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Romney, Santorum battle for top spot during debate

Candidates trade fiery accusations during the Arizona debate.

Paul Sancya/STF Ron Paul speaking during a Republican presidential debate.

In this Jan. 26, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, left, listens to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at a Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Fla.

Matt Rourke/STF In this Jan. 26, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, left, listens to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at a Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Fla.

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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during the CNN Republican debate at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., on Jan. 26, 2012.

JASON HENRY/STR Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during the CNN Republican debate at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., on Jan. 26, 2012.

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Matt Rourke/STF Rick Santorum is pictured here and battled Mitt Romney during the Arizona debate on Wednesday night.

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By Daniel Malloy, Cox News Service Updated 1:03 AM Thursday, February 23, 2012

MESA, Ariz. — Earmarks, insurance coverage of birth control and an eight-year-old Senate race endorsement prompted plenty of fireworks between Republican presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum at Wednesday night’s debate. Romney’s chief argument against Santorum has been that the former senator from Pennsylvania is a Washington insider, and a symbol of that is Santorum’s support for congressionally directed spending, known as earmarks.

Santorum said “there were good earmarks and bad earmarks” and it was his job in representing Pennsylvania to seek money for the state.

“Congress has a role to play when it comes to appropriating money, and sometimes the president and the administration don’t get it right,” he said.

Santorum said Romney’s attacks on the subject are hypocritical because Romney sought federal money as head of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

The former Massachusetts governor replied that he was proud of those Games and noted that Santorum voted for a bill that included a controversial earmark for a bridge in Alaska.

“Our Games were successful,” Romney said. “But while I was fighting to save the Olympics, you were fighting to save the Bridge to Nowhere.”

Romney also pressed Santorum on his support for Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter in a 2004 Republican primary, a race many conservatives still criticize.

Specter, a pro-choice moderate, won narrowly against conservative Rep. Pat Toomey with the backing of Santorum and President George W. Bush. Specter later switched to the Democratic Party and proved to be a critical vote for Obama’s health care law.

Romney used the endorsement to deflect criticism from Santorum that his Massachusetts health care law was the precursor to “Obamacare.”

After repeating his pledge to repeal the health care law, Romney added: “If we had not had Arlen Specter, we would not have had ‘Obamacare.’ So don’t look at me, look in the mirror.”

Santorum replied that it was a “stretch” to blame him for Obama’s health care overhaul six years later and said he endorsed Specter because the two had a private agreement that Specter, the Judiciary Committee chairman, would let Bush’s Supreme Court nominees through.

Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito were confirmed rather easily, but Specter denied claims of any such deal during his 2010 race.

Newt Gingrich, the former Georgia congressman, arms folded and legs crossed under his chair, mostly stayed out of the Romney-Santorum crossfire. But he had plenty of vitriol for the absent President Barack Obama and the news media, represented a few feet away by CNN moderator John King.

At one point, Gingrich even seemed to mouth the words “nice job” to Romney after an answer about contraception policy.

The former Massachusetts governor had said, “We have to have individuals that will stand up for religious conscience,” in attacking the Obama administration’s decision to require religious employers to provide health insurance coverage that includes contraception.

The question was about an issue Gingrich and Santorum have both slammed Romney on recently, as during his tenure in Massachusetts all hospitals were required to provide the “morning after pill” to rape victims.

Romney insisted it was voluntary, and Gingrich delicately pressed the case in response, saying newspapers had reported otherwise. Then he pivoted away from Romney to say the real issue was federal overreach.

Gingrich said there are legitimate questions about Obama’s stance on conscience exceptions for religious institutions.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul stepped up attacks on Santorum as well. Repeating his assertion in a campaign ad that Santorum was “a fake,” he noted Santorum’s support for spending bills while he was in Congress that increased the size of government. Paul typically votes against appropriations bills.

“This idea of being fiscally conservative now that we’re running for office and we’re going to repeal something that we did before it loses credibility is what our problem is,” Paul said.

Arizona and Michigan hold primaries Tuesday.

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