DEFINITIVE PROOF: Santorum does not have concerns about the Tea Party

People continue to say that Santorum has a problem with the Tea Party based on a sliced and diced video released by TownHall from a 2010 speech at the Pennsylvania Press Club. But the truth is he absolutely does not. I’ve tried to address this before, and I while I think it was sufficient, I admittedly was lacking a bit of context. Finally, we have the transcript from that event thanks to VoicesEmpower that offers definitive proof that Santorum had concerns about the libertarian movement trying to refashion conservatism within BOTH the Tea Party and the Republican Party.

Below is a photo from the video and the transcript:

Transcript from PA Press Club 05/24/10 PCN-TV:

24:05 Pennsylvania Press Club Moderator:
Should the Public Accommodations Section of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill be open for revision?

24:11-25:35 Rick Santorum:
No. Look I supported Trey Grayson over Rand Paul and there was a reason for that … I am not a Libertarian and I fight very strongly against Libertarian influence in the Republican party and the conservative movement. I don’t think the Libertarians have it right when it comes to what the Constitution is all about. I don’t think they have it right as to what our history is and we are not a group of people who believe in no government. We are a people that believes that government has a role to play: federal government has a role to play, state government has a role to play and local government has a role to play; and when there are clear wrongs in society, when there are injustices in society, sure you handle it at the local level if you can, but when the local and state level are in cahoots with the injustice, then the federal government has to step in and do something; and I’m just hopeful that is a mistake that will be corrected by Mr. Paul, but as I’ve said before, I have some real concerns about this movement within the Republican Party and the Tea Party Movement to sort of refashion conservatism and I will vocally and publicly oppose it and do my best to correct the record.

When you put it in context, it was absolutely about the libertarian movement as represented by the controversy between Rand Paul and Rachel Maddow on civil rights in 2010. The whole ordeal was spawned by Rand Paul’s comments, and Santorum was merely responding to them.

So once again, Santorum does NOT have any concerns about the Tea Party per this video. Please pass this around so people get the truth about what was actually stated.


Comment Policy: Please read our comment policy before making a comment. In short, please be respectful of others and do not engage in personal attacks. Otherwise we will revoke your comment privileges.