Santorum: HCR will “destroy freedom”; Sestak “a loose cannon”

Former Republican Senator Rick Santorum doesn’t parse words in his criticism of President Obama.

Speaking at the Pennsylvania Press Club in Harrisburg today, he said Obama’s landmark health care overhaul has the potential to “destroy freedom.”

Santorum is considering a run for president, and has visited Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina in recent months.

Santorum also criticized Obama’s foreign policy during the speech, saying the president is doing “worse than nothing” to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.  He says in both politics and basketball, the southpaw president has only one move – left – and that Joe Sestak’s association with Obama policies will hurt the Democratic nominee this fall.

Santorum argued Sestak is a weaker candidate than people realize, saying, “Joe Sestak ran one good commercial, and that’s what beat Arlen Specter. He ran a terrible campaign. And he’s out of the box right now talking about how Barack Obama bribed him. The guy’s a loose cannon, and he’s someone who is an unabashed, unavowed Obamaphile.”

The shot garnered a response from the Sestak campaign. Spokeman Jonathan Dworkin: “Senator Santorum’s credibility on how to win Pennsylvania elections is shattered since his resounding rejection by the voters in 2006. Given that independent ratings have shown that Pat Toomey is even more conservative than Santorum, he should be more cautious about making predictions.”

The speech and following Q-and-A covered many topics, including — you guessed it — gay marriage. Santorum warned same-sex unions would have dire social consequences.

He also lashed out against a push for same-sex marriage, saying it goes against “natural law” and “How God made us as a people.”

Santorum says he’ll make up his mind on whether or not to run for president after this fall’s election.