Ed Andrieski / AP Photo
As Rick Santorum gains momentum in upcoming primary states, (one poll shows a dead heat in Minnesota) he is starting to pose the most realistic threat to Mitt Romney. As a result, the Romney campaign has begun slamming the former Pennsylvania senator. A recent conference call with reporters focused on Santorum’s “long history of earmarks and pork-barrel spending,” and the Romney campaign distributed a research dossier to reporters with “a summary of his past discredited attacks against Governor Romney” with regard to Massachusetts’ health-care law. Former presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty is helping the Romney effort to bring down Santorum, releasing a statement Monday that says, “Rick Santorum is a nice guy, but he is simply not ready to be president.”