Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania made the pitch in Iowa Monday that he has the foreign policy chops to go toe-to-toe with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2016 and that governors don’t have the vision to think outside the box on issues like education.
“They want to do in Washington what they did in their states, which is rearrange the deck chairs,” Mr. Santorum said at a luncheon with Scott County Republicans, the Des Moines Register reported.
A number of current and former governors are weighing bids for the White House in 2016, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP’s 2012 nominee, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Some governors have made the pitch that it would be better to have someone who has managed a state and who has come from “outside Washington” to be in the White House, but — echoing recent comments from Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican — Mr. Santorum said he gained substantial foreign policy experience as both a U.S. senator and representative.
“We put someone up against Hillary Clinton in a debate on national security. … Are you going to have the fortitude to challenge them on that?” Mr. Santorum asked. “Are you going to say: ’Well, they know more than I do, so I’m going to let that slide.’ Ladies and gentlemen, that’s what happened in 2012. That’s what will happen if we nominate somebody who doesn’t understand these issues at their core and have experience in it.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.