Santorum SuperPAC Seeks to Tie Romney and Gingrich to Obama
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A superPAC that supports Rick Santorum has released a new television ad in Ohio that seeks to tie both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich to President Barack Obama.
ABC News was given a sneak peak at the ad, titled "Obama." It will run in Ohio along with another Romney attack ad already running in Michigan called "Vital Decisions." The Ohio buy is $257,000 and was announced Friday morning.
The narrator says over photos of Romney, Gingrich and Obama: "How can Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich beat Barack Obama when on the vital decisions they're not much different? Like Obama, Gingrich supported individual health insurance mandates and lobbied for Freddie Mac. Mitt created RomneyCare-the blueprint for ObamaCare. And just like Obama, Romney even left Massachusetts 1 billion (dollars) in debt."
The ad asks "Who can win?" It then touts Santorum's jobs plan.
Santorum consistently goes after Romney for enacting health reform in Massachusetts and Gingrich for previously supporting health care mandates. Unlike the superPAC airing the ad on his behalf, the former Pennsylvania senator has said he won't attack Gingrich for his work at Freddie Mac because he was using his "talents" to provide for his family.
"Vital Decisions," the ad that will run in both Ohio and Michigan, also ties Romney to Obama. The narrator reads over photographs of just Romney and Obama and the script is almost identical with Gingrich not mentioned.
The ads will run through Wednesday. The superPAC Red White and Blue Fudn has poured $1.3 million into Michigan ahead of Tuesday's primary there.
A Quinnipiac Ohio poll from earlier this month had Santorum leading in the state with 36 percent to Romney with 29 percent and Gingrich with 20 percent.
Earlier Friday, the Santorum campaign previewed a new attack on Romney that the candidate will unveil later today.
He will paint Romney as a "liberal" who supported "activist judges," who granted marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, who allowed "$50 dollar abortions" and who fought "against the 2nd Amendment" and for "radical environmental regulations."
Santorum has made some of the points before, however several of the new lines attempt to turn Romney's words at Wednesday night's Arizona debate against him.