Santorum: No regrets about "taking on" reporter

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, speaks in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Monday, March 26, 2012, as the court began three days of arguments on the health care law signed by President Barack Obama in Washington.

/ AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

Updated: 6:08 p.m. ET

Rick Santorum says he has no regrets about a heated exchange with a New York Times reporter who questioned him about statements he made during a speech on Sunday.

Santorum, speaking on the steps of the Supreme Court on Monday, argued that you're not a conservative "worth your salt" until you've taken on the New York Times.

"I don't regret taking on a New York Times reporter who was out of line," Santorum said. "You know, if you're a conservative and you haven't taken on a New York Times reporter, you're not worth your salt as far as I'm concerned. So we're going to stand up and fight."

Santorum grew frustrated with New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny on Sunday evening after Zeleny pressed the candidate about earlier comments that Mitt Romney is "the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama."

The former Pennsylvania senator told reporters afterwards that his remarks were meant within the context of health care, and that it was unreasonable to suggest otherwise.

When Zeleny followed up, Santorum said: "What speech did you listen to? Stop lying."

(Watch the full exchange at left)

Questioned further, Santorum said he meant Romney was the worst candidate "to run against Barack Obama on the issue of health care, because he fashioned the blueprint. I've been saying it in every speech. Quit distorting our words. If I see it [in print], it's bull(expletive). C'mon man, what are you doing?"

Santorum defended his comments in an interview with CNN Monday night, expressing frustration at having been asked for clarification multiple times in a row and arguing that Zeleny took the comments out of context. He also  suggested that the Romney camp was feeding lies to reporters. 

"I said, what speech did you listen to? I was talking about Obamacare and Romneycare and that Governor Romney is uniquely disqualified to make the case because he wrote the blueprint for Obamacare," Santorum said. "This is the kind of stuff that we have been seeing from the Romney spin machine, their press secretary was out at the back of the room, feeding lies to the national press."

In a fundraising email released to donors following the exchange, the Santorum campaign asked supporters for contributions to help him "fight back" against the paper.

"Earlier today, while campaigning in Wisconsin, I criticized Romney and Obama for their outrageous healthcare legislation," Santorum wrote in the email, according to the Huffington Post. "Predictably, I was aggressively attacked by a New York Times reporter all too ready to defend the two of them, and all too ready to distort my words. Let me assure you, I didn't back down, and I didn't let him bully me. I think it is high time that conservatives find the courage to expose the liberal press for what they are, a defender and enabler of Romney's and Obama's liberal agendas."

Santorum asked donors to give to him rather than to the Times.

"A subscription to the New York Times cost approximately $30," the e-mail says, according to the Huffington Post. "That's how much I am hoping you will be willing to contribute to join me in my fight to become the next President of the United States."

A yearly home delivery subscription to the New York Times' print edition costs between about $150 and $300 +, depending on where you live and how many issues you order per week, according to the Times website. A digital subscription costs a minimum of $3.75/week - or $195 for a year - according to the website.

Zeleny is not the first New York Times reporter to take heat from a presidential candidate. George W. Bush got caught on a live mic calling the paper's Adam Clymer as a "major league (expletive)hole" in 2000; in 2008, John McCain got in a heated exchange with the Times' Elisabeth Bumiller.

In a Monday interview with "CBS This Morning," Zeleny argued that Santorum was playing to the cameras.

"It is a very common tactic for Republican presidential candidates. Or even Democratic presidential candidates to try and use the media a foil here. We've seen Newt Gingrich do it throughout the campaign season. So he clearly knew the cameras were rolling here," Zeleny said.

[Amy3June]

Santorum has proven that he is indeed someone who does not change; however, he does not seem to understand that sometimes you really need to change how you view or handle things because you are not always right. Accept some responsibility, apologize, and move on. Santorum made a statement and the press questioned him about it and instead of just clarifying his position and moving on Santorum went wacko. I love how Santorum has been whining its not fair that people are taking what he, as a presidential nominee, says out of context...this is after Santorum took a statement from a Romney advisor out of context and went wild with his etch a sketch right? Yeah...karma is such a ___

[djseavy]

They're all a bunch of loud-mouthed idiots. For years the election hasn't been about who's most qualified. It's just a matter of the lesser of the evils. None of them are qualified to run the country - but then the POTUS doesn't anyway; it's big business and special interest groups that have the control by way of their deep pockets.

[royalstar05]

Santorum is an egomaniac smarta$$ that i would LOVE to pop in the mouth. He needs to be taken down a notch.

[able2think]

Sanatarium is the absolute definition of stone CRAZY! He is desperate and I hope he loses all his wealth, and winds up homeless without a job... Then we'll see if he cares about unemployment! What an a$$hole!!!

[24zen]

Doesn't everyone see this was all show and chest beating by Tantorum-Santorum? Tantorum-Santorum witnessed Gingrich "taking on" a CNN moderator at a previous debate and saw how excited the GOP sheep became as a consequence. This was nothing but conscious emulation on Tantorum-Santorum's part. These clowns realize that the press must behave, for the sake of their jobs, no matter how they are treated. The 3 GOP stooges realize that they can say or do anything to the press and get away with it. Once again they show the hypocrisy of the "family values", "God loving" propaganda they put out their for their faithful sheep.
An Independent for Ron Paul!!

[johnwerneken]

How could one not LOVE to HATE a reporter for the NYT? They have some great anaylists, reviewers, boggers, and op-ed writers, and I suppose they must gather the news so to speak, but the news end of the thing is where the limo liberalism doesn't just leak out, it floods out.

[rightontarget]

"If I see it [in print], it's bull(expletive)."
***************************************************

Wow, Mr. Selfrighteous Santimonious Santorum is resorting to using (expletives) now. Way to go "Ricky". Keep pushing those "values" of yours. LMAO!!!!!!

[alinrodneyvil]

This guy is not ready for Prime Time.

[flexsf]

Dear Santorum, you're a dumb bigot and your wife is insane for spawning so many baby bigots. You should pay the U.S. taxpayers for financing your food stamp family.

[iCi2i_befree]

A little off the subject but I wonder if Santorum knows what "worth his salt" actually means. I understand this phrase can be traced back to the days of slave trading. Slaves were traded for salt & other spices. If a slave didn't bring very much in return, you now know what he / she isn't worth. Probably about time this old saying was thrown in the trash along with a few others like "Dutch treat", etc.