Santorum: Obama to blame for higher energy costs
HARVEY, La. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is denouncing President Barack Obama's energy policies and his foreign relations as failures that contribute to spikes in gasoline prices.
Santorum said Obama has done little to increase domestic energy production. He said opening more federal lands for exploration would increase revenue and help reduce the deficit.
The former Pennsylvania senator spoke at a company on the outskirts of New Orleans that services oil rigs operating in the Gulf of Mexico. He is campaigning to win Louisiana's primary on Saturday after getting trounced by Mitt Romney in Illinois Tuesday.
Santorum also called Obama's Iran policy "appeasement" that has emboldened the government to threaten to block oil shipments in the Strait of Hormuz, a major transportation route.
