Fresh off his second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum took part in a town hall event in New Hampshire, held Wednesday evening in a Brentwood nursing home.
Santorum outlined his stance on social security at the event, spending a good 10 minutes on the issue. In the process, he took aim at a revered Republican figure, knocking former President Ronald Reagan's 1983 Social Security deal. Santorum criticized Reagan's decision to raise both the retirement age and taxes, linking those choices to the nation's current fiscal crisis.
"I love Ronald Reagan, but if I would point to one thing during his administration that he did a serious wrong, it was this bill, it was this Social Security fix," Santorum told the crowd. "He brought the idea of increasing taxes now, which is always what the left wants to do. Increase taxes now and reduce benefits later."
New data shows Santorum gaining ground in the Granite State. A Thursday Suffolk University poll has the former senator rising from fifth to third place, with eight percent of the vote. While rival Mitt Romney holds a considerable edge at 41 percent, Reuters reports that Santorum has eyes set on contests down the road.
"Obviously Mitt Romney is at 40 percent in the polls, the chances in five days to make up a 35 or 40 point lead is going to be pretty limited but we expect to make a run and to move up in those polls and to show that we're the candidate with the momentum and we'll carry that into South Carolina," he said.