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-------------------- The Iowa Causus Results are in for the Republican Party Presidential nomination (yes, 1 state out of 50 - very important, right?)... And the winner is... Well, it's 1:18 am and I'm tired! We'll call it "too close to call"... 1a) Rick Santorum - 25% 1b) Mitt Romney - 25% 3) Ron Paul 21% 4) Newt Gingrich (13% - staying in and will fight Mitt Romney in New Hampshire) 5) Rick Perry (10% - Will "reassess" campaign) 6) Michele Bachmann (5% - OUCH) 7) Jon Huntsman (1%) What needs to be said is this... What Rick Santorum has done is remarkable. He wasn't given a shot in hell for the past year and was written off as the guy who got his arse kicked in the 2006 Senate campaign in Pennsylvania during the Democrat House/Senate sweep. It's mostly been Mitt Romney, the moderate Republican, fending off and attempting the split the Conservative vote between Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, and even Ron Paul on domestic issues. Santorum was ignored during Debates and not taken seriously. As Mitt Romney and his outside groups began to attempt to split the Conservative vote, they didn't figure that one guy would rise above... Rick Santorum caught momentum at the right time and could present a serious challenge to Mitt Romney if this becomes a 1-on-1 race. Once we get deep into the Southern half of the United States, if Santorum keeps up his momentum, he could be a REAL pain for Mitt Romney. Now - Rick Santorum is very hardcore on Social Conservatism and I believe that the media, along with Mitt Romney and his supporters, will paint Santorum as being "weird" or too far to the right on social issues. Santorum could have a bigtime issue with women with his social issues, which both Romney and later Barack Obama could easily exploit. Worst yet, Rick Santorum has YEARS of soundbytes where he proudly displays his conservatism. I still think that the Mitt Romney campaign has too many resources for any other Republican to compete with, along with the thought process of the Primary winner being the one who can legitimately defeat Obama. Mitt Romney polls well against Obama, others do not. Ron Paul finishing 3rd hurts for him, as I believe that Santorum and Newt Gingrich hammering Paul for his foreign policy stances limited his potential in this election. I believe that conservatives who were supporting Paul might begin to look at Rick Santorum. Reportedly, everyone going to New Hampshire and South Carolina (next 2 Primaries) are going hammer Mitt Romney with ads and campaigning in those states. Santorum and Newt are going directly to New Hampsire to attack Mitt, while Rick Perry seems to be focused on winning South Carolina. Wild race here, with a very unlikely rise to the top by Santorum. Regardless of the winner of the GOP contests, the eventual winner is going to have to overcome an incumbent Barack Obama who is likely to raise and spend $1 Billion in 2012 to get re-elected. GOOD LUCK. CONTACT MR. TITO - Email: [email protected] - Twitter: @titowrestling - Join LoPForums.com: Feedback Thread BLOG is TITO Archive on LoPForums.com © Mr. Tito 1998 - 2011
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