Honestly, What is the most ideal scenario from here on out...

[alexaforronpaul]

It looks like it will either be a 2-man race with (Ron vs. Mitt) Or a 3-man race with (Ron, Newt, and Mitt)


At first glance, I think I would like a 2-man race more...but the more that I think about it. I kind of like the sound of a 3 man race. I know that Newt hates Mitt Romney with a passion, but I think that he likes Mitt a whole lot more than he likes Ron, and if Newt dropped out, it could be a situation similar to Pawlenty jumping on the Mitt band wagon, except with Newt this time around. I have a feeling that if it is Ron, Newt, and Mitt, that Ron could make the clear distinction that they are both establishment, and he is the only one symbolized anti establishment. Also, when Rick Perry drops out, who is he going to endorse?

 

[sailingaway]

winning.

Three man through Florida is ok so Romney spends money, but then I want the other guy out so he doesn't take anti-Romney delegates Ron can get.
And three man through Florida is ok only if Ron wins SC or only comes in second to Romney. I don't want Gingrich in the top two two places in a row.

Mind you, we may have to live with less than optimal, but I want the rest out sooner than later, or we have to try to 'pick up' their delegates and the establishment party holds the edge every single step of that process.

 

[Philosophy_of_Politics]

Finishing off the candidates other than Mitt Romney. If it's just Mitt and Ron, Ron will destroy Mitt with the facts. We will be able to "focus fire" on Mitt's record and what he wants to do.

 

[cindy25]

agreed, but Feb is more or less a dead month.

Newt probably stays until super Tuesday

 

[ILUVRP]

i think that the only runner that would endorse RP is huntsman when he drops out.

 

[schiffheadbaby]

We can't allow Newt back in.

Can't stress this enough.

If Newt gets top 2 in SC he will get cocky and the media will frame it "mitt vs newt".

we need newt out ASAP and then expose Mitt as the bailout-loving central planner he is

 

[blazeKing]

First we absolutely need a top 3 in SC then the others should start dropping out fast

 

[Pawl2012]

Who knows! Just keep pushing!!

this.

 

[voytechs]

If we want to win, at somepoint we have to start coming in first, not behind Romney. I know that we are doing terrific with the media trying to downplay us at every corner, but if $R takes SC and then FL, thats 4 states in a row for him.

I really hope the campaign has a plan behind all of this. It sounded at NH that they did. The 2nd place was exactly what they were looking for. So I got my fingers crossed.

 

[RPit]

Its do or die for Newt in SC. So its best if he comes in third. Mitt, Ron then Newt is fine.. Obviously ideally Ron first would be a killer!

 

[Ronulus]

Most ideal? First place every time.

 

[abstrusezincate]

It's a good question. If the campaign is confident in its delegate accumulation strategy, and if they are prepared to fight for left-leaning primary states that are open (they'll need big cross-overs to make this work), I think a three way race might be good. If the establishment splinters a bit, and our base is solid, ground organization becomes so much more important. It seems we have that.

Either way, have to play to win. Ron Paul needs to do as well as he can in South Carolina, and then let the chips fall where they may.

 

[normal_rc]

We need Newt/Santorum/Perry to all drop out, and for the race to come down to Ron Paul vs Mitt Romney.

At that point, there will be a huge block of evangelical christians, looking for a new candidate to support.

And it won't be the pro-abortion mormon.

 

[harikaried]

There's so many attack ads right now in South Carolina. The other candidates are desperate and will likely drop out after SC if they don't do well, so they're going all-in.

Hopefully Ron Paul will just continue to rise as other candidates beat each other up.

There seems to be a top tier of Romney, Gingrich, Paul at the current moment, but hopefully that ends up as Paul, Romney, then Gingrich trailing like Huntsman in NH.

If that happens, the media will go crazy because they keep saying SC has always picked the eventual nominee!

 

[V3n]

It looks like it will either be a 2-man race with (Ron vs. Mitt) Or a 3-man race with (Ron, Newt, and Mitt)


At first glance, I think I would like a 2-man race more...but the more that I think about it. I kind of like the sound of a 3 man race. I know that Newt hates Mitt Romney with a passion, but I think that he likes Mitt a whole lot more than he likes Ron, and if Newt dropped out, it could be a situation similar to Pawlenty jumping on the Mitt band wagon, except with Newt this time around. I have a feeling that if it is Ron, Newt, and Mitt, that Ron could make the clear distinction that they are both establishment, and he is the only one symbolized anti establishment. Also, when Rick Perry drops out, who is he going to endorse?

Welcome back!!

 

[gb13]

i think that the only runner that would endorse RP is huntsman when he drops out.

Huntsman will never, ever endorse Ron. He is establishment through-and-through, plus he's a mormon. He's endorsing Romney.

 

[Duckman]

Either scenario (2-man or 3-man) is fine, although I agree that if Newt finishes ahead of RP in both SC and FL that will be bad.

I don't see Newt dropping out until he runs out of money. He's too much of an egomaniacal blowhard.

 

[Duckman]

Huntsman will never, ever endorse Ron. He is establishment through-and-through, plus he's a mormon. He's endorsing Romney.

Agreed, unfortunately. I do think much of Huntman's support will go to Paul, but I can't see ANY of the current Republican candidates endorsing Paul, except possibly for Rick Perry (because Ron is a fellow Texan and Rick & Ron seem to have established a bit of a friendship if the rumors are to be believed).

 

[dirka]

I think you guys are wrong that it would be bad if Newt won SC. The most important issue is that Newt or Ron has to place above Romney. Newt has no national campaign, but a ton of money and is a good attack dog. Plus he would stay in it longer, sucking establishment votes away from Romney. My biggest worry is that if Romney wins SC it will be all over based on the presumption that he is the nominee. Everyone else will drop out, the debates will be cancelled, and support for Ron being the alternative will fade. Its would be like 2008 again, even though Ron was still in the race and campaigning, they never had a 1 on 1 debate or anything like a discussion about the differences in the candidates.

 

[centure7]

A 2-man race is BETTER than a 3-man race.

1. A 3-man race means a brokered convention WHERE WE LOSE because Romney would make a deal with any 3rd candidate over Paul to become the nominee.

2. A 2-man race forces the media to mention Paul's name 17% more than a 3-man race does.

3. Once the race is a 2-man race, Paul can then trounce Romney and take the majority in the popular vote because Romney is all hot air and easy to deflate since he is a hollow person, unlike Gingrich who seems to have a few principles however thin they may be.

Romney may very well also be the weakest candidate against Obama because he is easy to portray as Gingrich did as the "evil job-destroying capitalist" who has no real values. I'm not really even sure its a portrayal so much as a reality. Yeah Romney will be portrayed as a "bankers best friend" and lose to Obama. Paul will be portrayed as a racist who wants to take away old people's Social Security money and food stamps, which is just laughable on its face. One is an outright lie and the other is not something that is part of his platform but rather something he'd like to eventually do at some point in the future when it is realistic and wouldn't result in all kinds of disasters.