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Santorum blasts Gingrich abortion stance as 'inconsistent'
Rick Santorum blasted newly minted Republican front-runner Newt Gingrich as "inconsistent" with most Iowans and Americans on abortion issues, arguing that conservative voters in the Hawkeye State would abandon the former Speaker of the House after learning about his social positions.
"My guess is that they’ll do what has happened to a lot of candidates, which is once you find out more about the candidates, you may try to look for another candidate," Santorum said in an interview with the Des Moines Register.
The former Pennsylvania senator attacked Gingrich for statements in which he said he was in favor of federally financed abortions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, and encouraged then-President George W. Bush to approve some federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Santorum argued that those positions were contrary to the goals of the Susan Anthony List pledge, an important abortion litmus test for voters in the Iowa caucus.
All of the Republican candidates, with the exception of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, have signed the pledge.
Santorum said Gingrich's reconciliation between the pledge and his policy stance was “inconsistent with mine and inconsistent clearly with most Iowans and, with respect to federal funding, with most Americans.”
Santorum has struggled to gain traction in Iowa, despite running what many would consider a textbook campaign in the state by playing up his conservative credentials and engaging in retail politicking. Still, Santorum only earned 3 percent of the vote in an Insider Advantage poll of the state released Tuesday, trailing Gingrich by 25 percent.
Santorum says he thinks voters will defect to him once learning more about Gingrich.
"I may not be the guy that the girls are initially attracted to when they walk into the dance hall, but ultimately once you get to know all the folks, I'm the one you want to take home to Mom," Santorum said.
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