I wouldn’t vote for Mitt, and I wouldn’t vote for Ron Paul, no matter what.
That leaves either Newt or Rick, or a brokered convention.
I haven’t said much on these threads, because I don’t want to be negative. But I did say that it would be nice if Ron Paul would only drop out—but he never will. I did NOT want Rick to drop out, because we need a conservative backup for Newt, unfortunately.
I will just quietly say that Rick did a stupid thing once, when he endorsed Arlen Specter. But put it in perspective, the way it was. Bush rode back in on a wave of enthusiasm in 2004, and frittered it all away. By 2006, the Republicans were underdogs, and the Democrats were favored. That’s when they got their big majority. That was the main reason why Santorum lost the election—because Bush and Rove dragged the whole party down.
Why did he endorse Specter? Several reasons. Bush and Rove twisted his arm and said that they NEEDED Specter, the only possible winner in that race, in order to get their SCOTUS choices confirmed. Back then, everyone still thought that Rove was a genius, although that didn’t last too much longer.
Second, although Specter was pro-choice, he promised to help confirm pro-life judges. And he did, before he went back off the rails.
Third, Rick said that Specter had endorsed him, previously, so he was just returning the favor. He owed him one. Without Specter’s “moderate” endorsement, it’s doubtful that a conservative like Rick could have won in Pennsylvania. He only did so because conservative religious voters had turned out for him in large numbers.
Rick screwed up once, if you like, by endorsing Specter. How many times has Newt screwed up. What was his excuse for endorsing Dede Scozzafava over a strong conservative, other than desire to ingratiate himself with the RNC? Scozzafava withdrew and through her seat to a Democrat, and what had been a reliable Republican seat is now a Democrat seat. Not only that, but Newt and Scozzafava weakened the NYState Conservative Party’s influence over the NYState GOP, which doesn’t give a damn about pro-life or pro-family support unless the Conservative Party pushes them on it.
At least Specter kept his promise to confirm pro-life judges, before he went off the rails and switched parties. By doing that he killed his political chances. And the end result was a Republican seat—the conservative who was shafted earlier by Rove and Bush actually got back in—whereas in the NY 23rd the end result has been a Democrat seat and a destructive breakdown in relations between the NY GOP and Conservative Parties that will continue to be damaging.
I’d say Newt’s endorsement has a lot more to answer for than Rick’s.
Very well written. Thank you.
However, in this presidential election, I've had to let those hard feelings go. Just like I had to let Newt's record of serial adultery go. I see people on here complaining about the Specter debacle but my assessment is that the folks doing the Specter fingerpointing have a strong preference for someone other than Rick Santorum in the race and they're trying to rile up old distasteful feelings.
I doubt they ever felt the personal loss that I felt over that endorsement. Check my posting history. I haven't let too many opportunities pass to bash Rick over the head for his support of Specter. If I can let it go, anyone can let it go.
I am currently trying to figure out who is more electable - Newt or Rick? My wife is solidly in Santorum's camp. I'm probably leaning Santorum, but if Newt's got an edge coming into the PA primary, I'm not going to risk Romney winning by voting for Santorum if he's going to be an also ran.
Santorum did a much more stupid, damned thing in 2008, when he endorsed Mitt Romney.
What he said then: "I think Romney, when he decided to run, he’s a smart business guy, and he sort of got his team together and said, ‘What do I need to do to be the conservative candidate?’ and give me the checklist and see if I can check them off. And I think over the course of this campaign, you know, I saw the migration from the checklist to his head and from his head into his heart and I really believe that’s where he is today.”
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/223582/romney-santorum-2008/mark-hemingway
This will play against him in the conservative electorate, I am sure.
Why did he prefer Romney? This is the question.
Santorum is rightly attacking Romneycare in 2012, BUT supported Romney in 2008, when Mitt signed Romneycare in ... 2006! It is that more damning in 2012 than it was in 2008?
It makes no sense, for a genuine conservative candidate to have endorsed Romney. He could very well keep his mouth shut and not endorse anyone.