Always outspoken, Pennsylvania’s presidential candidate Rick Santorum is still talking a lot these days.
Besides his regular Philadelphia Inquirer column, he was back in Iowa recently, dropped into New Hampshire for two events this week and returns to the state where he still maintains a residence to headline the state Republican Party summer meeting Friday.
The dinner meeting is at 7 p.m. with the former senator set to take the podium at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center at 8:30 p.m.
“I am looking forward to seeing many old friends in Hershey this Friday to discuss the ways that we can best tackle the challenges facing our country,” Mr. Santorum said in a statement issued by his America’s Foundation Political Action Committee. “The elections this November will be critical in returning our country back on the right track, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to address this gathering and show my support for our conservative candidates.”
In New Hampshire, he spoke in Concord at a fundraising luncheon for the New Hampshire House Republican Victory Political Action Committee. In Amherst, Senator Santorum will speak at the state GOP’as Issues and Answers Series Reception.
Both events were closed to the press.
Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, of course, are hold either an early caucus or primaries that test the worthiness of presidential candidates.
Mr. Santorum suffered a setback this week when his candidate in the South Carolina Republican governor race, Gresham Barrett, got clobbered by state Rep. Nikki R. Haley. She’s the daughter of Indian Sikh immigrants who was accused of having affairs with a lobbyist and a conservative blogger by the lobbyist and the blogger and called a “raghead” by a longtime state senator.
Mr. Barrett had nothing to do with any of those claims or remarks, but still lost 48.88 to 21.75 percent. Two other contenders, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer and Attorney General Henry McMaster got the rest.
Because Mrs. Haley did not receive the required 50 percent, she and Mr. Barrett will face each other in a runoff June 22. She is heavily favored.
By the way, count me as one of the few right now who think Mr. Santorum might actually be the Republican presidential nominee in 2012. His biggest albatross remains, you guessed it, President George W. Bush. Bob Casey turned “98 Percent” into Mr. Santorum’s nickname in their 2006 Senate contest, referring to how often the senator voted with the former president.
– BORYS KRAWCZENIUK
