So there it is, the one true alternative to Mitt Romney emerged last night, Rick Santorum.
Rick Santorum won big last night winning contests, some handily, in Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri. Not a strong second place, winning. Some people will understandably try to downplay the nature of the victory pointing out the difference between primaries and caucuses and delegate allocations, but all that misses the point.
It is now either Rick Santorum or imminently evitable Romney.
Rick Santorum has been written off time and time again by pundits and pedants, only to once again, and perhaps finally emerge as the conservative alternative to the militantly moderate Romney. The reason for this is two-fold. One–Santorum has shown himself to be a consistent and principled candidate throughout this interminable primary season. His debate performances have been stellar and consistently improving. He absolutely left Mitt Romney stumbling with his dismantling of Romneycare and the mandate a few weeks ago. Further, he has managed to stay out of the personal and vicious mudslinging that has been the dominant focus of the campaign for the last 6 weeks. Simply put, he has been a superior candidate to his rivals and getting better. So all that is one. The second reason is simple. Obama.
February 8, 2012 at 6:29 am
Santorum was not written off he was never counted at all. I am so proud of the man. I hope he can keep this going.
February 8, 2012 at 7:55 am
Disclaimer: Santorum's not my 1st pick, but I can be pretty happy with him. That said, the reason "he has managed to stay out of the mudslinging" is that Romney and the whole GOP and the entire Establishment hasn't bothered to start calumnying him. But that, sadly, will soon change as Romney starts to turn on the $ machine.
February 8, 2012 at 9:20 am
Uh, you people DO understand that Santorum and Gingrich are not on the ballot in several states and so cannot accumulate enough delegates to win? One is shut out of about 500 delegates, the other about 700. They are being kept in the race and given tons of free capmaign publicity to stop Ron Pauls momentum..which is coming anyway, despite the blatant election fraud going on (and that fraud does not even include the media collusion and black out against him). So this is, like it or not, a 2 man race. And since Obama (Goldman Sachs) will cream Romney (Goldman Sachs) in a general election and polls show Ron Paul can beat him Paul is the only choice. But alas, he doesn't want to kill enough Muslims and turn the US into a dictatorship while claiming invading countries that did nothing to us is "protecting our freedoms"…..sigh. Ron Paul gets more donations from the active military YOU folks claim to support than all the rest, Obama included, but those soldiers are just clueless idiots, right?
February 8, 2012 at 9:33 am
There is the possibility that Santorum and Gingrich can get delegates in a brokered convention, which looks like could happen. But either Gingrich or Santorum go up against the Obammunist and the mud is going to fly. And the MSM is definitely going to bring up Santorums ties to Jerry Sandusky and his getting pages from that troubled kids organization of Sanduskys. Watch Santorum try to wiggle out of that…plus he's Catholic and you know we are all molesters!
February 8, 2012 at 2:21 pm
Ron Paul geeks are so boring.
February 8, 2012 at 3:07 pm
They are being kept in the race and given tons of free capmaign publicity to stop Ron Pauls momentum..which is coming anyway, despite the blatant election fraud going on
What color is the sky in your world?
It amazing that someone can convince himself that a guy who has never, ever won a state-wide presidential election contest in 108 – that's right – one hundred and eight – tries is the inevitable candidate who causes fear and trembling in the rest of the party.
February 8, 2012 at 4:53 pm
My precinct, caucus, and state went for Santorum.
February 8, 2012 at 4:59 pm
BROKERED CONVENTION here we come. Love it.
Rick Santorum is the only guy who can beat O in a head to head. I don't honestly know why, but shouldn't this fact clue people in to the prudential candidate to support? Isn't that where the rubber meets the road?
Kind of worried about the latest publicity Karen Santorum has gotten…
February 8, 2012 at 6:44 pm
Calling all Catholics and believers in our United States Constitution. Sign this petition to let the Obama administration know we will not let our rights as Americans be trampled
http://www.nrsc.org/campaigns/stand-up-for-first-amendment-freedoms/
February 9, 2012 at 5:10 am
I'm not a Santorum supporter. In the current field – I support Romney. Santorum is too far to the Right for my tastes on a few issues, and too Washington corrupt for my tastes on a few issues (few Senators worked the earmarks as shamelessly as Santorum). Plus I doubt he'd be a very good administrator of the executive branch (on this front Romney would kick @$$)
But that said, I'm THRILLED that Santorum has emerged as the alternative to Romney. Because if Santorum beats Romney in the primaries, I could vote for him in November.
But Gingrich? – he's a complete ball of slime. A man with a worse character (and I mean this with 100% sincerity) than Bill Clinton. No major party has nominated a man as personally vile as Gingrich in modern history.
So the Republican party seems to have regained its sense. Good!
P.S. On the pivotal "who would you like to have a beer with" test I'd have to go: #1 Santorum (seems like a completely decent human being – I'd like to be his friend), then Obama (I disagree with him vigorously, but he seems like a good guy on a personal level – good family man, good sense of humor and all), then Paul (he'd annoy me, but at least he'd drink his beer and hell – after a couple he might be a fun guy), then Romney (doesn't drink, but he'd probably sit there politely and talk) and finally Gingrich. In fact, 3 minutes after sitting down with him for a beer I'd excuse myself to go to the bathroom and sneak out. Sleep is better than sharing a beer with a complete tool.
February 9, 2012 at 11:19 am
LOL! Santorum beat Obama?? Every Indie and libertarian, most uncommitted will go Obama rather than the despicable warvangelical Santorum and the leftist media know this. But he WILL deny you your right to pursue happiness and slaughter brown people for you. I'll take a pass on "having a beer" with Sanduskys good buddy but y'all go ahead.