Ron Paul Call-Outs, Gay Slurs, Sweater Vests and the Top 5 WTF Rick Santorum Moments of 2012 (+Video)

Impact

For someone whose name was once synonymous with a Google obscenity, the 2012 presidential campaign of Rick Santorum made it real far. Especially, given the former senator from Pennsylvania’s lack of structure and organization as well as some of the extreme and out of date social views that lent him both media attention and voters repudiation.

Here are the Top 5 Rick Santorum’s WTF moments of the 2012 Republican Presidential Primary:

1. “He’s a Fake!”  

One of the most awesome moments of the GOP primary happened during the February CNN Arizona Republican debate when moderator John King asked libertarian congressman Ron Paul why he had called Rick Santorum a “fake conservative” in one of his campaign’s ads. The only thing better than Paul’s broad smile responding “because he is a fake,” was Santorum’s awkward “smiley” reaction while sitting right next to Paul and extending his arms as if inviting Paul to touch him while saying “I’m real.”

2. “Fear the Vest!”

Santorum stuck out thanks to his staple sweater vest in a campaign event at Des Moines, IA, with fellow conservative buddy Mike Huckabee where everyone but Santo was wearing a suit. From then on, the garment gained a life of its own by becoming a Twitter meme as well as providing endless ammunition for comedians across the country. Santo, however, embraced it by touring vest factories during campaign stops and even attempting to sell some vests from his own collection to raise funds for his cash-strapped campaign (we all obviously know how that ended).

3. “Homosexuality = Bestiality”

It’s hardly shocking to find out Rick Santorum was booed off a college campus stage over a question regarding same-sex marriage. Still, when a New England college student brought it up to Santo during a campaign stop in New Hampshire, it was priceless seeing the candidate’s reaction as well as his futile attempt to cling to his reactionary views as he sank in the quick sands of millenials' deserved repudiation. 

4. “Speak English...Puerto Rico!”

It’s hard to decide which Santorum Puerto Rico moment was more awkward: his shirtless, sun burnt and drooly picture soaking up the Caribbean sun in the Spanish-speaking American commonwealth or his insistence that Puerto Ricans must speak English as a requisite to become a state. Two things: not all Puerto Ricans are in favor of statehood, and English is actually not the official language of the United States. Perhaps, Mr. Santorum should have worried instead about applying sun block while reading the Constitution and watching out for naughty paparazzi.

5. Rick “Tantorum” Drops the “B” Word

In an epic meltdown reminiscent of 2004 Democratic candidate Howard Dean’s infamous scream, Rick Santorum’s ultimate nail in the coffin of his 2012 presidential aspirations was his meltdown when New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny asked him for his remarks about Mitt Romney being the worst Republican candidate [to run against President Obama on the issue of health care]. The decent, sweater vest-wearing family values man who wants to ban porn and crack down on obscenity finally lost it thanks to the gotcha questions of the "lamestream" media, ultimately dropping the “B” word and kissing goodbye his campaign.