Presidential Hopefuls Hit Palmetto State

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — GOP presidential hopefuls are stumping at the Greenville County Republican convention.

Saturday’s stumping in this first-in-the-South primary state has Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich making speeches at the convention here and later at Spartanburg County’s GOP gathering.

Barbour told the convention crowd that President Obama’s health care and energy policies are slowing economic growth. He said business owners can’t figure out how much they’ll have to spend to comply with the new federal health care law. He said Obama’s energy policy is an environmental policy because it emphasizes reduced consumption.

Barbour praised U.S. House Republicans for standing firm on budget negotiations that threatened a government shutdown.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All rights reserved.)