Santorum hits Romney hard: Are we going to nominate the worst possible candidate on health care?

Hotair ^ | 02/07/2012 | Allahpundit

[SeekAndFind]

Killer material in Minnesota on the eve of the big vote in the midwest. I tried to find longer clips online but these snippets from CNN are the best I can do. ABC:

“Gov. Romney is dead wrong on the issue of the day and he should not be the nominee of the party,” Santorum said in a hotel ballroom across the street from the hospital, adding the issue of health care is “central to our country, central to this race specifically why Gov. Romney is absolutely incapable of making the case against Obamacare successfully.”…

“The problem is, we have a candidate who is running and seen by the media as the prohibitive favorite, who is the worst possible person in the field to put up on this most fundamental issue in this campaign, and that is Gov. Romney,” Santorum said. “The plan he put together in Massachusetts is in fact ‘ObamaCare’ on the state level.”…

Santorum said the two plans have similar levels, using terms like “gold, silver, and bronze,” and in possibly his most aggressive attack he said they both use “government panels to dictate quality and cost containment,” and for the second day in a row brought up the controversial term “death panels.”

The candidate told the crowd the vulnerable could be at risk under the administration’s plan and are at risk under Romney’s plan because the government could “ultimately decide to ration care.”

Romney should win in Colorado tomorrow (he won big there four years ago), but Minnesota is anyone’s game and Missouri is a binary “Romney vs. Santorum” choice for non-Paul voters thanks to Newt’s failure to qualify for the ballot there. Even Gingrich conceded today that “I think that Santorum’s going to have a pretty good day tomorrow and he will have earned it,” and we already know how worried Romney is. Let me repeat a question Ed asked last night, because if Santorum wins MN and MO, you’ll hear it all day long on Wednesday. Is he the “Not Romney” in the race now after Newt’s Florida flameout? More importantly, how does he convince Gingrich of that before Super Tuesday? Newt’s going to point to his South Carolina win as proof that he’s the “southern candidate” and should stick around for primaries in that region, but if Santorum starts beating him everywhere else, then you have a true “Not Romney” nightmare — a conservative split in which both candidates have bases of support that guarantee they’ll carry the split forward for months. That problem could have been solved by South Carolinians had they united behind Santorum instead of Newt, but … alas:

This is why I keep returning to the idea that Gingrich’s post-Iowa resilience and temporary South Carolina revival ultimately made it easier, not harder, for Romney to coast to the nomination. Romney was always guaranteed a strong showing in the Northeast and the Mountain West, and his moderate baggage (and Mormonism) always ensured that he would be vulnerable in the old Confederacy. The question throughout has been whether any of the not-Romney alternatives could win outside the South, thus transforming a regional protest against the frontrunner into a national campaign. And once the not-Romney alternatives were winnowed to Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, I think it became clear which of the two men stood a better chance of competing with Romney in states like Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Now Santorum has a chance to prove that point. But Silver’s scenario is the longest of long shots: Because the voters of South Carolina gave Gingrich the crucial first crack at Romney, Santorum’s moment is almost certainly coming round too late.

The only way to break the Gingrich/Santorum deadlock now, I think, is if Newt’s bitterness at Romney boils over to the point where he decides he’d rather sacrifice his own candidacy and quit simply to make Romney’s life harder. After watching that presser in Vegas on Saturday night, I wouldn’t put it past him. Problem is, the kamikaze scenario conflicts with Newt’s legendary sense of himself as a man of destiny who’s fated to change the world. Is he really going to drop that dream to help a guy to whom he once referred as a “junior partner” in the hope — but hardly the assurance — that it’ll sink his new archenemy? Hmmmm.

CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEOS

[Da Coyote]

I have a slight disagreement with Santorum...

RINOmney is not only the worst possible candidate on health care.

He is the worst possible candidate on EVERYTHING!

He’ll sell your grandmother for the presidency.
He’ll sell his grandmother for the presidency.
He’ll sell anything for the presidency.

A shame, since spending just a few bucks on a real education instead of joke degrees in law in business from long past their due date colleges might have allowed him to have a coherent thought or two.

RINOmney is a vapid dork.

Period.

[nicmarlo]

He is the worst possible candidate on EVERYTHING!

BTTT!!

[sickoflibs]

The one that is really urking me now is Romney’s position on raising the Federal minimum wage. Doesn’t he know that states are free to set their minimum wage to what they want?

GWBush/Pelosi set the minimum wage to go up in Spring 2009 and look how well that helped low income workers !

[Lakeshark]

Rabble rouser.......

[RIghtwardHo]

I LOVE how Rick has been, to some extent, lying in wait and picking his spot.

TEAR ‘EM UP RICK!!!!!!

[FrankR]

[JaguarXKE]

I could vote for Rick. I could not (and will not) vote for Romney. IF Romney is our nominee, I’m writing in someone. I refuse to pull the lever for that liberal liar!

[myrabach]

I expect the Rick attack dogs any time now... wait for it.

[Domandred]

Yes we are because Conservative GOP and TEA Party “leaders” are backing the Wilsonian Progressive Gingrich instead of the only true conservative running, Rick Santorum.

[Jeff Head]

If Santorum can win Minnesota and Missouri, then he will have three out of eight, Romney will have four out of eight, and Newt will have one out of eight.

At that point, for the good of the country, Newt should throw in behind Santorum

But I am afraid Newt is too emotionally involved and too proud to do so.

Here's a file I have been keeping updated regarding the GOP PResidential race. It shows how it looks to date: (Notice how overall the conservative vote defeats Romney, and would have tied him in Florida, if not beat him):

2012 GOP Primaries	Date	Romney			Gingrich			Santorum			Paul			Huntsman			Perry			Bachman			Cain			Totals
		Votes	%	Del's	Votes	%	Del's	Votes	%	Del's	Votes	%	Del's	Votes	%	Del's	Votes	%	Del's	Votes	%	Del's	Votes	%	Del's	Votes	Del's
Iowa	1/3/2012	29,805	24.58%	7	16,163	13.33%	4	29,839	24.61%	7	26,036	21.47%	7	739	0.61%	0	12,557	10.36%	0	6,046	4.99%	0	58	0.05%	0	121,243	25
New Hampshire	1/10/2012	97,601	39.81%	7	23,291	9.50%	0	23,362	9.53%	0	56,872	23.20%	3	41,783	17.04%	2	1,764	0.72%	0	350	0.14%	0	160	0.07%	0	245,183	12
South Carolina	1/21/2012	168,152	27.86%	2	244,133	40.44%	23	102,492	16.98%	0	78,362	12.98%	0	1,173	0.19%	0	2,534	0.42%	0	491	0.08%	0	6,326	1.05%	0	603,663	25
Florida	1/31/2012	776,059	46.44%	50	534,040	31.96%	0	223,208	13.36%	0	117,410	7.03%	0	6,199	0.37%	0	6,773	0.41%	0	3,967	0.24%		3,492	0.21%	0	1,671,148	50
Nevada	2/4/2012	16,486	50.12%	14	6,956	21.15%	6	3,277	9.96%	3	6,175	18.77%	5	0	0.00%	0	0	0.00%	0	0	0.00%		0	0.00%	0	32,894	28
Main																											24
Colorado	2/7/2012																										36
Minnesota																											40
Missouri
Airzona	2/28/2012																										29
Michigan																											30
Washington	3/3/2012																										43
Alaska	3/6/2012																										27
Georgia	(Super Tues)																										76
Idaho																											32
Massachusetts																											41
North Dakota																											28
Ohio																											66
Oklahoma																											43
Tennessee																											58
Vermont																											17
Virginia																											49
Wyoming																											29
Kansas	3/10/2012																										40
Guam																											9
Virgin Islands																											9
Alabama	3/13/2012																										50
Am Somoa																											9
Hawaii																											20
Mississippi																											40
MIssouri	3/17/2012																										52
Puerto Rico	3/18/2024																										23
Illinois	3/20/2012																										69
Louisiana	3/24/2012																										46
DC	4/3/2012																										19
Maryland																											37
Wisconsin																											42
Texas																											155
At large Del's				19			2			1			0			0			0			0					22
TOTALS		1,088,103	40.72%	99	824,583	30.86%	35	382,178	14.30%	11	284,855	10.66%	15	49,894	1.87%	2	23,628	0.88%	0	10,854	0.41%	0	10,036	0.38%	0	2,672,287	1450

[SeekAndFind]

RE: IF Romney is our nominee, I’m writing in someone. I refuse to pull the lever for that liberal liar!

The same thing happened in 2008. Many conservatives either stayed home or wrote in someone else’s name instead of voting for McCain. The result, an Obama victory, Obamacare, and liberal judges in our courts, plus two liberal supremes.

[Prokopton]

The same thing happened in 2008. Many conservatives either stayed home or wrote in someone else’s name instead of voting for McCain.

There is no evidence of this. Obama won with nearly universal support of his base and a large portion of independents. Evey single conservative voting for McCain would have made no difference.

[IM2MAD]

Will you keep updating and reposting this as results change? I hope so.

[Jeff Head]

Yes. I will make a seperate thread about it and post it today, and then update it once the 100% results are in for each primary.

Note, the votes today do not produce any immediate delegates. In all three cases, those delegates will be allocated at later meeting in March and April.

[deoetdoctrinae]

So sorry to bother you, but...
If you could just settle your Free Republic bill?
Thank you very much, and please come again!


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Please Support Free Republic

[spokeshave]

Yes. I will make a separate thread about it and post it today, and then update it once the 100% results are in for each primary.

Thanks for the effort...its nice to have it all in one place.

[Bigg Red]

I really like Santorum, and I have contributed to his campaign. But I sincerely hope that he does not descend to the name calling contests we have seen out of the Romney-Gingrich battle.

Please, Rick, stay on message and just tell people about the merits of your plans.

[JaguarXKE]

I don’t care any more. I really don’t. The Dems and the GOP establishment - two sides of the same coin.

[NKP_Vet]

“That problem could have been solved by South Carolinians had they united behind Santorum instead of Newt”

SC, or any other Southern state will not vote for a Northerner over Newt Gingrich. Aint gonna happen now or anytime in the future. I needed a good laugh this morning.