What do you guys think? Will Santorum be on the rise today, across America? Or will the process of consolidation and cleanup begin for the GOP?
My guess is that it's pretty much over today. Santorum is done, and Gnute doesn't have a chance. He's only trying to win his home state. I guess he really wants that consolation prize. Rick Santorum lost favor once his radical views were known. To his credit, he didn't tone it down, and let everyone see where he stands. The problem is the more folks see that the less they like him. So that leaves Mitt.
i never claimed obama specifically mentioned the TSA, but imo, in hindsight obama was "clearly" referring to the TSA when he said what he did. what else could it have been - the TSA is a "civilian national security force" that obama has given expanded powers to...in fact, powers that not even bush dared grant them. and if he was talking about the peace corp or ATF or FBI that is even crazier and more nonsensical, plus like many of his campaign promises he utterly failed to follow through on implementing it. yes, yes i did. yes you are. you are going back and forth with me right now.
i agree that once the smoke clears today, mitt romulan will be well on his way to the nomination. as entertaining as the spectacle has been, i think it is time to focus the debate back on practical matters rather than religious/social issues.
thats what he alluded to. he is the one who called for a "civilian national security force as powerful, strong and well funded" as our military. i think it is dense and ignorant to want the peace corp to be as strong and well funded as the military and have a role in "national security". i didnt find his rhetoric "inspirational" at all. i found it dangerous and frightening. especially in 2012 when we have obama's TSA violating the 4th amendment every day at a cost of $8 billion a year and being granted an expanding role in "domestic security". looking back at his comments in 2008 and where we are at here in 2012 i dont see how it could be anything but the TSA. EDIT: sorry for the derailment, but all i am doing is responding to people who are addressing me. this started a few pages ago when someone claimed that it is irrational to say we are living in a police state. all i did was point out that the TSA sticking their hands down innocent americans pants and taking naked pics of them does indeed constitute a police state.
Voters Slowly Realizing Santorum Believes Every Deranged Word That Comes Out Of His Mouth March 5, 2012 | ISSUE 48•10 WASHINGTON—As Rick Santorum has emerged to become Mitt Romney's leading opponent for the Republican presidential nomination, the American electorate said Monday it had slowly begun to realize that the former Pennsylvania senator sincerely believes every deranged word that exits his mouth. Uneasy voters told reporters it was becoming more and more evident that comments from Santorum defending sodomy laws as acceptable restrictions on "wants and passions" and characterizing pregnancy occurring through rape as a "gift" from God were not politically calculated but were, in fact, spoken out of sincere, startling conviction. "I honestly thought he was just playing up to the far-right voters, because that's what Republicans are supposed to do in the primaries," said Grand Rapids, MI resident Dan Banks, who explained he had dismissed as manipulative campaign rhetoric Santorum's assertion that President Obama would send Christians to the guillotine. "But now it's dawning on me that this guy means it, all of it. Every single thing he says is an accurate depiction of how he sees the world." "So, when he said that Satan was currently attacking the United States, he meant exactly that," added Banks. "Satan, the devil himself, is attacking the United States. Rick Santorum believes this is a real thing that is actually happening. I…wow. Just wow." Gallup polls taken during the campaign show an evolving awareness among voters that Santorum is not lying about any of the horrifying things he says. For example, in August of last year, 96 percent of voters said they thought Santorum could not possibly be serious when he said gay marriage was "an issue just like 9/11," compared with only 9 percent today. And in that same time span, the number of voters who believe Santorum was not at all kidding when he said the president had a "deep-seated antipathy toward American values and traditions" has increased more than tenfold. While few voters said they had been following Santorum long enough to have read the 2002 Catholic Online article in which he attributed sexual abuse in Boston-area Catholic churches to the "academic, political, and cultural liberalism" of the region, all agreed his performance in the current campaign was more than adequate to drive home the difference between the candidate's authentic lunacy and the obvious pandering of his primary opponents. "I get that Romney's just mouthing words he doesn't mean and Gingrich is a really astounding hypocrite," said Seattle voter Kara Gallardo, a lifelong Republican who nevertheless admitted she felt a creeping sense of dread as she began to grasp that the words uttered by Santorum could not be more heartfelt. "But when Santorum says that contraception is dangerous because sex is supposed to be procreative, he is not messing around. If he becomes president, you know he sincerely plans to do something about it." "I mean, with the other guys, you can dig into their past and find at least some shred of rational thinking, even if they're cynically downplaying it now," Gallardo continued. "But I get the sense Santorum is speaking nothing but his completely unfiltered thoughts. I know it's weird to say this about a politician, but I sort of wish he were lying to my face at least a little." While most voters said they grew progressively more troubled as they fully registered the fact that Santorum was being entirely earnest when he said Social Security was underfunded because abortions had critically reduced the number of potential taxpayers, some were more conflicted. "It's nice to hear a candidate espouse his opinions without your BS detector going off even once," Margate, FL voter Lisa Bearden said. "He's kind of the real deal. Say what you will, but there's no denying he's got genuine integrity." "Yep, terrifyingly genuine integrity," Bearden added.
I think I agree, mostly. Not sure I see Santorum as a standing issue. But it's long been true that the more people see Santorum, the less they like Santorum. This is surprising, because I think the initial encounter with Santorum would be the most jarring and confusing. It definitely was for me.
I know what you mean, but Super Tuesday should serve to cleanse the field a little. Perhaps after today, you'll find a little less Santorum mucking things up.
Weird. I think I'm responsible for wiping my own nose, but I'm not going to vote for Ron Paul. Must be some pieces missing in that flow chart.
Santorum wins Tennessee easily. Was seen as a litmus test for Romney as a national candidate---picture is a bit fuzzier even if he manages to scrape Ohio out.
And he's projected to win Oklahoma with Romney virtually tied with Newt for 2nd. Ohio is too close to call. I figured Romney would close the sale tonight. Maybe not. Republicans insist on impaling themselves.
