This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," January 6, 2012. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: We are now only a few days removed from Rick Santorum's stunning second-place finish in Iowa, where he fell only eight votes shy of the top spot. And late last night, word broke that some errors may exist in some of the precinct's final count votes. So, could that mean that Senator Santorum actually won the caucuses?
Well, after those reports surfaced on Thursday, Santorum announced he is not interested in revisiting Iowa. Instead, he is moving to New Hampshire, full steam ahead. And he's doing so with a sudden influx of campaign cash, because in the two days following Iowa, he reportedly raised upwards of $2 million.
Now, in just a moment, Senator Santorum will join us live from the Granite State, where he earlier today he explained why he is running for president. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is not an ideal time as a husband and father to be out, taking on this responsibility. But I felt that the country was at a point where I couldn't sit on the sidelines and not do something.
Because we are getting away from the foundational principles that made America the greatest country in the history of the world. And that's what this election's about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And joining me now from the great state of New Hampshire is former Pennsylvania senator, presidential candidate, Rick Santorum. Senator, welcome back, sir.
SANTORUM: Thank you, Sean. Thanks so much for having me on.
HANNITY: All right. Well, explain one thing. I don't know if I would be as gracious as you, if I thought there was a chance of an error was in place, and I might have won, I might want to investigate that a little bit. Why not investigate that?
SANTORUM: Well, they are going to certify the election in about, less than two weeks' time now. They are going through that process. I talked to the county -- excuse me, not county, state chairman last night. And he said, there are going to be changes. There's always errors. You know, they transpose numbers. In one case, they left out a number. And so, those things are going to happen. And obviously, the vote could change when you have only eight votes difference.
But I already won Iowa in my mind. I mean, you know, less than two weeks before the Iowa caucuses, I was in mid-single digits and to finish tied with someone who spent, I think, close to, you know, $150 per vote and I spent, I think 23 cents, I think we are in pretty good shape right now. We feel very good about what happened in Iowa. And we are ready to come here and keep the momentum going.
HANNITY: All right. Things are getting pretty heated in this race. Now, you got two debates this is weekend. And I think a lot of people will be tuning in. It's going to be very interesting. You had some pretty harsh words for Mitt Romney earlier today. And you said his health care record was convoluted, that you would need to be a yoga instructor to convince people it's straight. Pretty harsh attack.
SANTORUM: Yes. Well, it is. I mean, you know, the rhetoric now is, "I will repeal Obamacare, I am not for government-run health care." While he was as a governor of Massachusetts, he was for government run healthcare. And I mean, it's the highest cost healthcare in the nation right now. There is no place where healthcare is more expensive than in Massachusetts.
So, and of the people that were added to the Medicare -- to the health roles here in Massachusetts, just to the south of here, well over half where government added under the government payroll. So -- the Medicaid program.
This is not a way to -- to have a sharp contrast on the most important issue, domestic policy issue that we are going to be dealing with. And that's the impact of Obamacare on the economy of this country that's going to be going into effect and to have someone who has been for individual mandates and government-run health care and for a top-down approach to solving this problem, it's simply the wrong person to put up against President Obama.
HANNITY: I assume there's going to be a lot about this, this weekend. And I have no doubt, that's probably going to have an impact, the debate that will, both of them, on the race. You got pretty angry in Iowa with Ron Paul and his attacks against you. You called him disgusting. He's out there again and he's --
SANTORUM: I called the attacks disgusting, not him disgusting.
HANNITY: Yes, I'm sorry. I stand corrected. You are -- I fully understand. He's now out with another ad and in the ad he talked about one serial hypocrite, Newt Gingrich, and now another is emerged, Rick Santorum, a corporate lobbyist, a Washington politician. And then he used this word -- a record of betrayal. Why do you think he's gone so, so negative in his attacks? And it clearly bothered you in Iowa, is it bothering you here in New Hampshire?
SANTORUM: Well, you know, what bothered me in Iowa was the robo- calls, you know, saying that I was pro-choice, saying that I didn't defend the second amendment. I have an A-plus rating from the NRA. I mean, I have been someone who is a member of the NRA, someone who believes very much in the right to bear arms, and the second amendment is there to protect the first. And you know my record on life. I mean, my goodness, the most constant question I get is, are you too extreme on the life issue? And so to go out there with things like that, you know, this behind the scenes, the last-minute robo-calls, you know, I found that tactic to be disgusting.
Look, if Ron Paul wants to put my record out there for people to see, I am very happy to do that. I am very proud to the fact that we fought very diligently for leaner government, we fought for a balanced budget amendments, the line-item veto. I did more in the entitlement reform. Show me one bill that Ron Paul passed that repealed a federal entitlement. I did it. He hasn't done anything in those areas. He stands out there and points his finger at folks and says, I'll do this and I'll do that. He has accomplished nothing in 20 years. Look at my record of accomplishment in reducing spending and getting the entitlements under control. I've done it and I'm not just lectured people about it.
HANNITY: All right. I interviewed you Wednesday after the Iowa caucus on my radio program. And I asked you, Senator, are you prepared for the media and the scrutiny and the unleashing -- look, I assume you have been pretty busy and not been paying as close attention as I am everyday to all the details. And you probably don't want to pay attention. I will give you a couple of snippets here. Rick Santorum is coming for your birth control. The Rick Santorum that America doesn't know. Talking of annulling gay marriage. Questioning the right to birth control. And, you know what a lot of these things are.
SANTORUM: Yes.
HANNITY: People keep bringing up , well, you supported Arlen Specter. I wanted to give you a chance to respond because this is a narrative now that's gaining intensity day by day and I want to get your thoughts on it.
SANTORUM: Yes, on the birth control issue. Sean, I'm a Catholic. Catholic Church preaches birth control is wrong, read Humanae Vitae, I have. And I try to practice my faith, as closely as I possibly can, as does my wife. And so, I've said that I don't believe birth control is right. I've also said repeatedly, that I would never vote for a law to outlaw birth control. I think that is a personal decision, it's one that the vast majority of Americans believe it is a legitimate form of birth control. That's absolutely fine.
What I won't fund -- I have said I would defund Planned Parenthood and not fund Planned Parenthood, but that's different than saying whether something is legal or not, as to whether we are going to federally fund something.
So, the idea that I have any issue with from a legal point of view of birth control, is simply a fabrication. I've never said it. I don't believe it. And so, I would have never said it.
On the other issues, I don't know what the second issue was, if you want to remind me of that one.
HANNITY: Well, that one had to do with gay rights et cetera and annulling gay marriage in states that have --
SANTORUM: Oh, I am for a constitutional amendment that says, that marriage is between a man and a woman. When the Constitution says, that's when a marriage is, then that's what marriages are. And of course, if -- if your marriage isn't between a man and a woman, then it is not a marriage, according to the Constitution. That's simply stating what the obvious is, if you vote for the federal marriage amendment.
HANNITY: How did you do with the Illinois primary ballot which was I think the deadline was 5:00 p.m. today. And Ohio and Vermont is on Monday and Mississippi's filing date is January 14th. Have you been able to get the signatures necessary and qualify in these individual states?
SANTORUM: Yes. We have. And I want to thank all of our volunteers up in Vermont. They really are busting tail for us, to get us on the ballot there and I signed the documents for that. Today, Illinois, we are on the ballot. I think we -- with maybe the exception of a couple of inner-city districts where, as far as getting the signatures necessary for those Congressional districts, which is pretty difficult. We are on all of the other congressional districts. In Ohio, we are on in every congressional district. We feel very good that we will have all the delegates we need to go out there and get our portion as we continue on the hunt here. I think there's really going to be on, well, one state for sure -- well, the District of Columbia, but other than the District of Columbia and the dispute in Virginia, we will be on every state ballot and we'll have delegates to fill those slots. As I said the other night, game on.
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