AIKEN, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is leveling harsh criticism against his rivals, calling Newt Gingrich "all over the place" and saying Mitt Romney has "been on every side of every issue."
Santorum told voters Tuesday in South Carolina that they cannot trust Gingrich and Romney and calls them unacceptable to conservatives.
In a television ad to start running on Wednesday, Santorum says Romney is the same as President Barack Obama and is even more liberal than Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on social issues.
Santorum is clawing to emerge as the leading conservative alternative to front-runner Romney. One woman in Aiken, S.C., went as far as to ask Santorum how he can persuade conservatives to coalesce around him to avoid a Romney nomination.
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