From the final Morning Jolt of the week . . .
GOP Donors to Rick: Never Gonna Give You Up, Never Gonna Let You Down
Michele Bachmann learned that winning the Ames Straw Poll can get you a cup of coffee at Cup of Joe in Cedar Falls, as long as you have a couple of bucks. But what does coming within seven votes of winning the Iowa Caucus get you? $2 million in two days.
Enjoying a wave of momentum from his near-win in the Iowa caucuses, Rick Santorumโs campaign is raising money faster than ever before. Donors have added $2 million to his campaignโs war chest in the last 48 hours alone.
And a Santorum aide tells ABC News that in the space of 10 hours โ between midnight Thursday and 10 a.m. โ the campaign took in $250,000 of that $2 million total. The quarter-million figure total represents online contributions only.
Whatโs the campaign doing with that fresh infusion of cash?
For starters they are taking out a 1,000-point television ad buy in South Carolina ahead of the stateโs Jan. 21 primary.
At this rate, heโll raise $306 million by Election Day in November!
And heโs got his own SuperPAC, like Romney.
A group supporting Rick Santorumโs presidential bid is gearing up to become more active as the former senator sees his political fortunes on the rise after a surprise second place finish in the Iowa caucuses.
The super PAC Red, White and Blue is planning to go on the air soon โwith a significant buyโ of ad time in South Carolina, the groupโs spokesman, Stuart Roy, told CNN Thursday. He would not detail when exactly the spots would go up and said the organization hoped to soon release details of the amount of the purchase.
Just as Santorumโs campaign has seen a major spike in fundraising following his strong Iowa finish, the super PAC Red, White and Blue has also seen a major spike in money coming in since Tuesday night, Roy told CNN. He would not detail an exact amount.
And whatโs more, he may not have to worry about attacks from Gingrich.
Two sources confirmed that there have been discussions within Newt Gingrichโs camp about forging a nonaggression pact with Rick Santorum at the debates, though it wasnโt immediately clear whether one had been reached or that the teams had discussed it.
Such a pact would benefit both of them and potentially be problematic for Mitt Romney. However, while it has been discussed as a potential strategy in Gingrichland, one Santorum adviser professed ignorance of it.
As for Santorum and Gingrich, one source described them as liking each other, and expected any negativity to be kept low.
If they do reach a deal, Iโd urge those two to find another term besides a โNonaggression Pact.โ As I noted on Twitter, if indeed Gingrich and Santorum agree to a โNonaggression Pact,โ I hope they donโt cross the state line and sign it in Moscow, Vermont. But Iโm sure the campaign advisers touting the idea, Jeff Molotov and Hank Ribbentrop, will work it all out.
Actually, come to think of it, that famous nonaggression pact offers a lesson: When both parties want the same thing, like, say . . . the Balkans, or the Republican presidential nomination . . . well, all past proclamations of nonaggression get thrown out the window. And considering how Gingrichโs loud, repeated insistence that he would be running a positive campaign became inoperative as soon as Romneyโs PAC started pummeling him, well . . . Iโd check any potential pacts for an expiration date.






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