In this cycle, the Republican Party’s ever-dwindling tea bagger base demands a candidate for president who is an angry, practiced liar who will go to any rhetorical extreme to smear Pres. Obama.
Rick Santorum is doing his best to prove that he is their guy. Case in point is this episode, played out in the two videos above, from a Santorum campaign stop in Lady Lake, Fla., yesterday.
His performance in these two videos shows, once and for all, that he lacks the intelligence, decorum and stature to be president, and that, were he to become the Republican Party’s nominee, he could never get the votes of moderates and independents that are required to win the presidency.
Transcript for video on the left:
TEA PARTYIST: I never refer to Obama as president because legally he is not, and well, he constantly says that our constitution is passé, and he totally ignores it. As you know, he does what he darn well pleases. He is an avowed Muslim … (Applause) — and my question is why isn’t something being done to get him out of our government. He has no legal right to be calling himself president.
SANTORUM: Well look, I’m doing my best to get him out of the government right now. And you’re right about how he uniformly ignores the Constitution. He did this with these appointments over the recess that was not a recess, and if I was in the United States Senate I would be drawing the line.
TEA PARTYIST: He says our government is passe … Our Constitution.
SANTORUM: As I think I made the case here that — I agree with you, in the sense that he is — he, ah — he does things that are against the values and the founding principles of our country. And certainly with his — with the way he has governed this country — and being able to — appointing the czars [2] — and running the government of the country out of the White House instead of through the departments, through the jails (?), having these people be accountable to Congress. All of this is an accumulation of power that I’m sure our Founders would be spinning in their graves, ah, knowing how he was conducting himself as president. Those are issues that we will bring before the American public and have the American public decide what kind of country they want to live in. (Applause and “Yeah!”) They want to live in a country — (More applause) — They want to live in a country with an imperial president who thinks he’s above the law and can do whatever he wants to do and ignore Congress, ignore the courts and just proceed as if he is the governing authority in the country alone, then go ahead and elect Barack Obama. But we’re going to present a very clear contrast of someone who — I will guarantee you, for example, that (points to tea partyist) you will be the first czar I name. All right? (Laughter) All of you feel really confident I’m not namin’ any czars, right? (Laughter) We’re not gonna name any czars. We’re not gonna do anything that is extra constitutional. We’re gonna stick to the principals and values of our country that made us the greatest country on the face of the world. (Loud applause)
Video on the right:
When confronted afterwards by reporters, Santorum attempts to do a Gingrich and turn the question back on the media:
SANTORUM: Why do you guys ask these gotcha questions? Like it’s my job to go out and correct everybody who says something I don’t agree with.
REPORTER: (Indistinct)
SANTORUM: I don’t think it’s my responsibility — why don’t you go out and correct? — it’s not my responsibility as a candidate to correct everybody who makes a statement that I disagree with.
There are lots of people who get up and say things in a town hall meeting and say things that I don’t agree with, but I don’t feel it’s my obligation, nor should it be your feeling that it’s my obligation to correct everybody who says something that I don’t agree with.
Time to go home, Rick. You’re done. Like Newt Gingrich, you’re just too douche-y to be president.
