Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Beware the Sweater Vest


Last weekend, Rick Santorum had a three state sweep in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota. The victories were quite significant, as he is proving wrong many pundits and those in the establishment wing of the Republican Party who, since Florida, have been stating that Mitt Romney's Primary Victory is fait accompli. The race is actually wide open. (NOTE: I do disagree with Schoen's final point in the previously linked article, that Obama is the big winner.)

I'm not one bit surprised at his victories. First, he has performed well in the debates, clearly taking apart RomneyCare in the Florida debates. Second, his ability to retail politic not only helped him in Iowa, but it also paid off in these victories, which will lead to his camping out in the future key states, as he sees them. Third, he is being helped by Obama's war on the Catholic Church, as it gives Santorum further opportunity to educate voters on the hypocrisy of this president and the disdain he shows for Religious Freedom, and on a larger scale, the Constitution. As Santorum is quite strong on these issues and himself, a Catholic, he will do well articulating the flaws in Obama's position. Furthermore, Santorum is taking advantage of the Romney-Gingrich war, continuing to stay above the fray and on topic, as I believe doing so is his best route to the nomination. The base of the Republican Party wants a Conservative and throughout the campaign, Santorum has articulated that position, showing himself not similar to Obama, which could help him with the ever-so-coveted independents, as they may want to take a different route than they did in 2008.

If Santorum's numbers go up, watch out for Romney and the Establishment to go on the attack like they have against Newt. (Who, by the way, I am still supporting.) I said it before and I'll say it again, ladies and gentlemen; this primary is far from over.

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