Newt or Santorum or Perry were attacked so viciously by their own guy, Romney, that it’s impossible to say how they would be doing.
The lies told about the other candidates, and the misrepresentations and lies about himself, mean that Romney has stuck republicans in intramural warfare, suspicion, and ambivalence.
He has split his party, he has sapped it of drive, and the turnout numbers prove it.
“Newt or Santorum or Perry were attacked so viciously ...”
Yup. And this wouldnt have happened at 10X the level in the general election?
It’s called “vetting”.
Most of the worst nasty things said were by liberal mouthpieces in the media, and they would have ramped it up even more.