Santorum exits after a campaign that beat all expectations
Everyone who had Rick Santorum making it until the Tuesday after Easter, not giving up his presidential campaign until he’d contested 26 of the 56 primaries/caucuses and won the second-most delegates in them, take your bow.
Or maybe we should just leave the applause to Santorum himself.
A campaign that started with little money and few believers, on the ashes of a blowout of a failed Senate re-election six years ago, pushed Mitt Romney to the brink in such key states as Michigan and Ohio and defeated Newt Gingrich across much of the Deep South. Santorum won Iowa by a hair — though he wasn’t recognized as the winner for a couple of weeks — then used a trifecta of upsets over Romney to become the last serious challenger to him.
He didn’t always help himself by talking at length about social issues in an election year bound to be dominated by dollars and cents, but that’s who he is — and Santorum’s authenticity is part of what drew more than 3 million GOP primary voters to him. Like Mike Huckabee in 2008, he proved there’s still a sizable contingent of evangelicals who are willing to buck the establishment and vote their consciences in a Republican primary. And he may have gone farther than Huckabee in demonstrating an economic platform that conservatives could embrace.
What ultimately did him in were two things. First, he had a way of talking about social issues that, in my view, was unnecessarily abrasive. As I considered whether to vote for him, I couldn’t escape the belief that he could have made the same points in a more appealing way — and that the way he made those points endangered his ability to win the presidency and act on them.
Second, he couldn’t shake his association with the 2000-2006 era of the GOP-led Congress, when Republicans lost their fiscal bearings and turned spendthrift — losing the gains made after 1994 and setting the stage for even bigger blowouts once the Democrats took control in 2007. His votes for big-government Republican policies, and his wince-inducing defense of them as unavoidable in the “team sport” of politics, couldn’t be reconciled with the necessity of paring back government.
It will be crucial now for Romney to woo the voters who chose Santorum instead of him during the past three months. There is some debate about whether they would actually sit out the election, possibly handing it to President Obama. Romney can’t take them for granted, and can’t take that chance. He would do well to be very visible in reaching out to Santorum and to do whatever it takes to get Santorum to bury the hatchet — it was a very ugly primary at times — and work to elect him.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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261 comments Add your comment
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
April 10th, 2012
9:28 pm
“Let me you ask you: what’s the better way to make our economy stronger? Do we give another $150,000 tax break to every millionaire and billionaire in the country?” the president said.
“Or should we make investments in education and research and health care and our veterans?”
Simple talk for the simple minded.
How much more money can you pour into education and continue to watch our children get outperformed by Zimbabwe?
Or is education even the priority of the tax money grubbing liberal bureaucrats?
Gimme, gimme, gimme, is obozo’s answer to every question.
@@
April 10th, 2012
9:32 pm
zzzzzzzzzzzzz
tiberius your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
9:33 pm
Well let’s see Trashman. You add nothing of substance. You lack even the most basic form needed for civil discussion. You are nothing but run on sentence after run on sentence of insults. You never address the topic. And you personally attack everyone you address.
Why shouldn’t you be banned for not even remotely following Kyle’s rules?
Add to that your creepy stalker mode, and you’re really not welcome here due to your current and likely future behavior
tiberius your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
9:35 pm
John, your next post on topic will be your first post on topic.
Hillbilly D
April 10th, 2012
9:37 pm
Was puzzled by why I didn’t care whether I was liked or not.
That’s kind of like the 15 minutes of fame thing. Somebody else can have 30 minutes cause I don’t want any. (IW&SH)
Just saying..
April 10th, 2012
9:41 pm
Linda
April 10th, 2012
8:19 pm:
“Rafe@7″51, I’m not sure that Kyle is paying attention.’
I’m sure he is. I can see him shaking his head right now…
Fundamental Decency is a Concept that is Dying in the Republican Party
April 10th, 2012
9:42 pm
@I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin…
April 10th, 2012
9:28 pm
“Let me you ask you: what’s the better way to make our economy stronger? Do we give another $150,000 tax break to every millionaire and billionaire in the country?” the president said.
“Or should we make investments in education and research and health care and our veterans?”
Simple talk for the simple minded.
How much more money can you pour into education and continue to watch our children get outperformed by Zimbabwe?
Or is education even the priority of the tax money grubbing liberal bureaucrats?
Gimme, gimme, gimme, is obozo’s answer to every question.
**************************************************************************************************
You are RIGHT……your comments are simple talk by a simple minded.
“How much more money can you pour into education? ”
As MUCH as it TAKES.
You should know that “A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE”.
“Tax money grubbing liberal bureaucrats?”
Reagan’s tax legacy fits neither the right-wing nor left-wing pigeonholes.
Although he cut taxes when he could, he raised them when he had to.
“Tax money grubbing RIGHT-WING bureaucrats.”
tiberius your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
9:42 pm
Already commented multiple times about the topic at hand. I’m now commenting about your lack of commenting on the topic at hand.
yuzeyurbrane
April 10th, 2012
9:43 pm
Kyle, 3:45, tell me what’s wrong with my logic? The proof of the pudding will be with the results of 2012 election combined with nomination process starting about 2014. I think you will see my predictions come true. Bet you a beer on it.
Aquagirl
April 10th, 2012
9:57 pm
Add to that your creepy stalker mode, and you’re really not welcome here due to your current and likely future behavior
I didn’t even know someone was reading that crazy person’s posts. You people actually try to wade through that RANDOM capitalization and annoying format? Lawdy. My sympathies.
AmVet
April 10th, 2012
10:04 pm
Well, the Tent Revivalists lost their campaign to bring back the Dark Ages.
That leaves the Serial Philanderer, the addled Dr. Paul and the Second Coming of John McCain.
You neocons desperately need some new candidates.
The twenty or so that you have trotted out the last four years have sucked.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Unexpectedly Revised Downward)
April 10th, 2012
10:09 pm
The twenty or so that you have trotted out the last four years have sucked
————————-
How many of them have run trillion-dollar deficits, or caused three years worth of 8-10% unemployment, or put record numbers of Americans on the dole, like your Idiot Klown Obozo?
td
April 10th, 2012
10:11 pm
AmVet
April 10th, 2012
10:04 pm
And tell us all again what made Obama qualified to be President? Community organizer? 2 years as Senator? Adjunct Constitutional professor? This made him qualified? How about the fact that if he was not African American then he would not have received more then 5% of the Democratic primary vote.
AmVet
April 10th, 2012
10:14 pm
So which one was your personal fave, bb?
Alan Keyes? Nah. Too liberal for you.
Herman Cain? I’m sure you loved his groping, but he had that laughably idiotic 999 plan.
Let’s see…
Michelle Bachmann! Nah, she’s a woman and you can’t allow one of those into the inner sanctum. especailly not now, with you war on women raging on.
Brownback was 1600’s enough for you, but I’m guess you’re a big Newt fan.
He’s from Roger, he cheats on all of his wives and he thinks he’s Arnold Einstein.
Yep, Lil One, I’m guess you’re still pulling for the amphibian…
AmVet
April 10th, 2012
10:15 pm
He’s from Roger???
Redact to read he’s from Georgia.
LOL.
td, go pout over at stormfront…
Lil' Barry Bailout (Unexpectedly Revised Downward)
April 10th, 2012
10:18 pm
I’ll be voting American. That rules out Obozo.
AmVet
April 10th, 2012
10:20 pm
Lil One, you’re one of those moronic birthers???
That explains a great deal.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Unexpectedly Revised Downward)
April 10th, 2012
10:22 pm
No, idiot, if you had been paying attention you would know better.
Obozo is a mere citizen.
I’ll be voting American.
Big difference.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Unexpectedly Revised Downward)
April 10th, 2012
10:25 pm
CBO says Obozocare will cost $350 billion more over ten years than Obozo claimed.
How is he going to pay for it?
AmVet
April 10th, 2012
10:32 pm
Obozo is a mere citizen.
I’ll be voting American.
That makes no sense, but what the hell, why start now?
And Kyle your last paragraph is the $64 question.
But given that the women in this country are gonna vote against Romney in epic, probably historic proportions, I suspect this election is already over…
Pizzaman
April 10th, 2012
10:52 pm
Tiberius: your 7:37 exemplifies (you’ll should look up the meaning) what I’m saying. Your not capable of informed, intelligent debate only Limbaugh/Hannity/Boortz debate. You’ve never had an original idea in your life. Get a life. Don’t do something because someone else has told you what to think.
TD your 7: 58 makes no sense.
td
April 10th, 2012
10:59 pm
Pizzaman
April 10th, 2012
10:52 pm
TD your 7: 58 makes no sense
Then you need to go look up what Liberation theology means and look up evangelicals definition of false religion and the meaning will come to you.
Pizzaman
April 10th, 2012
11:10 pm
TD: Christ said ” Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are God’s”. This is the highest command for separation of Church and State. I fully believe this and will never combine or confuse or debate religious politics.
Progressive Humanist
April 10th, 2012
11:30 pm
So the Republicans are left with a nominee who created the blueprint for Obamacare and over the course of his career has been more liberal than Obama. The nominee of the Tea Party is a lifelong flip-flopper and panderer, a government establishment candidate, and a wealthy corporate hack with a track record of cutting jobs and closing companies, the perfect background at a time when Americans are still out of work. The party of fundamentalist Christians just nominated a Mormon, which many of them consider to be a cult. The Republicans insist on having one train wreck after another.
td
April 10th, 2012
11:39 pm
Progressive Humanist
April 10th, 2012
11:30 pm
It is certainly is a states right to develop any type of healthcare system they want but it is unconstitutional for the Federal Government to create a mandate. Yes, we know that pesky little Constitution gets in the way of you progressives from taking us down the road to socialism.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
11:45 pm
“So the Republicans are left with a nominee who created the blueprint for Obamacare and over the course of his career has been more liberal than Obama.”
And yet no matter how many times you type it, he didn’t and he wasn’t. But then, don’t let facts get in the way of a good cry.
“flip-flopper”
A term used by people who don’t realize that other people can change their mind based on new and compelling information.
“with a track record of cutting jobs and closing companies,”
And yet, his record isn’t one like that, rather one of saving companies and expanding jobs. But again, don’t let facts get in the way of a good cry.
The sad thing is that there are many people just as dense as you are, Progressive Humanist, who never take the time to actually learn about who they are or are not going to vote for, which is why we have the current Disaster-in-Chief residing in the White House.
But hopefully not for long.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 10th, 2012
11:48 pm
The Republicans insist on having one train wreck after another
————-
Train wreck? Like Obozo’s new normal of 8-10% unemployment?
Get real and focus on things that matter.
Oblama
April 11th, 2012
12:18 am
Bass – The base will turn out BIG on both sides…… wishful thinking on your part. Oblama’s base is starting to look like The New Black Panther Party and Reverund Rat – yes racists do exist on the left.
Oblama
April 11th, 2012
1:09 am
1 Samuel 16:7 For The Lord does not see as man sees. The Lord sees the heart. See Oblama for what he is not what he appears to be. Oblama is all smoke and mirrors. He will be known as the “Great Divider”. Oblamacrat strategy is to give us smoke and mirrors. This election is about the economy, jobs and how to reduce this alarming Fed debt. Oblamacrats plan is to cause class warfare, sex warfare and race warfare. Oblama is the “Great Divider”. Create a smoke screen to hide the truth. Oblama is no Ronald Reagan, yet he has starting to praise Reagan even though in one of Oblama’s books he said Reagan did “dirty deeds” in The White House. Why the sudden love for Reagen by the Oblamacrats? They are trying to paint Oblama as a moderate. Oblama is no Reagan. Reagan was for a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Oblama is for a government of the government, by the government and for the government. Oblama is a socialist. See Oblama for what he is – not what he appears to be. See who Oblama associates with – the radical left, The New Black Panther Party, Reverunt Rat, etc., etc., etc. Oblama’s voting record in Congress was as far left as it gets. See Oblama’s heart for what he is. – not what he appears to be. A divider – not a uniter. Smoke and mirrors.
Oblama
April 11th, 2012
2:22 am
OblamaNation
Lil' Barry Bailout (Unexpectedly Revised Downward)
April 11th, 2012
6:48 am
Oblama is no Reagan. Reagan was for a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Oblama is for a government of the government, by the government and for the government.
—————–
You’ve nailed the difference between our President Reagan and the Idiot Klown.
I would say it a slightly different way–”Oblama is for a people of the government, by the government and for the government.”
Welcome to Idiot Klown’s disastrous regime. Now shuffle on down the road to serfdom, Obozo receptacles.
Darwin
April 11th, 2012
7:40 am
Yes, now ya’ll can vote for RomneyCare because you hate ObamaCare! LOL!
@@
April 11th, 2012
7:43 am
But given that the women in this country are gonna vote against Romney in epic, probably historic proportions, I suspect this election is already over…
Geez! The way AmVet goes on and on about women defeating Romney, I’d almost believe he (AmVet) was one. The “stalker” also believes that the woman’s vote will defeat Romney. Come to think of it, AmVet has been a stalker from day one.
Could it be….
schnirt
AmVet
April 11th, 2012
7:58 am
In spite of the juvenile giggling from my little obsessed one, the facts don’t lie.
According to a USA Today/Gallup Poll, American women under the age of 50, support the president by a staggering 31% margin.
61% – 30%.
Up 26% in one month!
Great job, Rush et al…
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 11th, 2012
8:13 am
And anyone relying on polls taken in early April of any election year is a fool.
In addition, while women occasionally get it wrong when choosing a President (see Clinton, Bill and Obama, Barack) the recent firestorm generated by both the lamestream media and fueled by Rick Santorm was largely ignored by the GOP nominee, Mitt Romney. A such, Romney has time to repair the damage done in a generic sense by the above-mentioned sources, and can’t be painted with the same brush as Santorum could be.
Finally, AmVet’s political prognostication skills are seriously lacking, in that he has predicted huge losses for the GOP time and time again, only to be proven wrong each and every time. I wouldn’t bet a single $1 on any of AmVet’s picks in any election.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
April 11th, 2012
8:21 am
If you want to imagine the world through the eyes of a child, just try making sense of any dummycrat kampaign talking point.
It’s like being in kindergarten again.
You really have to dumb down to get on the same intellectual level as the “evil rich” and the “war on women” and blah, blah, blah, blah blah.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, it’s the spending, stupid.
AmVet
April 11th, 2012
8:27 am
…only to be proven wrong each and every time.
The next time you prove anything on one of these forums, it will be the very first time. LOL.
But it is interesting how the word *proven* is just some made up nonsense to you.
The new party-wide malady known as Republispeak…
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 11th, 2012
8:32 am
Yeah, AmVet. Loved you prediction on the 2010 House elections. Weren’t you off by about, oh, 45-50 seats or so?
As an election prognosticator, you make an almost adequate internet blogger.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 11th, 2012
8:38 am
And AmVet, the difference between you and me is that I separate my opinions from my facts.
My facts are ALWAYS proven, because they are facts.
And my opinions are usually correct because they are based on facts.
Which always makes my predictions closer to reality than anything you’ve ever done.
AmVet
April 11th, 2012
8:55 am
“Loved you prediction on the 2010 House elections. Weren’t you off by about, oh, 45-50 seats or so?”
Other than in your imagination, no.
My facts are ALWAYS proven, because they are facts.
The laugh of the morning, so far.
Thanks, meat…
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
April 11th, 2012
8:58 am
Anyone can remember that the 2008 dummycrat Tower of Babble featured the horrors of war, lists of dead US soldiers trotted out and shook in our faces, videos of dead babies accompanied by menacing accusatory tones, but now that their “president” does the killing, the liberals couldn’t give a rat’s ass.
Shoulda got your family out of the way of the drone, Ackmed, is what they’re sayin…
Junior Samples
April 11th, 2012
9:05 am
Tiberious,
Nice circular argument
td
April 11th, 2012
9:25 am
I Report,
How about all those stories in 2008 about how rising gas prices are ruining the economy and Bush was making his friends in the oil industry rich and could lower gas prices. What are the stories today about gas prices? Yes, Obama can not control gas prices and it is not his fault.
UGA 1999
April 11th, 2012
9:28 am
I wonder if he exited because Romney has offered him the VP spot.
Newt’s turn.
Just saying..
April 11th, 2012
9:32 am
Tiberius – Your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
11:45 pm:”…which is why we have the current Disaster-in-Chief residing in the White House.
But HOPEFULLY not for long.”
Tib visits reality.
@@
April 11th, 2012
9:40 am
AmVet…girlfriend:
According to a USA Today/Gallup Poll, American women under the age of 50, support the president by a staggering 31% margin.
All that proves to me is how easily women can be misled.
In another poll:
The new survey reveals that, by a 50-41 percentage point margin, Americans say all employers should not have to cover birth control or potentially abortion-causing drugs while a larger 57-36 percentage point margin say religious employers should not be forced to provide coverage.
When asked “Should health insurance plans for all employees have to cover the full cost of birth control for female employees or should employers be able to opt out for moral or religious reasons?” even women favor the opt-out on a 46-44 percent plurality. That margin for women increased to a 53-38 margin for “religiously affiliated employers, such as a hospital or university.”
Men favored opting out by a 20 point margin (57 vs. 37), and that percentage jumped to a 25-point spread for an opt out when religious employers were mentioned
It’s like Romney said…no one is trying to take away women’s contraceptives. Paying for them and withholding them are two entirely different issues.
‘Ya gotta pay to play.
Joe the Prophet
April 11th, 2012
9:46 am
What’s the difference between “baby mommas”, “job creators”, and “government contractors”….?
NOTHING….They all have their hands out…waiting on that government welfare….!!!!!
UGA 1999
April 11th, 2012
9:47 am
Job Creators contribute to society. Baby’s mommas are a parasite.
Rafe Hollister
April 11th, 2012
10:04 am
Job creators employ people, government contractors perform needed services, baby mommas create more dependent baby mommas and more baby daddys, but more important to the Dems, future voters.
UGA 1999
April 11th, 2012
10:24 am
When are you Dems going to realize that the Dems want to keep the poor on welfare so they can keep their votes.