Rick Santorum ripped Mitch Daniels on Thursday, admonishing the Indiana governor's reluctance to engage the social issues that are catnip to the party's conservative wing.
“I don't think he understands what conservatism is all about," Santorum told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. "I don't think he understands that Reagan's three-legged stool is not just that we have three legs of the stool, the social conservative, the fiscal conservative and national security conservatives, but that the material made of all three parts of the stool is the same."
[. . .]
“[F]or him to say that those issues need to be put in the background," Santorum said Thursday, "I just, I'm stunned by it.”
Santorum's comments were a signal that the former Senator from Pennsylvania intends to own that segment of the Republican base — and that he'll go after anyone he feels is paying it only lip service.
Pretty strong stuff. Getting the idea that the GOP primary is not going to be a polite and delicate little tea party? Santorum, I think, is slightly overstating Daniels' position. (Hyperbole from a politician? Shocking!) Emphasizing economic issues because they're so critical now is not the same thing as ignoring social issues.
