How would Santorum “screw over Newt”?
We have 50 states and they all need to have a choice in the primary.
Do I need to explain this to you?
Each vote Santorum gets is, probably, 0.60 of a vote Newt could have had, because though not everybody voting for Santorum would vote for Newt, but a majority of them probably would vote for Newt as a viable second. So, if Santorum wasn’t a factor, Newt could get 3 votes of every 5 of the Santorum votes.
Santorum will likely not win another state. But enough people will cast their votes for him, state by state, Romney will walk up the middle because Newt and Santorum will split enough votes between themselves that neither will have enough votes to win.
Now, I know you might suggest that Newt drop out, so that many of those voting can then vote for Santorum. But in simply raw politics, I see nothing that suggests that if Santorum were the only alternative to Romney, that he could take the vote. Romney would still win.
Of all those running, Newt is the only one that has a chance to beat Romney. But it’s unlikely that Newt will win if Santorum keeps playing spoiler.
My criticism is the same with Ron Paul, but Ron Paul is running for Ron Paul and no other reason.