Rick Santorum And Mitt Romney On Felons Voting
Rick Santorum And Mitt Romney On Felons Voting
The firestorm erupted in South Carolina after the former Pennsylvania senator criticized an ad put out by a super PAC supporting Mitt Romney.
The ad slams Santorum, who is in favor of restoring voting rights to felons who have served their sentences. But the spot incorrectly implied that he wants criminals currently behind bars to be able to cast ballots, too.
Santorum flatly asked the former Massachusetts governor if he believes convicted criminals who have "exhausted their time" should have their voting rights restored.
In response, Romney went on a tangent, arguing he can't control what super PACs on the campaign trail do. Santorum quickly cut him off, saying he was looking for an "answer to the question first."
WHAT IS A SUPER PAC?
"We have plenty of time," Romney shot back, somewhat awkwardly. "I'll get there. I'll do it in the order I want to."
But Santorum didn’t stop.
"This is Martin Luther King Day,” he said. “This is a huge deal in the African-American community, because we have very high rates of incarceration, disproportionately high rates, particularly with drug crimes, in the African-American community.
"The bill I voted on was the Martin Luther King Voting Rights bill,” he said. “And this was a provision that said, particularly targeted African-Americans. And I voted to allow — to allow them to have their voting rights back once they completed their sentence. Do you agree with that?"
Romney finally relented, arguing, "I don't think people who have committed violent crimes should be allowed to vote."
Santorum instantly pointed out that when Romney was governor, felons could vote while they were on probation. "Why didn't you try to change that when you were governor of Massachusetts?"
Romney — who is favored in Palmetto State polls — argued he had a majority-Democratic legislature before Santorum hammered him again.
"What the governor said is he didn't propose anything to change that law, and what he's saying is that the ad that says that I ... voted to allow felons to vote is inaccurate. And it is inaccurate," Santorum raged. "And if I had something — the super PAC that was supporting me — that was inaccurate, I would go out and say, 'stop it.'"
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/pol...outh-carolina-article-1.1007391#ixzz1jisg5c22
Rick Santorum And Mitt Romney On Felons Voting
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum ripped Mitt Romney in cross examination-like attack over felon voting rights during Monday night’s GOP debate.<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yg2zno8ZCTs?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yg2zno8ZCTs?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object>
The firestorm erupted in South Carolina after the former Pennsylvania senator criticized an ad put out by a super PAC supporting Mitt Romney.
The ad slams Santorum, who is in favor of restoring voting rights to felons who have served their sentences. But the spot incorrectly implied that he wants criminals currently behind bars to be able to cast ballots, too.
Santorum flatly asked the former Massachusetts governor if he believes convicted criminals who have "exhausted their time" should have their voting rights restored.
In response, Romney went on a tangent, arguing he can't control what super PACs on the campaign trail do. Santorum quickly cut him off, saying he was looking for an "answer to the question first."
WHAT IS A SUPER PAC?
"We have plenty of time," Romney shot back, somewhat awkwardly. "I'll get there. I'll do it in the order I want to."
But Santorum didn’t stop.
"This is Martin Luther King Day,” he said. “This is a huge deal in the African-American community, because we have very high rates of incarceration, disproportionately high rates, particularly with drug crimes, in the African-American community.
"The bill I voted on was the Martin Luther King Voting Rights bill,” he said. “And this was a provision that said, particularly targeted African-Americans. And I voted to allow — to allow them to have their voting rights back once they completed their sentence. Do you agree with that?"
Romney finally relented, arguing, "I don't think people who have committed violent crimes should be allowed to vote."
Santorum instantly pointed out that when Romney was governor, felons could vote while they were on probation. "Why didn't you try to change that when you were governor of Massachusetts?"
Romney — who is favored in Palmetto State polls — argued he had a majority-Democratic legislature before Santorum hammered him again.
"What the governor said is he didn't propose anything to change that law, and what he's saying is that the ad that says that I ... voted to allow felons to vote is inaccurate. And it is inaccurate," Santorum raged. "And if I had something — the super PAC that was supporting me — that was inaccurate, I would go out and say, 'stop it.'"
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/pol...outh-carolina-article-1.1007391#ixzz1jisg5c22