Posted on 03/19/2012 9:55:05 PM PDT by Steelfish
March 19, 2012 The Improbable Mr. Santorum Outgunned in staff and money, disdained by the media, he refuses to be silenced and remains Romney's only real rival. By WILLIAM MCGURN
When the Illinois primary closes in the next 24 hours, it is improbable that Rick Santorum will emerge victorious. Given the states that are left, arithmetic suggests it is equally improbable that Mr. Santorum can overcome Mr. Romney's lead in delegates. Perhaps most improbable of all is the hope that a contested Republican convention would settle on Mr. Santorum as its nominee.
Then again, that Mr. Santorum would be where he is today was once the height of improbability.
In a contest that favors a Republican who could challenge President Obama on executive experience, Mr. Santorum is a former legislator who lost his Senate seat by 18 points. Where conservatives ache for a leader who reflects Ronald Reagan's optimism as well as his principles, Mr. Santorum comes with an edge. In battles increasingly fought with television advertising, the Pennsylvanian comes to the primaries a relative pauper.
Then there's his 2004 endorsement of liberal Republican Sen. Arlen Specter over now-Sen. Pat Toomey, a conservative by any measure. Or his unfortunate if unfairly misinterpreted reference to "man on dog" in a 2003 Associated Press interview about gay marriage. Or his enthusiasm for earmarks and his vote against the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993.
For all these reasons—and more—most every pundit and political analyst, this one included, believed Mr. Santorum would be among the first casualties of the GOP primaries. Yet here we are today, with Mr. Santorum very much alive. That's the thing about elections: Voters get to give the old heave-ho to unwanted advice about whom they must support and what they should care about.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Go Newt.
Thanks Steelie, Great article...
we’re already lost. Some people haven’t realized this. If you look at Sanctorum facebook page, he got 184k likes. Newt, 300k. romney 1.6 million, ron paul 1 milion. The Newt and Sanctorum supporters are tiny
2012 election will be a fight between extreme liberal vs liberal
Newt went down in flames with his “southern strategy”
agreed. He’ll make martyrs out of us all and ultimately set back the conservative agenda by losing in the general election. This election is and will continue to be about the economy, not social issues.
Has it occurred to you that Facebook is not a representative sample of America? Anymore than the audience for MSNBC is representative, nor universal.
And Sarah Palin has 3,308,825.
I’ll wait until the convention for a nominee.
Only if we believe that.
We must find a way to win (and perhaps a person to win with). The future of our country depends on it.
We are Americans. We have succeeded before, even in the face of tremendous opposition. Certainly we can find a way to defeat Obama and his freedom-killing robots.
He may be down, but he is definitely not out.
Newt still has a major role to play in this election. I'm not sure even he knows what that role is. He has inspired thousands and given conservatives a renewed confidence to stand up against the mainstream media and Obama political machine. I believe he will continue to do so, whether he is the nominee or not. Go Newt!
I’m more and more convinced that Newt is positioning himself as the heir-apparent frontrunner for the 2016 nomination.
What few RRs realise is that these races are for delegates not for the popular vote . In the presidential election there are no delegates from American Samoa or from Puerto Rico who vote in the presidential election. Only in the primary it is a courtesty from that particular political party They’re not inculded in the national presidential race.
.When Santorum went to Puerto Rico and told them english he knew what the hell he was doing and he made his point because Romney back tracked on earlier statments. of english only and pandered to them.
That is one amoung many reason I like Santorum
If we had a fair and objective prees they would have pointed this out. But wwe din’t because they are in bed most of them with socialists. Now how the hell they make money praticuarly the print people amazes me but slowly byt surely they’re losng their base and its about time.
The unfortunate thing is that the visual TV until they learn their lesson are going to lose money. The problem with the heavy money poeple is this forget about your concepts...give streight talk ...and you’ll make momey..A gallke Oprah with her O thing if she was smart particularly with the balck poulation tell the truth ...sehe’d make a bundle ...Protect no one let the chips fall where they may on either side and be balanced about it...
Even though you are a loser Newt, the Mittbots love you and Obama does too.
Please, Rick works for Mitt......sheesh!
He has achieved an amazing feat with pure tenacity. Some people around here call him arrogant.
He is the exact opposite and doesn't come off as an authoritarian.
That is why he does well.
I'm not wild about any of them, but I give Santo props for getting where he is.
And I'll take him in a hearbeat over Romney.
If Newt drops out, Romney wins. There are a whole lot of Newt people who would take Mitt over Rick.
Romney’s only REAL rival is the conservative base. Both Santorum and Gingrich must stay in the race to deny Romney the necessary delegates to win the nomination outright.
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.