Posted on 02/25/2012 9:07:46 PM PST by Red Steel
Many Pennsylvanians think the former senator's beliefs are too extreme for the presidency.
WASHINGTON — Rick Santorum may be a mystery, a bit of an anomaly, to most American voters, but Pennsylvanians have known him a long time. And six years ago they overwhelmingly chose to sever ties.
Now Santorum has re-emerged as a serious contender in the Republican presidential primary, and Pennsylvania voters have mixed feelings about his return. At best, most find him honest about his beliefs. At worst, half say those beliefs are too extreme for the presidency.
Just 13 percent feel strongly that Santorum could beat President Barack Obama in the general election, compared with 45 percent who feel strongly that he cannot, according to a new Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll of Pennsylvania voters.
The poll surveyed 625 registered Pennsylvania voters from Feb. 15 to Feb. 21 and has a 4 point margin of error.
One respondent, Mary Ellen Brimmer, 73, of New Holland, Lancaster County, said she's hoping Santorum does not win the nomination. Not because she has any vivid memories of his time as senator or because she doesn't share his views, but because he couldn't win the grand prize.
"I know Obama will just run away with him and I hope Obama will be finished," Brimmer, a Republican, said. "They'll clean up the floor with him. I just don't think he's capable."
(Excerpt) Read more at mcall.com ...
You sound like the typical Howard Baker supporter in ‘80.
Wrong!
“Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas comes to mind. South will rise with Newt. :-)” Amen brother.
GO NEWT!!
GO CONSERVATIVES!!
GO SOUTH!!
GO AMERICA!!
Gas prices are going up because refiners have shut down 5% of their capacity. Also they are exporting gas to foreign companies. When the XL Pipeline is finally built, the plan is to export even more gas/oil. Won’t do us a bit of good. If Israel or Obama decide to follow advice I have heard given here at FR quite often and attack Iran because of nuclear danger, then you are right, $6 or $7 could easily be the price. Of course, it would help if India and China would stop producing so many autos for their 2 1/2 billion people, or producing so many people. Of course, we don’t want them to practice birth control or commit abortions, so I guess we are stuck with ever rising gas prices.
Yawwwwwwwwwwn....
You mean the same Pennsylvania that kept voting for the traitor Murtha from 1969 until 2006?
No the state of Pennsylvania did not keep electing Murtha.....ONE DISTRICT in Pennsylvania voted him in time and time again. Why are you lying??????
Yeah, like this 24 year old Ellen Cassidy even knows anything about Santorum. She’s barely old enough to vote. Sounds like an article of desperation. So, they think he’s honest, etc., but, wouldn’t vote for him? Geesh, sounds like they want another dishonest person in the WH.
Such BS!
“Many Pennsylvanians think the former senator’s beliefs are too extreme for the presidency.”
So many Pennsylvanians think the beliefs of George Washington and most of our founding fathers are too extreme for the presidency?
Have “many Pennsylvanians” been brainwashed by the Godless libtrash propaganda media?
I wonder what Newt will do in the general when the Obamamedia controls the narrative and it is Tiffany jewelry and ethics charges 24 hours a day
I wonder what Mitt will do in the general when the Obamamedia controls the narrative and it is Bain Capital and dog poo 24 hours a day
I wonder what Ron will do in the general when the Obamamedia controls the narrative and it is racist newsletters and trooferism 24 hours a day
Although I donated the max to Santorum’s campaign, I don’t realistically expect him to get the nomination (though a President Santorum would just be awesome, especially in how the media would be bawling the day after election day). That’s not the only reason I donated to him, however. I want him in the running as long as possible, for a few reasons. First and foremost, as long as he’s out there anchoring the far right on social grounds, it’s impossible for the fifth-column, leftist media to paint anyone else as a “right-wing religious nut” or even as a “right-wing extremist”. In that view, the farther to the right Rick is, the more he shields the others from the left.
Second, as long as he’s in the running, he has total freedom to fly the flag for social issues in a way that none of the others can, largely because everyone expects it from him. Once again, this lets conservative views on social issues get a proper airing while insulating the others from criticism.
Third, I’ve had it “up to here” and then some with the circular firing squad mentality in the GOP. Since nobody really expects Rick to win the nomination, he’s free to call the others on the carpet for their behavior and keep them honest. This is in my opinion a healthy thing.
Finally, the longer he’s out there the more palatable the others can become to independents and/or the “mushy middle”.
This isn’t to say that I’m happy about having to think in the sort of strategic terms, but there are plenty of things in life that I don’t like but still have to contend with. Nothing would please me more than a Santorum/Gingrich ticket (or vice versa), but nonetheless I always keep in mind that this is not a fair fight—the left-wing media is just waiting to destroy our nominee, whoever it might be. I prefer to take as many of their weapons away from them as possible.
Please add me to your ping list for the Rick Santorum Team
LOL!!!!!
Newt team in AZ & MI needs to join Rick team to take out Mittens BEFORE super tuesday
What does this little survey of Pennsylvania residents tell us?
That people with the courage to stand up for traditional values make big-government liberals in Pittsburgh and Philadephia feel uncomfortable and guilty.
So, it looks like one-sided arguments are only good if you provide them and they're pro-Rick/anti-Newt.
Romney is an automatic loss. Make plans accordingly. Anyone else? Obama is a goner and it's a matter of 8-9 months to a full blown economic renaissance.
Also, they are confusing doubts about electability with “negatives”. I have doubts about whether Santorum can win. I have more doubts about whether Gingrich can win. And I have plenty of doubts about whether Romney could win.
But my “negative” opinion of those three candidates covers a wide range. You know, I like Rick Perry more than all of them, and I am positive he can’t win the Presidency.
Santorum can convince people he can win — or he could just go ahead and WIN — you don’t need people to think you can in in order to win, you just need them to vote for you.
Newt has a bigger problem, because he actually has high negatives. It’s harder to overcome negatives, and while proving you can be “electable” will get some people who hate you to vote for you anyway, it’s a much harder sell.
That’s how Reagan won anyway — people didn’t think he COULD win, but enough people liked him that he DID win.
The flaw in the argument is it presumes Obama is electable—and it likewise presumes Santorum cannot “beat” Obama. I was taught that an argument rested upon-or based on a false premise is false. The ONLY thing the Country needs to consider is can it be demonstrated that Obama is/has already defeated himself-by his record— I believe the answer is yes he has.
what remains is can the Republican candidates overcome their Party establishment to allow the best candidate to advance?
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