Here’s why I asked if Rick can beat Romney 1 on 1 and get 1144, absent Newt.
Objectively, no offense, I don’t think he can. Given that circumstance, Newt helps him by remaining a candidate.
1. Newt almost exclusively attacks Romney and the GOP-e; even today in LA, where he should be going after Rick, he doesn’t— it’s Romney and the elites all the time.
2. There’s few better than Newt at hammering away at the strategic weaknesses of other candidates— If I were Rick, I would want him arguing the cause that benefits me.
3. At the convention, Rick’s natural ally is Newt, certainly not Romney.
Bottom line, if Rick could win outright, then sure, get Newt out. But, where it doesn’t appear that he can, Newt is a great asset to get him where he wants to be- a brokered convention.
Bang on.
Curious about the Florida proportional delegate outcome, tbd at convention?
You raise some cogent points.
The singular objection we have to Gingrich staying in the race is that in states where the race is close, he may split the vote and allow Romney to squeak by. We’ve already seen this in two major states as in MI and OH where a different outcome (win for Santorum) would have changed the entire trajectory of this primary. Of course that horse has already left the gate. But there are still some close races ahead like WI. Yes, Gingrich’s attacks on Romney and GOP-e are fine and very well articulated but he also goes after Santorum although not by much.
Santorum’s weekend speech to dismantle big government “by the roots” parallels much of Gingrich’s central plank on less government. If Santorum wins big in La (by 15-20 points) and Romney is reduced to third place, I think he’ll suffer a painful, although not a mortal loss.
This in turn will put pressure on the party grandees and the commentariat to have Romney pick a solid VP as his nominee. Santorum is banking on wooing super delegates his way in the rare case where Romney fails to get 1144 on the first ballot. It’s a real outside chance but that’s about all the hope Santorum can long for and probably a forlorn hope at that.
See:
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/294104/santorum-and-rnc-robert-costa