Santorum draws the line in Wisconsin: No cheesehead

Chris Moody
·Political Reporter

APPLETON, Wisc. -- He'll eat their cheese. He'll drink their beer. He'll even visit Lambeau Field. And though he's vying for the love of Wisconsinites this week, you won't find Rick Santorum wearing a yellow polyurethane triangle on his head.

Santorum declined an offer to don the official cap of the Green Bay Packers here Monday, citing his lifelong allegiance to one of the team's main rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Santorum, who represented Pennsylvania in Congress from 1991-2007, stopped for lunch at Simon's Specialty Cheese shop, where he was surrounded by hundreds of cheesehead hats for sale.

While he and his wife nibbled on grilled cheese sandwiches and squeaky cheese curds, a shop employee brought over a couple of the iconic hats for him to autograph.

"I am not going to put this on," Santorum said. "I am a Steelers fan."

"It's like asking a Packers fan to wave a Terrible Towel," he said after recalling the story at a campaign stop later that day. "You can't do that."

Santorum's allegiance didn't stop the reality show family the Duggars, who are traveling with the candidate, from sporting their own cheesy headgear.

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