Posted on 02/24/2012 6:01:02 AM PST by rellimpank
DOROTHY RABINOWITZ
These have been good days for Rick Santorum, buoyed as he campaigns by conservative Republicans cheering their newly anointed hope. Still, it will occur to at least some of his supporters that their hope is destined to be short-lived, that their candidate's particular baggage would sink any presidential candidacy. Especially his.
It's not only that a certain body of Santorum pronouncements on social issues exists, and that they're of a sort that large sectors of the American electorate find unpalatable, to put it mildly. Or that he continues to add to them.
By the time Democratic researchers apply themselves to this compendium of Mr. Santorum's views—in the unlikely event that he becomes the Republican nominee—it's size will have doubled, at the least. The Republicans have already provided President Obama with high-value gifts this election year, but none nearly as delectable as the prospect of a run against Mr. Santorum.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
So much for her prognostications and analyses.
Dotty needs to go back to watching TV and then writing about it...
I’m praying for Newt.
I pause before lumping her in with the other presstitutes.
“Granted, the chances of any opponent beating 0bama are horrendously slim...”
Scott, Scott...are you having a bad day up there? Indulging in a little pessimism???
Say it ain’t so...
O’bummer will have $6/gal gas, high unemployment, no housing, riots in the streets (not for sneakers but FOOD), and over all PO’d populace in the fall...
noone will care about Satan by then...I hope...
chin up and cheer up...
Couple that with the parasitic taxpayer-handout-vote-buying, and you have more than enough votes to keep Usurpers (like The Messiah) Elected, while destroying the fragments of The Constitution that remains.
So long as Unions, Illegals, and Parasites are in the 50% range, we will continue down the road to destruction.
——Democrats Are Praying for a Santorum Nomination-—
Praying? Democrats? Really?
I could see that backfiring. 8-)
——Democrats Are Praying for a Santorum Nomination-—
Praying? Democrats? Really?
I could see that backfiring. 8-)
Regardless, she is more interesting when recommending what to watch on Tv...and ask yourself why she is doing the TV gig these days...
I just get suspicious of anyone trying to read the dim’s tea leaves...
Apparently they are not rejecting him anymore.
Poll finds Santorum surging among Pa. voters
By Jeremy Roebuck
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
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Poll finds growing support for Santorum in Pa.
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They are suburbanites and religious people, employers and retirees, millionaires such as John M. Templeton Jr. of Bryn Mawr and homemakers such as Loretta Hill of Devon. What they have in common is an admiration for Rick Santorum.
“No matter what you think about his social views, he’s willing to hold his ground,” Hill, 58, said. “I think that’s one of the things people respect about him.”
Pennsylvania’s Republican primary may still be two months away, but the presidential campaign of the state’s former senator is already raising the excitement level of his supporters back home.
And a new poll suggests their numbers are growing.
Buoyed by victories in Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri and by surveys suggesting strong showings in next week’s Arizona and Michigan votes, campaign operatives now seek to challenge the conventional wisdom that Pennsylvania’s more moderate Republicans have already lined up behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
The needle may be moving. A Franklin and Marshall College poll released Thursday gave Santorum a nearly 30-point lead over Romney among Pennsylvania Republicans - a far cry from what some expected in a state that tossed the senator out on his ear in 2006 with an embarrassing 18-point rout.
The poll conducted Feb. 14 to 20, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.9 percentage points, found that 22 percent of GOP voters here were undecided.
“There’s a growing support here, like nationally, for someone like Rick - someone who wasn’t Pennsylvania’s top choice in December,” said James Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling & Research. “I think a lot of Pennsylvanians are giving him a second look.”
Key to Santorum’s Pennsylvania push will be the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia suburbs, seen as his weakest points of support in the state. In recent weeks, backers in those areas have hosted fund-raising dinners hoping to give voters a fresh take on their former senator.
Meanwhile, campaign aides have worked to allay fears among moderates that Santorum would seek to legislate his conservative personal beliefs on contraception, abortion, and gay marriage.
Albert Ostien, 84, a devout Catholic retiree from West Chester, has received the message. He said Thursday that although he shared many of Santorum’s socially conservative views, he would advise taking the approach of the nation’s first Catholic president.
“Kennedy kind of left the church at the door,” Ostien said. “Santorum has his beliefs, but I don’t think he’s out to tell people what to do. You can’t force people to do things.” (Actually, Santorum has criticized John F. Kennedy’s stance on church-state separation.)
Philadelphia’s four suburban Pennsylvania counties handed Santorum some of his biggest losses in 2006 despite being held by Republicans at the time. In Montgomery and Delaware Counties, Democrat Bob Casey Jr. trumped Santorum by nearly 24 points.
In the latest Franklin and Marshall poll, nearly 60 percent of the 592 registered Republicans surveyed hailed from central and western parts of the state, considered the base of support for Santorum, a native of Western Pennsylvania. Those numbers prompted one veteran GOP operative, former Delaware County Council member Wallace Nunn, to dismiss the results.
Most of the Philadelphia area’s GOP establishment is not wavering in its support for Romney, he said.
“I just don’t believe when the primary comes about, he’s going to be as popular as this poll is showing,” said Nunn, a Romney backer. “And if Santorum can’t win here, he can’t win anywhere.”
Eustace Mita, a Media real estate developer serving as Santorum’s national finance chairman, conceded that fund-raising in the suburbs had not always been easy.
“Ten months ago, when I was making calls, no one gave us a chance,” Mita said, chalking it up to Romney’s portrayal as the inevitable nominee. “Democrats are willing to give to the candidate that best meets their ideology. Republicans want a return on their investment.”
Mita, who is relatively new to campaigning, wants to change that. In late January, he and relatives were hosts to the candidate at a Chester County fund-raiser. Along with Santorum stalwarts, the group included a few GOP voters yet to make up their minds, said Hill, who attended.
“There were a number of people that came in fresh and were very impressed with what he had to say,” she said.
In 2006, Santorum’s strongest suburban support came from religious-values voters, including the Pennsylvania Pastors Network, a group run by former Chester County Commissioner Colin Hanna. Financial help came from Templeton, an evangelical Christian who heads the Templeton Foundation.
Hanna and Templeton are once again key supporters. Hanna and his wife have donated $5,000. Templeton has emerged as Santorum’s largest financial backer in the state, giving more than $1 million to the so-called super PAC backing Santorum, and appearing at fund-raisers across the Philadelphia suburbs.
But this time, such supporters are talking less about religion and more about their candidate’s blue-collar roots and economic platform.
“You really have to look at where Rick is in terms of the economy,” Mita said. “He’s been able to articulate that better now than he did in ‘06.”
After taking that look, David Service of Huntingdon Valley, who runs an employee-benefits firm, has made up his mind.
“The guy speaks my language,” Service said. “He’s pro-life, he treats his family well. You need someone who offers a clear distinction to beat [President] Obama in November.”
Contact staff writer Jeremy Roebuck at 267-564-5218, jroebuck@phillynews.com, or @jeremyrroebuck on Twitter.
I’m for both Santorum and Newt. The main candidates I wanted went by the wayside. These two will have to do. I’ve read a lot of conservatives bash both guys so what can one do. If others had gotten into the race they would have been some conservatives bashing them too.
I keep tellng people that romney has not been fully vetted until all his beliefs are out there for all the people to know. What you believe directs your path in life & I promise, after the assault on religious freedom we are seeing from the left, Obama will have hollywood make movies about this. He will get the info out if we don’t.
Santorum is on Laura Ingrham now.
I know someone on a talk show a few weeks ago said it might be in violation of campaign finance laws for campaigns to coordinate with each other if spending money is involved. So Mitt and Ron could actually be cheating and Newt and Rick could be forced to risk themselves facing another “scandal” if they try to coordinate.
“I’m praying for a Newt nomination.”
Me too, Newt can beat obama and restore America. He’s the only one with the plans, ideas, and abilities.
I remember reading those stories - the husband’s story - Ray Buckey? - was particularly pathetic, he lost his marraige and family as a result and was never convicted of anything. Infuriating abuse of power.
Yes, it was the McMartin case in California, I believe, that set the tone for the insanity to come. The female prosecutor (I think she was on the Menendez Bros case) invented the phrase: children do not lie. From there, the hysteria blew through America, ruining lives in many states. A young girl here in New Jersey was convicted. Dottie helped free her but she’s not allowed to live in this state anymore. Personally, I think that was a sublime gift to the young woman!!
You are parroting the MSM/Democrat attack team narrative. They say Santorum only cares about social issues and that he only cares about the issues the are unpopular or outright crazy. They paint him as a religious nut. They say he wants to make contraception illegal, etc.
Santorum believes in traditional values. He also believes in reversing the energy policy, the environmental policy and other stupid policies of the government. He believes in reducing government spending and taxes and encouraging economic growth.
Don't be fooled by the MSM/Democrat attack machine narrative. Obama has been a disaster as a president. We need to work to defeat Obama and rescue our country.
Yes, we all agree about that. Which is why we need a candidate who can actually win, rather than one who will get endlessly sidetracked on whether we need to have a national conversation about rubbers and porn.
Of course Santorum believes in reducing government and taxes, encouraging economic growth, etc. The problem is, what Rick is mostly known as is a social values crusader. That's his shtick, his niche. He can't resist talking about those things because, in his heart, he WANTS to talk about them. Every politician has a few areas where they really shine and speak with conviction, authority, passion - for Santorum, that is on social issues. Unfortunately, re-arguing whether condoms and birth control pills are good or bad is a giant losing proposition. Every moment spent not talking about debt, gas prices, failed stimulus, etc, is a win for Obama. And with Santorum, we would be side tracked endlessly.
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