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NYT/CBS poll shows conservatives consolidating behind Santorum
Hotair ^ | 02/14/2012 | Ed Morrissey

Posted on 02/14/2012 6:47:22 AM PST by SeekAndFind

Consider this a corroboration of Gallup and Pew, both of which have recorded a surge for Rick Santorum that makes him the national frontrunner — if not in each state. The CBS/New York Times poll shows Santorum gaining 14 points in a single month, eclipsing Mitt Romney by three points (still within the MOE), whose support stayed virtually unchanged from January. Almost all of the gain comes at the expense of Newt Gingrich, who dropped to fourth place behind Ron Paul among Republican primary voters:

Rick Santorum has pulled slightly ahead of Mitt Romney in Republican primary voters’ preference for the presidential nomination, a national CBS News/New York Times Poll shows.

Ron Paul is now in third, followed by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

Among self-described conservative voters, the shift has been fairly dramatic. A month ago in this poll series, conservatives were equally split between Romney, Gingrich, and Santorum at 25/25/24 respectively. Now, however, Santorum’s support in this demo has risen to 38%, while Romney has remained steady at 24% and Gingrich dropped by about half to 12%. The same thing has happened to Tea Party support and evangelicals. The dynamic seems to be a movement away from Gingrich and a consolidation among conservative voters behind Santorum as the alternative to Romney, at least for now.

There are a few things to note about this poll, however. This is a poll of registered voters, not likely voters, which is not as predictive a model and is a curious sampling choice in the middle of the actual primary voting. These results come from a larger survey, most of whose results will be announced later. The overall sample was 1,064 registered voters, but only 331 of those planned to vote in a Republican primary. At least a few of those will be independents rather than Republicans, so the partisan split of the overall survey is likely to be highly skewed to Democrats. That doesn’t matter for these results, but a sample of 331 registered voters for a national poll is on the small side. Keep that in mind.

Now that Santorum has become a legitimate force in the race, he’s getting some attention from the usual suspects. Member of Occupy Tacoma tried to crash a Santorum event, and Politico reports that Santorum responded by calling them agents of “true intolerance”:

Filling the front row at the Washington State History Museum where Santorum spoke, a group of Occupy protesters disrupted the event, forcing Santorum to engage them. Occupy Tacoma, the local branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement, is camped out right next to the museum, and advertised Santorum’s visit on its web site.

“I think it’s really important for you to understand what this radical element represents, because what they represent is true intolerance,” Santorum said, after two protesters were taken to the ground and placed in handcuffs by police.

The protesters, Santorum suggested, “instead of standing here unemployed, yelling at somebody” should instead “go out and get a job.”

Santorum’s supporters roared their approval, chanting “get a job” back at the Occupiers.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then


TOPICS: Breaking News; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: conservatives; santorum
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To: petercooper

I voted for Newt as I said here http://youtu.be/6ziDwbCSYPw

BUT there is no way Santorum is the weakest - especially - comparing him to Moot Gantry.

I noticed that Rick is not dynamic when he’s just going out to make a political stump speech. HOWEVER, he was very impressive the way he “undressed” Moot over his Romneycare excuses in the recent debate in Jacksonville.

Like an adroit prosecutor, Santorum methodically tied Romney in knots with the very prosaic excuses Moot propounded. It was so embarrassing to Gantry that all he could offer was that fake smirk that was a poor attempt to veil his consternation.

Then as Santorum repeatedly blasted him with those upper-cuts - Blitzer was panic stricken and interrupted “we’ve got to move on... we’ve got to move on”

It was quite an impressive thing to behold and it shed a fresh perspective on what Rick is capable of doing in a debate. He’s not about applause lines - but he sure as hell can tie someone up in a knot and prosecute them in front of an audience. That could work on Obama.


121 posted on 02/14/2012 1:32:57 PM PST by publius321
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To: CharlesWayneCT

You refuse to keep up regarding that situation, I see, even though you were given the truth. Not surprised - supporting a deceiver like you do - you wallow in it. But even a pea brain would know that wasn’t a presidential candidate.

Do you enjoy looking pathetic?


122 posted on 02/14/2012 1:46:36 PM PST by presently no screen name
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To: SeekAndFind

“And your reason for saying that is ...”

Because he cannot possibly win in the fall. I can see this as plain as day. I’m surprised you cannot. They are selecting a candidate for us whom they can beat in the fall.


123 posted on 02/14/2012 2:08:29 PM PST by Born to Conserve
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To: Born to Conserve

RE: I’m surprised you cannot.

And I am surprise that you CAN.

RE: They are selecting a candidate for us whom they can beat in the fall.

No they’re not. I can think for myself. And so can many others.


124 posted on 02/14/2012 2:10:13 PM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind
I'm watching to see what Mittens does in Michigan.

A post yesterday said Mitt has launched a big anti-Newt media buy in MI. Why would he not be directing a negative campaign instead at Lil' Ricky considering the current poll numbers?

If Mittens stays on the present course, it'll confirm my suspicion that he and Ricky have made a deal for the latter to be the former's Veep nominee.

This smells, big time.

125 posted on 02/14/2012 2:23:23 PM PST by LaybackLenny (All hail Her Royal Highness Sarah, Queen of The Hobbits)
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To: montag813
Women HATE Newt and his wife will be cast as a creepy home-wrecker. 21 posted on Tuesday, February 14, 2012 10:42:54 AM by montag813

I'm a woman and I would love to see Newt as CIC, he's the only one who has the intelligence and experience to take on the lefties.

126 posted on 02/14/2012 3:13:41 PM PST by estrogen (don't let the media pick our candidate)
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To: DestroyLiberalism
Points taken, but on the flip side Obama is going to have to come up with something better than “my policies may not be working out quite the way I planned, but things would be FAR WORSE if we go back to the failed policies that got us here” if he thinks he has any chance of being re-elected.

Well, they certainly don't impress me. But I fully expect Obama to play this card a lot for two reasons. One, it fires up his base. Its always good for a boost to his base for Obama to spew some hate Bush rhetoric. Second, another poll I recall seeing showed that a majority of those surveyed, something like 55%, still blamed Bush for the economic problems we face. The sheeple seem to be more than willing to write off four or five trillion in debt added by Obie as somehow still being Bush's fault. While I don't think Obama is very smart on most things, he can sense and use voter hatred, so he's going to play this over and over to tap that lingering hatred of Bush, and also deflect blame for his own failures. It wouldn't work with almost anyone else but Obama, which is one reason why he has that 70+% personal approval rating. For some reason, in the vacuous minds of the sheeple, the fact that they "like" Obama trumps any policy failures, even bankrupting the country. It is utterly amazing to me that this would be happening, and very, very disheartening.

127 posted on 02/14/2012 3:20:36 PM PST by chimera
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To: presently no screen name

I wonder if anybody can figure out what you are trying to say.

My guess is not, but it seems you are saying that earlier, when you denounced candidates who endorsed “pro-abortion, pro-gay-marriage” candidates, you forgot to say that you only thought that mattered for Presidential candidates, and you were fine with pro-abortion, pro-gay-marriage congressional candidates.

The question is, why? Why don’t you think it matters that we support pro-life representatives?


128 posted on 02/14/2012 3:33:03 PM PST by CharlesWayneCT
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To: Christie at the beach

He is the only candidate on the map that will stop the colonization of USA by Mexico & beyond. His record proves it. NEWT is an amnesty schemer & Romney is a socialist liar that will bring us tons of H-1B visa workers to displace yet more American workers.


129 posted on 02/14/2012 4:01:10 PM PST by magna carta
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To: CharlesWayneCT

Mitt Romney has been quick to justify his record of laying-off workers and closing plants as CEO of Bain Capital by wrapping himself in the “creative destruction” of free market capitalism. But Romney’s concept of capitalism is that you can fire workers and strip companies on the way up — and then if you are big and influential enough — demand taxpaying workers bail you out on the way down.

http://www.conservativehq.com/article/6235-romneys-real-bain-capital-problem-hypocrisy

To Mitt Romney, venture capitalist, the average worker is an expendable line on a spreadsheet — until that worker’s tax dollars were needed to bailout financiers who promoted the leveraged buyouts and packaged the exotic financial instruments that led to the financial meltdown of 2008.

Who is more anti-capitalist? Is it Romney’s opponents, who question whether or not a form of capitalism that allows a handful of rich people to avoid moral hazard, manipulate the lives of thousands of other people and then walk off with the money by getting a bailout from the taxpayers?

Or, are the real anti-capitalists Mitt Romney and his establishment friends in the Washington/Wall Street Axis who hypocritically enjoy having the option of firing “the little guy” and stripping the factory on Main Street on the way up — but then use their insider power and influence to demand those same little taxpayers bail them out on the way down? ~ Richard Viguerie


130 posted on 02/14/2012 4:11:05 PM PST by NKP_Vet (creep.)
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To: NKP_Vet

I find that people who support Newt Gingrich were a lot better at picking through Bain Capital and finding instances where they could actually attack them from a conservative perspective, than Newt ever was.

But, and Newt should have known this being the really smart political guy that he is, if our fight is over Bain Capital, we are going to lose the election.


131 posted on 02/14/2012 4:24:28 PM PST by CharlesWayneCT
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To: SeekAndFind

I don’t think RS gaining ground is all that bad for Newt. I’m looking at the positive. Some states down the line are going for Newt and if the momentum changes at that time, it could go very well for Newt, from that time forward. Mitt will have been dealt with, then Newt can knock RS out, and be the winner. It could get very interesting. Take your time Newt, then destroy RS.


132 posted on 02/14/2012 4:54:58 PM PST by Carry me back
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To: Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!
“Obama cannot win without PA.”

Not wishing to be obtuse or negative; however, why are you so sure that Rick, who lost his last PA Senate race by 18 points, can win PA???

(I do give you accolades for being “gung ho;” though, and highly recommend that you let us all know exactly what it is you are drinking so we can pick up a case ourselves.)

Regards,

-Geoff

133 posted on 02/14/2012 5:10:02 PM PST by Ozymandias Ghost
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To: petercooper

He’s the weakest of the 3, and Obama will decimate him in a debate, and we will lose again.

Uhm, uhm uhm uhm well you know. Or does Obama get to read other people’s words on a teleprompter?


134 posted on 02/14/2012 5:28:28 PM PST by freedomfiter2 (Brutal acts of commission and yawning acts of omission both strengthen the hand of the devil.)
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To: PSYCHO-FREEP
Again: Santorum is pro-life, pro-family, pro-gun, anti-perversion posing as "marriage," pro-military. pro-USA. That is, he is CONSERVATIVE on the issues that matter.

Is it your problem that Rick is not totally obsessed with money, money, money? Not in favor of starving the folks of modest means? Unwilling to make eliminating taxes on the trust fund babies the focus of his efforts? Not willing to shift the tax burden from the poor persecuted zillionaires (paying about 1/2 the rate on marginal incomes that they paid pre-Reagan) to those shiftless folks of modest means who generally have not had an inflation-adjusted raise in 40 years or so? Insufficiently resentful of Mexicans? Of course, you are also bashing Dubya and he lowered the top marginal rate from something like 38.5% to 35%. So who knows what your beef with Rick may be but you are surely wrong whatever your excuse.

135 posted on 02/14/2012 5:29:43 PM PST by BlackElk ( Dean of Discipline ,Tomas de Torquemada Gentlemen's Society. Burn 'em Bright!)
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To: Def Conservative
“Santorum is a pro-life liberal.”
_________________

That doesn't seem quite right to me. Rick is more like the old conservative southern Democrats. We used to have a lot of them in VA; dying breed now! The only real difference is that they tended to be Baptists or some other Protestant denomination in VA; while in PA more are likely Catholics. Still, they seem to have very similar political philosophies; weak on fiscal issues; strong on 2nd Amendment, strong religious values (which vary according to denomination, of course), pro union, big government at the state level ...at least hat's my “take.”

Regards,

-Geoff

136 posted on 02/14/2012 5:41:20 PM PST by Ozymandias Ghost
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To: madmaximus
IF ? that was true ? how come ? and please explain this Newt supporters, how come ? the same big money man will support both Newt and Romney is Romney get's the GOP nomination ?
Please explain Newt's very own words in a interview a few months ago on CNN with Wolf Blitzer saying some nice things about Romney and hinting that Romney could be in Newt's short list as his VP ? please explain all this to us if Rick is helping Mitt Romney..
137 posted on 02/14/2012 6:01:59 PM PST by American Constitutionalist (The fool has said in his heart, " there is no GOD " ..)
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To: Born to Conserve
IF ? that was true ? please explain how the very same big money man is both supporting Newt, or Mitt Romney is Romney get's the GOP nomination ?
Also ? please explain Newt's very own words in a interview a few months ago of Newt having some nice things to say about Romney and hinted that Romney could be on his short list as his VP ?
138 posted on 02/14/2012 6:04:58 PM PST by American Constitutionalist (The fool has said in his heart, " there is no GOD " ..)
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To: riverdawg

” ... his poor performance with David Gregory, the other day shows he cannot even understand nor handle when the left wing anchor referred to some of his ideas as bigoted and sexist. Rick just giggled and smiled.”
“The same thing happened to Santorum a couple of months ago on Fox News Sunday in an interview with Chris Wallace.”

But I thought Santorum is suppose to be an expert at defending his stance. Well he is not. Just look at these videos of him getting bulldozed by liberal kids. By the end, Santorum was visibly seething and the crowd was shouting and unruly. “I’m out of time now,” he finally declared, leaving the stage to sustained boos.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/santorum-gets-into-testy-debate-on-gay-marriage/ Obama may have purposefully gone after these issues in order to drive up Santorum’s visibility.
The reason? Obama doesn’t want his opponents emphasizing other things.


139 posted on 02/14/2012 6:19:03 PM PST by anglian
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To: cripplecreek
I'ts happening. It is truly happening. How exciting.

In my case, I shifted 6 weeks ago.

I went from Cain. To political Wilderness. To RICK SANTORUM.

Glad I did and haven't looked back a bit!!

140 posted on 02/14/2012 6:47:04 PM PST by AmericanInTokyo (Santorum is worth a good second look, my friends. Why is it the media and White House hate him so?)
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