Posted on 03/11/2012 7:49:06 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A group of conservative leaders pledged to raise a combined $1.78 million for Rick Santorum's campaign and SuperPAC after meeting privately in Texas this weekend with the Republican presidential hopeful, POLITICO has learned.
More than 200 conservatives from all over the country convened at the Houston Omni for a Friday fundraising reception for Santorum's campaign. They then met to plot strategy with the former senator Saturday morning, discussing how to overcome Mitt Romney's growing advantage in the GOP primary and fend off Newt Gingrich.
"The message was, 'we're all in,'" said South Dakota businessman and conservative organizer Bob Fischer, one of the event’s co-hosts.
Fischer explained that the $1.78 million represents money that, over the course of the weekend, individuals gave and pledged to raise for the campaign and SuperPAC. "It could be significantly more," he said. He declined to share the names of the donors writing large checks to the SuperPACs.
Santorum’s campaign has been badly outspent by Romney throughout the primary season and could use such an injection of cash. Such pledges are not always followed through on, but in the contribution limit-free, SuperPAC era it’s easier to raise money with a handful of deep-pocketed givers.
Many of those at the meeting were at the January gathering of conservatives at a Texas ranch where there was a vote taken to rally around Santorum as the chief conservative alternative to Romney.
Co-hosts in Houston included Fischer, Rebecca Hagelin, Richard Viguerie and Tim Lefever.
Also present were conservative leaders Tony Perkins and James Dobson.
“It was not a discussion of who to support, it was a consolidation of support,” said Perkins, differentiating the meeting with the January session. “There was a big push to raise funds. There was a sense of, ‘Now is the time to step up.’”
Perkins said Santorum’s comments Friday night at the closed-press reception were little different than what the candidate has been saying publicly.
Paraphrasing, Perkins said Santorum made clear he was in the race for the long haul and said, ‘We have a chance now and I need your help.’
Fischer dismissed Romney's lead in the delegate hunt and, suggesting a potential convention floor fight, said it was noted at the meeting that in some states delegates are only pledged on the first round of balloting in Tampa.
He indicated that Santorum was ready to go to the convention "if it's needed" and argued that the campaign was now "a two-man race."
But Gingrich’s continued presence in the race looms large for Santorum, especially ahead of Tuesday’s primaries in Mississippi and Alabama, where polls show the three candidates all drawing a significant share of the vote
“If they were to converge together you would have a majority,” said Perkins, whose Family Research Council has not endorsed in the race.
Saying it was Gingrich’s decision on whether to stay in the race, Perkins deemed the former speaker as “the most influential guy in American politics right now – he could be a kingmaker.”
12 years in the Senate Santorum accomplished almost nothing except stop partial birth abortion. This is good, but he didn’t reduce the size of government, didn’t reform welfare or cut taxes and often voted for pro union positions.
A. That’s more than Obama has done. Obama voted twice to have babies surviving abortions murdered.
B. While Santorum was accomplishing whatever he accomplished, he wasn’t screwing his interns.
Most of Rick supporter said they would vote Newt if Rick did not get in, but we have Newt supporters saying they would NEVER vote for Rick.
I find this strange. And the newt supporters are kind of jerks about it too. I mean, Santorum is a religious conservative. One of us. They’d support Obama (by not voting) over him?? Just because newt didn’t get the nom? Doesn’t make sense.
RE: You need to ask the Rev. Father Rick Santorum that; he’s the one who started it. He needs to get off that stuff and talk about issue he can do something about like the Economy and Iran.
FROM SANTORUM’s WEBSITE:
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Rick Santorum’s First 100 Days Economic Freedom Agenda
1) UNLEASH AMERICA’S ENERGY: I’ll approve the Keystone Pipeline for jobs and energy security. I’ll sign an order unleashing America’s domestic energy production without picking winners and losers on Day One. I’ll allow states to choose where they want to explore for oil and natural gas and to set their own regulations for hydrofracturing.
2) STOP JOB KILLING REGULATIONS: I’ll eliminate all regulations promulgated by the Obama Administration which have an economic burden over $100 million dollars, on Day One, including repeal of the EPA rule on CO2 emissions that have already shut down six power plants and furlowed 500 workers. I will order a review of all regulations, making sure these regulations use sound science and common-sense cost benefit analysis.
3) REIN IN SPENDING TO SECURE OUR FUTURE: I’ll propose spending cuts of $5 trillion over 5 years, including spending cuts for the remainder of fiscal year 2013. I will propose budgets that spend less money each year than the year before, and I’ll reduce the non-defense related federal workforce at least 10 percent, without replacing with contractors.
4) REPEAL AND REPLACE OBAMACARE: I’ll submit legislation to Congress to repeal ObamaCare and issue an executive order ending related regulatory obligations on the states on Day One. I’ll work with Congress to replace ObamaCare with competitive choices of healthcare plans to improve the quality and limit the cost of healthcare, while protecting those with uninsurable health conditions.
5) BALANCE THE BUDGET: I’ll submit to Congress a budget that will balance within 4 years and I’ll call on Congress to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution which limits federal spending to 18 percent of GDP.
6) PRO-GROWTH AND PRO-FAMILY INDIVIDUAL TAX POLICY: I’ll submit to Congress my comprehensive pro-growth and pro-family tax policies to strengthen opportunity in our country, with lower rates of 10 percent and 28 percent. To help families, I’ll triple the personal deduction for children and eliminate the marriage tax penalty throughout the tax code.
7) RESTORE AMERICA’S COMPETITIVENESS: I’ll cut the corporate tax in half to a flat-tax rate of 17.5 percent to make America competitive internationally, and I’ll allow corporations to expense all business equipment and investment. I’ll eliminate taxes on IRS Code Section 199 manufacturing activity to attract manufacturing back to America. I’ll take the lead on tort reform to lower the cost of doing business in America and to reduce the cost of products and services to consumers. Repeal Dodd-Frank, which is making it harder for businesses to get access to credit and for Americans to buy houses and refinance.
8) NEGOTIATE AND SUBMIT FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS: Because a substantial portion of Americans work for companies which export, I’ll initiate negotiations in the first 100 days and submit to Congress at least five free trade agreements to increase our exports during my first year in office.
9) REFORM ENTITLEMENTS: I will cut means-tested entitlement programs by 10 percent across the board, freeze them for four years, and block grant them to the states as I did as the author of welfare reform. I will reform Medicare and Social Security so they are fiscally sustainable for seniors and young people.
10) REVIVE HOUSING: I’ll submit a plan to Congress to phase out within several years Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s federal housing role, reform and make transparent the Federal Reserve, and allow families whose homes are “underwater” to deduct losses from the sale of their home in order to better get a fresh start in difficult economic times.
______________________________
He isn’t talking about the economy? Where have you been? Or are you only reading about him based on what the MSM feeds?
ProLife, the most important attribute of character during these culture of death times.
All of the candidates are Pro-Life except Romney. There needs to be more criteria than just that.
Rick Santorum isn't on this thread. You're the one who brought it up. Why do you only want to talk about condoms and abortion? You need to get off that stuff and talk about things like the economy and Iran.
Pretty sure Newt fits your bill of being 100% Pro-Life as well. He’s spoken of tweaking the 14th amendment such that it would read “personhood begins at conception.” See here: http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2011/11/23/gingrich-outlaw-judicial-review/
TitansAFC, you are not looking at all the rules in all the states. Both conservatives staying in is going to help Romney enough to probably allow him to win, due to vote-splitting on our side.
After Tuesday, 14 out of 27 have some form of winner-take-all. Either the candidate who gets 50% can shut out the other candidates from any delegates, or the candidate who gets a plurality (could be as low as 26% with 4 guys in the race) is winner-take-all. This is either by state or by district.
For instance, IL, PA and WV are direct delegate elections, which function as plurality winner-take-all by district (whichever delegates get the most votes in each district win the entire district).
TX and NY appear to become winner-take-all if a candidate gets over 50%. So if we were down to one conservative, he might be able to hit 50% and shut Romney out.
PR, UT, DE and DC are pure winner-take-all states and it’s true Romney will probably win those.
WI, MD, CT, CA, NJ are all partial WTA, some by district. That means each district is its own contest. And Newt and Rick can split the vote in any district and give Romney a win with a plurality. It is a mathematical certainty that Romney will do better in those states if Newt and Rick stay in.
Newt’s wife at the time was a hideous she-beast who publically threatened to derail his career if he tried to become President by releasing damning information, in the ‘90s while they were married. Newt’s primary mistake was not kicking her to the curb sooner. Since his romantic sensibilities were probably severely screwed up by his first wife/schoolteacher taking advantage of him at age 16 him while he was a student, it took him a while to get his head straight about women. Thank God he eventually got out of that misery and found a good woman to spend his life with so he didn’t have to live Hell on earth any more.
Where has Rick said that he supports a constitutional amendment banning abortion federally? If he hasn't, then that means he's not 100% pro-life.
Santorum is more likely to overturn Obamacare than Romney. And he is not going to violate the conscience clause like Obama is. If he picks Newt as V.P. and adjusts his economic platform to be closer to Newt’s, then I am pretty sure he would garner 90% of Newt’s voters.
“most Americans will prefer someone who prays to a godless communist.”
Hope that you are right. But, remember that Obama lies somewhat well. He says that he prays and reads the bible every morning. He says that he is a follower of Christ and that Christ would want us to have high taxes to take care of the poor.
I seriously know a lot of Christians who believe that Obama is a Christian. (I live in liberal Seattle).
So, if we are supporting Santorum just because he is an upstanding Christian and moral man, that may not be enough. The middle voters who don’t pay that much attention will only here: Santorum believes that Satan has taken over the country and the thinks birth control is immoral and unhealthy. (The O machine has quotes for devastating ads against Santorum).
Being a nice, Christian guy doesn’t get you elected.
You say that most people want a guy who prays.
You know, I hope that you are right. Maybe we will get a good Christian as our president.
But, in the bigger population centers faith in God is basically gone.
Here in Washington state years ago a bunch of naive Christians decided to put partial birth abortion on the ballot for a public vote. Some of us said: don’t do that because we haven’t raised the money to win. We needed more than $100,000 and they had nothing. Christian said, oh, we can do a garage sales.
So, anyway the got the signatures and put it up for vote. This was a moral, Christian and right bill.
It got voted down by huge margins because people don’t necessarily vote for the moral thing. The other side lied and people believed the lies.
In the same way, I am afraid that nice guy in the vests is going get creamed by the O machine.
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