Posted on 12/29/2011 6:22:38 PM PST by TBBT
Rick Perrys presidential campaign released a tough new ad Thursday targeting Rick Santorum and his history of supporting earmarks in Congress. Why is Perry attacking a candidate who has been mired in single digits in Iowa despite living there for most of the past several months?
Simple, Santorum is surging. A CNN poll of registered Iowa Republicans released Wednesday puts Santorum in third place with 16 percent of the vote his highest share yet. Its not an outlier. In fact, data from Perrys internal daily tracking polling shows that the Santorum surge is real and that he has the potential to continue gaining in the days before voters gather for the caucuses next Tuesday.
The polling was described to TWS by a strategist for a rival campaign and confirmed by a source familiar with the numbers. The four important takeaways from Perrys polling: Mitt Romney is pulling away from a group of four second-tier candidates bunched together behind him; Ron Pauls numbers have dropped steadily in the aftermath of the attention given his troubling newsletters; Santorums rise has coincided with the erosion of support for Newt Gingrich; and Michele Bachmann is in danger of becoming a non-factor in the race.
Almost all of this is good news for Mitt Romney, who announced in recent days a busy schedule of Iowa campaigning and whose campaign let it be known that he would remain overnight in Iowa after the caucuses both indications that the Romney camp is increasingly confident of a win in Iowa next week. And Romney, in an appearance in Iowa on Thursday, said only a win in Iowa would constitute a real victory.
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
Yup.. I stepped out of the ram milt down your throat line.
I don’t give a poop.. I will NOT vote for the democrat running on the wrong side of the isle.
I have been telling this. Conservative can do well in IA.
Santorum can win, or finish strong second. Unlike NewtRomney, he is a conservative.
If Santorum gets the big Mo out of Iowa, and that’s a big if, it will guarantee Romney’s victory...
It may not matter, if Romney comes in first in Iowa, all the buzz will be about that and he’ll become extremely difficult to stop.
Evangelicals are going to screw us.
I hope your right. Otherwise I think all that corn has gone to their heads down there.
I take all thing Weekly Standard with a grain of salt, but Iowa is going to be fun to watch on caucus night. I have a feeling we will all be surprised. Either (1) Paul will win (in which case, I’ll probably be in a state of dazed confusion for a week) (2) One of the many second and third tier candidates makes a surprise showing, and possibly both. If Romney wins, I’ll be even more shocked than if Paul wins.
Santorum’s surge is long overdue. He is a smart, successful legislator who actually accomplished something in the House and Senate. He was the congressman who actually drew up the legislation that reformed welfare. He also crafted and got the bill passed in the Senate that outlawed partial birth abortion. He won elections as a conservative Republican in a state that in which Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1. He’s been sounding the alarm about Iran for years and was the driving force behind legislation to support dissidents who wanted to overthrow the government there. He is head and shoulders above Bachmann or Paul or Perry when it comes to smarts and being informed about issues. He’s the only one proposing a specific program to restore the manufacturing base in this country. He’s a good guy. As a Pennsylvania who voted for him in every statewide election, I hope Iowans keep his candidacy alive by voting for him on Tuesday.
Of course. That's the MSM's goal right there. Otherwise, they wouldn't be pushing Santorum, trying to keep the conservative vote split.
“Evangelicals are going to screw us.”
That is entirely uncalled for and you need to retract it.
Santorum has a lifetime conservative rating from the American Conservative Union of 88%. Newt's lifetime rating is 90%.
Newt was beating Mitt in Iowa.
Both are now splitting the anti Romney vote in Iowa, yielding the lead to Mitt.
Evangelicals are going to screw us.
Santorum is a Roman Catholic, but thanks for insulting me and 26% or so of the U.S. population. Thanks a whole lot.
Newt’s conservative rating in the last 10 years is closer to Nancy Pelosi’s rating (global warming, cap-and-trade, individual mandate, amnesty, gov subsidies, attacking ryan etc).
Santorum does not have scandals like newt.
Go Rick!
So you have a problem with "Evangelicals," i.e. the Faithful?
Kiss my pasty rump. Santorum and Romney will rise and fall on their own merits.
This is what happens when people who aren't princpled conservatives go into an election year and settle for the candidate they think can win. As far as I'm concerned, they can take their less than principled selves and pack it on back to RINOville.
I think the Iowa outcome is starting to matter less and less in the grand scheme of things. better hope we take the senate.
Iowa and NH- and they want to say it’s over-— But, we’ll know by the campaign in SC. If the long knives come out, and Newt takes the gloves off- then it’s a fight. If not, we’re all watching a charade.
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.