Ron Paul says social issues are a 'losing position' for the GOP

Ron Paul said he doesn't think that Rick Santorum can defeat President Obama in a general election. "I don't see how that's possible," he said on Sunday on CNN's State of the Union.

Paul also jabbed at Santorum for his aim “to control peoples’ lives” and what he framed as Santorum’s hypocrisy on the birth control issue.

Santorum admitted in a 2006 interview on Fox News that he supported Title X, a government program that provides funds for family planning services, including access to contraceptives. Santorum said he voted for it during his time as Pennsylvania Senator, and though he believes in access to contraceptives, he personally feels they’re harmful to women and that abstinence education is a "healthier" option.

"I don't see how anybody can get away with that inconsistency—pretending he's a conservative,” Paul said in reference to Santorum’s vote.

Paul dismissed the recent debate over contraception entirely, saying that while the other candidates discuss birth control, he's concerned with "the undermining of our civil liberties, the constant wars going on" and the debt.

Paul said the focus on social issues is a fundamental problem and an unwise fight for the GOP.

"I think it's a losing position," he said. "I talk about it because I have a precise understanding of how these problems are to be solved," on a state-specific level, he said.