Good day for Santorum could scramble GOP race again

February 06, 2012 -- 7:25 PM

Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum talks to residents of Bemidji, Minn., during a campaign stop at the Paul Bunyan and Babe The Blue Ox statues Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Mon, 2012-02-06 19:25

On Monday morning, the eve of caucuses and primaries in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri, the Mitt Romney campaign sent out notice it would hold a conference call to discuss rival Rick Santorum's "long history of pork-barrel spending." The call would feature former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty explaining why Santorum "is simply not ready to be president."

Santorum's aides were delighted to hear the news. "They've turned their attack machine against us in the last 24 hours," top adviser John Brabender said that afternoon. "I can only read into that that they're looking at polling numbers telling them we're they're biggest threat. It's a badge of honor that Romney has decided to try to destroy us."

Click HERE to read the rest of this story.

Byron York, The Examiner's chief political correspondent, can be contacted at byork@washingtonexaminer.com. His column appears on Tuesday and Friday, and his stories and blogposts appear on washingtonexaminer.com.