The Other McCain

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SANTORUM SURGE: Finally, the Polls in Iowa Are Catching Up With … Me

Posted on | December 28, 2011 | 70 Comments

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa
I’m inside a town hall meeting with Rick Santorum. About a hundred people here, and the big news today in Iowa is the CNN/Time poll showing Santorum surging into third place, with 16%, ahead of Newt Gingrich, who is now fourth with 14%, followed by Rick Perry (11%) and Michelle Bachmann (9%).

UPDATE: Erick Erickson isn’t happy:

As a pro-lifer myself, I have to throw up a bit in my mouth that Iowa conservatives are seriously considering Rick Santorum . . .

Yeah, if Perry finishes fifth in Iowa, the epitaph on the tombstone of his campaign will read: “Howdy. Thank you, Erick.”

UPDATE II (Smitty): Here is the CNN interview, Wolf Blitzer interviewing Rick Santorum, with a screencap of the poll results after:

CNN poll shows Santorum in third place in Iowa

UPDATE III: Here’s a photo of Senator Sanatorum shaking hands with Iowans before his town hall meeting here in Cedar Rapids:

Remember that the Santorum surge began Dec. 1, when there was an earthquake in Vanuatu.

UPDATE IV (Smitty): now a Memeorandum thread. What says the Blogosphere?

  • Catholic Bandita links Drudge’s touting of the “Wild Card”, Rick Santorum.
  • A Point of View has the observation, emphasis mine:

    It doesn’t matter what the main stream media thinks or says about Santorum at this point. The plain fact is that his conservative, catholic bona fides are there for all to see and are genuine. That Palin has praised him and he has signalled, through his praise of Palin, that he would support her policy and ethics may be the signal to the Palin supporters that Santorum is Palin’s proxy.

    While Sarah may fall short of a full endorsement, a bit of nudge-nudge, wink-wink could really get the tea party going, IYKWIMAITYD.

  • The Daily Caller:

    Despite lacking the money and resources enjoyed by many of his rivals, Santorum appears to be benefiting from his dogged campaigning throughout each one of Iowa’s 99 counties. The former Pennsylvania senator has also attracted endorsements from prominent evangelical leaders in the state, and is gaining traction among the social conservatives who tend to dominate the Iowa caucuses every four years.
    “Most of Santorum’s gains have come among likely caucus participants who are born-again or evangelical, and he now tops the list among that crucial voting bloc, with support from 22% of born-again compared to 18% for Paul, 16% for Romney, and 14% for Gingrich,” CNN polling director Keating Holland said in a statement.

    If money was paramount, Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman would have done better in California, no?

  • Dan Riehl still likes Perry (and what conservative does not?) but isn’t inimical to Santorum:

    Frankly, I don’t want Santorum to prevail in Iowa, as I’ve already backed Perry and think he’s the best choice, given what they are. But I’m unwilling to throw out my principles to become the media’s anti-Conservative water-boy in some misguided attempt to try and make myself look smart, as opposed to a principled conservative, which is what I mostly am – first, last and always and most importantly of all.

UPDATE V (RSM): Here are Chris Moody of Yahoo News and Shushana Walshe of ABC News, covering the (unexpectedly!) surging Santorum:

Donald Douglas at American Power has more Santorum blogging.


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Category: CNN, Fear and Loathing in Iowa, Iowa, Polls, Rick Santorum

Comments

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  • http://thepagantemple.blogspot.com/ ThePaganTemple

    Well you are dead wrong about a Santorum nomination not being a kick in the gut to the establishment for one simple reason, and that would be the same reason it would be a kick in their gut if we nominated Bachmann, Gingrich, or anybody other than Mitt.

    Those Cabinet posts don’t appoint themselves, ya know.

  • The Wondering Jew

    Santorum was the number three Republican in the Senate during the worst years of “Big Government Conservatism.”  That’s about as establishment as you can get.  Certainly the establishment right now is for Mitt, but frankly, for them they could work with  Perry, Gingrich, Humtsman or Santorum.  Really only Paul, and maybe Bachmann, would truly terrify them.

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  • Pathfinder’s wife

    I would say that they probably wouldn’t have an issue with Bachmann either.
    And you are most likely very correct: the one person the establishment really has a problem with is Paul.

    Then again, I don’t think they would be all too pleased with Bachmann or Santorum due to the social conservative stuff (which may be more important than people realize — you cannot truly get fiscal conservatism without some measure of social conservatism; societies have to pay for the things that they do or else go into waters best left uncharted).

    I wish Paul did not have the flaws that he did…there are many things about his platform that it would be easy to cast a protest vote for him (but blast it, those flaws are pretty big ones…).

  • http://thepagantemple.blogspot.com/ ThePaganTemple

    Yeah, big enough to make the son-of-a-bitch unelectable on any planet this side of Bizzaro World.

  • http://thepagantemple.blogspot.com/ ThePaganTemple

    The problem is, the establishment guns are already locked and loaded for Mitt, all the deals have been made. They could accept Santorum, but it would be messy and problematic-like maybe he wouldn’t want to accept all of them or sign on to all the backroom deals that have already been made. Why do you think Mike Huckabee didn’t run this year? After all, by all rights, this year should have been “his turn”.

  • Dcmick

    The establishment would no more accept Santorum than they would accept Gingrich, but for slightly different reasons.

    The establishment views Santorum as a tiresome bore, who is hopelessly clueless when it comes to all things homosexual.  He’s been repeatedly given the signal that he’s supposed to get with it and get all cool and casual about flamerism, but he just remains hopelessly out of it.

    And then again he’s apt to blurt out something that he views abortion as tantamount to murder, or that abortion is a process of sin begetting serious sin, id est, lust followed by fornication compounded by homicide.

    Such things don’t go over well on the cocktail circuit inside the Beltway, and they are viewed with more than mild alarm up on the Upper East and West Side in upper Manhattan.

    If Santorum ever gets to the point where he becomes even a mild threat to the mormon getting the nomination, —————- then he’ll be targeted for prompt and thorough destruction.

    It will be anything goes, no-holds barred.

    He’ll be destroyed.

    Just like Gingrich before him.

    Just like Sarah Palin before that.

    And in another way, just like Giuliani before them all.

  • Quartermaster

    With Obama you are likely to et Marxism and Nuclear War. Just sayin’, but YMMV

  • Quartermaster

    He does make great suckage on immigration.

  • Quartermaster

    K-Bob, you may wish that, but the article still stands up. If you don’t think so, then please expound. I see nothing in that column that does not stand up to playground style trash talking with ease.

    Refute it, if you can.

  • Tennwriter

    And if they do that, they can kiss the 2012 election goodbye.  And the next guy the socons aka true conservatives (because socons are generally not one issue people) is going to make Rick Santorum look sweet and hip.

    Its very probably the end of the GOP like the Whigs before them on the issue of slavery.

  • http://thepagantemple.blogspot.com/ ThePaganTemple

    You might be right. The last guy the Whigs nominated was a slave owner, and after he died in office his Vice-President became the last Whig President. It’s kind of scary how history repeats itself, and ironic how the desperate drive to retain power can result in the complete loss of it. But in all honesty, the last guy we had who might approximate a Whig style President was arguably Gerald Ford. If the GOP goes the way of the Whigs, it won’t be over one single issue like abortion but the overall tendency to compromise with progressives over anything of importance. And you’ll know its coming whenever whoever wins the nomination-and let’s face it, it will probably be Mitt-runs as the latest iteration of the Moderate Independent Party. I keep asking if Republican voters don’t deserve a candidate who runs as a Republican. Maybe I’m asking the wrong question.

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  • Anonymous

    Eyes Wide Open, my friend.

    Give him a chance?  I know all about him.  He is the superior candidate in the field.

    He sucks…but not nearly as bad as the rest.  He could turn out to be really good as POTUS.

    The truth of the matter, is that is a career politician who has no experience in the private sector who is only familiar with the unreality of the government’s ability to tax.

    He is more of the same….except…he is a bit different…not game changing…but different enough.

  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous

    Well, not exactly. He has practiced law, worked at a think tank, wrote a book, and been out of office since 06.

    I know this is a quaint notion in this modern age, but his character and family life set him apart from the rest. So, I won’t have to worry about defending his shenengians to people … yes, they matter when it comes to R’s. Our political double standard.

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  • K-Bob

    It’s definite we’ll get Marxism.

    But so far Obama has not been so stupid as to actually implement all the idiot military policies the left wants. He’s stuck with most of Bush’s programs, and despite his bowing, has played the “tough guy” on more than one occasion in the Middle East. He’s bad news all around, but at least he isn’t inviting nukes in Iran and encouraging everyone and their jihadist brother to get on board the Destroy Israel express.

  • K-Bob

    Erickson is self-refuting.  You can read his crap if you want.

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