Santorum urges Iowans to look at candidate records

WATERLOO - Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum knows better than most that Iowa caucusgoers often decide late who they're going to support. Those last-minute supporters gave him the edge on caucus night four years ago.

Now, as he lags once again in the polls, Santorum told a crowd of more than a dozen at VGM Group on Monday afternoon the polls don't mean anything, as he found out in 2012. He said the only count that matters is Feb. 1.

Instead of focusing on the polls, the former senator from Pennsylvania encouraged his listeners to look at the records of the other Republican presidential hopefuls.

'You want to know how to trust somebody? Look at their record,” Santorum said. 'They're going to tell you what you want to hear but don't be disappointed if the person you think is a conservative goes to Washington and doesn't turn out to be one. Because most of the people that you're looking at in this race right now have ... zero track record of actually being a conservative who can get something done, much less being a conservative.”

Without naming any other candidates, Santorum said many have had 'epiphanies” in the past few weeks on a number of issues to seem more conservative. He encouraged the audience to trust but verify those candidates' records.

Santorum said he took it as a compliment he hasn't changed in the past 20 years.

He argued a candidate's track record is important because of the seriousness of the issues Americans face. Santorum said he ran again this year because of his experience on foreign policy and his desire to use the bully pulpit to talk about family values and restoring the middle class.

'It's a serious time now. I mean, I understand people are angry. I get that,” Santorum said. 'My point to you is channel that anger into something that is going to result in a good solution.”

Santorum is polling around 1.2 percent in Iowa, according to RealClear Politics.

While he noted his poll numbers were low in 2012, Santorum also said he's been frustrated this year that the media and the Republican National Committee have 'segregated” the Republican field and kept candidates like him from sharing the spotlight with front-runners.

Because of that disadvantage, Santorum acknowledged he is setting his expectations 'a little different this time.”

'I think for us, a showing here doesn't have to be a first or a second,” he said. 'I think it could be one that shows a real grass-roots strength and real organizational strength and commitment for people who are going to vote for someone who's not been given a whole lot of airtime and not been given a whole lot of attention in this race.”