The Guardian
Rick Santorum hopes for Tea Party backing to edge out win in Arizona
As Mitt Romney clinches on to a slight lead, Santorum works on tapping into powerful Tea Party for next week's primary
By Ewen MacAskill
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum made a direct appeal to the Tea Party movement in Arizona to help him pull off another major upset against rival Mitt Romney in next Tuesday's party primary.
Romney began as clear favourite to take Arizona but the polls have been narrowing and he now maintains only a slim lead.
A Time/CNN/ORC poll published Tuesday put Romney on 36%, Santorum on 32%, Newt Gingrich on 18% and Ron Paul on 6%.
Arizona has until now been overshadowed by Michigan, which holds its primary the same day, because the race had been tighter there. Losing both states would be a serious setback for Romney, renewing Republican doubts about whether he is a credible candidate to take on Barack Obama in November.
Santorum needs a victory next week to demonstrate that his wins on February 7 in Minnesota and Colorado, and, to a lesser extent, Missouri, will not turn out to be a flash in the pan and that he has the momentum to go on to replace Romney as favourite to become the presidential nominee.
Santorum, in a speech in Phoenix on the eve of a Republican presidential debate Wednesday, made his most impassioned plea yet to the Tea Party movement to climb aboard his campaign.
"I love the Tea Party," he said. He applauded it for having, he claimed, restored knowledge and respect for the constitution. He said it had achieved a big change from his time as a US senator – he represented Pennsylvania from 1994 to 2006 – when colleagues sniggered when the constitution was raised, regarding it as outmoded.
In another appeal to Tea Party sentiment, he criticised supreme court justice Ruth Ginsburg for her remarks earlier this month saying the US constitution was not a model she would necessarily recommend for a post-revolution government and suggested instead the South African model.
Santorum needs the Tea Party movement, which has a big presence in Arizona, if he is to stand any chance of overtaking Romney.
Romney started the Arizona contest as favourite, partly because he can largely count on votes from his fellow co-religionists, Mormons, who make up a large proportion of the state's population.
He also has the backing of Arizona senator John McCain, though he is on a Middle East visit at present and not campaigning for him.
The Tea Party has a strong presence in the state. When McCain faced a re-election battle in 2010, he had to spend millions of dollars in ads – comparable to Romney's blitzes of his rivals – to see of a challenge from a Tea Party candidate, JD Hayworth, even though he was a poor candidate.
Among the audience for Santorum's speech was Gary Fitt, 54, an unemployed teacher from Phoenix and Tea Party member, who said he is leaning towards Santorum, though has not finally decided between Santorum and Gingrich. The CNN Wednesday debate would help make up his mind.
He will not vote for Romney, regarding him as inconsistent and insincere. Mormonism is also a factor in ruling out Romney. Fitt, who was brought up a Mormon, said: "They have some far-fetched ideas."
Arizona is a winner-takes-all primary. All 29 delegates go to the victor, and as a result Romney's other rivals, Gingrich and Paul, have made little effort in the state. This sense of defeatism is reflected in the relative lack of ads there.
Santorum's presence in the state, to be followed with another appeal to the Tea Party on Wednesday when he is to address a rally of the movement's supporters in Tucson, suggests he believes he has a fighting chance.
Polls indicate he has better chance in the other primary next Tuesday, Michigan, where the polls have recently shown him in the lead. The latest gave Romney a 2% lead.
Romney was brought up in Michigan where his father was governor. If he was to lose the state to Santorum, it would be a major blow to his campaign.
Santorum, in his Phoenix speech, noted that he is the target of ads portraying him as a Washington insider because of his time in the Senate and a supporter of indisciminate federal spending. Paul, recognising the increasing danger posed by Santorum, has joined Romney in spending money on ads critical of Santorum.
Santorum said he found it odd to be criticsed as an insider by a politician who had tried to get elected to the Senate and failed, Romney, and by Gingrich, who had been House speaker. He portrayed himself as someone who had fought corruption in Washington and who had never voted for a tax increase.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/21/rick-santorum-tea-party-backing-arizona
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