Santorum's 'Google problem' and a few more besides

RICK SANTORUM, the lawyer and former senator who came only eight votes behind Mitt Romney in the Republican caucus in Iowa this week, is regarded as a fiscal conservative. He is also renowned for outspoken right-wing views – and actions – on a variety of social issues. As a new Zogby poll shows Santorum enjoying a massive bounce after Iowa, here are just four reminders of the baggage he takes with him into next week’s New Hampshire primary...

The 'Google problem'

Type 'Santorum' into Google and the first result is a supposed definition of the word: "The frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex." This has been referred to by the senator himself as his "Google problem". The definition was invented in 2003 by gay rights activists who objected to an interview in which Santorum appeared to equate homosexuality with polygamy and incest. They successfully manipulated Google so that the word Santorum would be associated with a gay sex act in search results. The definition remains in place today.

The 20-week-old 'fetus'

In 1996, Santorum's wife Karen gave birth to a baby prematurely at 20 weeks. The boy - named Gabriel - lived for just two hours, after which, according to The Washington Post, the Santorums bundled the body in a blanket, took it to Karen's parents' home and "spent several hours kissing and cuddling Gabriel with his three siblings, ages 6, 4 and 1 1/2”. The paper added that “they took photos, sang lullabies in his ear and held a private Mass." Karen's doctors referred to the child as a "fetus" on hospital forms - a term the Santorums objected to. They had earlier rejected the option of an abortion; her husband, a staunch Catholic, is famously against terminations even in cases of incest and rape.

Give up your mobile

Santorum has suggested during his campaign for the Republican nomination that healthcare is a luxury and that those who can't afford it should question whether they should be paying for a mobile phone, according to Think Progress. "I had a woman the other day who came up and complained to me that she has to pay $200 a month for her prescriptions," he said during campaigning in Iowa. "I said, 'In other words, this $200 a month keeps you alive.' She goes, 'Yes.'

"I said, 'And you're complaining that you're paying $200 a month and it keeps you alive? What's your cable bill? I mean, what's your cell phone bill?' Because she had a cell phone. And how can you say that you complain that you have $200 to keep you alive and that's a problem? No, that's a blessing!"

'Remarkable for a black man'

The list of controversial Santorum quotes is long. But his suggestion that Barack Obama should be against abortion because he is black stands out. Santorum was referring to the argument in US law over when an unborn fetus can be considered to be a person, ABC reports. "The question is - and this is what Barack Obama didn't want to answer - is that human life a person under the Constitution? And Barack Obama says 'No.'

"I find it almost remarkable for a black man to say, 'We're going to decide who are people and who are not people.'" ·