Conservative Iowa leader: Bachmann, Perry should drop out, help Santorum

The Hill ^ | 1-03-12 | By Niall Stanage

[Mozilla]

Influential Iowa conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats called this evening for Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry to drop their bids for the Republican presidential nomination in order to maximize Rick Santorum's chances of defeating Mitt Romney in a one-on-one matchup.

"The last thing Mitt Romney wants is to go one-on-one with Rick Santorum," said Vander Plaats, who endorsed Santorum in December. "He wants to have a multiple-candidate field. So I think some of these candidates need to reassess where they're at tonight."

[Cobra64]

the newties think the votes would go to them...um ya

How old are you? 12?

[Cobra64]

It appears Bachmann got zero. If true, that’s not good for her considering she (I think) was born there.

[LibWhacker]

Agree. Santorum would get most of those votes. When Paul quits, who knows where his votes will go? I suspect Obama will get a lot of them in the general.

Wow... President Santorum... That's a conservative's dream.

[dfwgator]

When Paul quits, who knows where his votes will go?

Gary Johnson.

[VeniVidiVici]

Nobody should consider dropping out till after New Hampshire or start hitting the big states.

[Catsrus]

I agree with Mark. I want Perry to stay in.

[TexasFreeper2009]

Bachmann should for sure drop out. I would like Perry to stay in... but I am afraid he is going to drop out after his reassessment.

Either way people dropping out is good, because that’s just fewer people dividing up the not-romney vote, making it all the easier to bury Romney in South Carolina and Florida.

[2ndDivisionVet]

"When Paul quits, who knows where his votes will go?"

Fred Karger?

[flaglady47]

Bachman will not drop out until after South Carolina, I suspect. She wants to participate in the next 2 debates that come up shortly, one next weekend. Bachman likes to debate. Her ego likes it. She will not quit until after a couple more debates that she will want to participate in. Then she will drop out. Unless she wants to end her presidential run in Florida in order to cash in on the warm weather and treat it like a winter vacation down south. Sure beats Minnesota in the winter. So maybe she will end her campaign in Florida in order to end it all in a warm clime.

[BillyBoy]

What's lost on Newt's fan club here is that even though Perry's been polling single digits for months and treated as a national joke, he still managed to win 2 counties, which is 2 more than “front runner” Newt Gingrich won in Iowa. Yet Newt's fans would have us believe that the conservative guy who won 62 counties (Rick Santorum) should “drop out” and endorse their guy (who won ZERO counties) so he can “stop Romney”.

[TexasFreeper2009]

Bachmann came in dead last in her home state, it’s unthinkable that she wouldn’t drop out.

[Cronos]

If Perry has dropped out, then my respect for him increases. A man who knows when to bow out is worthy of respect

[Free Vulcan]

Goodness Bob buy a cup of STFU already.