GOFFSTOWN, N.H. ? Instead of engaging the front-runner in the ABC News/Yahoo! debate, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum went after each other.
The beneficiary was Mitt Romney, who escaped largely unscathed.
Continue ReadingThe Paul-Santorum sniping is a familiar storyline, and Saturday night provided the latest in a series of low intensity confrontations between two candidates representing distinctly different GOP camps and political cultures.
Santorum, more than two decades Paul?s junior, is a hawkish social conservative who quickly found his way into a GOP leadership role in the Senate. Paul is in many ways his polar opposite: a dovish libertarian and career House backbencher who thumbs his nose at both his party and the traditional paths to power in Washington.
For much of the campaign, the tensions between the two ? frequently expressed through their differences on U.S. policy toward Iran ? didn?t matter: neither seemed to be going anywhere in the race.
But with both candidates now ensconced as top tier candidates according to recent polls, their clashes have taken on a greater strategic significance. Paul?s attacks on Santorum work to Romney?s advantage, sullying the former Pennsylvania senator while leaving Romney?s hands clean. And every moment that Paul and Santorum spend focused on each other is a moment when the field isn?t attacking the front-runner.
Asked after Saturday?s debate if there is any personal animosity between himself and Paul, Santorum replied, ?Oh gosh, no? and then sought to divest himself of responsibility for the bickering.
?He called me corrupt. What are you gonna?I don?t think I?m the one that started the skirmish,? Santorum said.
In the post-debate spin room, Paul?s son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, attributed the conflict between his dad and Santorum to the ex-senator?s new-found place in the GOP field?s first tier.
?It?s just the fact that he?s new to the top tier, hasn?t been screened or vetted, and this is his chance,? Rand Paul said.
Even prior to the debate, Paul had gone on the air with a new ad in South Carolina that accuses Santorum of being a ?corporate lobbyist? and ?Washington politician? who was named ?one of the most corrupt members of Congress.?
At St. Anselm College, where the debate took place Saturday night, Paul defended the ad when asked about it by debate moderators.
?He?s a big-government, big-spending individual ? He became a high-powered lobbyist,? Paul contended.
?They caught you not telling the truth, Ron,? Santorum interjected.
Paul went on: ?What really counts is his record. I mean, he?s a big government, big spending individual. Because, you know, he preached to the fact he wanted a balanced budget amendment but voted to raise the debt [limit] five times. So he is a big government person.?
?And also where did he get ? make his living afterwards? I mean, he became a high-powered lobbyist on ? in Washington, D.C. And he has done quite well.?
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