Iowa, Santorum ready for Republican caucus

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 1/1/12 | Joe Garofoli, Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writers

[SmithL]

A month ago, Rick Santorum's Republican presidential campaign wasn't just an afterthought, it was a non-thought. The conservative former Pennsylvania senator had raised less money than all his major rivals, recorded dismal poll numbers and drawn attention mostly for whining about not getting enough screen time during the GOP's televised debates.

But on Saturday, Santorum found no shortage of media attention as he stumped at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum in Knoxville. After 250 appearances similar to this in Iowa - more than all but one of the top GOP candidates in Tuesday's caucuses combined - and the endorsement of key evangelical Christian leaders, Santorum has a decent shot of finishing among the top three.

A sure sign of Santorum's ascent: The candidate who raised the most money in the third quarter - Texas Gov. Rick Perry - is now attacking the two-term senator as a "Washington insider."

Santorum's improbable rise is only the latest forehead-slapping chapter in the political reality show that can best be described as "GOP Survivor: The Heartland."

[Sun]

Newt endorsed RINO Dede Scozzavave in NY’s 23rd district, but Santorum (and Bachmann) endorsed Dede’s opponent conservative Doug Hoffman. We should not hold that alone against Newt, but we also shouldn’t hold one mistake against Santorum either.

[Sun]

Mark Levin said long ago that he would vote for Santorum or Bachmann. He does his research. Now more rank and file conservatives are doing their research, and are realizing that Santorum is the best!

“If voters start shifting gears and deciding they want ideological consistency, then they’re going to start paying attention to say, Rick Santorum.” Sarah Palin

http://www.ricksantorum.com/

[Sun]

“How I hope this is true about Santorum, but the critics say he can’t win anything else even if a miracle happened in IA.”

Santorum won 4 times out of 5 in a blue state which is why I’m optimistic.

Here’s one example.

“Two years later, he (Santorum) won 61 percent of the vote even as President George H.W. Bush lost his district by 22 points — an astounding result, really”

snip http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/the-case-for-rick-santorum/2011/04/14/AFhEhpdD_blog.html

Santorum can never be underestimated.

[Theodore R.]

The best outcome for conservatives is that the Bachmann supporters flock to Santorum. It seems Perry is stronger in IA than I had expected. I hope they support the right “Rick” — that’s Santorum.