The presidential campaign continues to heat up in Pennsylvania.

Former Congressman Phil English and Independence Hall Tea Party leader Don Adams were present on Tuesday when Pennsylvania Republican leaders gathered in Harrisburg to endorse Mitt Romney. The tone of that event was all positive.

But in a conference call organized by the Romney campaign this afternoon, both men brought out the knives.

“None of the members of the Pennsylvania delegation who served with Rick Santorum when he was Senator have endorsed Rick Santroum for President,” English said. “That may seem like an anomaly, but the fact is it is very significant, and a strong indicator of what’s going on right now in Pennsylvania.”

“I have supported Mr. Santorum as an individual over the years, voted for him for Senator three times, but would not consider voting for him for President for a whole host of reasons,” said Adams. “We have been able to watch him over the years. We have been very disappointed in him at times.”

Adams added that the IHTP, based in Philadelphia, was the first Tea Party in the nation to endorse Romney.

Neither English nor Adams would say just how much Romney was willing to commit to the Pa. primary in terms of resources, calling the election a “beauty contest,” because the results are not binding to Pa. delegates and many of them are likely to support Romney regardless.

English was a high-ranking staffer and confidante on Santorum’s first congressional campaign in 1990. He also fits the DC establishment label the Romney camp has been trying to project onto Santorum – a lawmaker who turned lobbyist after losing a bid for re-election. He likened Santorum’s rationale for the endorsement of Specter to his own rationale for supporting Romney.

“When he endorsed Arlen Specter over Pat Toomey, he made the argument that Pat Toomey was not electable even though he agreed with him on many voting positions,” English said. “I would turn that argument back on itself and say that in a state like Pennsylvania, and I would argue most parts of the country, Mitt Romney has more appeal to the swing voters trumps a lot of other concerns.”

He added that a recent Quinnipiac University poll showing Santorum with a 36 to 22 lead over Romney in Pa. was bad news for the former Senator, saying that he has nearly 100 percent name ID among the GOP electorate here.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Jim Burn welcomed Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman John Walsh for a Romney-bashing conference call of their own.

“In the private sector, Romney made profits for his investors as a corporate raider while outsourcing American jobs,” said Burn. “As governor, job creation lagged at 47th out of the 50 states, and he raised taxes and fees on middle class families and businesses.”

“[Romney] neglects to say that under his leadership, the debt in Massachusetts grew by 16.4 percent. Job growth lagged well behind the rest of the nation. Massachusetts at 47th out of 50 in job growth, only beating out Michigan, Ohio and Louisiana,” Walsh echoed.