‘They Have Begun to Consider the Implications of a Santorum Victory’

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Do you remember the scene in the original Rocky, when one of Apollo Creed’s handlers points out that this luckless no-name Philly palooka is a southpaw? Left-handed boxers are unusual enough that Creed’s man was a little worried, and then he watched that TV news spot of Rocky Balboa practicing his body work by pounding on beef carcasses in a freezer.

And breaking ribs . . .

That scene came to mind today when I picked up the Saturday Washington Post and read a story at the bottom of the front page:

Obama’s Chicago-based reelection team has begun digging into Santorum’s background, diverting opposition researchers who thus far had been focused on Romney. They also blasted an e-mail to supporters in Pennsylvania, asking them to submit their most damning recollections of Santorum, a former senator from the state.
Though campaign officials still view Romney as the likely nominee, they have begun to consider the implications of a Santorum victory. They view him as a weaker general election opponent, but one who has shown an ability to connect with the population that is most disillusioned with Obama: white, blue-collar voters. . . .

Read the rest. We would be getting way ahead of the game to speculate too much of how this Italian kid might fare against The Champ. But there are a few folks in The Champ’s corner who seem worried that The Champ has some vulnerabilities that this luckless palooka could be uniquely positioned to exploit. Bitter gun-and-Bible clingers, anyone?

Look at what Santorum did to Romney in Ohio: Stole away one of his key endorsements in a crucial Super Tuesday state. A week ago, Santorum was in fourth-place in the Michigan polls, but now he’s beating Romney in Romney’s home state. And suddenly Mitt just lost the co-chair of his Arizona campaign (because nobody cares about “moral issues,” you see).

They used to say Romney was “inevitable,” but now Mitt’s starting to look more and more like . . . well, dead meat.

Hey, Champ: Watch your ribs.

 

74 comments

  2. And now Santorum is throwing a BS flag on Obama’s Christian values saying they’re not Biblical.  No duh.  Does anyone seriously think that Obama is a Christian in the technical sense of the term?

    I wonder if there is a special place in hades for people who claimed to be a Christian for political purposes?

  4. The implications of a Santorum victory to the RNC are the immediate propagandizing about a “Brokered Convention” and Jeb Bush being pushed as the savior. As if the leftiest of the Bushes is the answer.

  5. The next Santorum ad needs a classic 80s beat and a bunch of montage shots of Rick practicing on a punching a worn old bag labeled “ObamaCare” and doing sprints outdoors while reciting articles of the Constitution. Preparing for the Epic Fight – with the sweatervest ON.

  6. While I have nothing personal against Jeb Bush, if the RNC thinks that this is a good idea they are far more stupid than I previously thought.

  7. No Democrat can win without carrying OH, PA, and MI. Santorum seems to be connecting well with voters in all of them.
    Furthermore, far from alienating independents, he seems to be picking them up. Mittens and O’Bummer should fear the vest!

  10. Come on Richard, that endorsement from the Ohio DA does not mean anything (other than he is reading the tea leaves and thinks Santorum is going to win Ohio so he wants to be on the winning side).  But you now what is a very good sign:  When Dan Riehl is defending Rick Santorum.  http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2012/02/dear-spineless-cowards-stfu-about-santorums-religion-based-comments.html

  11. Jeb Bush being foisted on us would mean Barack Obama would be elected in a  land slide.  Because there would be all out revolt on the right.  A brokered convention beyond the current candidates might work if there was a strong candidate who people could generally agree on were the alternative.  I do not know who that would be but it is not going to be Jeb Bush.  It is not going to be Mitch Daniels either.  But if Mitt and Santorum do not have enough delegates to clinch, there is going to be some sort of brokered deal.  There would have to be.  But it would probably be between Mitt and Santorum.  

  12.  The RNC is doing NO SUCH THING.  You are quoting Jonathan Karl of ABC quoting an unnamed Republican Senator, who for all we know exists only in Karl’s mind.

    It’s amazing how much faith conservatives will suddenly put in leftist propaganda hacks when their reports feed your conspiracy lunacy, isn’t it?

  14.  What would Stacy have said if DeWine had just endorsed Romney?  Would it be a “key endorsement” then, or would he be talking about what a pathetic squish DeWine was in the Senate?

    At some point, the fanboy stuff just becomes a joke.

  16. I think the Romney campaign is thinking of a quote from Rocky 2 instead:

    “I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man kept coming after you.”That’s Rick Santorum all over

  19. If their taste in music runs somewhere between REO Speedwagon and Olivia Newton-John then yes, those whippersnappers should eat it up.

  20. Adjoran, really?   Who is being naive?  You do not think if neither Santorum or Romney have the necessary delegates at convention time to clinch that there will be a “game of thrones” going on in Tampa?   And that Rove and his cronies will be trying to promote Jeb.  Hopefully Jeb has enough sense to nix it.  But I know they are thinking about it.  And  Mitch Daniels too.  

  26. ”
    “It’s about some phony ideal, some phony theology. Oh, not a theology
    based on the Bible, a different theology. But no less a theology,” Mr.
    Santorum said, to wide applause.
    His comments brought a swift
    rebuke from the Obama re-election campaign, which in the past has tended
    to focus more on attacks by Mitt Romney. Their quick attention may be
    an indication that Democrats believe Mr. Santorum’s momentum now means
    he stands a decent chance of defeating Mr. Romney for the Republican
    nomination and facing Mr. Obama in the general election this fall.”
    http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/santorum-calls-obamas-agenda-about-some-phony-theology/?partner=rss&emc=rss

  27.  You are the one being naive if you think delegates pledged to candidates are going to desert them for someone who never even got off the sofa.

    And you’re getting frantic about an anonymous source who could be made up entirely, or Olympia Snowe.  Suddenly Karl is a credible reporter who must be believed?

    Get a grip.

  34.  There is an “edit” function, wanker boy, you could take out the misplaced returns if you wanted anyone to read your NYT paste job, but that’s obviously beyond your skill level.

    Don’t go out without a helmet, mmmkay?

  35.  Maybe not the RNC so much as RSCC, which MacGahee says Cornyn runs. Think about it, he’s responsible for seeing Republicans elect more members to the Senate, so if he honestly thinks Santorum would cause them to lose, it starts to make sense. Remember, these Establishment RINOs are the kinds of people who love to play footsie under the table with the MSM.

  36. Wow, who whizzed in your cornflakes?

    For such an inconsequential thing you seem to be getting more than a bit reactive to it.

    Time to face facts: your boy Romney should be doing much better than he is right now, but he isn’t — and the reason why is because he can’t seem to connect worth a damn to the common, everyday Joe voter.  His communication problems just reinforce his image problems — which is too bad, because I’ve heard he isn’t at all the way he comes across — and those in turn are not helped by his political history (just reinforces some of the negative image around him imho).
    At this point I don’t know if he can tinker with this too much and have a good return on the risk.

  37.  Sure they would, for the simple fact they’re fucking crazy. How many times now have they floated out that fucking Jeb Bush trial balloon. At least twice, if not three times. And twice they’ve floated Daniels. Chris Fucking Christie lost thirty pounds running from those motherfuckers. Hell they even got so desperate they actually floated Paul Ryan as a prospect. They’re off the fucking charts desperate.

  41. Yea, just like Christine O’Donnell and Sharon Angle REALLY showed those Democrats what’s up! 

    Everyone knows the reason why Republicans don’t win important elections is because we don’t emphasize social issues enough, now we finally got a guy that’s willing to condemn married people for using birth control.  We have them on the ropes now!

    We really are the Stupid Party, Democrats are salivating right now.

  43. Translation: “The biggest and mst consistant voter block in the Republican Party should jsut shut up about its values and let the DemocratLite minority run things- we’ve been ever so successful so far.”

    Well, if you don’t like us SoCons you’re more than weelcome to win an election all by yourselves. So you’re gonna go right to that, huh?

    *crickets chirping*

  44. Wow, who whizzed in your cornflakes?

    Guilty as charged.

    His communication problems just reinforce his image problems — which is
    too bad, because I’ve heard he isn’t at all the way he comes across

    The refrain of fucking losers everywhere. I can think of three right off the top of my head. Bob Dole, Al Gore, and John Kerry. A Mitt Romney nomination would produce the same results.

  45.  Yeah, it doesn’t help when you squishes join in with the Democrats in purposely misrepresenting conservative positions and statements, but what you don’t realize is we’re on to the game. And if Rick Santorum does get the nomination, and you continue misrepresenting his positions the way you have here, you might want to consider handing in your GOP membership card, because otherwise a lot of us, more than you think, aren’t going to stand for this fucking shit any longer.

    I have your sausage for you right here Jimmy.

  46. Mitt Romney’s problem is that he is a decent, smart, capable and successful man who somehow manages to come off as a phoney.

    America’s problem is that Barack Obama is a phoney (actually, I think actively malevolent, but the saving grace is his general laziness) man who manages — with the active conspiracy of his enablers in our media — to come off as decent, smart and successful.

  47. If the GOP does that they are stupider than I previously thought.
    Not that I have anything personal against Mrs. Palin.

    If they went with a brokered convention (which is a bad idea to be floating out with Santorum picking up momentum anyway) then they would have to go with somebody who gets people to rally behind them (and Bush and Palin will not do that).

  48. It may be that Sarah would flop; I’m not claiming prescience.

    However, and I really don’t think she should emerge as the GOP nominee, BTW, if she did–holy canole: she would ignite conservatives nationwide, in a way that would startle you.

    OTOH, the negatives are what they are. I think the well has been sufficiently poisoned that I am not excited at the thought of seeing her get nominated, and have to deal with the Lefty ugliness that would ensue.

  49. he has NEVER condemned anyone for using birth control and he’s never said he’s going to outlaw birth control; you sound like a democratic talking point

  50. Well he does come off like a used BMW salesman (the hair is too high end to be selling Fords), and providing soundbites like along the lines of not caring for the poor and liking to fire people in the midst of the current economy don’t help (neither did the dog incident; that was damaging) — he comes off like an elitist technocrat, and this has always been a tough sell in America and doubly so this year.

    And any GOP canidate should know, KNOW that the media isn’t going to be backing them over Obama — so it’s up to the canidate, and Romney isn’t really doing it.

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