Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum won thunderous applaud Thursday evening during CNN’s Florida GOP primary debate for breaking up a squabble between front-runners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.
Romney and Gingrich were clawing each other over who made more money from Freddie Mac, a quasi-private mortgage giant despised by conservatives. The two focused on investments, some of which were made through mutual funds.
Santorum responded, barking, “leave that alone, and focus on the issues!” For this, he received an enthusiastic reception from the crowd.
Moments later in the debate, Santorum broke with the three other candidates on stage by announcing that he believes wealthy Americans should pay a 28 percent income tax rate, saying that if it was a good enough rate for President Reagan, it was good enough for him.