It’s safe to say Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum don’t get together much. They ran into each other briefly April 14 at the National Rifle Association convention in St. Louis, and before that faced off at the last Republican debate Feb. 22 in Mesa, Ariz. But actually sit down together and talk? Doesn’t happen.
That will change Friday, when they meet — probably just the two of them, face-to-face — for the first time since Santorum pulled out of the Republican presidential race. There will be a lot of press attention, and a lot of speculation that the presumptive nominee and the former rival have made peace. But the bottom line is, they’ll most likely be talking past each other.
As the Romney team sees it, there isn’t much Mitt Romney needs, or even wants, from Rick Santorum. There was a time, during the primaries, when Santorum, facing sure long-term defeat, could have exercised a lot of leverage by offering a negotiated surrender. But not now. Romney is gliding toward the nomination on his own, and Team Romney does not subscribe to the view that Santorum leads a faction of the party so big that he must be specially accommodated. They also believe Republicans are uniting behind Romney without Santorum’s help.
Nor do they envision a high-profile role for Santorum on the stump this fall. As the Romney camp sees it, Santorum remains a red flag to independent voters Romney hopes to win in November.
There are some things Team Romney hopes Santorum will agree not to do, like encourage fighting at the convention. And the Romney camp might find Santorum’s friendship valuable if conflict with Ron Paul’s forces arises in Tampa. But that’s about it.
Santorum aides and allies see their former boss in a stronger position. “Rick feels there is a part of the Republican Party that he now represents, having won 11 states and more than three million votes,” says John Brabender, who was chief strategist in the campaign. “He feels a responsibility for all the people who voted for him, all the people who contributed money, that he should take his endorsement very, very seriously.”
Brabender says Santorum will seek reassurance that “there will be no movement away from the conservative values and principles that Mitt Romney talked about during the primaries.” Santorum will also want to receive Romney’s reassurance on issues like the appointment of federal judges and what would replace Obamacare, if it is repealed.
According to Brabender, Santorum has no hard feelings left over from the campaign. And he won’t be asking for Romney to help pay Santorum’s campaign debt, which Brabender says is significantly less than $1 million. “There will be no discussion whatsoever of things like helping us pay our debt,” says Brabender. “Rick feels that is an inappropriate discussion to have with Romney or anybody else, that that’s our personal responsibility.”
So whatever gracious things Romney and Santorum say about each other on Friday, in the end, with the nomination in the bag, Romney doesn’t need Santorum, and Santorum knows it. But there could still be reason for Romney to tread lightly with his old rival.
To win in November, Romney needs the support of conservative activists who will do more than just vote for him. He needs the people who will knock on doors, make phone calls, and get voters to the polls. And some of those activists who supported Santorum are just not warming to Romney.
For example, anyone who followed Santorum’s campaign in Iowa met Jamie Johnson, a gregarious man who served as Santorum’s state director of coalitions. Johnson was recently elected to the Iowa GOP State Central Committee, where his job will be to help elect Republicans to local, state and federal office. But Johnson makes a distinction between his committee duties — he’s particularly focused on helping Rep. Steve King win re-election — and his personal views.
“I am personally not going to help Mitt Romney with his presidential aspirations, because I do not support him personally,” says Johnson. “My conscience will not let me help him.” Johnson, who opposed Romney on abortion and marriage issues, says a significant minority of his fellow social conservatives in Iowa agree with him.
Even if just a few GOP activists share Johnson’s feelings, Romney could still face a problem. Iowa is a swing state, in the toss-up category in a new assessment by GOP strategist Karl Rove. Come November, Romney will need all the help he can get, and that’s reason enough to make a real peace with Santorum.
Byron York, The Examiner’s chief political correspondent, can be contacted at [email protected]. His column appears on Tuesday and Friday, and his stories and blogposts appear on washingtonexaminer.com.
