Santorum’s strategy for dealing with critics

The other day, Josh Marshall noted, accurately, that Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum, the Senate’s most aggressive advocate for Social Security privatization, “ain’t hiding.”

He may be getting his head handed to him this week in Pennsylvania. But he’s out there making his case to some pretty unfriendly crowds.

True. To his credit, Santorum is out there, making his pitch. It’s clearly not going well, but at least he isn’t following the president’s cowardly method of preaching exclusively to carefully screened choirs. Critics show up at Santorum’s events, and their voices are heard.

What’s interesting, however, is Santorum’s reaction to this criticism. I don’t expect opponents of privatization to actually change the senator’s mind, but how does Santorum deal with those with whom he disagrees?

After a meeting in Pittsburgh, Santorum said he discounted criticism because it came from people dispatched by groups such as the AARP, the powerful seniors lobby, which opposes private accounts. He lauded the positive reaction from young people – “those who didn’t come here with a political ax to grind” – but many were from the College Republicans group at the University of Pittsburgh.

Conservative thinking at its finest. Those who disagree with you should be ignored because they’re part of an organized political effort. Those who agree with you should be embraced, even when they’re part of an organized political effort. It’s the kind of logic only Santorum could love.