“With Bachmann and Cain gone, Santorum is the last decent conservative standing.”
That is completely true. Rick Santorum, though not flawless, is our only shot at stopping Romney. Romney will win New Hampshire, but if we’re lucky, he’ll fall short of expectations. The big danger is that in South Carolina, the conservative vote will be divided, enabling Romney to slip by with a low plurality.
Santorum for me.
I’m shocked by these results. (60% Newt, Santorum and Perry almost tied for second)
Santorum is imo both more conservative and more electable than Newt Gingrich or Rick Perry. I also think he’s the only one who can win the nomination at this point. Newt is where Cain was before he left the race, still registering in the polls but damaged.
I’ve gone back and forth over who my second choice would be. Perry I think is also more conservative than Newt. But he’s such a, to put it politely, a horrible campaigner. He’s the luckiest politician alive that no one worth a damn has ever run against him in Texas.
Of equal importance, he’s completely non-viable. Newt is still around, behind Santorum but around. Perry is gonna come in dead last in NH and ahead of only Huntsman in SC and Florida. We’re talking single digits here. All he’s doing is taking precious anti-Romney votes from Santorum.
The majority is against Romney. It would be a titanic shame if he wins the nomination on the strength of weak plurality wins.