A few quick, belated thoughts about last night:
1) Wow. What an annihilation.
2) Santorum is clearly a better natural politician than Romney. If you gave Romney a car and an adviser or two and asked him to go at it on his own for a year on the campaign trail–based entirely on his instincts and convictions–it probably wouldn’t turn out very well.
3) But it’s no small thing that Santorum doesn’t have a campaign organization to speak of. This will not just be a problem in the nomination contest going forward, it would be a big problem in a general election. When he had to build a campaign on the fly in 2008, John McCain never really caught up and was completely out-organized by Obama.
4) That said, Santorum is formidable in a way that Newt Gingrich is not. He doesn’t have the same vulnerabilities. People like him. He won’t be as easily destroyed by negative ads, or at least Romney will be at much greater risk of a backlash if he goes nuclear.
5) If Gingrich weren’t in the race, Santorum would have a very good chance at the nomination. He’d add the South to the Midwest and consolidate the anti-Romney vote.
6) What does it say about Romney that when he’s not on very favorable ground–New Hampshire and Nevada–he’s only won or nearly won by making the rubble bounce with negative ads?
7) Let me join Ramesh in condemning the insipid attacks we’re going to see from the Romney campaign on Santorum as a Washington insider. If Romney is so horrified by politicians running for federal office and attempting to move federal policy in the right direction, he never should have run for senate in 1994.
8) If the Romney campaign is smart, it will interpret last night as a veto on its biography-driven campaign and try to connect with conservatives on substance.
Michael Medved nails it, Rich Lowry doesn't:
"On no significant issue has Romney moved to the left or to the center over the last four years; his platform of 2012 offers a program of conservative reform far bolder and more substantive than any ideas he put forward in 2008.
Mitt’s precise problem came into focus for me with an e-mail from an angry listener to my radio show who upbraided me for my open support of Romney as the most electable candidate against Obama. “We remember what you did to us last time, and we won’t let you get away with it again!” she wrote. “This time you’re trying to ram the RINO, Romney, down our throats and last time it was McCain. It was because of people like you that we got stuck with McCain, when we could have had a real conservative who would have beaten Obama!”
And who would have been that “real conservative” back in the distant days of 2008?
None other than … Mitt Romney, the “conservative’s conservative ” eagerly endorsed by Senator Jim DeMint and nearly all of my talk radio colleagues, including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage and many more.
That Romney no longer counts as a “real conservative” doesn’t reflect any ideological shifts on his part, but it does suggest a significant movement of the entire GOP toward the enraged and indignant right.
The far lower turnouts in Florida, Nevada, Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri all indicate that this tectonic movement hardly counts as a positive development for the Republican Party."
Medved is SPOT ON. The enraged and indiganant right won last night (Santorum is their new leader and Rich Lowry is a cheerleader for him) and will continue to drag out this primary and drag the Republican Party off a cliff.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAs the enraged and indignant far-right did with Christine O'Donnell and Sharon Angle. I'm focused on defeating Obama, while they're focused on defeating Romney.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf you're not enraged and indignant by now with the state of our country, there is something wrong with you.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIsn't that the motto of the OWS crowd? I dunno you people are blending....lol.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWho can say? The OWS is all over the damned place and doesn't appear to stand for anything but camping in public places and getting into trouble.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWait, didn't you post this exact same comment in another thread? Did you change *anything*? Come on--at least Old Fan manages to rearrange his favorite talking points and catch phrases in a different order every time he posts.
By the way, just stop it already with the "enraged and indiganant [sic] right" complaint, already. For starters, it plays right into the hands of the Left that wants to color every action by Republicans as those of crazed and angry ignoramuses--and as Romney supporter, it conveys just a hint of self-loathing with respect to your own party. Additionally, it shows contempt for a substantial component of the GOP's base--and as a Romney supporter, that does not help you to combat the notion that Romney is not in his natural habitat whilst among conservatives. Finally, it shows complete disregard for those who are voting for other candidates out of principle--and as a Romney supporter, maybe you should try affirming primary voters' principles rather than beating them about their heads with pragmatic appeals to "electability" for a change.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRomney was the conservative candidate last time, Santorum endorsed him.
I've watched every single debate and Santorum has had some vein bulging moments of anger and has the "enraged and indignant" routine down pat.
He's even stated himself that his wife told him he should smile more, so he even he and his family gets it. It is Santorum and Newt who should "stop it"
Santorum is also starting down Newt's path of whining about the Romney attack machine. This is bad and doesn't bode well for him in the general. Stop complaining about mean things being said about you. Correct the lies and then move on.
BTW, what does Rick actually think he's doing when he's attacking Romney, giving him love hugs? Romney never complains about the attacks, he just soldiers on.
Because of Santorum's style, his electibility is an issue for the general election.
And because someone told Santorum anger equals leadership, he will come across even more "enraged and indignant" up against a calm and cool sitting president like Obama.
It's a bad match up.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSheryl is making an amazingly naive argument. Romney was the conservatives' favorite last time because he wasn't McCain. His problem with conservatives now is that there's a better man in the race -- more conservative, more sincere, and a better campaigner. That would be Santorum.
Without big sums of money Romney is merely another small-time loser, and the voters instinctively detect his lack of authenticity.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse@Ronny
"Did you change *anything*? Come on--at least Old Fan manages to rearrange his favorite talking points and catch phrases in a different order every time he posts."
I think we're on to something here: Rombot Magnetic Poetry. Could include things such as:
Olympics businessman Presidential
inevitable concern very poor
pro choice life
Mix and match as the mood (audience?) changes...
The possibilities are endless. Think of the *fun* Old Fan would have!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSheryl,
"...drag the Republican Party off a cliff."
The GOP leadership - including Mitt - thinks that it's "business as usual" at this moment in our country's history (hint: it's not). Let's face it, no one is dragging the Republican Party leadership off a cliff - it's driving itself off the cliff.
Whereas Mitt will just coast the GOP to a nice, comfortable second place finish in the general election, after which he can still claim 'outside' status ... 'outside the Beltway, 'outside the winner's circle'.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt will be business as usual if we nominatect Gingrich, Paul or Santorum all long time career politicians.
Actually I think that's the very definition of "business as usual" sending the same resume's over and over again.
Though you might be right. Mitt may lose to Obama. Incumbent presidents are very hard to unseat, it's only happened four times I believe. Mitt's are best chance to win.
Santorum or Gingrich, I predict an Obama rout.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRomney is merely a less successful career politician than his opponents. His supposed "outsider" status comes from failing to get voted into the senate in 1994 running against Teddy Kennedy, and then doing one term as a state governor in a liberal state that ended a streak of four republicans.
Romney didn't even run for reelection in 2007 because polls showed he would get trashed.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou missed Medved's interview of Paul Ryan today, where he, Medved, said that he is having doubts about Romney because Romney does not have inspiring positive conservative message.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFour years ago, McCain had a bad night in those three states. Later, McCain was leading in the polls against Obama, just a few short weeks before the November election. McCain had a lot of things stacked against him, including the fact he was a Republican in a year that was bad for Republicans.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe problem was, McCain also had one thing stacked in his favor, right up until he was nominated as the Republican candidate for President: the Press.
They were fawning over "The Maverick" in 2008, putting him in a good light and bringing him back from the corpse his campaign had been earlier. So the Republicans got stuck with him.
Of course, as stated, this only went on until the nomination was over. Then those pats on the back became a little more forceful, a little more 'pointy' thanks to all those daggers.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRomneycare, in case you forgot. And you're right, he hasn't moved one inch on the issue. Cap and Trade, bailouts....Romney is the Obama that the tea party rose up to stop. That you guys think this is the answer to our prayers definitely makes you as delusional as Obamaites. By the way, no one understood the magnitude of the problems we're facing then, but they knew McCain was a loose cannon.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis was supposed to appear as a reply to the comment below about Mr. Conservative Mitt.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Let me join Ramesh in condemning the insipid attacks we’re going to see from the Romney campaign on Santorum as a Washington insider. If Romney is so horrified by politicians running for federal office and attempting to move federal policy in the right direction, he never should have run for senate in 1994."
Santorum is a career politician that is a fact of his biography and anyone has a right to judge that as something we need (or don't need more of) to change how Washington operates.
I condemn your condemnation Mr. Lowry and it's insipidness....a lot of us are sick and tired of insider politicians running the show. Maybe is Mitt won in 1994 he would've been successful at it because Santorum sure wasn't when he got there....it was a swamp then and it's a swamp now.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSilver spoon Romney grew up in a government household and has been running or in office quite the number of years. Outsider? that's a joke.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMitt ran once in 1994 lost, went back to business (volunteered to save the Olympics) until he became governor in 2003. He has never worked in Washington ever.
Santorum has worked in and around Washington since 1991, for 20+ years.
Santorum is a career politician........Washington is filled to the brim with career politicians like Santorum....he's a dime a dozen.
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