[Lakeshark]

A good look at how Romney is depressing GOP primary turn out.

The truth: If Romney is our candidate, he will depress turn out big time in the general as well. It's why the media has been so kind to Mitt. Let's watch as they turn their guns on Santorum, and hope either he or Newt survive, because if they don't, it's going to be Romney, and we'll all want to go hide somewhere........

[BigSkyFreeper]

Those were some pretty expensive defeats he suffered yesterday.

[Diogenesis]

SEAMUS IS HIGH-FIVING

At last, Romney's karma has run over Romney's dogma.

---

Romney for Obama in 2008

Late in October, The American Spectator's The Prowler revealed:
"Former Mitt Romney presidential campaign staffers…
have been involved in spreading anti-Palin spin to reporters, seeking to diminish her standing after the election.
'Sarah Palin is a lightweight, she won't be the first, not even the third, person people will think of when it comes to 2012,'
says one former Romney aide…
'The only serious candidate ready to challenge to lead the Republican Party is Mitt Romney.
"Some former Romney aides were behind the recent leaks to media, including CNN, that Governor Sarah Palin was a 'diva' and was going off message intentionally."

---

The Palmetto Scoop reported: "One of the first stories to hit the national airwaves was
the claim of a major internal strife between close McCain aides and the folks handling his running mate Sarah Palin."
"I’m told by very good sources that this was indeed the case and that a rift had developed, but it was between Palin’s people and the staffers brought on from the failed presidential campaign of former Gov. Mitt Romney, not McCain aides."
"The sources said nearly 80 percent of Romney’s former staff was absorbed by McCain and these individuals were responsible for what amounts to a premeditated, last-minute sabotage of Palin."
… aides loyal to Romney inside the McCain campaign, said The Scoop, reportedly saw
that Palin would be a serious contender for the Republican nomination in 2012 or 2016, which made her a threat to another presidential quest by Romney.

---

"These staffers are now out trying to finish her off ….hoping it would ingratiate themselves with Mitt Romney."

---

"Who's the Palin Leaker from the McCain Campaign?
National Review Online The publication of a Vanity Fair profile of Sarah Palin
appears to have opened old wounds in the McCain campaign.
... the source of the “Diva” leak was Nicolle Wallace’s husband."

---

"Peeking Out From the McCain Wreckage: Mitt Romney"

"Someone's got to say it: IS MITT ROMNEY RESPONSIBLE FOR OBAMA'S VICTORY?"

"Vanity: Team Romney Sabotaged Palin and Continuing to Do So?"

"Romney Supporters Trashing Palin"

"Romney advisors sniping at Palin?"

---

[Mountain Mary]

It’ll be interesting to see how the Romney attack machine operates now. Do they have the slightest clue that one of the reasons for their losses last night could just possibly be that God loving Midwesterners don’t take kindly to their now familiar signature character assassinations?

So do they go postal again or try to be a little bit “nicer” to Santorum this time? I say: Go for it Mittens and Co.!
We wanna see ya repeat your Fla manners playbook and spend 20 MORE M.! :-)
Their coffers can’t be endless, ya know. Let’s hope that Rom depletes some more of his “hard earned” contributions from his fave Super PACs.

[Sola Veritas]

“Let’s watch as they turn their guns on Santorum, and hope either he or Newt survive, because if they don’t, it’s going to be Romney.”

I have, and will to continue to support Newt. However, Santorum is the best candidate on Moral/Social issues, but Newt is the best overall candidate for all three pillars (social, national defense, & fiscal). IF either of these two come out on top I will be estatic...I wished they would team up. Whatever, it is time to see two common enemies - Romney then Obama.

[C. Edmund Wright]

Be careful how much glee you have over this vis a vis Mitt. Ok, I know it’s tempting. But the point is this: the anti Obama movement is being depressed - the whole party is being depressed - by Mitt’s tactics. This could spell the end of our nation as we know it.

Much as I despise Mitt, I do not wish to see that exchange just so he can get a taste he deserves .

BTW: I predicted this the day after Florida:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/mitts_scorched_earth_win.html

[jimbo123]

[jimbo123]

[FrankR]

[livius]

Interesting, and true. Gingrich won in the counties in Florida where turnout was high, but Romney won in those where it was low. The GOP’s virtual proclamation of Romney as the candidate has had a steadily depressing effect on turnout, simply because people don’t like Romney but they also don’t like to bother voting if they think it’s already a done deal.

I don’t think these wins will have a big impact on Santorum’s chances (for one thing, two of them are non-binding and Newt wasn’t in the other one), but I think it’s the firmest statement so far that people don’t want Romney. Gingrich wasn’t expected to win in either of them, but Romney was. However, it seems that even the sort of middle of the roader semi-RINO type voters that probably populate some of these areas don’t want him.

Romney is creepy and mean and ruthless, and I think the more people see of him, the less they like him. I hope they see him not at all in the future and we can really get into picking a candidate.

[kevao]

The vicious Romney/GOP-e/Media slime assault against Gingrich in Florida has obviously alienated many, many conservatives. You reap what you so, Mittens....

[manc]

the establishment are so stupid and so desperate for their elitist north east establishment guy that they cannot even see how America is anymore.

If backed a guy who is a conservative instead of elitist northeast RINO Romney then they would know moderates agree on stopping the homosexual agenda,cross dressing agenda, they would know that the average person does not relate to Romney, they would know the north east and the beltway is not America

but more to the point, they would know that Romney is turning voters off, the man has been running for years and his numbers are down from last time, the voters are not coming out and we don’t have a candidate where the average voter is excited about.

Instead the establishment has attacked the likes of Sarah, ignored Allen West, those kind of people bring life and excitement not boring old elitist men from the beltway or the north east

[JediJones]

Here are the turnout numbers for 2008 and 2012. If you discount Missouri, overall turnout is down 4.7%. Florida was the massive turning point in popularity of the primary. It had a MASSIVE increase in turnout. Starting in Florida, turnout took a huge nose dive, and just got worse in Nevada and Minnesota, although Colorado was much better than those. It looks like people got massively excited about Newt, than Mitt destroyed Newt, and after a couple states people realized Santorum was the best available replacement for Newt.

2008 - 2012

119,188 - 122,255 - IA (up 2.6%)
239,315 - 248,448 - NH (up 3.8%)
445,677 - 603,856 - SC (up 35.5%)
1,949,498 - 1,672,352 - FL (down 14.2%)
44,324 - 32,894 - NV (down 25.9%)
588,926 - 251,868 - MO (down 57.2%)
70,229 - 65,479 - CO (down 6.8%)
62,837 - 47,836 (95% in) - MN (down 23.9%)

3,519,994 - 3,044,988 (down 13.5%)

2,931,068 - 2,793,120 (down 4.7% without MO)

[Scooter100]

As Ann Coulter said: ...."If Romney is the candidate, we'll lose."

Ann Coulter at CPAC 2011 - Question & Answer Session - 2/12/11

Approx. the 10:00 mark.