Rick Santorum Santorum is out, it's Ron Paul vs. Romney

[AngelClark]

Rick Santorum suspended his bid for the presidency just moments ago on Tuesday. Santorum is expected to make the announcement at a press conference in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This will damper hopes many had for a Republican brokered convention.

Santorum's departure leaves Romney against Gingrich (who admitted he would vote for Romney) and Ron Paul. This leaves Republicans with a choice.

Go with Ron Paul, the 'Champion of the Constitution', or go with Romney, who can't beat Obama.


http://exm.nr/IBLyWi

 

[Grubb556]

Did Santorum endorse anybody ?

 

[DanK22]

Did Santorum endorse anybody ?

He endorsed Romney.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7akiZOgqD50

 

[alucard13mmfmj]

Ron Paul's chances will be determined on where Santorum's supporters will go to. If they go to Romney, we are in trouble and he will get the needed delegates. If they go to Ron, we might have a good chance. If they go to Gingrich, it's probably not too good either.

 

[TC95]

I just don't see Santorum's supporters going to Ron Paul. Santorum is a huge warmonger who thinks killing Iranian scientists is "a wonderful thing". His supporters probably love his warmongering, too, or they wouldn't have supported him. I'll be surprised if most of them don't go to Romney. They know they'll be able to bomb Iran with Romney.

 

[Savvy Jack]

Certainly speculation but I too think Santorum supporters will now vote Romney.

 

[FreedomFox]

Quite a few Santorum supporters (I'd say most of them) who support him do so mainly because they don't like/want Romney either because of his Mormonism or his fake conservatism. So I'm not sure if a lot will turn to Romney. If you ask me, it's fair game, but I wouldn't get my hopes up on many turning to Paul.

 

[James Madison]

A good chunk of Santorum's support will probably go to Gingrich, less so for Paul. Most simply won't show up to vote on primary day, which could help us in states like Nebraska and South Dakota.

 

[anaconda]

Ron Paul's chances will be determined on where Santorum's supporters will go to. If they go to Romney, we are in trouble and he will get the needed delegates. If they go to Ron, we might have a good chance. If they go to Gingrich, it's probably not too good either.

I think most will go to Newt.

 

[anaconda]

Certainly speculation but I too think Santorum supporters will now vote Romney.

Depends on how many non-Romney votes are "protest" votes.

 

[emazur]

A good chunk of Santorum's support will probably go to Gingrich, less so for Paul.

It need not be that way if Paul plays his cards right: believe it or not, the #1 reason people support Santorum is b/c he is that "moral character" and "values" candidate: http://www.nolanchart.com/article94...ad-of-ron-paul-what-can-be-done-about-it.html

On February 14, 2012 CBS Evening News reported "asked what qualities they looked for in a candidate, they picked moral character and values. Those are Santorum's strong points. Beating Barack Obama used to be the #1 thing people cared about, it's now the fourth thing they care about". That doesn't seem to be a fluke because exactly one month later CBS News Political Hotsheet was reporting the exact same thing:

As has been the case in every Republican primary or caucus held this year, beating Barack Obama in November is the most important quality Alabama voters were looking for in a candidate. But when asked which candidate would be most likely to do that, 46 percent chose Mitt Romney, and just 23 percent said Santorum was best positioned to win in November.

Santorum's appeal lay elsewhere: He won a large share of support from voters who said strong moral character was most important to them (getting 62 percent of their vote), and he won among those who were looking for a true conservative (with 51 percent of those voters' support).

For further evidence to explain the inexplicable, ABC News reported on the recent March primaries that were strong for Santorum and poor for Paul:

Alabama and Mississippi voters, indeed, looked highly desirous of a cloned candidate built on the most appealing aspects of each of the top three contenders. (Ron Paul, not so much.) For Santorum there was very broad support among voters looking for the “true conservative” and for “strong moral character” in a candidate, the latter an especially poor group for Gingrich.

Bottom line: Santorum won his support not b/c of his policies (who the hell knows what his policies are anyway?), but b/c of the perception of his character. Gingrich has a very poor perception of character. Ron's character is pretty much unknown b/c he never talks about himself - he needs to fix that and here is what I suggested:

Paul should should mention much more often his marriage, family life, upbringing, military career, and charitable medical work. Examples:

-Ron Paul has 5 children and 18 grandchildren and has been married to the same woman since 1957
-Worked on his family farm as a boy picking raspberries and retrieving milk bottles
-Was a high school athlete that wrestled, won the Pennsylvania championship in the 220-yard dash, and was offered a full athletic scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh
-hit the only home run over the fence in the history of the Congressional baseball series
-Had a pilot's license and served as a flight surgeon in the Air Force and U.S. Air National Guard
-In his medical practice, accepted no federal money and delivered free health care to the poor for many years. Grateful patients would sometimes feel obliged to repay him with chickens or vegetables from their gardens
-Delivered a baby at no charge for an interracial couple that was facing discrimination

Ron Paul is quite capable of talking about himself, as seen in the Candidate Cafe breakfast sit downs with voters. He should do so much more often.

 

[rockerrockstar]

I am glad Santorum will not be POTUS. Only worried that now a brokered convention may be out of the question.

 

[kcchiefs6465]

I am glad Santorum will not be POTUS. Only worried that now a brokered convention may be out of the question.

I was wondering the same thing. Didn't we need Santorum to stay in for the possibility of a brokered convention? With his delegates unbound Romney will surely get 1144.

 

[RonPaulFanInGA]

A Pew poll out today shows a plurality of Republicans want the primary over, and 74% are convinced Romney is the nominee. What we're going to see now is likely a bunch of Romney sweeps as GOP voters look to move on to the general.

Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island vote in two weeks. Does anyone think Paul or Gingrich is going to beat Romney in any of those states?

 

[The Other Andy]

Nope. The sheep just want to beat Obama, and the media tells them that Romney is the one to do it. They don't care if he barely differs from Barack, or that he'll fail miserably with the people that actually matter in the election.

 

[azxd]

Defeat RomneyCare ... It's probably the best way to entice Santorum's delegates.