Rick Santorum Has No Intention of Fading Away
Peter Robinson ·
January 22, 2012 at 3:22am
The sub-story tonight: Rick Santorum's mini-surge. Most polls showed him finishing fourth, behind Ron Paul, but instead the good senator finished third, closer to Mitt Romney than Romney was to Gingrich.
Where's Santorum going now?
Florida.
- Comment (27)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (4)
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
Comments:
Jan '12
Re: Rick Santorum Has No Intention of Fading Away
Blaming Santorum for "expanding the Federal Budget by trillions of dollars" makes as much sense as blaming DeMint or Kyl or even Reagan for the same. Cuddly? Have you heard one thing he's said about national security in general or Iran in particular?
I would trust Santorum to do the right thing as much or more than any candidate in the race or those other conservatives wish were in the race.
My concern with him is messaging: he needs to talk more about growing the economy, taking a chainsaw to government, and dealing with Iran. A lot more. We all already know where he stands on the social issues (the right place).
Mar '11
Re: Rick Santorum Has No Intention of Fading Away
I hope Santorum stays in the race also--I generally think him honorable, and I think we could benefit from hearing more from him (even in the several cases in which we disagree).
On various issues, he provides ideas that are either: 1) very untimely--in which case, all the better they be aired, they are part of the fabric of American conservatism; or 2) present areas where compromise between Republicans and Democrats is possible and which the next administration may want to consider harnessing--it will be necessary to compromise somewhere in order to push forward the big agenda items the next President has on his desk (I'm thinking here mostly of his manufacturing subsidies [that could be made to harmonize with some pro-labor positions] and pro-family tax views).
But, I don't think he'll be the nominee.
In which case, what should the good Senator, and his snazzy vest, do next? Is there a place for him in the next cabinet? Or should he try to retake his senate seat in PA?
Apr '11
Re: Rick Santorum Has No Intention of Fading Away
Palaeologus
Frozen Chosen: I said before SC that Santorum needed a top 3 finish to stay alive and he accomplished that. He's got a ticket to Florida but I'm not sure he survives that primary.
The February races are all ones Romney won in 2008 so it's a safe bet he will do so again this year. Not sure Santorum has the funds to make it to Super Tuesday in March which would be his next chance for a win. · 0 minutes ago
I like Romney's chances in February, but MI isn't the given plenty of folks presume.
McCain won it on the strength of the union left in 2000, and the same voters turned out against him in 2008. Romney has real support in Michigan, but it is entirely unclear which candidate (though Paul is most likely) will receive the unions' votes. ·
I have faith in Michigan and Minnesota. I do worry about Colorado and Maine. Both ought to be Mitt wins, but if Santorum focuses heavily on one or the other, while Mitt campaigns to dominate Nevada against Paul and Newt, Santorum could win in either.
Jan '12
Re: Rick Santorum Has No Intention of Fading Away
If Sanotrum had lost to Ron Paul in the SC Primary then his argument for staying in would have been lost. He needs to make the case during the next debates before the Florida Primary that he is the most consistent conservative that gives him the ability to criticize Obama on all fronts making him the most competitive candidate in the general election. Unlike Gingrich and Romney who are not consistent on Health Care. Gingrich has a history of sitting on couches with liberal counterparts, thinks the Ryan budget plan is social engineering, and has worked for Freddie Mac. Mitt Romney will have a challenge connecting with voters, be depicted by Obama as the 1% of the 1%. Santorum has that ability to connect with middle class voters, can be a strong debater, and can create a great contrast between himself and Obama.
Santorum does not need to win Florida to remain viable. What he does need to do in Florida is either get second or a very close third to Newt Gingrich. He will then have the credibility to continue into the caucus states with a more proportional distribution of delegates.
Apr '11
Re: Rick Santorum Has No Intention of Fading Away
Sean Clough: If Sanotrum had lost to Ron Paul in the SC Primary then his argument for staying in would have been lost...... Santorum has that ability to connect with middle class voters, can be a strong debater, and can create a great contrast between himself and Obama.
Santorum does not need to win Florida to remain viable. What he does need to do in Florida is either get second or a very close third to Newt Gingrich. He will then have the credibility to continue into the caucus states with a more proportional distribution of delegates. · 5 hours ago
Who is going to force Santorum out? What's he got to lose? Like Ron Paul, he can easily stay in the race to the convention. If Newt never implodes, that's fine. If Newt does implode, he'll be standing by.
Dec '10
Re: Rick Santorum Has No Intention of Fading Away
James Of England
Sean Clough: If Sanotrum had lost to Ron Paul in the SC Primary then his argument for staying in would have been lost...... Santorum has that ability to connect with middle class voters, can be a strong debater, and can create a great contrast between himself and Obama.
Santorum does not need to win Florida to remain viable. What he does need to do in Florida is either get second or a very close third to Newt Gingrich. He will then have the credibility to continue into the caucus states with a more proportional distribution of delegates. · 5 hours ago
Who is going to force Santorum out? What's he got to lose? Like Ron Paul, he can easily stay in the race to the convention. If Newt never implodes, that's fine. If Newt does implode, he'll be standing by. · 55 minutes ago
Who's going to pay for Santorum to stay in? How much personal debt can he afford to incur to keep in the race to the convention?
If Santorum doesn't win Florida, he'll have a very hard time making the case to donors.
Jan '12
Re: Rick Santorum Has No Intention of Fading Away
Like I said, I don't think Santorum needs to win in Florida. He probably needs get second place. That means probably beating Newt Gingrich. I think he is within striking distance. It will require that Santorum make the argument that he is the consistent conservative without a past that will impede him when debate Obama. Like the debate over the individual mandate. Both Gingrich and Romney lose credibility on this argument due to their past policy positions.
If he can make a similar argument to people with money then I think he can get donors. Voters and donors want to beat Obama they worry that Gingrich's and Romney's past will really hurt them in this regard. That I think is the basic Santorum argument for why he should still be in the race and the one who deserves the nomination.