Posted on 03/18/2012 1:14:12 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Conventional wisdom --- particularly as articulated by Karl Rove and Ann Coulter --- still says Mitt Romney is the most "electable" GOP presidential candidate. The MSM repeats that notion ad nauseum, too. After Rick Santorum won Mississippi and Alabama, for example, MSNBC.com ran an article with the headline, "Romney's electability doesn't help him break through." The Washington Post's Dan Balz wrote a piece headlined, "Rick Santorum hoping ideology will trump electability" as though Rick Santorum lacks electability. Two examples among many.
But a Friday poll from Rasmussen Reports suggests Romney might be less electable and Santorum more so than Rove, Coulter and the MSM would have voters believe.
President Obama now trails former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum by four points in a hypothetical 2012 matchup in combined polling of key swing states Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia. The president continues to hold a modest lead in those states.
Santorum leads the president 48% to 44% in the so-called Core Four states. Five percent (5%) prefer some other candidate in this matchup, and two percent (2%) are undecided. This marks a shift from last week, when the president was slightly ahead of Santorum. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Obama remains ahead of Romney 46% to 42%, showing no change from last week. Six percent (6%) prefer some other candidate in this matchup, and six percent (6%) are undecided.
Forbes’ Scott Harrington distills the argument against Romney’s electability and for Santorum’s competitive edge in a few brief bullet points:
- Along with entitlement spending in general, the central long-term issue confronting the electorate will be the Affordable Care Act — President Obama’s signature legislation — unless it is substantially overturned by the Supreme Court this summer.
- Because key features of the Affordable Care Act mimic the Massachusetts health care reform law championed by Governor Romney, his nomination would substantially neuter this central campaign issue. He would be unable to effectively lever opposition to the health care law in media campaigns or in the Presidential debates.
- The President clearly wants to campaign against Wall Street and the “1 percent.” Governor Romney would be an easy mark. Senator Santorum would not. It might be difficult to win an election with a campaign based on bogus allegations that Senator Santorum wants to prevent women from practicing contraception.
Harrington also notes that Romney still suffers from a robotic presentation of himself, while Santorum — with his passionate, un-tele-prompted speeches — has connected with voters on a gut level.
The Buckley Rule makes sense if you’re Nate Silver and an expert on electability. For the rest of us, it might make sense to just vote for the guy we’d really like to be president.
I won’t vote for Romney. I will go third party or write in someone, but no way romney for me.
Me either. What made Ann turn?
It’s a little hard to believe Liberals are voting for Santorum instead of Romney since Romney is clearing the more liberal of the two. Liberals typically don’t like extremely Conservative candidates period.
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This way, all 3 candidates waste more time and money on each other. That’s my ‘splanation.
What are they going to do when Newt or Rick win the Presidency with no electability? :)
Republicans crossed over and voted for Obama against Hillary in 2008 because they thought Hillary was more electable. Didn't work out so hot, did it?
Santorum WILL be the nominee for the Republican party, because NONE of the delegates will cross over to vote for Romney at a broken convention, and Gingrich will throw his support behind Santorum. The odds of Mitt winning the majority of the remaining delegates are slim, the probability is that Santorum and Gingrich will win the majority of the remaining delegates, which means that at a broken convention, which WILL happen, Santorum will win. Thank God!
Reagan Republican are reluctantly going with Santorum and wishing he’d take a few hours and watch some old Reagan videos on Youtube to learn how to handle the campaign. This is why I don’t like lawyers as candidates and I don’t like guys who took a pass on the Service.
Brit Hume is a Romney RINO dedicated to Romney, Soros
and Obama.
He supports Rove, Soros, and the backstabbing of true
conservatives.
Hume leads the FOX-BAIN Biased News Service
at the Sunday Romney-Pimp Fest.
I support caucuses in which party registration is required to vote — or at least I did before the debacle two days ago in the Missouri caucuses with police having to be called to shut down one of the state's largest caucuses in St. Charles County.
However, we need to remember that not every state has voter registration, and in some which do, registration is virtually meaningless because it can be changed up until the day of the primary. Every state is a little different on their procedures, and for those of us who as Republicans support states’ rights, I don't think we want the national GOP ordering state parties what to do.
Open voting needs to stop, but it needs to be a state-by-state decision on how to stop it.
Amen to that. I am sick of seeing either one of them on TV. I used to like both until they both supported Romney. I think they are wrong about the electibility question.
They say he hasn’t been the same since the death by suicide of his son.
I hope you’re right, FRM. Great attitude!!
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