Rick Santorum Says Newt Gingrich Can’t Bully Him to Quit Race

[ScienceRocks]

Rick Santorum Says Newt Gingrich Can’t Bully Him to Quit Race
ABC News Blog ^ | January 17, 2012 | Russell Goldman

Rick Santorum says he is not ending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination anytime soon — not if he loses in South Carolina, and certainly not because Newt Gingrich wants him to.

Vying to be the conservative alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Santorum today brusquely brushed off Gingrich’s suggestion that he and Texas Gov. Rick Perry should quit the race to allow right-wing voters to coalesce behind the former House speaker.

Santorum called Gingrich’s suggestion “arrogant” and reminded reporters that he bested the speaker in both the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

“It is an enormous amount of hubris for someone who lost their first two races,” to imply that he should be the presumptive choice for conservatives, Santorum said of Gingrich.

Asked if Gingrich should drop out to make way for Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator said he would not ask any of the other candidates to exit the race until they were ready to do so.

“I wouldn’t be so arrogant as to suggest that anybody gets out of this race and I won’t suggest anybody gets out of this race. These are character issues,” he said. “I believe everybody has the right to be in this race if they want to be in this race and fight as hard as they want for as long as they want and that’s how this process works. I’m not into political games. I’m not into political deals.”

Asked if winning or placing toward the top of the pack in South Carolina’s primary Saturday was essential to his viability as a candidate, Santorum said he was in the race for the long haul and persevered early on with little cash, little staff, and little support from a big-spending super PAC.


(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politic...ys-newt-gingrich-cant-bully-him-to-quit-race/

 

[Mr. H.]

Well, bully for that brusquely brusher.

 

[Seawytch]

Thanks to big money donors, brought to you by Citizens United, this primary battle could continue even though Romney is the clear nominee. While I despise the CU ruling, this symptom of it will be fun to watch.

 

[Decepticon]

It's not Newt that's causing Santorum to lose. It's Santorum's fetus family hugtime that makes him unelectable to anyone who actually finds out what he's about.