Rick Santorum’s rise was certainly enabled by his dogged determination.  But it was also enabled by the arrows that every other anti-Romney candidate took before him.  Rick certainly made his ascendancy a lot more difficult on himself by not removing the Specter stick in the eye of long-time conservatives.

For Rick’s campaign to gain steam as needed to not be this cycle’s Huckabee, Santorum must thrive in Jim DeMint’s back yard.  The 2004 Specter v Toomey race was an event of enormous impact on how DeMint became who he is today.  Thus far, Santorum’s response to the Specter objection is insufficient to excite the South Carolina conservative base.

There is a simple solution that will remove the stick in the eye and open the door to a much more energized conservative rally to the Santorum camp.  When the Specter objection is raised, simply respond:  “I understand that frustration.  I can assure you:  As President, I will not get involved in Republican primaries.”

Anything more panders.  Anything less fails to rally in DeMint’s back yard.