The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Rick Santorum to Ann Coulter: ‘I Mean, Ann, Should I Have Voted for Amnesty?’

Posted on | December 30, 2011 | 68 Comments

During his speech Thursday night in Davenport, Iowa, Rick Santorum talked about his record in the Senate and mentioned that Ann Coulter had criticized him in her column for voting against “E-Verify”:

But if Santorum wins, we lose on the second most important issue — illegal immigration — and he’ll be the last Republican ever to win a general election in America. . . .
Kowtowing to business (while pretending to kowtow to Hispanics), Paul, Perry and Santorum oppose E-Verify. As a senator, Rick Santorum voted against even the voluntary use of E-Verify.

Santorum explained to the Iowa folks that he voted against “E-Verify” when it was part of John McCain’s amnesty bill in 2006 — a bill that Coulter and every other American with a shred of honesty, intelligence or patriotism also opposed. And what he said next was Tweet-worthy:

“Tell @AnnCoulter, next time you see her, get her facts straight.”

Wow. It’s takes a lot of confidence to throw down with Chairman Ann and, even though I’m having a hard time figuring out her pro-Romney turn in recent weeks, I could imagine the MSM headlines:

REPUBLICAN TELLS COULTER
TO ‘GET HER FACTS STRAIGHT’

The New York Times , Huffington Post, MSNBC, Media Matters — they’re gonna love this story, OK? So I was eager to get more comment from Santorum afterwards. I don’t have the software to edit video, and so you’ll have to skip ahead to the 4:45 mark to catch his answer:

“Why would Ann Coulter criticize me for voting against the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill? I mean, Ann, should I have voted for amnesty? Should I have voted for comprehensive immigration reform? Because if that’s what you’re saying, then, doesn’t sound like you’re the real conservative here. I think when Jim DeMint and every conservative in the United States Senate voted against the McCain-Kennedy bill – yes, we voted against E-Verify, but we voted against a pretty bad bill that I think, at least you said you were against.”

That video is guaranteed viral, my friends.

Comments

68 Responses to “Rick Santorum to Ann Coulter: ‘I Mean, Ann, Should I Have Voted for Amnesty?’”

  1. The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Rick Santorum Tells Ann Coulter to 'Get Her Facts Straight'
    December 30th, 2011 @ 5:26 am

    […] after the speech about his criticism of Coulter, Santorum replied: "Why would Ann Coulter criticize me for voting against the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill? I […]

  2. Rick Santorum Tells Ann Coulter to ‘Get Her Facts Straight’ « News « @griffinrc
    December 30th, 2011 @ 5:41 am

    […] after the speech about his criticism of Coulter, Santorum replied: “Why would Ann Coulter criticize me for voting against the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill? […]

  3. Adjoran
    December 30th, 2011 @ 6:01 am

    How dare he be-yotch slap a woman like that!  Somebody call Gloria Allred . .  .

  4. ThePaganTemple
    December 30th, 2011 @ 6:45 am

    Her Pro-Romney stand is a Pro-Establishment stand and a pro let’s make Christie the VP stand. As soon as I get around to it I’m taking her off my sidebar.

  5. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 6:47 am

    I’m starting to lose a lot of respect for Ann. It’s one thing to argue passionately for your candidate, but is he really that good that you have to twist the truth about the opposition?

  6. StNikao
    December 30th, 2011 @ 6:58 am

    Coulter may be a political conservative, but not a social or religious conservative  (her appearance and clothing style would certainly attest to this possibility).

  7. ThePaganTemple
    December 30th, 2011 @ 7:11 am

    She knows it too. She’s so used to being the darling of the right she’s started to think she can get away with anything, but I think its starting to come home to her. I have noted some trepidation in her speech in her last couple of appearances, like she is choosing her words more carefully and uncomfortably. She might be noticing a drop off in her book sales. That would be the best way to bring it home to her. Nothing says “shut the fuck up” quite like suddenly lagging book sales.

  8. A.Men
    December 30th, 2011 @ 7:21 am

    Ann, you are a disgusting East Coast liberal after all ! YuK!

  9. John
    December 30th, 2011 @ 7:27 am

    She’s starting to sound like someone who works for the New York Times. TECHNICALLY, she gave us the facts, Santorum voted against the issue. The truth is not a concern, only advancement of the cause.

    And what is this sudden affection for the Northeast Moderates? Christie and Mitt? Really? 

    Does anyone else think this will taint her, even with conservatives? Her claim to fame has always been well researched facts. If we’re headed down the Anthony Lewis road… yowza.

  10. steve benton
    December 30th, 2011 @ 7:27 am

    Santorum destroyed her. It wasn’t close.

  11. N4CER
    December 30th, 2011 @ 8:13 am

    Ann Coulter has lost it. She tried to frame the main issues we are facing as illegal immigration and repealing Obamacare. But she’s backing the man (of whom she said earlier in the year, that if we nominate him, we will lose) who only won one election in his life, and whose state has sanctuary cities and he believes that Romneycare is a conservative idea.

  12. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 8:42 am

    This was a great way to start my day.  She’s been getting on my nerves big time (no pun intended) since her crush on Christie.  Santorum has my vote.

  13. Zilla of the Resistance
    December 30th, 2011 @ 8:46 am

    Ann Coulter hearts islamoblow Chris Christie, and now she loves her some DhiMITTude Romney. Screw her. Bob Belvedere is right, she’s a douchenozzle.

    Rick Santorum 2012

  14. Mike F.
    December 30th, 2011 @ 8:48 am

    My take is that she thinks immigration reform is so important she’ll hold her nose for the only candidate she thinks is addressing it. Super, Santorum voted against McCain’s amnesty bill but his counter bill is what??? Will he require the use of E-Verify or similar screening? I wanted to see him follow up his easy shot at McCain with his own plan to hammer businesses hiring illegals.

  15. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 8:55 am

    It’s a measure of how far America has fallen that there’s actual debate among “conservatives” on “E-Verify.” And what’s worse is the debate isn’t over whether or not to impose said communist/fascist scheme to conscript every business owner in the country as an unpaid police informant, but merely on precisely how important (just a little, or a lot) it is to do so.

  16. SDN
    December 30th, 2011 @ 9:16 am

    I see nappy is still confused about the difference between illegal and legal when applied to immigrant… and even more confused on what the whole “nation thing” is about…

  17. SDN
    December 30th, 2011 @ 9:18 am

    Of course, I’m waiting for the admission that Rick Santorum and Rick “soft on illegals” Perry have exactly the same attitude on E-Verify: good idea, if done right.

  18. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 9:20 am

    SDN,

    I’m not analyzing “E-Verify” as a function of immigration law, but as a function of conscription.

    It costs business owners time and money, for which they are not compensated/renumerated, to investigate prospective employees on behalf of the US government. Forcing them to do so is drafting them as cops.

  19. Jamie Timon
    December 30th, 2011 @ 9:33 am

    When you swipe a credit card it only takes a few seconds to determine if it has been approved. Why can’t the E-Verify system work that efficiently? Most business owners already perform background checks on all potential employees, what’s a few extra seconds? Especially when there are strong incentives to perform the illegal check?

  20. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 9:34 am

    Jamie,

    Good point. Also, it only takes a few hours to pick a bushel of cotton, so how about we make them do that whether they like it or not, too?

  21. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 9:39 am

    I still cant get over the fact that Perry would call his fellow conservatives heartless.  I have mix feelings on immigration and I believe that the problem is always going to be with the government.  Anyway I found this video from one of the earlier debates I believe from September when Perry was riding the frontrunner status for awhile.  Guess who makes a special appeance at  the end.
     

  22. Rick Santorum smacks down Ann Coulter over Amnesty « The Daley Gator
    December 30th, 2011 @ 9:52 am

    […] The Other McCain has the video, which, yes, I am stealing and background. Stacy, like me, has been struggling with Ann Coulter’s burning desire for Romney to be the GOP nominee. Stacy does not get it, I do not get it, no one seems to get it. Perhaps Ann has the dreaded Romney Fever. This bad bug was though to only afflict those also suffering from GOP Establishmentitis, but, somehow, Ann must have come down with it. That can be the only reason for her recent descent into madness. Santorum, who is still not the best Rick in the race, sorry Stacy, gives Ann a dose of reality that she needs. Ann seems to think Santorum is really awful on illegal immigration, mainly because he voted against E-Verify. Santorum answers Coulter here During his speech Thursday night in Davenport, Iowa, Rick Santorum talked about his record in the Senate and mentioned that Ann Coulter had criticized him in her column for voting against “E-Verify”: But if Santorum wins, we lose on the second most important issue — illegal immigration — and he’ll be the last Republican ever to win a general election in America. . . . Kowtowing to business (while pretending to kowtow to Hispanics), Paul, Perry and Santorum oppose E-Verify. As a senator, Rick Santorum voted against even the voluntary use of E-Verify. […]

  23. Jamie Timon
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:01 am

    Nice try bud. You’re not going to get away with such terrible logic here :). Forcing someone to work for you is different than forcing a business from doing illegal actions. And hiring illegal immigrants should be a crime. 

  24. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:03 am

    Murder should be a crime, too.

    Does that mean that every resident should be required to pipe live video from his house each morning to the police to prove he doesn’t have any dead bodies in his kitchen?

  25. Jamie Timon
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:05 am

    Following your logic, we should allow business owners to do whatever the hell they want, right? No conscription here! Want to hire illegals? Go right ahead! Want to collude with your rivals to screw the consumer? Go for it! Want to engage in bribery for that coveted cushy government contract? Bring it on! Rules are chumps!

  26. richard mcenroe
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:10 am

    The debate wasn’t over E-verify.  The debate was over E-Verify being imbedded in a crap bill and Coulter lying, at least by omission, about it.

  27. richard mcenroe
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:11 am

    Businesses, if they are smart, already run credit and criminal record background checks on prospective employees.  In what regard is this different?

  28. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:11 am

    Ann’s credibility as a conservative took a hit when she became a notorious chubby chaser of RINOs.  

  29. ThePaganTemple
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:12 am

    Attacking employers who “hire illegals” is an easy shot in and of itself. Not every reputable employer knows, and most people that single them out want to lump them all in one category, regardless of whether they hire somebody in good faith who might have legitimate looking counterfeit documents. Immigration reform is not necessary, just start enforcing the laws we got at the borders and within the country and the problem will be resolved over time.

  30. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:12 am

    Jamie,

    This is America.

    The way it is supposed to work in America is not “I have to spend my time and money constantly proving that I’m committing no crimes,” but rather “if I’m suspected of a crime, the police convince a judge they have probable cause for that suspicion, the judge grants a warrant, and they investigate.”

    Even if hiring illegal aliens [sic] should be a crime, even if it IS a crime, you’re getting it ass-backward. It’s not the employer’s job to prove he’s NOT doing it, it’s ICE’s job to prove he IS doing it.

  31. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:12 am

    And Christie was no fan serious immigration reform either.  

  32. richard mcenroe
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:13 am

    Knappster made a great try at derailing the thread, but the thing we need to take away from this is, if Santorum is willing to stand up to Ann Coulter, he’s probably willing to stand up to Barack Obama…

  33. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:14 am

    Richard,

    True. My point was that it’s odd to see two alleged “conservatives” trying to out-“liquidate the kulaks” each other.

  34. ThePaganTemple
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:25 am

    Murder should be a crime, too.

    Does that mean that every resident
    should be required to pipe live video from his house each morning to
    the police to prove he doesn’t have any dead bodies in his kitchen?

    No, but if a bunch of dead bodies turn up in your general vicinity you might want to expect to be questioned about it.

  35. Jamie Timon
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:28 am

    Apparently I have to reply to this post since I can’t reply to your reply. We obviously have differing opinions on the amount of regulation government exerts over businesses. You seem to be in favor of zero regulation, while I am in favor of minimal regulation. 

    I believe that there are certain things the government should regulate. Drinking water, for example. Forcing people to report crimes if they see them happening for another. There is a line, however, that our government often crosses (can anyone say EPA?) and it becomes too burdensome and too regulating. Your example of a continuous live video feed is a good one. However, requiring someone to plug a potential employee’s Social Security number into a database is not over-burdensome in my opinion.

  36. ThePaganTemple
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:32 am

    It doesn’t allow for an open border society, of course. America should be open to every fucking asshat that wants to come on over.

  37. ThePaganTemple
    December 30th, 2011 @ 10:34 am

    I could live with him.

  38. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 11:31 am

    Jamie, Yeah, there’s some kind of bug in Disqus’s “reply” feature that way.

    And yes, you’ve put your finger on our difference of opinion. You don’t think requiring someone to plug a potential employee’s SSN into a database is over-burdensome. I think requiring a potential employee to have an SSN is over-burdensome.

    Within the context of the existing state, which postures itself as a constitutional republic with rule of law, I don’t  really have a problem with the notion that if someone witnesses a crime they should report it or risk being held liable as an accessory. But requiring everyone to look for crimes in order to report them is, IMO, a bridge too far.

  39. Mike F.
    December 30th, 2011 @ 11:47 am

    Ergo, E-Verify. It is an invaluable tool that lets employers know that the name and ssn provided match up. Attacking employers who want to continue to hire illegals and are fighting against tools like E-Verify is a Necessary shot. “Immigration reform is not necessary, just start enforcing the laws we got at the borders, ‘in the hiring process’ and within the country and the problem will be resolved over time.” There, a bit more explicitly stated. If Santorum says something like that it will provide a lot of reassurance. It will convince me that I don’t have to settle for Romney’s stink.

  40. Dcmick
    December 30th, 2011 @ 12:11 pm

    You got that right.

    She’s ripping Santorum on immigration, meanwhile the fat dude she was supporting was all OK with that fricken’ mosque that would be constructed right on the site of 9/11!

    I’ve had it with her!

  41. Rick Santorum Teaches Ann Coulter a Lesson on Context | Katy Pundit
    December 30th, 2011 @ 12:19 pm

    […] The Other McCain: During his speech Thursday night in Davenport, Iowa, Rick Santorum talked about his record in […]

  42. Tennwriter
    December 30th, 2011 @ 12:56 pm

    That’s true. Chairman Ann is a LOT smarter and tougher than President Obama.

  43. Anonymous
    December 30th, 2011 @ 12:59 pm

    Any truth to the rumor that RSM will be taking a picture of @FearRicksVest with a red Solo cup? That could go viral.

  44. Serfer62
    December 30th, 2011 @ 1:04 pm

    Her attacks on Kommiecrats was mean & vicous, but they earned it.
    Her attacks on Conservatives was mean & vicous…they didn’t earn it. What next ann, an attack on Trig?

  45. EBL
    December 30th, 2011 @ 1:38 pm

    Ann don’t end up missing like this this guy.

    This Christie-Romney thing is hurting your brand.  

  46. Friday Free-For-All: Iowa Caucus Edition « Nice Deb
    December 30th, 2011 @ 1:51 pm

    […] Other McCain: Rick Santorum to Ann Coulter: ‘I Mean, Ann, Should I Have Voted for Amnesty?’ During his speech Thursday night in Davenport, Iowa, Rick Santorum talked about his record in the […]

  47. » So much of what the left-wing said about Coulter turns out to be true - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
    December 30th, 2011 @ 2:19 pm

    […] after the speech about his criticism of Coulter, Santorum replied: “Why would Ann Coulter criticize me for voting against the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill? […]

  48. richard mcenroe
    December 30th, 2011 @ 2:48 pm

    The kulaks were citizens.

  49. The Coulter Clamor
    December 30th, 2011 @ 2:48 pm

    […] morning Stacy covered Rick Santorum’s push-back against Ann Coulter’s claim that he’d voted against E-Verify. Coulter made the claim in […]

  50. richard mcenroe
    December 30th, 2011 @ 2:50 pm

    Some Stacy pictures from Iowa are already circulating…

    http://tinyurl.com/cgyj4bp