Free Republic

"Critics, including supporters of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich and even neutral Republicans, argue that the national party took steps that helped tilt the contest toward Mitt Romney — an allegation that the RNC rejects but is taking very seriously. The list of specific grievances ranges from issues that even the party acknowledges are legitimate to those that they dismiss as desperate fixations from Romney’s flailing rivals. An operative for one of Romney’s GOP rivals said, “I know this sounds like Watergate conspiracy theory stuff, but it is all connected. It’s the same sort of establishment crowd who all have...

The Republican National Committee was supposed to play the part of umpire in the GOP presidential primary, but some Republicans are grumbling that the committee wasn’t just calling balls and strikes. Critics, including supporters of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich and even neutral Republicans, argue that the national party took steps that helped tilt the contest toward Mitt Romney — an allegation that the RNC rejects but is taking very seriously. The list of specific grievances ranges from issues that even the party acknowledges are legitimate, to those that they dismiss as desperate fixations from Romney’s flailing rivals. For example,...

Senator Marco Rubio made some bold statements regarding the Republican Presidential primary race,while attening one of his regional Senate office openings in Palm Beach county, Florida. Rubio has openly endorsed Governor Mitt Romney in the race, and has said that he was not one to tell another candidate to drop out of a race, until now. “I actually think we’re going to have a very good nominee. I think Mitt Romney’s going to be the next president of the United States. And by their own admission, the folks running against Mitt Romney have admitted that they cannot win the primary,...

Fox News & CNN are projecting Romney wins MD in their banners. Santorum wasn't on the DC ballot. Wisconsin polls close at 8pm CDT/9pm EDT.

Will Ron Paul be the next Republican presidential candidate to drop out of the race? Unfortunately, Ron Paul Nation, it’s looking like that. The libertarian’s recent primary showings and fundraising figures have been far from stellar, and Paul now looks like the shakiest candidate in the race. All other candidates — even the mostly down and out Newt Gingrich — still have something going for them. Paul, of course, has yet to win a state primary. Yes, he “won” the popular vote in the Virgin Islands earlier this month, but all but one of the eight delegates in that race...

.......Chelsey Dargis, 21, who is studying to be a teacher, voted in Metairie for Mr. Romney because she said she thought he would reach out to independents. “I have Republican qualities, but I also agree with Democrats,” Ms. Dargis said, citing her approval of abortion rights and same-sex marriage. “I like Mitt Romney better because he once was a Democrat. He still has to have somewhat of the mind-set of a Democrat.”

No link yet. I'm just seeing it on CNN. Reuters said Fox called it as well.

...This was blue collar vs blue blood. The pundits tried all evening to sound intelligent as they attempted to explain the vote. They failed miserably. In his victory speech, Rick Santorum nailed it, "This campaign is about ordinary folks doing extraordinary things, just like America." As he ended his speech he told his supporters the campaign was about "Free people, a free economy, the integrity of the family and the centrality of faith in our lives". Just as he finished that line, a campaign worker informed the candidate that he had also won Mississippi. The entire room broke into an...

A new official delegate count being kept by the Republican National Committee reveals that Newt Gingrich has won more "bound" delegates in the presidential primary than Rick Santorum. Gingrich has won 107 delegates compared to Santorum's 95, according to the RNC's count, which was made after Super Tuesday. That effectively puts him in second place behind front-runner Mitt Romney. But the RNC does not count delegates from states like Iowa in its total, according to the Huffington Post, which first reported the story. The Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses did not officially allocate any of the state's 28 delegates to the...

.....With an unusually large proportion of his donors already giving the maximum contribution allowed by federal law, Mr. Romney’s campaign has made repeated appeals to grass-roots donors in recent days... Mr. Romney has tacked a request for help onto the end of his stump speech in recent days, directing supporters to his Web site,... ........A spokeswoman said on Wednesday that Mr. Romney raised $11 million in February, bringing his total for the cycle to $77 million, much more than any other Republican in the race. But relatively little of it has come from small checks. Through the end of January,...

Why Santorum Scares the Left February 28, 2012 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Okay, we have some headlines that are in the Drive-By Media today. Most of them are about Santorum and how out of touch he is and how what a wacko he is and what a creep, what a fanatic. I had 'em set aside. I'll just run through the headlines here.ABC: "New Lows Among Conservatives Mark Romney’s Popularity Problem."This is an ABC News/Washington Post poll on Romney's plummeting popularity with conservative Republicans. From the Right Scoop: "Santorum: Romney Uniquely Unqualified to Take on President Obama." From the National...

New Gallup polling shows the clearest picture yet of the great divide in the Republican Party that has been pushing Rick Santorum to the head of the class. Behind Santorum’s eight point national lead over Romney is a yawing gap in ideological support for the two candidates. Conservative support for Santorum stands at 42 percent, compared to 24 percent for Romney. Among those who attend church frequently, support for Santorum is at 44 percent and for Romney 22 percent. In the nation’s heartland in the Midwest and South, Santorum leads by 19 and 8 points respectively. It is only on...

Wish I had a nickel for every conservative who confidently predicted that the Arizona debate would, of course, feature obnoxious questions about birth control and the devil aimed at Rick Santorum. As it turned out, CNN’s John King did not ask “gotcha” questions and, for the most part, conducted a fair and informative debate. The debate moderated by King, along with other events of the past week, has resolved a question that has been swirling since the Missouri, Colorado, and Minnesota primaries: Why not Santorum? There is much to like and admire about Rick Santorum. He did fine work enacting...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is the top choice of Republicans if the party nominates its presidential candidate at a "brokered" convention this summer, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released Wednesday. Mr. Christie is favored by 32 percent of Republicans, followed by former Govs. Sarah Palin of Alaska and Jeb Bush of Florida with 20 percent each, the poll found. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is fourth at 15 percent. Some conservatives are contemplating a so-called brokered Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., in August, in which none of the current candidates would have gained enough delegates to win...

Mitt Romney and Ron Paul have pulled out of a Republican presidential debate scheduled for March 1 in Atlanta, leading to the cancellation of the affair. But backers of a planned presidential debate in Portland on March 19 are confident they won't run into the same problem. "We have every indication it will happen," said Greg Leo, chief of staff of the Oregon Republican Party, which is sponsoring the debate along with Oregon Public Broadcasting, National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting System and The Washington Times. Romney and Paul cited problems with their campaign schedule in being able to make...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I want to move on to Rick Santorum. You talk about being perfectly positioned? Rick Santorum is a practicing Catholic, a pro-lifer. You talk about a candidate who is perfectly positioned to draw the most distinct contrast to Obama and the Democrats and what's going on right now. Santorum speak at CPAC this morning, the Conservative Political Action Conference. We have five excerpts from Santorum's speech which fired up CPAC. Here's the first of them... SANTORUM: "We have to learn our lesson that we need to compromise, do what's politically reasonable, and go out and push someone...

Fox News Poll: Santorum Surges Nationally After Three-State Sweep By Dana Blanton February 10, 2012 Rick Santorum has surged nationally in the race for the 2012 Republican nomination after his three-state sweep this week, while Mitt Romney has lost ground among GOP primary voters. In addition, most GOP voters say the nomination race isn’t over -- someone other than Romney could still win. That’s according to a Fox News poll released Friday. The new poll was conducted over four nights this week -- Monday through Thursday -- so it provides a unique opportunity to compare Santorum’s support before and after...

(YBH) – As the final Colorado vote counts were coming in late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning, confirming that Rick Santorum scored a hat trick against his Republican competitors, it was becoming clear that a sea change is occurring within the GOP race. More than before, it’s now arguable that the inevitability of Mitt Romney’s candidacy is a fallacy. This opinion has been long espoused by Republican grassroots activists across the country. Now there are numbers to back it up. Santorum has now won four out of the eight contests. He has victories in four contests compared to three for Romney....

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Rick Santorum, one night, three victories. CBS has the story: "Santorum Stunner: Sweeps 3 GOP Contests." I've taken a gander throughout the Republican media, conservative media, and all over the place, and they are shocked. They're literally shocked. The Republican establishment had no idea this was percolating out there. I can't believe how insulated they are. I mean I know they're insulated. I know they're inside the Beltway. I know they have their own world in which they live, but to look at the reaction they're having today, to see how shocked they are that Rick Santorum...

Tuesday’s balloting had to deflate the Romney campaign as Rick Santorum, who now has won more states than Mitt, swept all three elections in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota. Even Ron Paul beat Romney in Minnesota – by 10 points. Romney, whom nearly everyone was crowning nominee after his decisive Florida victory, clearly isn’t the darling of a large swath of the Republican faithful. We won’t belabor this except to say there are a few things that bode ill, not just for Romney, but for Republicans...