looks unlikely as the former governor announced Tuesday that she has a good idea of which candidate she plans to endorse. A report from RealClearPolitics on Wednesday indicated that Palin is leaning toward endorsing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
But Palin's words of praise aren't the only thing Santorum has been receiving lately. On Friday, Santorum also announced a slew of endorsements from social conservative religious leaders in some key primary states. ThinkProgress points out that almost all of them have taken extreme stances against gay rights.