The clash between Ron Paul and Rick Santorum is no longer just a battle for Iowa between two surging presidential candidates who were previously seen as irrelevant and unelectable; it’s personal now.
Santorum delivered his first direct strike at Paul on Tuesday morning when, as reported by the Washington Post, he told a handful of FOX News reporters: “Ron Paul is disgusting.” Evidently, the attack was retaliation for automated calls running in Iowa that claim Santorum is pro-choice and against the Second Amendment.
Santorum blames Paul for the robocalls.
This isn’t the first time during the party nomination process that candidates have taken personal jabs, either. As underscored by the Washington Post, both Michele Bachmann and Santorum questioned banished candidate Herman Cain on allegations of sexual harassment during presidential debates in November, and more recently, Rick Perry blasted Newt Gingrich for infidelity.
Perry didn’t specifically address Gingrich, but clearly alluded to the former speaker of the House when he said at the ABC News Iowa Republican debate, “I make a vow to my wife, but I made a vow to God. And that’s pretty heavy lifting in my book. … When I make a vow to God, then I would suggest to you that’s even stronger than a handshake in Texas.”
Perry added, “I mean, it’s a characteristic of which people look at individuals, whether it’s in their business lives or whether it’s in their personal lives or whether it’s picking someone to serve in public office for them. Individuals who have been in fidelity [sic] with their spouse, I think that sends a very powerful message. If you will cheat on your wife, if you will cheat on your spouse, then why wouldn’t you cheat on your business partner? Or why wouldn’t you cheat on anybody for that matter?”
It should also be noted that although Ron Paul has consistently dismissed personal attacks, rumors and gossip as trivial during the debates and throughout his campaign, he did make some incendiary remarks about Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann when he appeared on “The Tonight Show.”
When Jay Leno asked Paul for a brief description of each of the major presidential candidates, Paul fired, “She [Bachmann] doesn’t like Muslims. She hates Muslims. She wants to go get’em.” Later, Leno inquired about Santorum’s fixation with homosexuals, to which Paul replied, “Well, gay people and Muslims.”
Given that ad hominem attacks and smear campaigns have resulted in the expulsion of one former leading candidate, Herma Cain, and the remarkable loss of momentum of another in Iowa, Newt Gingrich, expect the character assassinations to continue not just in the Iowa caucuses, but through Election Day.