LOL. From nobody to nearly winning Mitt's home state, in spite of being outspent 5 to 1, and taking home nearly as many delegates.
Because there's no danger of Willard running away with the nomination it won't hurt if both Santorum & Gingrich stay in the race for the near future, but at some point the third place guy is gonna have to decide whether he wants to be the guy that enabled Willard.
And, right now, it is pretty clear who the third place guy is. And pretty clear where he is pegging his hopes: a convincing win in his home state of Georgia, where he has never won a statewide race, and a come from behind win in his neighboring state of Tennessee.
At some point, Newt is going to have to win a state outside of the south to convince us he is still viable. That may not be the way we want it, but that's the fact.
First off, I want to say congrats to Senator Santorum. That was a heck of a result in the face of attack ads and the MSM trying to set the agenda. (does the S stand for Stream or Slime? Can never remember!) To me, that close a result in a supposed “locked” state is a huge win.
My tag line is as it is simply because the two of them together would be unbeatable. Speaker Gingrich has the plans, the ideas, the policies and the experience to be probably the most amazing President America has has in a century - and I am not disrespecting President Reagan by saying that. Times are different now. President Reagan had a clear enemy to point to. He took them down hard. We don’t have that now.
Senator Santorum has the social conservative issues locked tight. He does not just preach them (to borrow a newish MSM meme) - he LIVES them. Gotta respect that, though it is going to make independants as uncomfortable as Speaker Gingrich’s “baggage” makes the social conservatives, even here on FR.
My personal preferences are on record - my posting history is an open book (except for a few that got pulled for profanity - that being a particular problem of mine!).
Speaker Gingrich has the vision, the plan, and, to be blunt from a foreign perspective, the ability to get on with the allies of the USA. Though my initial preferences were Governors Palin and Perry in either order, the Speaker has grown on me.
I follow the ping list for Senator Santorum too. I respect him. Admire him in a lot of ways. As one very strong supporter says frequently on his threads (sorry mate, your name escapes me a moment, but you know who you are!), you don’t stay senator for 10 years in a blue state and keep a good conservative rating without both courage and conviction.
You know - this time the USA needs BOTH of the conservative candidates in the race. Not either / or. And if I can see that from 3000 miles away, why can’t they?
Practically speaking, I would like Speaker Gingrich as president for three reasons. He has a firm plan. Knows exactly where the bodies are buried (as a Newt supporter says on here, he knows ‘cause he buried them) And he can communicate.
He is also getting older, and the damage is going to take a lot of time to roll back. Sen. Santorum is young enough to run a term or two as VP then take over. Govs. Palin and Perry likewise - and those are two people I would love to see in government.
Why am I, someone who does not live in the same country or have any alliegence to it beyond the ties of affection to individual people getting so worked up here?
I live right now in a country you will live in within 3 years. I have children and grandchildren. I want them to be able to point to the one country on earth that - in spite of the ridiculously stacked odds against it - worked as a country of free, individual yet united citizens. Move there if they wish to.
Good lord, that was deeper than I meant it to be!