Santorum has some advice for tea partyConservative champion says Rand Paul-types go too far. He also dismisses Sestak as "loose cannon."
Campaign 2010/2012 By Thomas Fitzgerald
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
HARRISBURG - Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a potential Republican presidential candidate, warned Monday that conservatives should be wary of the libertarian strain of thought in the "tea party" movement.
Santorum was responding to a question about Kentucky's Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul, who last week said the federal government had no right to bar private businesses, such as restaurants, from discriminating on the basis of race, as it did in the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
"I don't think the libertarians have it right when it comes to what the constitution is all about . . . or when it comes to our history," Santorum said at the Pennsylvania Press Club. "When there are clear wrongs in society, injustice in society - sure, you handle it at the local level if you can - but when the local and state governments are in cahoots with the injustice, then the federal government has to step in and do something."
After denunciations from the left and right, Rand backed away from his position and affirmed support for the public-accommodations section of the law. Santorum, along with most Republican officials, supported Paul's opponent in last Tuesday's primary, Trey Grayson.
Santorum also dismissed Pennsylvania's Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak as "a loose cannon" and predicted a November victory for Republican Pat Toomey.
Santorum said he notices a "sense of anxiety" among Americans as he stumps for conservative causes. Repeat trips to Iowa, South Carolina and New
See Santorum on B8
A.A.(P) Editor's Note: If you choose to click the link and read the 2010/2012 column jump, be prepared to be appalled by Former Senator Santorum's view & opinions though it really shouldn't be a surprise to those who know his record.