The "Establishment Republicans" rate a
Posted on 02/29/2012 6:58:18 AM PST by Yosemitest
Nobody’s trying to kill Santorum. He can take care of that himself.
The problem is that he is exactly as establishment and big-government as Romney, and the social conservative thing was the only thing that he had going for him. But now that’s beginning to wear thin and he simply is not offering an alternative to Romney - because he can’t.
He has to wear the sweaters because he suffers from chronic pneumonia/pleurisy
It is unfortunate that someone with so much education could come off as an inarticulate buffoon as often as he does.
>> “God, how did we get into this mess?” <<
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Palin got cold feet! - (I might have too, if I were her)
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Hey, I’m a supporter, I like him! I’m just trying to have a little fun, that’s all.
Um, what?
Moderates are nothing but cowering dogs slinking along behind the democrats begging for crumbs.
I was talking about independents, not moderates. Why make this leap? Are you trying to be insulting?
-——I can’t for one moment believe that Santorum scares the left. It’s illogical. If Santorum wins the election, his brand of social conservatism will not play well to the masses. Obama would crush Santorum, especially among independents.——
Believe what you want, but the nation is conservative by a good margin, socially as well as fiscally. The cities and coasts are libertine, but Republicans will never get those votes.
The part that surprised me was Northern Michigan. The only think I can think of there would be absentee voters which broke heavily against Santorum statewide. I was a little surprised at Jackson and Livingston County as well because of the social conservatives there. Could be the absentees there too.
I was actually surprised to see Santorum win Kent county. That’s Dick DeVos territory and I would have expected that one to go to Romney.
Most of our state political operatives have second homes up north. I’m sure they make sure someone lives there to vote and it only takes a few votes to move those elections one way or another due to the sparse population.
Some years back I learned that Debbie Stabenow owned the house next door to me but had likely never laid eyes on the place. I asked a realtor who was selling the place about it. She wouldn’t say who owned it but did say that the owner wasn’t making any money so there was probably a political reason for owning it.
Say Santorum gets the nomination. Okay, great. Social conservatives can be proud. But then Obama goes on the attack, and the big front, of course, will be the Culture Wars. When that happens, anything the media is throwing at Santorum today will sound complimentary in comparison. You Google Santorum yet? That's just a warm-up.
Santorum will get slaughtered among independents. You remark that the cities and coasts are libertine; perhaps, but even among independents on the cities and coasts, there will be more than enough independents demographically to overwhelm whatever social conservative-leaning independents might reside in the rest of the country . . . and come out for Santorum.
The math just isn't there.
Could still come out of this with more MI delegates. Heh. That would really suck for Mitt.
I thought Rick Santorum was supposed to just fold from all the spending directed at him.
He was up big in Kent too, but fell off a little towards the end.
I think we can fight the culture wars and win.
As has been said, the majority of the country is conservative and has clamored for a conservative for a long time. Running Romney vs Obama isn’t going to help us. If we win - we lose because Romney is going to push Romneycare.
Newt - 14 states will have gone by, more than a third - with him winning just one - South Carolina. He’s too far behind to catch up.
So who does that leave? Santorum’s our best chance of beating Obama in 2012 and getting some semblence of a conservative. Santorum has been outpolling Obama in the head to head - and has a chance in the swing states like PA, OH, WI and IA, that are going to be crucial in a presidential election.
Nice dodge there.
Tinkering with the tax code, sabre-rattling at Iran, pandering to Labor ... Are people excited for his proposals or is it all "moral me and family?"
Can't explain his vote for Obama's first Supreme Court pick, Sonya Sotomayor, when Clinton appointed her to the 2nd Circuit--McCain voted NO. With a vote like that, how can Santorum be trusted on judges?
Can't explain how his mighty moral compass allowed him to live in Virginia and use $72,000 in local Pennsylvania school board funds to "home school" his kids. He got into Congress by attacking a Dem who had taken up residency in Virginia. (Oh but the Senate is different he claims.)
Introducing and voting for $550 million extra for Amtrak on top of the $900 million budget? Not just that but he cut a TV ad that he was middle-of-the-road, not fiscally conservative enough for the Bush White House on the issue because you put Pennsylvanian's first.
Can't explain his heading The K Street Project as a Senate leader, with Tom DeLay in the House, to build GOP ties with lobbyists--part of that crony capitalist swamp the Tea Party hates, which is how he landed on his feet after PA voters fired him.
Can't explain why his "Good Neighbor" "charity" spent its money on aides, fundraisers and lobbyists rather than grants. Can't explain why his Leadership PAC gave so little money to candidates. Can't explain the half million dollar mortgage he got from a private bank run by a major contributor while apparently not qualified for their program.
Can't explain Santorum's 18-point loss, the biggest loss for an incumbent Senator in over 25 years.
Is he electable? 18 points is very serious; he lost 61% of women. When reelected in 2000 he still didn't win among women. He won because of a strong turn out with men, mirroring W nationally. Santorum even got into the Senate, and just barely, during Newt's 1994 "Republican Revolution."
When on his own, rather than part of a surge, it's unclear he can win and very clear Democrats know how to clean his clock despite the power of incumbency.
Santorum supporters are very much "see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil" with their guy just because of the "moral me and family" push. He's also a lawyer and career politician.
This is the worst primary I can remember.
Do you have a source for that? I seem to remember him giving a different account to Laura Ingraham.
The source was his own mouth, in 1996, at a fundraiser in Pleasanton, California.
“Santorum: What an absolutely great night!”
http://www.therightscoop.com/santorum-what-an-absolutely-great-night/
VIDEO
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