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Santorum's Smashing Surprise
The Weekly Standard ^
| March 25, 2012
Posted on 03/25/2012 4:07:51 PM PDT by Steelfish
Santorum's Smashing Surprise By ROBERT STACY MCCAIN on 3.24.12 The underdog's big win in Louisiana renders ridiculous Romneyworld's demand that he step aside.
HARAHAN, Louisiana -- Rick Santorum scored his 11th victory of the 2012 campaign Saturday, defeating Mitt Romney by a surprisingly wide margin in the Louisiana GOP presidential primary, and the media immediately went to work dismissing this victory as insignificant and inconsequential.
The size of Santorum's Louisiana victory, however, made it hard to dismiss. While polls had shown the former Pennsylvania senator leading by double digits, no one had imagined that he would win by more than 20 points. Yet with 98 percent of precincts reporting, Santorum had 49 percent to Romney's 27 percent -- and if the margin had been much larger, Santorum would have gotten all 20 of the delegates at stake in the primary. That caused some Santorum supporters, who gathered at the Fox and Hound tavern here to celebrate their victory, to wonder why former House Speaker Newt Gingrich -- who finished third with 16 percent of the vote Saturday -- remains in the race.
One local coordinator for Santorum stepped outside the tavern, lit a cigarette, and said, "Newt's killing him.
Without Newt, we'd be at 60 percent."
Gingrich has now admitted that he can't possibly win the nomination, but continues to campaign, and to disparage Santorum in speeches and media interviews. Newt seems oblivious to the reality that by pulling conservative votes away from Santorum, his continued presence in the race only helps Romney, the moderate whom Gingrich has predicted would "lose badly" to President Obama.
But his third-place finish in Louisiana, following his March 13 defeats in Alabama and Mississippi, is likely to make Gingrich increasingly irrelevant to the outcome of future contests.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Politics
KEYWORDS:
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1
posted on
03/25/2012 4:07:58 PM PDT
by
Steelfish
To: Steelfish
The news trickling out about Romney’s Liberalism is NOT helping. I totally believe the aide’s slip of the truth regarding Governor Etch-A-Sketch.
2
posted on
03/25/2012 4:11:28 PM PDT
by
madison10
To: Steelfish
"big win in Louisiana renders ridiculous Romneyworld's demand that he step aside."
No, santorum's ridiculous race pandering comments on George Zimmerman this morning make Romneyworld's demand that he step aside seem valid.
3
posted on
03/25/2012 4:13:04 PM PDT
by
JoSixChip
(santorum is Mr Rogers without a spine. Check his record, not his rhetoric.)
To: madison10
A WI win for Santorum will really shake up GOP-e. Unfortunately, Newt’s presence in La derailed Santorum from collecting more delegates.
4
posted on
03/25/2012 4:15:01 PM PDT
by
Steelfish
(ui)
To: Steelfish
Who exactly could possibly be surprised at Santorum’s winning Louisiana? I’d have been shocked if he’d lost there.
5
posted on
03/25/2012 4:17:05 PM PDT
by
SoDak
To: Steelfish
and the media immediately went to work dismissing this victory as insignificant and inconsequential.
Yeah. Because a total shut down of Milt in LA is nothing that matters. The MSM just doesn't get that no one wants Romney but them.
6
posted on
03/25/2012 4:17:30 PM PDT
by
Lazlo in PA
(Now living in a newly minted Red State.)
Adding final results as shown on the LA SOS Website:
Presidential Nominee -- Republican Party All 4267 precincts reporting
|
Michele Bachmann (R) |
0.33% |
622 |
Randy Crow (R) |
0.10% |
186 |
Newt Gingrich (R) |
15.91% |
29655 |
Jon Huntsman (R) |
0.13% |
242 |
Ron Paul (R) |
6.15% |
11460 |
Rick Perry (R) |
0.51% |
955 |
Charles "Buddy" Roemer (R) |
1.18% |
2203 |
Mitt Romney (R) |
26.69% |
49749 |
Rick Santorum (R) |
48.99% |
91305 |
7
posted on
03/25/2012 4:19:25 PM PDT
by
deport
(..............God Bless Texas............)
To: JoSixChip
“Pandering” only in your mind. Gingrich made some utterly irrelevant remarks contradicting himself in the process during two separate interviews, and his comments helps strengthens Obama’s hand and as you can tell the MSM is having a field day. No wonder he’s been called a “Hindeberg waiting to explode” and is losing primary contest after primary contest, frequently placing third if not dead last.
8
posted on
03/25/2012 4:19:51 PM PDT
by
Steelfish
(ui)
To: Steelfish
"A WI win for Santorum will really shake up GOP-e."
santorum is toast, his trajectory turned decidedly downward this morning as he let slip who he really is. And that is an easily manipulated wimp, the left would make mincemeat of him. Fortunatly, that will never happen.
9
posted on
03/25/2012 4:21:55 PM PDT
by
JoSixChip
(santorum is Mr Rogers without a spine. Check his record, not his rhetoric.)
To: Steelfish
Post them in full context then. You know that Newt exposed obumber and was not pandering to race hustlers the way santorum is.
10
posted on
03/25/2012 4:24:00 PM PDT
by
JoSixChip
(santorum is Mr Rogers without a spine. Check his record, not his rhetoric.)
To: JoSixChip
Amazing that someone on FR is so open about their support for Romney. I can draw no other conclusion from your irrational hatred of Santorum. So much so that you wasted time slamming such an manipulated wimp on your tag.
11
posted on
03/25/2012 4:25:58 PM PDT
by
Lazlo in PA
(Now living in a newly minted Red State.)
To: Steelfish
Winning a state he was suppose to win and by the spread he was supposed to win it by, is not a surprise.
To: JoSixChip
To: JoSixChip
14
posted on
03/25/2012 4:28:04 PM PDT
by
Steelfish
(ui)
To: deport
I find it amazing that 2200 people woke up in LA Saturday and wasted gas getting to the polls to vote for Buddy Roemer. What a worthless endeavor.
15
posted on
03/25/2012 4:28:31 PM PDT
by
Lazlo in PA
(Now living in a newly minted Red State.)
To: JoSixChip
Joe please read what Newt said, he doesn’t have a chance, his own words.
This can only be described as madness.
16
posted on
03/25/2012 4:28:40 PM PDT
by
itsahoot
(Tag lines are a waste of bandwidth, as are my comments.)
To: NavyCanDo
17
posted on
03/25/2012 4:30:56 PM PDT
by
Steelfish
(ui)
To: Lazlo in PA
Your insight and witty comeback is nothing short of amazing!
18
posted on
03/25/2012 4:32:06 PM PDT
by
JoSixChip
(santorum is Mr Rogers without a spine. Check his record, not his rhetoric.)
To: JoSixChip
19
posted on
03/25/2012 4:33:46 PM PDT
by
Lazlo in PA
(I aim to please.)
To: itsahoot
"This can only be described as madness."
Right, and nominating someone like santorum is a stroke of brilliance. No thanks.
20
posted on
03/25/2012 4:34:50 PM PDT
by
JoSixChip
(santorum is Mr Rogers without a spine. Check his record, not his rhetoric.)
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