Rick Santorum hits Mitt Romney as ‘Mr. Big Government’ after election wins

By Shira Schoenberg, Globe Correspondent

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, fresh off his upset victories in three non-binding nominating contests, has immediately started attacking the Republican frontrunner, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Speaking in a series of TV appearances this morning, Santorum referred to Romney as “Mr. Big Government.”

On CNN, Santorum said Romney “was for government takeover of health care, was for government takeover of the private sector in the Wall Street bailout, and was for the government takeover of industry and energy with cap-and-trade.”

He pointed out that while Romney has tried to portray himself as a Washington outsider, the only reason he did not spend time in Congress was because he lost his 1994 Senate race against Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy. Santorum said Americans want a leader, rather than a CEO – attacking a core tenet of Romney’s candidacy, that Romney’s business experience makes him best suited to turn the economy around.

Romney already turned his fire on Santorum before Tuesday’s contests, hitting Santorum for taking earmarks when he was a senator. The attacks on both sides are only likely to intensify after Santorum’s victories in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri, which are giving Santorum momentum in his attempts to become the more conservative alternative to Romney.