Posted on 01/31/2012 12:46:02 PM PST by Maceman
As I reported this morning, Newt Gingrich is pleading with Florida voters not to "waste" their votes on Rick Santorum, asserting that he alone is the only conservative alternative to Mitt Romney with a chance to win. Given the state's polling picture, that's not an entirely unreasonable argument to advance, but Newt has taken his rhetoric a step further by calling on Santorum and Ron Paul to drop out of the race and unite behind him. Newt floated the same suggestion in South Carolina, which went over about as well as his latest attempt to clear the field:
Rick Santorum on Tuesday morning pushed back against calls to drop out of the GOP presidential race in order to unite the conservative vote. Santorum told Fox News that people like fellow GOP candidate Newt Gingrich shouldn't tell other candidates to "get out of my way." Gingrich, earlier in the morning, called for conservatives to unite behind one candidate. In the past, he has suggested other GOP candidates drop out of the race in order to avoid splitting the vote. "My message is everybody should run," Santorum told Fox News. "I don't think people should be telling other folks to get out of the race and get out of my way. If you want to run a race, run a race. You don't ask someone to quit just because you think you're the better candidate. I think I'm the better candidate but Newt has every right to run."
If Santorum had really wanted to twist the knife a bit, he could have mentioned the latest data from Gallup, which shows that Gingrich is the Republican nominee worst suited to compete with President Obama in crucial swing states. According to the survey, Mitt Romney narrowly leads Obama among registered voters in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Santorum and Ron Paul each poll within single-digits of the incumbent in these states. What about Newt?
But Obama leads Gingrich, 54%-40%. The president's standing against him has risen nine points since early December; Gingrich has fallen by eight. Gingrich fares less well than Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who trails Obama by seven points, 50%-43%, and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who also trails by seven points, 51%-44%.
Based on this snapshot, Santorum could make the case that if conservatives want to defeat both Romney and Obama, Newt should be the one getting out and backing him -- although the former Senator's quote suggests that he'll do no such thing. Also mentioned in my piece this morning was the indignant carping from Gingrich and his surrogates about "profoundly false" attacks and "gutter politics" emanating from Camp Romney. How would Newt characterize this robocoll from his own campaign, targeting elderly and Jewish voters in Florida?
Get OUT Santorum. Go home to your child and family. We want NEWT!
Before you jump on the Santorum bandwagon there are several issues you should be aware of..
Senators Propose Redundant Media Research Study
(Washington, D.C.) - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today criticized Senators Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), and Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) for reintroducing the Children and Media Research Advancement Act (CAMRA), which will set up a $90 million program to research what countless other studies have already documented the effects of television viewing and other media on children. CAGW named Sen. Lieberman Porker of the Month when he introduced the same legislation in August, 2004.
“This proposal is just one expensive rerun,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said. “For decades this issue has been studied to death, always yielding the same results. Calling for yet another taxpayer-funded study belittles the ability of parents to use common sense in deciding what shows are appropriate for their children.”
1. Santorum joined Sen Hillary Clinton, Sen Lieberman, Sam Brownback in introducing the CHILDREN AND MEDIA REASEARCH ADVANCEMENT ACT which allocated a 90 MILLION dollar program to research the effects that watching tv has on children. This was a call for ANOTHER taxpayer funded study the thinks the govt knows better than parents on what is appropriate for their children to view.
http://www.cagw.org/newsroom/releases/2005/senators-propose-redundant.html
2. Santorum voted to raise the minimum wage and to have the govt be allowed to set wage regulations.
3. Santorum spent more than 1 billion on earmarks including..., Pennsylvania in 2005 received $483 million in earmarks for 872 projects, including $5.4 million for an igloo upgrade for an Army Depot and $5 million for a new visitor center at Gettysburg.
Read more on Newsmax.com: Santorum Pro-Labor Votes, Earmarks Ripe for Attacks
4. Santorum voted to raise the debt ceiling 8 times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rick. Love you man, but GET OUT.
Santorum has no chance to beat Romney, that’s just the way it is.
Santorum’s in it for a while. He’s in Colorado and visiting other states today preparing for their caucuses and primaries.
Santorum is vile. He has some reason to be “outraged” by this, but frankly he finds a way to be outraged by anything the other candidates say. He’s a bottom feeder who traffics in slime. He needs to drop.
Yes, Santorum is a big government conservative.
I was watching FOX news one Sunday, about a month ago. The show was basically a pep rally for Ron Paul, but Chris Wallace made an interesting statement. He said that there is an obscure rule in the Republican party, that if one guy comes out on top (or near the top) in all the caucus states, he can force a brokered convention.
Now, I don’t know if that is true, but....
I have to say I agree with Rick. It’s just not good form to tell another candidate to drop out. Much better to focus on beating out the others with your own policies.
If Santorum doesn’t like it when an opponent calls for him to drop out, he’s really going to hate his conference calls with his big money donors tomorrow...
There’s just something about Santorum that I can’t stand.....
A vote for Santorum is a vote for Romney! the ONLY reason he did well in Iowa is NOONE attacked him. He has been given a free pass. His baggage is heavy. GET OUT RICK!
I like Rick, he has many positives. But the way he closed out Florida tells me he is NOT ready to mount a serious campaign. So, even though I do not like for candidates to asks others to drop out, Newt has a point. Unless Rick shows more drive, demonstrates sacrifice and raises money to beat Romney, he will just be a spoiler.
Ok, Rick then as a former supporter of yours I say, GET OUT! Do I have the right to say it? Hope so.
If he is an establishment candidate, as many FReepers are saying, that would mean he is pulling votes from Mittens. If he is a real conservative, then he is pulling votes from Newt. If he is an alternative to Mitt or Newt, then he may be pulling votes from Paul. In any instance, he has done better than expected, and has the right to continue if he chooses.
There are several things I dislike about Santorum and I prefer Newt, but saying Santorum is vile does nothing for the cause and is ridiculous.
Santorum is not vile and he has a right to run if he has the time, money and thinks he has a chance.
I’ve been bitter about candidates being told to drop out ever since Perry dropped out. I wish we had him now and probably so do a lot of other people.
This looks like a designed plan to me.
He reminds me of an annoying punk. He couldnt even win his own state of PA. He is in it to destroy Newt.
Ok Rick - then just keep staying in - just keep getting 15% of the vote - just keep taking votes away from Newt - just keep handing Mitt the victories. The Gallup poll nationally shows it’s between Newt and Mitt. Too bad Rick just doesn’t see the writing on the wall.
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