Posted on 03/13/2012 7:55:59 PM PDT by Lazlo in PA
Candidates have been defined.
This is not about the people who are and have been paying attention.
God’s speed mr. santorum. you’re making me write yet another check.
Welcome to Free Republic! Glad you could make it to this happy occasion. :-)
I heard Newt talk after the races were decided, on how he and ick have gained 2/3 of the deligates. This guy with big ego problems really thinks he can win 2-3 states, and march his massive ego into the Convention and convince everybody to vote for him. Does he not know the GOP ruling class (see Romney cheerleaders) writes the rules for the convention. They will not be denied, not as long a Rove and company is hanging around. Sorry Newt the dog does not hunt.
Rick's appearance was delayed, no doubt as they were waiting on the AL and MS returns, but the crowd stayed patient and at a few points, sang and prayed together while waaiting.
Rick and his family were incredibly gracious, and even though it was obvious they'd had a long day, stayed much later than they'd anticipated to shake hands, sign autographs etc.
Rick autographed my campaign sign, and I was able to have a brief exchange with him. His Secret Service detail was very professional and kept him moving down the line, but the crowd was ery enthusiastic, and Rick's speech directly addressed what is the biggest issue in this area...and that's getting the oil & gas industry back on its feet.
He was very well received, and made a solid impression.
:-* It was a pleasure for you to be there with me darling!!!
Newt doesn’t know how to pick anything over ego. Really, truly. I pity him.
But surprise me, Newt. Conversion is always possible. Better late than never.
Gingrich would rather that Romney win that that Santorum win. Newt sees Santorum as the interloper who rained on his parade. If he can’t have the nomination, then, by God, Rick Santorum sure as hell can’t have it. Dog in the manger.
Newt cannot see that he simply has failed. He simply is not wanted by enough Republican primary voters. He cannot face that reality, so in his mind, he blames Santorum.
For that reason, he will actually give the nomination to Romney if necessary.
Santorum will have to overcome Newt’s egomania as well as Romney’s robotic billions. And he can do it.
More probably, the voters are smart enough to see what Newt’s inflated sense of himself won’t let him see: that he’s tried and he’s failed.
Santorum can win this but he won’t be getting any help from Gingrich.
That’s terrific! From all the videos I’ve seen, he always hits it out of the park in person.
Glad you got his signature and handshake. I’m really hoping he’ll come to NY, but wouldn’t be surprised if he skipped this crazy Land o’ Libs. I live vicariously through these reports, so you did me a favor.
It must have been so exciting for you to hear a VICTORY speech! I’ll watch it later on c-span.com.
“...but the crowd stayed patient and at a few points, sang and prayed together while waiting.”
Goes to show the caliber of folks who attend Santorum’s events, and comprise his base.
Attaboy, Rick!! This was a VERY satisfying night for several reasons: 1) Santorum won despite all the pundits and polls saying he wouldn’t; 2) my big fear of Romney winning Alabama and/or Mississippi DIDN’T happen and it appears he will finish third in both state primaries; and 3) the momentum will swing back to Santorum and may greatly hurt Romney’s chances going forward of getting with 1,144 delegates needed for the nomination.
The biggest winners tonight were CONSERVATIVES! Once again, we refused to capitulate to the GOP establishment and media’s demands to get behind their choice moderate/liberal candidate.
And without a doubt, the biggest loser of the night is Matt Drudge! He may have irreparably damaged much of his credibility today by publishing those bogus “exit polls” showing Romney winning handily in Alabama and Mississippi. His continued shilling for Romney clearly backfired BIG TIME!
The next closest biggest loser of the night is the Republican establishment! I am absolutely loving the fact that despite every one of their exhaustive efforts to stack the deck in favor of Romney and force his nomination down our throats, we have beaten them back once again! And even though I continue to back Santorum, I am actually pulling for Gingrich to remain in the race. There’s no question his primary mission at this point is to do whatever he can to block Romney from getting the nomination. I’m all for it, especially considering that it’ll be extremely difficult for Santorum to get to 1,144 delegates going against Romney’s giant warchest. I would rather have this race go to a brokered convention than have Romney and the GOP establishment succeed in buying and manipulating their way to the nomination.
I was honored to have witnessed that moment!
Huge wins tonight for Rick!
Newt skipped Kansas to put all his efforts in the conservative states of Alabama and Mississippi. It was a valiant effort but now its over.
I don’t think any of us are 100% happy with our choices but the reality is its either a flawed Santorum or rino Romney.
If Newt continues in this race, it only divides the conservative vote and helps Romney. Put the ego aside Newt.
Santorum/Rubio 2012!
Look for Drudge and the MSM to pimp the Hawaii results as somehow being a divided evening.
They did the same with with Wyoming when Rick dominated Kansas.
I followed Santorum during his Senate days, and admired him for his pro-life work. Later on, I saw that he had a tremendous ego, and I couldn’t stand him. I mean REALLY couldn’t stand him.
Long story short, I think the loss of that Senate seat profoundly humbled him, as did his year of starting from scratch in every county in Iowa, and I see a different and much better man today. I think he grew up.
You want to stick with Newt? By all means. My only request is that we disagree with respect for each other and our respective candidates.
You’re funny! lol!
“John King just sketched in a scenario on CNN whereby if Gingrich leaves now, Santorum could catch up to Romney’s delegate count. But it would be IMPOSSIBLE to do so if Gingrich continues in the race.”
I saw that as well -— a real eye-opener.
Based on King’s delegate math, I can’t see any way Newt can win the nomination. Much as I like him, if Newt doesn’t drop out, Romney can get to 1144. Even if Romney doesn’t get to 1144, Newt’s staying in causes Santorum to go to the Convention crippled and with much less of a possibility he can withstand the GOP elite, who are in the tank for Romney.
If Newt does drop out, Santorum has a good chance of getting to a near-tie of delegates with Romney -— and he would go to the Convention with a fighting chance.
Romney NEEDS Gingrich to stay in the race to stop Santorum.
Gingrich says he is staying in the race to deny Romney the 1144, but actually his staying in the race is the only way Romney can possibly GET to 1144.
Newt will not get out of the race...ergo, Romney is our new GOP candidate. Stomach drops to the floor at the thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JohnD9207: “Does he not know the GOP ruling class (see Romney cheerleaders) writes the rules for the convention. They will not be denied, not as long a Rove and company is hanging around.”
That was the 2nd eye-opener of the evening for me. Mary Matilin-—Romney supporter, I gathered-—said the same thing (not in those words, of course). She said the GOP whip will most certainly get all the Repubs in line. Romney walks away with the nomination even if it goes to a brokered convention.
The only way we can get “NOT Romney” is for Newt to get out so Santorum has a fighting chance to even up the delegate count with Romney.
Newt will NOT get out.
I hate to say it, but if Romney gets the nod, an awful lot of conservatives WILL in fact go down on their knees and vote for him. Their principles will go right out the front door. They'll delude themselves with the thought that they are blocking Obama, when what they're really doing is sticking yet another knife in the back of Conservatism as a viable political force.
Not me -- If it's Myth or Obummer, I'm writing in Sarah Palin. Period, end of story. I've already got my bumper sticker for 2013 ready, regardless of which of those pathetic losers wins the election:
"Don't blame me, I voted for Palin!"I still have hope that somebody other than Romney gets the nod, of course. My first choice is Palin; second Newt though I don't fully trust him. I trust Santorum even less. Paul's a loon. And I wouldn't p!$$ on Romney's @$$ if it were on fire. Damn statists can KMA.
Looks like the Huckabee/Santorum wing of the party beat the Fred Thompson/Newt Gingrich wing two election cycles in a row. I’m not happy. When my party picks a big-government ball of mush because he’s supposedly more “authentic” on social issues than the actual conservative, it annoys me. I don’t like Rudys, and I don’t like reverse Rudys. I want a *conservative conservative*. Not one who kisses unions, or raises taxes, or grabs guns, or is pro-abort, or compromises on any of my core issues. Sick of picking RINO flavor A or RINO flavor B.
All in for brokered convention right now.
I agree with you 100%.
Carpetbaggers is right. We got about EIGHT robo-calls that were anti-Newt from the Santorum camp. They were so pathetic that I thought it would backfire against Santorum. Even if Rick gets it I’ll be just as excited about him as I was McCain before Juan picked Palin. In other words: Yawn.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.