Politics

Paul-Santorum sign war erupts during Florida rally

Jamie Weinstein Senior Writer
Font Size:

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — During Rick Santorum’s Sunday rally in Florida, a great sign war erupted between supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul and supporters of the former Pennsylvania senator. Had it not been for a certain soul singer comparing Democrats to slave masters and Nazis, the Conflict of the Signs might have stolen the show.

A coterie of Paul supporters showed up with signs promoting their man, initially positioning themselves toward the back. But some sign holders slowly began to migrate up front, annoying the Santorum faithful. Some Santorum sign holders in turn attempted to block the Ron Paul placards by placing their signs in front if them. And so it went throughout the rally. (RELATED: Full coverage of the 2012 election madness)

Mike Cotugno was one Ron Paul supporter engaged in the sign skirmish.

“Well, I would have stayed in the same spot if it wasn’t for people coming up right in front of me and putting their signs in front of me,” he told The Daily Caller when asked whether he could understand why some Santorum supporters were annoyed.

Cotugno said he wanted to make a statement that Paul is still in it to win it.

“I wasn’t really going for anything specific,” he explained. “I just wanted to vocalize and say — ’cause I knew there would be other conservative here — I wanted to make sure they knew that Ron Paul was still in the running.”

One irritated Santorum supporter interrupted TheDC’s interview to note that Ron Paul supporters “are usually known as being somewhat on the fringe, a little bit on the nutty side just like Ron Paul himself.”

WATCH: Scenes from the Great Ron Paul-Rick Santorum Sign War of 2012

Follow Jamie on Twitter