The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Rick Santorum Takes First National Lead

Posted on | February 12, 2012 | 29 Comments

by Smitty

Santorum leads Mitt Romney 38 percent to 23 percent in the new poll, while Gingrich is in third place with 17 percent.

The two crucial points here are:

  1. Keep up the doubt about Rick Santorum. We must accept whatever our Ruling Class Overlords tell us. Pay no attention to these numbers.
  2. Continue to heap abuse upon Stacy McCain. He likes it. His quest for recognition of his skill and acumen is purely superficial; and attempt to hide his masochism.

via Vision to America via reaganpal157

Comments

29 Responses to “Rick Santorum Takes First National Lead”

  1. ThePaganTemple
    February 12th, 2012 @ 10:20 am

    Keep up the doubt about Rick Santorum. We must accept whatever our
    Ruling Class Overlords tell us. Pay no attention to these numbers.

    So this is why you didn’t point out that this poll comes from a major Democrat pollster? Would you have pointed it out if it had showed Romney or Gingrich in the lead?

    Continue to heap abuse upon Stacy McCain. He likes it. His quest for
    recognition of his skill and acumen is purely superficial; and attempt
    to hide his masochism.

    You know, there’s a psychological condition known as a “persecution complex”. When you know somebody who suffers from that, you should help them get past it, not enable them.

  2. Anonymous
    February 12th, 2012 @ 10:28 am

    Ha,ha,ha….
    my neighbor’s aunt makes $71/hr on the computer. She has been without work for 8 months but last month her paycheck was $8956 just working on the computer for a few hours. Here’s the site to read more ….http://alturl.com/yw4u5

  3. Pathfinder's wife
    February 12th, 2012 @ 10:37 am

    Well, let’s see how this plays out.  Santorum definitely has an opening and could use it to win big; if and how he takes it will likely determine, but it’s sitting there — wide open, on the rail, and big as a boxcar.

    Now, he needs to get out in front of the #ORD kerfluffle du jour, which is made for him (against Dems but also against Repubs that would deep six him) — there’s a lot of threads to a lot of different things Ricky boy; let’s see if you’re clever (or the people advising you are).
    Oh, and it provides the big chance to talk to the libertarians and work out some sort of truce with them (which could be easily done, but he’s got to do it).  Come on Rick…cleverness, cleverness.

  4. Rich Vail
    February 12th, 2012 @ 10:55 am

    But Smitty, if I follow your directions and heap abuse upon the “good” McCain, you’ll scrub my comments…besides the son of a bitch makes sense far too often!

  5. Rich Vail
    February 12th, 2012 @ 10:55 am

    Peni, take your spam back to the daily kos where it belongs.

  6. Abusive | Daily Pundit
    February 12th, 2012 @ 11:10 am

    […] Abusive Posted on February 12, 2012 8:10 am by Bill Quick Rick Santorum Takes First National Lead : The Other McCain […]

  7. EBL
    February 12th, 2012 @ 11:20 am

    http://evilbloggerlady.blogspot.com/2012/02/warning-to-gop-candidates-no-nanny.html  Rick Santorum can win this if he can step up his game above just us conservatives.  Go Rick Go.  

  8. richard mcenroe
    February 12th, 2012 @ 11:24 am

    This is what happens when they give the Wombat a weekend off.

  9. EBL
    February 12th, 2012 @ 1:15 pm

    http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/137026/  Stacy, please tell Rick Santorum not to say stupid things like this. He does not need to alienate Boortz and Reynolds.  He needs to reassure them that he is not the nanny state scold that the left would love to describe him as.  

  10. Adjoran
    February 12th, 2012 @ 2:43 pm

    Imagine that – a new face at the top of the national polls!  It isn’t as if Trump, Bachmann, Perry, Cain, and Gingrich had already led nationally in one poll or another, and fallen back to earth, is it?

    As to Stacy, he does seem to invite the abuse.  What happened to him this weekend?  At one point Wombat mentioned a laptop problem, but it’s not like McCain to go black while attending an event like this.

  11. Adjoran
    February 12th, 2012 @ 2:45 pm

     Cleverness?  Like whining the straw poll was “rigged,” insulting all those who voted for Romney?

    Yeah, he’s as sharp as a tack – IF he is doing his impression of the Gingrich sore loser routine.

  12. Tennwriter
    February 12th, 2012 @ 2:47 pm

    The proper response to Libertarians is not ‘I understand your point, and I really do love liberty.’

    The proper response is ‘SMTHWALKCURNCH’ which is the sound of breaking a board over someone’s head.  This is followed by ‘Don’t be such a ditz.  Of course, I love liberty.  The question is, do you?’

    I’d honestly like it to be otherwise, but if you act nice, a lot of them take it as an invite to heap on the abuse, and allege that unless you’re 100% on their side, you’re just as bad as any Democrat.  Its a game they play.

    Reynolds is more reasonable than many libertarians, but thats like saying your sixteen year old daughter in the red sports car is better at driving than other girls in the same situation.

  13. Tennwriter
    February 12th, 2012 @ 2:49 pm

    Get back to work Wombat.  No sleep until the whole Intertube thing is all cleaned up.  And no sweeping dust under the rugs!

  14. Memo From the National Affairs Desk: Santorum’s National Iowa-Style Strategy : The Other McCain
    February 12th, 2012 @ 3:12 pm

    […] trusty Toshiba Satellite to my home network, it worked perfectly.)Smitty previously noted that Rick Santorum has taken his first lead in a national poll – you can see the full breakdown at Public Policy Polling (PDF file) – and I would […]

  15. Pathfinder's wife
    February 12th, 2012 @ 3:57 pm

    Might I suggest a more nuanced approach?

    Be nice, show where his philosophy really isn’t all that antithetical, but be firm as to why it diverges — be open to listening but firm as to where he is not, and why of course?  

    You do have to remain resolute, but you also have to show that you’re willing to listen to a good idea…it’s presidential.

  16. Pathfinder's wife
    February 12th, 2012 @ 3:58 pm

    So far he’s been more clever than either Romney and Gingrich — he hasn’t attacked another canidate from the left, and he’s kept the focus on Obama better than those two.

    Those should be givens, but so far they haven’t been.

  17. EBL
    February 12th, 2012 @ 4:18 pm

    Reynolds is hardly the type of libertarian you want to mock.  If Rick wants to make sure that he can’t win the general, keep up this sort of nonsense.  We certainly need people like Glenn Reynolds, Sarah Palin, and Jim DeMint.  We probably need to persuade the Boortz of the world too.  And we would like to make sure odd uncle Paul does not run third party, so saying one is for limited less government seems hardly much to ask for that.  

    Unless of course that is not Rick Satorum’s position.  

  18. EBL
    February 12th, 2012 @ 4:19 pm

    Pathfinder’s wife is a very wise woman.  That is of course the perfect response.  You hold your line on core principle but you do not go out of your way to alienate potential allies.  

  19. Sunday Roundup 2/12/12 Did Romney Rig CPAC Straw Poll? Edition
    February 12th, 2012 @ 4:27 pm

    […] Rick Santorum Takes First National Lead […]

  20. smitty
    February 12th, 2012 @ 4:34 pm

    CPAC happened. A lot. Some call it work, but @rsmccain:disqus  is strangely close to vacation at CPAC.

  21. Pathfinder's wife
    February 12th, 2012 @ 4:39 pm

    Well he may have to be willing to lighten his position on some things — he’s made some promising comments vis a vis the 10th that could play well with the libertarian message, and he has made statements regarding how “Big” anything is corrosive which could also mesh very well (and pull in a lot of Tea Party and blue collar Dems).  Now he just has to provide the path for this, the way ahead.
    He has to really hammer on how personal liberty/freedom is the goal, but how, if it is taken out of context and becomes the only important thing, it destroys that very thing.
    If he can do that, he can win the whole thing; if he can’t, then he’s an also ran.  Just my opinion though.

  22. Bob Belvedere
    February 12th, 2012 @ 5:17 pm

    He’s reporting from CPAC and trying to keep Stacy out of jail – what more do you guys expect!!!

  23. Bob Belvedere
    February 12th, 2012 @ 5:19 pm

    ‘Mardi Gras Of The Right’ and all that.

  24. Bradley
    February 12th, 2012 @ 5:30 pm

    Yea, because PPP has absolutely no agenda whatsoever. 

    Imagine Karl Rove doing polling for a Democrat primary, and you have a perfect comparison.  The Democrats are screwing around in our primary, they want to push a narrative that keeps this thing going as long as possible so we’re not focusing on Obama.

    Gallup has Romney leading by double double digits for the same time perod, sorry if I rank an independent polling firm over one that bills itself as a “Democrat Polling Firm”

    PPP is nearly 20 points off.  That well beyond “outlier” territory.

  25. ThePaganTemple
    February 12th, 2012 @ 10:34 pm

     Gallup is trustworthy? Hell, at least PPP comes out and admits they are a Democrat firm.

  26. Hub
    February 12th, 2012 @ 10:40 pm

    He was pressed to speak and distracted from his intended speech by the interrogator.

  27. Tennwriter
    February 13th, 2012 @ 11:08 am

    Bradley,
    Its, IMO, beneficial to keep up the horse race for as long as it will go. 

    Firstly, it provides a swarm of targets that does not allow the MSM to settle on One ‘True’ Narrative to destroy the Chosen R.  Attacks that work on Mitt will bomb on Rick, and attacks that work on Rick will be shredded by Newt, and attacks that work on Newt will be easily laughed off by Mitt.  They, the MSM, can’t refine their attack,a nd then by sheer repetition and grace of style beat it into everyone’s brains.

    Second, this allows the R’s more time to discuss Conservative ideas with people listening.

    Third, it offers less chance for the eventual nominee to ‘tack back to teh middle’.

  28. Tennwriter
    February 13th, 2012 @ 11:09 am

    Adjoran,
    The Right is searching for Anybody but Romney.

  29. Tennwriter
    February 13th, 2012 @ 11:17 am

    I am going to have to disagree to PW and EBL which I wish I did not have to do.

    Libertarians treat courtesy and ‘see, we’re a lot alike’ the way a bull treats a red cape.  You hit them first to let them know you’re not going to put up with their garbage, with their ‘my poo don’t stink’ ‘tude, and THEN you can deal with them.  Maybe.

    I’m repeating myself, but I don’t see where my essential contention really got dealt with, but instead just brushed aside.

    I think there are a number of reasons libertarians are this way, but the reasons are not so important as teh reality for this discussion.