Big upset and the GOP clown car is back on nationwide tour: Rick Santorum soundly beat Mitt Romney in the Alabama and Mississippi GOP primaries, worse, Romney may come in third in both states hitting the presumed front-runner where it hurts. He’s still the odds on favorite and this is why, the aproximate delegate totals before tonight via Daily Kos:
Santorum will now dominate the news cycle all week and go into Missouri with 52 Delegates in play (Sat March 17), Illinois (Tues March 20) with 62 Delegates, and Louisiana (Sat March 24) with 46 Delegates. Romney has to perform well, especially in Illinois. This forces Romney way right, chasing Santorum as Frothy pulls out all the culture war stops in the next huge race, Illinois. And of course Gingrich could drop out anytime after tonight. You know what all that means? Oh yeah!
StevoR says
Ewww! Hose it off! Hose it off! Don’t use brooms; you’ll just spread it everywhere and stink the place up real bad! ;-)
Somehow I’m not too surprised Mr Stinkyfroth has won those two states -although I wish it had been Newton Gingrich winning ’em instead. Sigh.
bad Jim says
Santorum surges from behind once again!
Last I looked he was trailing in the polls in both states, but now Rick is pitching and Mitt is catching. Newt is neutered, losing the heart of the Confederacy, and Paul’s an afterthought.
It’s barely arguable that a Gingrich victory would have brought more confusion to our enemies, but Romney coming in third in both states is an utterly delectable outcome.
d cwilson says
This is a serious blow to Romney. He is being shut out of the deep south. Even though he’ll probably get nomination in the end, the lack of enthusiasm for him is palpable. No one is going to be knocking on doors trying to convince their neighbors to vote for him.
The Lorax says
I think Santorum should win the primaries, just so we can all watch the moderate majority Republicans recoil in horror at who is going to be representing them.
Also, “GOP clown car” is my new favorite phrase.
slc1 says
Re bad Jim @ #2
The polls in question showing Romney ahead were from Rasmussen, a very unreliable polling organization.
redpanda says
So I understand that Romney will almost certainly be a less destructive president than Santorum, but shouldn’t we be rooting for the crazy guy so we can watch him go down in flames in November? Are we really worried that Santorum might be capable of beating Obama?
KG says
Yes. Well, “terrified” might be a more precise description than “worried”. Given the state of the economy (even though it is, of course, not his fault), and an unpopular war, Obama would be expected to lose. So far, admittedly, the Repubs appear to be doing their utmost to get him re-elected, but we can’t assume that will continue. The candidates and many of their supporters hate each other, but they hate Obama, the Democratic Party, and their other favoured targets far more.
d cwilson says
This country elected George W. Bush, twice. I would never assume that Santorum has no chance of winning. The idea that one major party is even this close to nominating a man who looks back wistfully on the days of the Inquisition should terrify all of us.
The amazing thing is, Romney has been running for president virtually nonstop since 2006. The fact that he’s still struggling to connect with the party’s base speaks volumes about him. The guy’s stump appearances are unbelievable. It’s like before every stop, he just thumbs through a copy of “Alabama for Dummies” or “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kansas”.
Randomfactor says
The polls in question showing Romney ahead were from Rasmussen, a very unreliable polling organization.
Rasmussen is very reliable. They reliably tell you what the GOP WANTS to be true.
Randomfactor says
Are we really worried that Santorum might be capable of beating Obama?
It’s 2012. Google “Nehemiah Scudder.”
StevoR says
Or alternatively click on :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nehemiah_Scudder
StevoR says
Mind you, I really don’t think its going to happen – is it?
Pierce R. Butler says
d cwilson @ # 8: This country elected George W. Bush, twice.
No, it merely allowed him (and his accomplices) to steal two elections. We as a nation deserve full loads of opprobrium for each instance, but please never phrase the situation in any way that covers up the crimes involved.
Markita Lynda—it's Spring after the Winter that wasn't says
I hate to Godwin the thread, but I was watching a documentary about The Little Corporal last night. People didn’t take him seriously. They thought he was a raving madman and no one in their right mind would vote for him. When he did win a plurality, he did his best to keep government from accomplishing anything, while sending out his BrownShirts to stir up trouble, while promising that if people voted for him next time he’d stop the troubles. He put his men in the Department of the Interior and the Attorney Generalship (as it were). Then when he did get a majority, the opposition — Social Democrats — were arrested and sent to the new “reeducation” camp at Dachau. The other parties, afraid that they’d be next, voted him four years of unlimited powers. The next step was demonization of Jews. There were international protests against that but it didn’t stop him. He had God (and megalomania) on his side. It all sounds depressingly familiar.