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New poll shows Rick Santorum leading in Alabama GOP primary
al.com ^ | 03/07/12 | George Talbot

Posted on 03/08/2012 7:54:01 AM PST by pgkdan

A new poll released on the eve of Rick Santorum’s first campaign visit to Alabama shows the former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania leading in the state Republican Party presidential primary.

The statewide poll conducted by Alabama State University’s Center for Leadership and Public Policy showed 22.7 percent of likely Republican voters supported Santorum, who is scheduled to make campaign appearances Thursday in Huntsville and Mobile.

Former Massachussetts Gov. Mitt Romney trailed Santorum with 18.7 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House from neighboring Georgia, with 13.8 percent.

The telephone poll of 470 likely GOP voters showed 29.8 remained undecided and 15 percent saying they intended to support other candidates. The poll did not ask voters whether they supported Ron Paul, the Texas congressman seeking the GOP nomination.

The poll was conducted March 1, prior to the Super Tuesday vote that helped establish Romney and Santorum as leaders in the race for the nomination, with Romney holding a total of 415 delegates and Santorum with 176.

Gingrich, with 105 delegates, canceled campaign plans in Kansas this week to focus on voters in Alabama and Mississippi, which share a primary election day Tuesday.

But the poll results indicate that support for Gingrich is waning in Alabama, according to ASU political science professor Thomas Vocino.

“The numbers are just not in his favor, and the trend is working against him,” Vocino said. “I can’t foresee a situation where he can rebound and win in Alabama.”

Vocino said Gingrich’s support has fallen steeply since ASU began tracking the race five weeks ago. Gingrich led the field in Alabama with 26.9 percent in the initial round of polling on Feb. 2. His support slipped to 18.9 percent by Feb. 23, when results showed him with a slim lead over Santorum at 18.3 percent.

Santorum’s steady increase over the same time period came almost completely at Gingrich’s expense, Vocino said. Romney, by comparison, has held flat at around 16-18 percent, according to Vocino.

The results indicate that Gingrich is unlikely to reach the 20 percent threshold that would allow him to win delegates in any of the state’s seven congressional districts.

“I think it is very problematic for Gingrich to get any” delegates, Vocino said


TOPICS: Breaking News; Politics/Elections; US: Alabama
KEYWORDS: adiosnewt; al2012; biggovernmentrick; blowhardnewt; bspoll; bspushpoll; byebyenoot; conservatives; crybabynewt; getoutnewt; getoutrick; getthehelloutnewt; newt4obama; newt4romney; newtgetout; newtsfinaldays; newtsplittingthevote; nonewt; pushpoll; rickgetout; rickspoiler; santorum; santorum2012; santorum4romney; santorumspoiler; slimynoot; sorelosernoot; toast4newt; valuesvoters
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To: dt57; All

Any pro-lifer who doesn’t support Rick doesn’t do enough homework:

“On abortion, he is one of many senators who vote pro-life. The difference is that he is personally responsible for making sure a lot of these votes occur in the first place: He was an architect of the effort to ban partial-birth abortion, a strategy that energized the pro-life movement and allowed it to go on the political offensive.”

http://www.heymiller.com/2010/08/the-fate-of-rick/


221 posted on 03/08/2012 1:09:49 PM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: darrellmaurina; DesertRhino; Mariner
Palin has rhetorically very close to the Western small (l) libertarian Goldwater School of politics.

Very independent, very small government, anti-establishment, anti-Wall Street (she coined Crony Capitalism), highly Nationalist/Pro Defense and military.

Goldwater, Reagan and Palin are very close philosophically.

Yes Plain is clearly an evangelical Christian and walks the talk.

Politically she leads with other themes...

222 posted on 03/08/2012 1:09:54 PM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: darrellmaurina
I can respect a sincere Gingrich supporter who has bought into Gingrich's political philosophy, including his advocacy of the need for an informed electorate and a classic Judeo-Christian view of civilization. I respect his legitimate accomplishments in the House of Representatives, doing what most people considered to be impossible by becoming Speaker. If it weren't for the issues in his personal life,

Issues are long past about his married life. Not all it his fault. There's another half who share the blame. Do you think that Newt is going to run after other skirts in the White House at his age of 68? Not very likely. You think Santorum is beyond sin? Christians are suppose to believe in forgiveness and Newt has been contrite about his past life, but Santobots have a problem in giving forgiveness.

Santorum sins like the rest of us and Santos casting stones from glass houses gives everyone else the impression of hypocrisy.

This reminds me of the old stories in the early days of Christianity after the fall of the Roman Empire where hermits would try to outdo others at being "more Christian" than the next by living an anchorite life or by living in caves and who spurned others who they thought were not Christian enough.

223 posted on 03/08/2012 1:11:44 PM PST by Red Steel
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To: Sun

ok, so now I don’t do my homework, or worse I am just stupid. I am done here. Support Rick, I hope he wins, and I am wrong. But I doubt it, ok?


224 posted on 03/08/2012 1:13:00 PM PST by dt57 (illerate, noobie....)
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To: trappedincanuckistan

No politician is perfect, and while I like Newt, too, he was for mandates.

And while some are using Mitt Romney supporters’ talking points, consider this:

(ROMNEY) “I respect the fact that he put in place No Child Left Behind. I know a lot of people in my party don’t like it, but I do like it. snip”

excerpt http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,325227,00.html


225 posted on 03/08/2012 1:13:55 PM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: Sun

Well, I am glad you have the ability to see into the hearts and minds of others so clearly. You do make a good Rick Santorum supporter. Good luck to you with that.


226 posted on 03/08/2012 1:14:31 PM PST by dt57 (illerate, noobie....)
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To: Sun

Well, I am glad you have the ability to see into the hearts and minds of others so clearly. You do make a good Rick Santorum supporter. Good luck to you with that.


227 posted on 03/08/2012 1:16:16 PM PST by dt57 (illerate, noobie....)
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To: Sun

Yeah I’m definitely not a Romney supporter. He is big government through and through.


228 posted on 03/08/2012 1:16:30 PM PST by trappedincanuckistan (livefreeordietryin)
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To: dt57

No, you are very smart, but you need to research more. Maybe you work hard, so don’t have the time, but why do you ignore research from other folks?

Judging by your post, you are also a bit overly sensitive/emotional, and we shouldn’t vote based on feelings/emotions.

Are you a woman?

I am a woman, btw.


229 posted on 03/08/2012 1:19:37 PM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: Sun

Newt and almost every conservative in the country was for mandates while they were fighting Hillarycare. Keep up, it was originally a conservative concept. IT was very wrong, and Newt freely admits it. So do I. I am not using Mitt Romney talking points, I am using MY talking points. Go for Rick, the best of luck.


230 posted on 03/08/2012 1:21:18 PM PST by dt57 (illerate, noobie....)
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To: pgkdan

Without Alabama and Mississippi, Newt is sunk.

231 posted on 03/08/2012 1:21:20 PM PST by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: All

Santorum Slams Obama & Romney at CPAC, Receives Standing Ovation & Roaring Applause
February 10, 2012
snip

While Santorum didn’t mention Romney by name, he did target him for his purportedly moderate stances. Additionally, he slammed the former Massachusetts governor’s comments about the poor and dismissed Romney as the candidate with “the most money to beat up their opponent and win the election.” Additionally, he denigrated the health care plan Romney implemented in his state as ”the stepchild of ObamaCare.”

Santorum also had a message for many in the media and in conservative circles who have contended that the race is over and that Romney will be the eventual nominee: Don’t fall for the argument that the party ”need[s] to compromise“ and ”do what’s politically reasonable and go out and push someone forward who can win.”

“We will no longer abandon and apologize for the policies and principles that made this country great for a hollow victory in November,” the candidate proclaimed.
snip

Santorum also took Obama to task over the contraceptive mandate (which the president has now amended), telling the audience that it has little to do with women’s health. As a result of his words, he received furious applause and a standing ovation.

“This is the kind of coercion we can expect. It’s not about contraception. It’s about economic liberty, it’s about freedom of speech, it’s about freedom of religion,” he said. “It‘s about government control of your lives and it’s gotta stop.”

“Government will own you because you will have to pay tribute to Washington in order to get the care you need for your children,” Santorum said. “The major reason I’m in this race is because I believe Obamacare is a game-changer for America.”

excerpt http://www.theblaze.com/stories/santorum-slams-obama-romney-at-cpac-gets-standing-ovation-roaring-applause/


232 posted on 03/08/2012 1:22:09 PM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: Sun
Guess you missed it, but I posted the most recent poll for Alabama. Romney is 9 points ahead, and Rick is one point ahead of Newt. If Rick got Newt’s 22 points, plus Newt’s 21, what does that add up to? Of course, Rick won’t necessarily get all of Newt’s votes, but all he needs are the majority of Newt’s votes (assuming the polls don’t change).


I didn't miss a thing.

Like I said before, Newt is virtually tied in that poll with Santo 21.6 and Newt 21.2 regardless of Mitten's numbers. I even posted an article thread of it on FR.

And Santorum is losing in another poll to Newt by over 3 point here "24.7% of voters pick Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum gets 20.1%.

I can make the same argument, it is silly at this point, that your guy Ricky can get out of the race so Newt can win the presidency over Mittens and Obama.

233 posted on 03/08/2012 1:22:49 PM PST by Red Steel
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To: pgkdan
Polls aren't Breaking News. They're for hookers and cross country skiers.
234 posted on 03/08/2012 1:24:19 PM PST by McGruff (Sarah Palin: I voted for Newt.)
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To: Sun

I have researched and listened for a very long time. I am just who I am. I don’t let people know whether I am male or female, because many use that to color what I say. I am passionate about this though. I know that Rick Santorum is the “MOST” pro-lifer out there. And if that was the only issue I had, I would vote for him for that reason alone. Newt is also pro-life, and I truly believe he makes a much better general election candidate. I don’t need more research, we just disagree. And I am ok with that.


235 posted on 03/08/2012 1:24:39 PM PST by dt57 (illerate, noobie....)
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To: dt57
Well, I am glad you have the ability to see into the hearts and minds of others so clearly. You do make a good Rick Santorum supporter. Good luck to you with that.

I'd say a "good" thread spammer.

Good luck to you with that.

Completely SOL.

236 posted on 03/08/2012 1:26:23 PM PST by Red Steel
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To: McGruff
Polls aren't Breaking News. They're for hookers and cross country skiers.

And there are a lot of them in Warsaw.

237 posted on 03/08/2012 1:27:00 PM PST by dfwgator (Don't wake up in a roadside ditch. Get rid of Romney.)
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To: dt57

Have to agree with you dt57. Rick will be destroyed by Obama if he wins the nomination, and Newt is actively disliked by vast swathes of the broader electorate.

And Mitt Romney never saw an issue he didn’t hold diametrically opposed simultaneous positions on.

Romney’s the only one of the current nominees who can defeat Obama, and he’s a liberal masquerading as a conservative.

Anyone have a view on the realistic prospect of Sarah being our nominee out of a brokered convention ? That’s our best bet right now.


238 posted on 03/08/2012 1:27:33 PM PST by fuzzy dunlop
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To: Antoninus
212 posted on Thursday, March 08, 2012 2:48:14 PM by Antoninus: “If Romney is the GOP nominee, the bad old days are here again. It's long past time to form a Christian party.”

I'm afraid you're right about Romney and the bad old days.

As for a Christian party, do some googling about Abraham Kuyper and the Anti-Revolutionary Party. (Short version: Kuyper was the founder of a major conservative secession denomination in the Netherlands in the late 1800s, founder of a Christian university, founder of both Christian and general-interest newspapers, and a key promoter of a pre-existing Christian political party; he eventually became prime minister of the Netherlands.)

My theological background is Dutch Reformed — think Northwest Iowa and West Michigan, and connect the dots. That community was key to launching the candidacies of both Huckabee and Santorum in Iowa, and was an important part of Santorum’s support in Michigan. The Dutch Reformed were actively and aggressively talking about a Christian role in politics in the days when far too many evangelicals were saying politics was dirty stuff unworthy of Christian attention.

So is a Christian political party a good idea? If we had a parliamentary democracy, or proportional representation, or even more states with multimember legislative districts, I'd agree with you.

As long as we have winner-take-all single-member districts in most of the United States, and as long as the total number of conservative Catholics and evangelical Protestants is less than 50 percent in many parts of the United States, we have no choice but to work with economic conservatives and military conservatives if we want to win elections. The result is the three distinct but overlapping constituencies of social, economic and military conservatives are stuck together as a bickering family arguing among ourselves — if we split, we lose to the liberals.

I know this will sound like some of Newt Gingrich's wilder moonbase dreams, but long-term I would not be at all opposed to having more states with multimember legislative districts because it would make it possible for more people to be elected with strong ideological commitments on both sides of the political spectrum. A few places in the United States already have multimember districts, they're common in Europe, and they're much like the Republican primary system in most states. Basically, in a multi-member district, the top two, three, or four candidates out of all those running get elected. While that could be implemented fairly easily at the state level, it''s not possible at the federal level without a constitutional amendment, of course. Talk like that is so far outside the American political mainstream that it's not really very helpful, and I'm focused on trying to win elections in the current political situation rather than trying to make radical changes in that system.

239 posted on 03/08/2012 1:29:40 PM PST by darrellmaurina
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To: dt57; All

I like Newt, too, but Santorum is better, and can beat Romney, if Newt drops out.

Rick is way ahead of Newt in National polls:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/republican_presidential_nomination-1452.html


240 posted on 03/08/2012 1:30:11 PM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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