BOONDOGGLES

Santorum: Mitt Earmarks, Too!

Accuses Romney of hypocrisy.

It’s getting ugly in Ohio. In a speech to a Tea Party crowd Saturday, Rick Santorum shot back at accusations that he's big on earmarks (provisions in legislation to set aside a portion of money for a specific project), by saying that Mitt Romney is a hypocrite who also requested millions in earmarks as governor. Santorum slickly pointed out that Romney’s heroic tale of bailing out the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games was a story of how Romney asked Congress for millions in an earmark. Romney’s camp returned fire, saying that there’s a difference between “seeking money for post-9/11 security at the Olympics and seeking earmarks for polar-bear exhibits at the Pittsburgh Zoo.” When zoo animals enter the conversation, you know it’s serious.