Mich. voters: Santorum connects better than Romney (It's not just Michigan)

google ^ | 2/20/2012 | KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN, Associated Press

[tobyhill]

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum promised Monday to revive manufacturing, cut taxes and shrink government, pledges that drew loud applause from conservative Michigan voters who said he was more in line with their values than native son and GOP rival Mitt Romney.

Santorum's growing connection with Michigan conservatives risks embarrassing Romney in his home state. Romney was counting on a strong finish in Michigan's presidential primary on Feb. 28 to carry him into the big, multistate round of voting a week later on Super Tuesday.

But Santorum, fueled by a recent trio of victories and sensing an opportunity to upset or at least bloody Romney with a strong primary finish of his own, is charging hard at a state that he says shares many of the same characteristics as his blue-collar state of Pennsylvania. Santorum pledged Monday that, under his administration of less government and more individual freedom, "manufacturing jobs will come back here to Muskegon."

[RoosterRedux]

Pee Wee Herman connects better than Romney. Romney doesn’t connect. Never has...never will.

[ReformationFan]

“Mich. voters: Santorum connects better than Romney (It’s not just Michigan)”

Perhaps because voters believe that Rick might actually believe what he says, something that’s been proven highly unreliable with Slick Mitt.

[cripplecreek]

Santorum isn’t giving bizarre speeches about our perfectly tall Michigan trees and beautiful greenish brown grass. LOL

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2848349/posts

[grellis]

MICHIGAN PING LIST

Please freepmail me if you wish to be added or dropped from the mitten ping.

[cripplecreek]

Romney proves his connection to Michigan by sounding like he's never been here before.

[Lazlo in PA]

Santorum for President Ping List.

FReepmail “Antoninus” to be added or removed.

[CainConservative]

"Santorum's growing connection with Michigan conservatives risks embarrassing Romney in his home state."

Go CONSERVATIVES!!!

[rogue yam]

I wish Santorum would ditch this “revive manufacturing” nonsense.

It makes him look like he doesn’t understand free markets, free trade, and limited government.

[Lazlo in PA]

It sounds like Milt is severely a fan of MI. What a toad.

[CainConservative]

Santorum pledged Monday that, under his administration of less government and more individual freedom, "manufacturing jobs will come back here to Muskegon."

[magslinger]

Pee Wee Herman connects better than Romney Mitt. Romney Mitt doesn’t connect. Never has...never will.

I fixed that. George could connect with people. Mitt isn't his father by a long shot.

[bray]

I’m looking at a 150’ tall Doug Fir that is obviously too tall!

[rogue yam]

Santorum’s oft-repeated proposal to tax “manufacturers” at one rate and other businesses at another does not constitute “less government and more individual freedom”.

[Lazlo in PA]

I wish Santorum would ditch this “revive manufacturing” nonsense.

I disagree. Every election cycle we craft a message that leaves the folks in the rust belt without anything to interest them. It always focuses on nebulous concepts of Free Markets that don't resonate well with this segment. We are basically ceding these voters to the Rats who sell them on Big Gov't hand outs. This Manufacturing message is why he is starting to interest old Reagan Dems and some Union people who care about this. When it boils down to it, he is just lowering the taxes on this sector more than he lowers the rest. Not really a terrible sin. Ideally, I would love to see him zero all taxes on business for a couple years, but this is a good start.

[RoosterRedux]

VEry interesting! Could you expand on that?

[Hokestuk]

“I wish Santorum would ditch this ‘revive manufacturing’ nonsense.”

I think that’s a key part of Santorum’s electoral appeal. Jefferson wrote of the unique American Agrarian Ideal: “Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God... etc”
There could also be an “industrial heart” of America that is a bit withered. I don’t want to get deep into how much economic sense it makes to incentivize manufacturing specifically, other that to say that it probably wouldn’t effect overall economics that much, and that there are natl security reasons for maintaining manufacturing proficiency, but the main thing is that it fits into the election meme that Santorum is on the side of the working man. So this will help your avg Joes, and Joe the Plumbers, rationalize, so to speak, votes for the republican, this time.
So I say all the more power to Santorum on this. And maybe it’s real. Maybe he really could revive manufacturing, and help the working man, and industrial (swing) states.

[cripplecreek]

Every election cycle we craft a message that leaves the folks in the rust belt without anything to interest them.

John McCain is a perfect example. He came to Michigan and said those jobs are gone and you folks are screwed. Vote for me. LOL

From where I sit, it appears that a lot of FReepers don't recognize what an active political fault zone the midwest has become. The 2010 GOP wave was greater in Michigan than anywhere else in the nation and few seemed to notice. Like it or not, the election will be decided in the midwest.

[CainConservative]

Bingo, Lazlo!

[CainConservative]

Agree.