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 ...
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.
A WI win for Santorum will really shake up GOP-e. Unfortunately, Newt’s presence in La derailed Santorum from collecting more delegates.
Who exactly could possibly be surprised at Santorum’s winning Louisiana? I’d have been shocked if he’d lost there.
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.
| 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 | |
“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.
Post them in full context then. You know that Newt exposed obumber and was not pandering to race hustlers the way santorum is.
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.
bullshit
While Gingrich is being reduced to dust by Republican primary voters and continues to act the fool.
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.
Joe please read what Newt said, he doesn’t have a chance, his own words.
This can only be described as madness.
And Gingrich was supposed to win La too after his last place finish in IL where he got a mere 8% just one percentage higher than what he got in MI (7%) that helped Romney defeat Santorum by 3%. Nice.
Your insight and witty comeback is nothing short of amazing!
I aim to please.
Can’t understand voting for any of those that had dropped out or were no longer in the race for some reason or other. But there were other races people were voting on besides just the presidential primary.
And I really wanted him to be my candidate since the day he entered the race, but he failed to excite me once he got in. I do admire his wife Karen though. She would make a terrific Fist Lady. Her book, Everyday Graces: Child's Book Of Good Manners, has been a family favorite for a number of years. But as for Rick, he'll never have the opportunity to make her First Lady. Not this election anyway.
The kool-aid is for those who find it nourishing even after their candidate is toast.
Newt is holding out for the ones that matter,after california we will see a new Newt,its his after california strategy.
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.
Less than a month ago Gingrich was telling the world that he was going to wipe the floor with Santorum in the South and cruise on to the nomination.
The South belonged to Gingrich, don’t you remember?
Surprise. It don’t.
Scozzafava.
Pelousy’s couch.
Newt would rather have Romney if he can’t have the nomination himself. Some critter in the manger, as I recall.
You wanna talk tone? Take a look at your own tone in your posting history.
Regrettably, we get Romney BECAUSE of Gingrich. Had he withdrawn after Santorum’s spectacular one day trifecta, Romney would most likely have been defeated in MI (where he won by 3% and Gingrich siphoned off 7% of the votes. Subsequent internal polling data tells us that nearly 60% of Gingrich’s votes would go to Santorum) and in crucial OH where Santorum lost by under 1% Gingrich spirited away 14% of the vote. Unlike Bachmann, Cain, and Perry before him, who quit when they lose elections and their polling numbers take a dive, Gingrich goes on for his own ego and this is the guy who after just one flash-in-the-pan win in S. Carolina demanded that Santorum withdraw. His $2.50 gal/gas within two years and proposal for “permanent moon based colonies within eight years” went up in flames in his own southern backyard and now finishes 3rd place in LA and deprives Santorum of a large haul of delegates. What rationality accounts for this and the continued anti-Santorum posts we keep encountering?
Your a Paul bot and Rombey now too !
Take your Romney talking points to a website that allow your lies .
Your a Paul bot and Rombey now too !
Take your Romney talking points to a website that allow your lies .
A Paul bot carrying out orders to smear Rick for Mittens .
Good article, but it’s in the American spectator and not the weekly standard.
Yes. Where is the realism on FR? People are falling over a cliff like lemmings with Gingrich. There is no reason for Newt to stay in this race. He only helps Romney, state after state. It doesn’t matter how great you think he’d be. You could vote for Sarah Palin too. It will do about as well. Come on. If you don’t want Romney, you need to throw your support to Santorum.
I don’t think it’s the fact that he won, but how large his margin was.
Thanks.
Prediction. When (if), the Speaker “pulls the plug” and suspends, you will find a number of Newt supporters going straight ahead to ROMNEY even if there are anti-Romney Conservatives still in the race. That to me will speak volumes. I suspect some will come and help us with Santorum, as well. Certainly they will be most welcome. I have tried my best not to piss them off...probably the ones I DID piss me off were the ones first offensive to me, some of them actually quite PSYCHOTIC. (OK a bit of hyperbole here, but there you have it). ;-)
You are mad indeed, nominating Santorum is the only possible way to stop Romney, Newt agrees in his own words, so take up your problem with the RNC, because that is the way they rigged it.
Repeat after me, a vote for Newt is a vote for Romney, because Newt can not now or ever be elected President, our wishes make no difference in the outcome.
Where I live it won’t matter so I will write inPalin.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.