Santorum: Specter's "blatant, pandering flip-flops"

Timothy McNulty | September 15, 2009

Former Sen. Rick Santorum just did a "prebuttal" to Obama's speech at the AFL-CIO today, though most of it was spent hitting his former Republican colleague Arlen Specter. In a conference call set up by the RNC, he took some questions on his own presidential ambitions and Specter's possible opponents (Sestak and Toomey) next year.

Some highlights:

-- On Specter's comments this morning on card-check, and tonight's fundraiser in Philly: "He has done a hard left turn to get into the good graces of this president and obviously he's being rewarded for that. . . . The Democratic voters will see through these blatant, pandering flip flops . . .I don't think he'll survive the primary." Later he said Specter was "Sprinting as hard as he can and as fast as he can to the left."

-- On Harry Reid suspending Senate business so Specter could campaign today: "I can tell you I had many a fundraiser where I had to break away and I was not covered by my leadership. . . It's not unprecendented but it is unusual."

-- On his comments last week on a possible 2012 presiential run. "I went from saying I wouldn't consider it to I might consider it."

-- On Toomey's moderate stances lately: "Pat has come out of the box and reintrocuced himself to the people of Pennsylivania generally instead of republican primary voters specifically. . . He's gotten out of the box rather handsomely on that."