Photo source: RickSantorum.com Some GOP 2012 news you might have missed over Super Bowl weekend, via the Rick Santorum campaign: Polls have provided empirical data to this trend in the key battleground states of Minnesota and Colorado, where Rick Santorum has emerged as the clear conservative alternative to moderate Mitt Romney. Public Policy Polling Minnesota: Santorum: 29% Romney: 27% Gingrich: 22% Colorado: Romney: 40% Santorum: 26% Gingrich: 18% Nationally, Rick Santorum is the only Republican contender to beat President Barack Obama head-to-head. Rasmussen Reports Poll General Election Match-Ups: Santorum: 45% Obama: 44% Romney: 43% Obama: 47% Gingrich: 41% Obama: 49% And just as important as the General Election horserace is, Rick Santorum is proving to be the most popular and likeable Republican candidate for President – a key ingredient to winning not just elections, but the hearts and minds of voters. ( Public Policy Polling ) The conventional wisdom tells us Mitt and Newt are the only choices in this race. But these most recent polls clearly suggest that Santorum, not Newt, is the strongest conservative alternative. I’ve carefully and candidly laid out the strengths, weaknesses, and best arguments for Santorum. I’m working in my home state of Colorado to spread the message. Ed Morrissey makes his case for Santorum to his fellow Minnesotans and the Right at Hot Air . David Limbaugh did last week. More support from the Right spotlighted here by Stacy McCain. Is it a long shot? Yes. Is it doable? Yes. There are no inevitabilities in politics. Santorum’s got game. Strong showings in Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado could bring the fundraising boost he needs. You can help right now right here . *** A reminder of the Romn-Obama twins: *** The Fishwrap of Record is catching on: Mr. Santorum is, in many ways, a more dangerous opponent for Mr. Romney than Mr. Gingrich at this point. He has run a more disciplined campaign than the former House speaker, has less personal baggage and is less disliked by party leaders. Mr. Santorum can also make a credible claim to challenging Mr. Romney on electability. Mr. Santorum’s current unfavorable rating among all voters is 11 points lower than Mr. Romney’s, 36 percent versus 47 percent. Their favorable ratings are roughly equal: 30 percent for Mr. Santorum to 29 percent for Mr. Romney. Mr. Santorum’s conservative positions on social issues might not make him an ideal fit with certain types of independent voters. States that are moderate to -liberal on social policy, like Virginia, New Hampshire, Nevada and Colorado, could be tougher for Republicans to win if Mr. Santorum is their nominee. But those concerns might be outweighed if Mr. Santorum shows strength in the Midwest — and Mr. Romney shows weakness. …With Mr. Santorum, however, you can at least draw up a coherent path to victory, one that runs through the Midwest. There is a Midwestern state left to vote at virtually every turn of the nomination calendar. After Michigan on Feb. 28 and Ohio on Super Tuesday comes Missouri (again) on March 17, when it holds its caucuses, then Illinois on March 20, Wisconsin on April 3 and Pennsylvania on April 24. (A big disadvantage for Mr. Santorum: He did not qualify for the ballot in Indiana, which votes on May 8.) Mr. Santorum would eventually need to expand his coalition beyond the region — such as to the socially conservative states of the South. But victories for him in Minnesota or Missouri — especially if he wins both — would at once raise new concerns about Mr. Romney’s appeal to working-class voters and make Mr. Gingrich’s victory in South Carolina appear to be a one-off event that is quickly receding in the rear-view mirror.
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Santorum’s got game
At Washington Post , ” Gingrich vows to fight on to the convention .” And at New York Times , ” Gingrich Pledges Bitter Battle Until Convention “: Newt Gingrich vowed again to stay in the Republican presidential contest until the convention in August and said he will spend the next several months engaged in a bitter battle with Mitt Romney. Speaking to the press after the Nevada caucuses Saturday, Mr. Gingrich repeatedly hammered Mr. Romney as a pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-taxes candidate who has the backing of the Republican establishment. “I am a candidate for president of the United States,” he said. “I will be a candidate for president of the United States. I will go to Tampa.” Mr. Romney ignored Mr. Gingrich in his victory speech tonight. But Mr. Gingrich seemed insistent on making sure that his rival cannot simply look the other way. He accused Mr. Romney of purposely leaking false information about Mr. Gingrich’s plans to drop out of the presidential race, calling that Mr. Romney’s “greatest fantasy” in the race. And Mr. Gingrich said that recent meetings he held with donors were meant to map out a plan to continue getting his message out despite Mr. Romney’s superior fund-raising. “The entire establishment will be against us,” he predicted. But he said that by appearing on national television and doing interviews in newspapers, he will spread his agenda. “The American people want somebody who is genuinely conservative, who is prepared to change Washington,” Mr. Gingrich said. The question, really, is where can Newt win? Where will he do well in upcoming states? And when? He needs to do something fast. I don’t have the answers right now, but I’ll check and update. It’s one thing to pledge a campaign all the way to the GOP convention in Tampa. It’s another thing to do so without making yourself look like a sore loser and a fool. More from Jonathan Tobin, at Commentary , ” New Newt? Same Sore Loser Strategy .”
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Defiant Gingrich Vows to Stay in Race
Newt Gingrich has been suggesting for some time that other Republican presidential primary opponents should drop out of the race so he can consolidate support as the anti-Romney candidate. Texas Governor Rick Perry dropped out and gave Gingrich his endorsement just as the former Speaker was picking up steam before his South Carolina GOP primary win, and Gingrich once again suggested that Rick Santorum step aside in the days leading up to the Florida GOP primary. Santorum has stood his ground, and is now fighting back. Following Gingrich’s distant second place finish to Mitt Romney in Florida’s GOP primary Tuesday, a state where Santorum secured 13 percent of the vote after applying considerably less time and resources, the Pennsylvania senator has responded that Newt is the one who should back down. “If you don’t want Mitt Romney, obviously Newt Gingrich doesn’t have what it takes to win this,” Santorum told reporters from Las Vegas Tuesday night as Florida’s results projected Gingrich far behind Romney. “Let’s give someone else a shot.” “In Florida, Newt Gingrich had his opportunity,” POLITICO reports Santorum told supporters Tuesday. “He said, ‘I’m going to be the conservative alternative.’ … It didn’t work. He became the issue. We can’t allow our nominee to be the issue in the campaign.” Santorum’s attack against Gingirch went a step further Wednesday, when his campaign began airing a new Television ad in Nevada which aligns the former Speaker with President Obama and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. The National Journal’s Tim Alberta writes that the Santorum campaign noticeably spares the newly invigorated Republican front-runner Mitt Romney: “That Santorum would spare Romney from such an effective, well-orchestrated attack is puzzling. After all, Romney has been criticized for previously supporting these policies — cap and trade, amnesty, insurance mandates and bailouts — at various points during his two presidential campaigns. Indeed, some of those attacks have been leveled by Santorum himself. So why did the former Pennsylvania senator, who was forceful last week in tying Obama’s policies to Romney and Gingrich, choose not to kill two birds with one stone in this major post-Florida media buy? In short, because Santorum’s most pressing priority isn’t taking down Romney — it’s emerging as the consensus conservative alternative to him. And in order to do that, Santorum must first displace Gingrich — both in the polls and in the media narrative — as Romney’s main rival.” The Santorum strategy and Alberta’s analysis further exemplifies what has always been the overall rider of the 2012 GOP primary: there are two candidates; Romney and whoever claims the Anti-Romney mantel.
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New Santorum ad spares Romney while linking Gingrich to Pelosi and Obama
What’s it looking like? (PPP) PPP’s tracking of the Florida Republican primary wraps up with Mitt Romney at 39%, Newt Gingrich at 31%, Rick Santorum at 15%, and Ron Paul at 11%. Our three days of tracking found very little movement in the race: Romney was at 39-40% every day, Gingrich was at
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And We Are Off And Running in Florida!
Video: Former Florida State attorney general reminds voters that Gingrich will remain in the race “to the end.”
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Romney’s anti-Newt attacks ‘just plain false’ says Bill McCollum
Photoshop: Reader Jimmy D. Yesterday, the SEIU and left-wing USA Action launched Spanish-language radio attacks on Mitt Romney for his support of immigration enforcement measures. One of Romney’s advisers is Kris Kobach — a constitutional law professor, Kansas Secretary of State, and staunch leader in the fight against illegal alien amnesty and ACORN-style voter fraud. Eliseo Medina, the secretary-treasurer of Service Employees International Union, blasted Romney on Monday during a conference call announcing a Spanish-language radio ad the union is launching in partnership with Priorities USA Action, a super-PAC supporting President Obama. Medina, the No. 2 official at the influential union, was reacting to an answer Romney gave at a debate Monday night where he said “self-deportation” was the answer to ridding the country of illegal immigrants. “It’s basically to say, ‘Make their life miserable’” by refusing to rent to them or to provide access to heat and water,” Medina said. “Make it difficult for their kids and their schools.” Asked by The Hill how Romney’s comments could be construed to imply that illegal immigrants should be denied basic necessities, Medina pointed to Romney’s close relationship with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who has endorsed Romney. Kobach has been credit with writing most of Alabama’s harsh anti-illegal immigration law, which has been challenged in the courts. “Mr. Romney has said he wants to support and he joins in supporting Kris Kobach,” Medina said. “When he says he supports those kinds of policies, he has to own all of it.” “This is a dishonest smear from President Obama’s liberal allies and a desperate attempt to distract from his abysmal record,” said Romney adviser Albert Martinez. “It will do nothing to help the millions of Hispanics who have been hit especially hard as a result of the Obama economy.” Martinez said Hispanics, like all Floridians, believe Romney is the best person to rebuild the economy and to replace Obama. Well, look now, who’s mimicking the open-borders SEIU and blurring the lines between illegal and legal immigration. Yep. Newt Gingrich: Sen. Marco Rubio scolded Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign over a Spanish-language radio ad that accuses rival Mitt Romney of being “anti-immigrant” “This kind of language is more than just unfortunate. It’s inaccurate, inflammatory, and doesn’t belong in this campaign,” Rubio told The Miami Herald when asked about the ad. “The truth is that neither of these two men is anti-immigrant,” Rubio said. “Both are pro-legal immigration and both have positive messages that play well in the Hispanic community.” Rubio’s sharp rebuke comes a day after he subtly corrected Gingrich for comparing Romney to former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, branded by conservatives as a turncoat who left the party before Rubio beat him in 2010. The criticisms from someone of Rubio’s stature in the Republican Party comes as polls show a near-even race, albeit with Gingrich surging. Rubio plans to stay neutral in the race. He’s a potential running mate whom both candidates would love to have on the ballot. The truth is that neither Gingrich nor Romney has a strong, consistent overall record on border security and enforcement. But at least Romney’s been traveling in the right direction…while Gingrich once again echoes left-wing language and plays the race card to get ahead. Nose plugs. Get out yer nose plugs. *** Newt and his supporters have been deriding the notion of self-deportation as some sort of alien, offensive concept. Long-time readers of this blog and of my investigative work on immigration have been familiar with it for years. It’s attrition through enforcement , it’s humane , and it works . *** Can you be more two-faced? Newt has been winning massive adoration and applause for claiming he’ll stand up for states like South Carolina and Alabama , which have been sued by the Obama DOJ over tough immigration laws. Then he joins the likes of the SEIU and slams the very “anti-immigrant” policies authored by Kris Kobach that the Obama DOJ wants to overturn. Emetic of the day. *** Update: Newt retreats. From GOP Hispanic leaders calling him out, via the Miami Herald: While we may have differences of opinion with regard to some of Governor Romney’s policies on immigration, we nonetheless stand firmly behind him because we know he is the most qualified conservative candidate to defeat President Obama and to lift up all Americans, including Hispanics. Like your attacks on the free market, attacking Mitt Romney as “anti-immigrant” only serves President Obama and his liberal allies. Mr. Speaker, our party deserves better. Sincerely, Secretary Carlos Gutierrez Senator Mel Martinez Raquel A. Rodriguez Zoraida Fonalledas Jorge Arrizurieta R. Alexander Acosta Remedios Diaz Oliver Rudy Fernandez Jeanette Prenger Jerry Natividad Sal Gomez Allen Gutierrez Hector Barreto Jose Fuentes Bertica Cabrera Morris Rafael Elias-Linero
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Gingrich channels open-borders SEIU; Rubio rebukes; Update:Newt retreats
