Rick Santorum tests political weather in Nevada for possible White House run

Northern Nevada's weather is a bit like the state's politics, often swinging from one extreme to the next.

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., a possible White House contender, got a dose of it Thursday. He was visiting Reno, where the sun kept poking through a freezing storm.

"It is great to be in Reno, watching the sun and then the snow _ and then the sun and then the snow," Santorum joked in a telephone interview.

The conservative Republican was in town to meet with GOP officials and supporters, including back-to-back fundraising events: a $100 VIP reception for the Washoe County GOP with about 20 people and a $25 cocktail reception with 85-90 guests expected, for Mt. Rose Republicans, named for one of the peaks along the Sierra Nevada range.

Santorum is the latest potential GOP presidential candidate to stop in Nevada, one of four early voting states in the 2012 nominating contest. Las Vegas also will be the site of at least one major debate this year, and possibly two, in which Santorum said he plans to attend if he jumps into the race. He said winning Nevada would be part of his strategy.

"My feeling is, if we decided to pull the trigger on this thing, you have to be in it to not just win the primary, but win the general, too," said Santorum, who isn't well known in Nevada or the West. "I'm actually excited about the opportunity here. I think the Republican Party has a good chance."

Nevada is a swing state and a political bellwether, having picked the U.S. president every time except one during the past century.

In 2008, Democrats and Barack Obama turned Nevada blue, winning by 12.5 percentage points. His campaign thinks 2012 will be blue skies for him here again.

Before Obama, Nevada was a red state, twice backing former President George W. Bush.

Before Bush, former Democratic President Bill Clinton won Nevada in back-to-back elections.

Santorum said he's hopeful about 2012 because voters sent a strong, pro-GOP message in 2010 when Republicans took over the House on a promise to cut spending and the deficit.

The former Pennsylvania senator said if he were still in Congress he would back House Republicans like Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who this week proposed a budget that would slash federal spending by $6.2 trillion in the next 10 years. That would involve major reform to entitlement programs such as Medicare, essentially giving seniors vouchers to buy private health care.

"I think Ryan's plan is absolutely right," Santorum said. "What Paul has done is put some responsible limits" on spending.

Under the current system, Santorum argued, Medicare spending is out of control because the U.S. government pays the health care bills for seniors with no real cap on costs.

"What individual, what mom or dad, says spend whatever you want to spend," Santorum said. "It's not a responsible way to govern."

Santorum's visit to Reno came as lawmakers in Washington were negotiating the budget to avoid a federal government shutdown.

The senator said he doesn't think allowing a shutdown is wise, especially since Republicans and Democrats are only talking about mere tens of billions of dollars in potential savings.

"They're playing small ball," he said of the current GOP House tactics on the budget. "They need to fight over big things that people care about, not about $10 billion."

Santorum's Nevada stop came in the middle of a four-state swing, including Colorado, California, and South Carolina, another early voting state in 2012.

He said he planned to return to the Silver State, and he hoped to meet GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval, who has seen three potential presidential candidates in recent weeks.

"I look forward to meeting with him next time I'm here," Santorum said. "I'll be back."