Lauer to Rick Santorum: Do You Really Think People Care About Social Issues Right Now?
NBC's Matt Lauer didn't exactly throw out the welcome mat for possible presidential GOP contender Rick Santorum as, on Tuesday's Today show, he questioned the former Republican Pennsylvania senator if his "ultra-conservative" stance on social issues is "the message people want to hear right now?"
Throwing the results of the latest NBC News poll at him Lauer pressed: "65 percent of people said they are most likely to vote for a candidate in 2012 who is strong on the economy, on the deficit, on jobs, not social issues. That's really not what they are concerned about. So are you, are you barking up the right tree?"
(video, audio and transcript after the jump)
For his part Santorum did not shirk from the conservative labeling as he proudly asserted: "I'm a conservative. Yeah, I mean I believe life begins at conception and I believe marriage is between a man a woman. And, you know, I think the law should reflect that morality which is pretty much the collective morality of most people in America. I don't know if that makes me ultra-conservative, so be it. It, it makes me stand up for the values that I think built this country and made it strong."
Later on in the interview, a mischievous Lauer tried to stoke a little Republican-on-Republican fight as he asked Santorum about some recent comments he made about former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
LAUER: Sarah Palin is one of the, the potential candidates polling ahead of you right now, although she's not accepting a lot of the traditional invitations that are given out at this time of year for people thinking about running. At one time you said, quote, "I have a feeling she has demands on her time and a lot of them have financial benefit attached to them." What did you mean by that?
Santorum brushed the question aside as he responded: "That she's like, like the rest of us. We have to provide for our family, we have to, you know, care for our family."
The following is a transcript of the segment as it was aired on the March 8 Today show:
MATT LAUER: Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was among the presidential or potential presidential candidates who spoke at that Iowa forum. Senator, nice to see you. Good morning.
RICK SANTORUM, FORMER PENNSYLVANIA SENATOR-R: Hi, Matt. Good to be with you.
LAUER: I've spent a lot of time in Iowa. It's a beautiful state, but I get a feeling your, your time there in March is not for sightseeing reasons. Are you in the race?
SANTORUM: Well I'm testing the waters and last night was a good, a really good, good little swim to see what the reaction is to, to the message and to the messenger, and what I have, what I have done in my career and what, what I'm looking forward to, to talking about if we end up getting in this race. And the response was good. So I was encouraged by last night.
LAUER: For people who don't remember, Senator, your time in the Senate, how would you describe yourself in terms of the political spectrum? Some have called you an ultra-conservative on social issues. Is that fair?
SANTORUM: Look, I'm a conservative. Yeah, I mean I believe life begins at conception and I believe marriage is between a man a woman. And, you know, I think the law should reflect that morality which is pretty much the collective morality of most people in America. I don't know if that makes me ultra-conservative, so be it. It, it makes me stand up for the values that I think built this country and made it strong.
LAUER: But it seems when you do stand up, you spend a lot of time talking about social issues and I'm curious if you think that is the message people want to hear right now? In a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 65 percent of people said they are most likely to vote for a candidate in 2012 who is strong on the economy, on the deficit, on jobs, not social issues. That's really not what they are concerned about. So are you, are you barking up the right tree?
SANTORUM: Well, I think we can, you know, walk and chew gum at the same time. I mean if you look at, at my record in the Congress I was very, very active and led the charge, for example, on welfare reform which - you know we are talking about entitlement spending and how we have to entitlement spending under control. The only major entitlement that's ever been ended in American history is welfare reform and I was the lead in the United States Senate. I actually have - helped craft that final bill. And actually craft the original bill when I was in the House. So if you look at my record on health care. You know I ran my first race for the United States Senate against the author of the Clinton-care bill and, and was very active on reforming Medicare and Medicaid and was one of the few guys who actually had the courage to go out and talk about reforming the Social Security system. So if you look at my record it's, it's been strong on, on conservative limited government. It's been strong on pro-growth policies-
LAUER: Right.
SANTORUM: -to try to get this economy going. So I've got a record that's comprehensive as well as strong on national security. So we'll talk about all those things.
LAUER: How do you get out there and, and really make, get some attention. I mean if you look at that, again that recent polling has, I think, two percent of respondents said that you would be their first choice as a candidate on the GOP side in 2012-
SANTORUM: Right.
LAUER: -far behind some of the frontrunners. People Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney. How do you go out there and make waves? It's early, I understand that, but you got a lot of ground to make up.
SANTORUM: Yeah. Yeah, look I do it the old-fashioned way. Every time I have run for office - back in 1990 I defeated an incumbent Democrat who, you know, six months before the election I was at six percent in the polls and I ended up winning the election. I got, I defeated another incumbent because he didn't, decided not to run. And two years later then defeated a third incumbent Democrat when I ran for the Senate. All of those races I wasn't supposed to be in it. All of those races I was way behind at the beginning. What I did is I went out and I just worked hard. And that's what I believe in and hopefully that'll play with the people of Iowa if, if we decide to do this thing.
LAUER: Sarah Palin is one of the, the potential candidates polling ahead of you right now, although she's not accepting a lot of the traditional invitations that are given out at this time of year for people thinking about running. At one time you said, quote, "I have a feeling she has demands on her time and a lot of them have financial benefit attached to them." What did you mean by that?
SANTORUM: That she's like, like the rest of us. We have to provide for our family, we have to, you know, care for our family. And that, you know, she has, she has demands. I do, too. I mean, you know, there is a lot of political events I don't take because I've got, I've got to feed my, my, my, my, my family and, and do what I'm supposed to do as a husband and father. So that's all I meant. And she has that responsibility and so do I.
LAUER: Rick Santorum. Senator, it's nice to have you with us. Good luck to you.
SANTORUM: Thanks, Matt. Good to be with you.
LAUER: Alright good seeing you. Thanks.
—Geoffrey Dickens is the Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here
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Comments
It's Not about Caring
Submitted by JustAl on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 1:01pm.
It's about knowing that the Federal government has no Constitutional authority regarding any of the so called social issues. The media wants to wedge SoCons from Libertarians and the SoCons go for it each and every time. How many of these articles are sighted by Libertarins here? (None).
We will never all agree on every point in the political agenda of conservatism. There are fiscal, defense, and social conservatives and every sort of hybrid in between. Make no mistake, someone who wants individuals to be responsible for making and living with their own decisions on "social issues" can be just as deserving of the label "conservative" as any Socon.
Bingo
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 5:04pm.
Conservatives should take the opportunity every time to answer questions like this in the only correct way possible:
"Because the United States is a Constitutional Republic, social issues should be the purview of the states and local communities."
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
@jUST
Submitted by Samshile on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 5:32pm.
I agree with your narative. Please stick with it. It is quite accurate.
Those polls don't mean the
Submitted by Miss_Me_Yet on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 1:05pm.
Those polls don't mean the average American voter isn't very concerned about social issues. They're simply a little preoccupied with their families survival through the dire straights the Obama presidency has plunged our country into.
Liberals ... we can't live with them, they couldn't survive without us ...
Oh, Matty...
Submitted by iveseenitall on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 1:11pm.
Like Matt Lauer knows ( or gives a damn) what the American people care about! He's a "liberal" ideologue who lives as all of 'em do---by the mantra, " I've got mine, the hell with right and wrong---and the hell with you"....Hypocrites!
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal" (progressive)
@Ive seen
Submitted by Samshile on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 5:34pm.
Why does a corporation like GE, push a Liberal Agenda?
Corporate Cronyism
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 6:40pm.
It's easier to make money when the game is rigged.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
SANTORUM: Well, I think we
Submitted by motherbelt on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 1:12pm.
SANTORUM: Well, I think we can, you know, walk and chew gum at the same time.
Lauer would like nothing better than to pigeon-hole Santorum as a one-trick pony.
Kudos to Santorum for not allowing him to do it.
You can bet that every liberal that gets near him will try the same tactic; asking him almost exclusively about right-to-life (or "anti-abortion" as they will frame them) issues, and then tag him with the "single-issue" label.
I hope he does gain traction. I don't know why for sure, but I like him. Maybe it's his persistence.
You need to ask yourselves
Submitted by MikeB on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 1:14pm.
You need to ask yourselves how the poll was done. 65% of respondents to a NBC/Wallstreet Journal poll? What was the population that was sampled? How was the sampling done? How were the questions stated?
If I went to a meeting of the local TEA Party and asked, "On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being 'very dissatisfied' and 5 being 'very satisfied', how would you rate your satisfaction with the performance of the Obama regime?", I would probably get 100% 'very dissatisfied' responses.
Unless the poll was properly done, the poll itself is useless as an instrument of information.
Thank you Mr. Actuarial Man
Submitted by Blonde on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 1:20pm.
Long time no see, Mike B! Great to see you back here....all of us "about 5 year peeps" seem to be here, you, me, Aca, NL, Free, Uns. I can't believe we're now the "old timers".
LOL...remember the troll we had "the vast majority of right thinking Americans"....Mr. Unstatistic or whatever we used to call him. That was a good troll. He was hilarious. Very earnest, not these nasty pieces of retread work (Syrius/Leon is back, BTW) we're getting here lately.
Don't be such a stranger, eh?
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
old
Submitted by Agnostic on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 12:39am.
Post like that makes me feel old - 'Old Timers' at 5 years? Say it isn't so.
SoCons care about the economy too.
Submitted by nkviking75 on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 1:33pm.
If the poll only allowed one response to the question, of course the economy is a pressing issue. Most Social Conservatives live in the real world. They don't care about the social issues to the exclusion of the economic issues.
Keep in mind that the Iowa Caucuses tend to bring out hard core activists who are willing to come out on a cold February (or maybe January) night to sit for a couple of hours to talk politics, and that evangelicals tend to be strongly represented. In Iowa, a Republican takes a risk ignoring SoCon issues. That's a big part of the reasons why Huckabee won last time around. And this state just tossed out three of its Supreme Court justices over their unanimous vote to legalize same sex marriage. The Dem controlled Iowa Senate is blocking any legislative efforts to overturn that ruling, so SoCons are liable to still be fired up next year.
“Always love your country — but never trust your government!" -- Bob Novak (1931-2009)
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
Nicely done, NK
Submitted by Blonde on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 2:25pm.
An excellent primer in Iowa caucus politics. I had no idea about recalling the judges...how I wish the rest of us would take your lead.
You should be on TV instead of radio.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
This is one of the reasons I
Submitted by stratman on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 10:41pm.
This is one of the reasons I dislike the Primary process.
I think all Primary voting across the nation should be on the same day and, regardless the election, no results or guesstimates publicized until the last precinct closes.
2 days
Submitted by Boudin on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 10:47pm.
1/4 then the rest. The first Quarter should be rotated, or competed for. Like Capitalist
Here is the NBC/WSJ poll and
Submitted by Jer on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 7:48pm.
Here is the NBC/WSJ poll and the particular question and results [at top of p. 10] on which Lauer's observation is based.
Jer
Why exclude people with a
Submitted by stratman on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 10:35pm.
Why exclude people with a landline from the survey? Those with a landline, plus or minus a cell phone, are more likely to not give NBC the answers they want or just popular puffery to only have the "modern/tech-embracing people" with cell phones?
Why is this not based on those who voted in the last election or registered to vote? I didn't see this as a selection criteria.
Could be a built in bias from the beginning.
strat...
Submitted by Jer on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 12:52am.
You assume there may be specific answers NBC "wants". Do you likewise assume there may be answers Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal wants which may differ from those desired by NBC? As such there could well be mutually exclusive agendas at play. But it's far more likely that political agendas are not a factor in the survey.
I have no idea why landline households were excluded. I skimmed over the methodology prior to posting the link and haven't reviewed it since, but I do recall with respect to the question referred to by Lauer that it was addressed only to those--mostly Republicans but a few Democrats--who indicated they intended to vote in a Republican primary.
Jer
Jer: My post was for all as
Submitted by stratman on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 9:28pm.
Jer:
My post was for all as a rhetorical device, but its logical placement in the thread unfortunately gave an appearance of engaging you, despite not expecting you to have specific knowledge.
If it was an NBC poll, it was
Submitted by bassndude on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 1:22pm.
If it was an NBC poll, it was skewered to the left. Of that you can bet on.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal/troll!!
So, health care is not a
Submitted by TruthMatters on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 2:08pm.
So, health care is not a social issue?
TruthMatters
Submitted by lotr on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 2:18pm.
Great point. See my post below....
Lauer has a point, but....
Submitted by lotr on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 2:17pm.
...the fact that he directs this question to a social conservative betrays his bias.
True, as of late people have by and large been more concerned about fiscal matters like the economy, unemployment, the spectre of inflation,the runaway national debt, etc.
So why then did the US Congress waste initiative, time and resources in repealing a functional, yet already politically liberal, DADT policy?
Why the resistance to defunding PPFA (a populuation control entity that bears a large share of the blame for the looming debt crisis)?
Why is the DOJ assuming an activist position on liberal social issue? (e.g., see Statement of Attorney General on Litigation Involving the Defense of Marriage Act)
In many of these cases it is the conservative position, by its very nature, that requires "no action" -- the conservative position seeks to maintain a very long-held status quo (e.g., ~200 years for a US military policy, and countless millennia dating back to the dawn of humanity affirming the trans-cultural institution of marriage).
So then, my counter-question to matt Lauer is: Why not direct these questions to the neo-liberals -- the ones who are actually actively pursuing otherwise well-established social issues?
don't listen to Matt
Submitted by michiganruth on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 12:22am.
people, people: this is just another of the LSM's ways of trying to tear us apart! the libs know that what unites us is concern about the economy. so instead of dealing with that, they try to make us doubt each other by throwing in hot-button issues like abortion and gay marriage.
don't let them do it! we have to keep our eyes on the prize.
michiganruth...
Submitted by Jer on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 1:14am.
I think it was fair questioning. Lauer never mentioned abortion or gay rights. He simply noted that recent polling shows a clear majority of potential Republican primary voters are presently concerned more with economic rather than social issues, and, inasmuch as Santorum is more closely identified with his strong record and support for the latter, it seems reasonable to ask him whether he believes that fact will put him at a comparative disadvantage as the primary season approaches.
Jer
While agreeing in spirit,
Submitted by Agnostic on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 1:26am.
I can't help but wonder if Matt would ever ask a liberal something to the effect of:
"Do you think that your support for spending on social projects that haven't produced positive effects for an extended period are what people want right now?"
Agnostic...
Submitted by Jer on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 3:25am.
I doubt Lauer would pose the question as you have phrased it because it is not really compatible with the findings of the survey under discussion, nor does it appropriately reflect the trending of public opinion over the past couple of years. This--or a similar variation--is an example of what I believe Lauer could, should and hopefully would ask of a Democratic candidate:
"To put it bluntly Mr. Congressman, your party got its collective head handed to it during last November's mid-term elections, and the economy and the exploding deficit was clearly a significant factor in producing that outcome. Recent polls show that the American public still considers economic issues--jobs, the size of government, et cetera--to be of overriding importance, and, in light of your record of consistently voting for massive spending measures, does that not cause you concern about your own re-election prospects in 2012?"
How's that?
Jer