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
I agree with you. I will be voting for Newt here in AL, but I have come to the conclusion that Romney will wind up being the nominee, and I will vote for him over zero in the general. Anyone who decides not to vote just because they don't like Romney will be helping to re-elect zero (spare me the flames).
Did you mean how Huckabee kept McCain from getting the nod sooner? The exit polls showed that most of Huckabee’s support listed McCain as their second choice.
His mission is to split the conservative vote, eliminate Newt, and block for Romney.
Really? Wow. People were saying the same for Bachmann, Cain, Perry, Paul and many others too. Romney has EVERYONE on his side apparently. You guys are way to desperate. Lighten up and fight for your candidate and stop knocking down others.
The right to life is the most fundamental, bedrock freedom of all. When that can be arbitrarily revoked, everything else is of precious little consequence.
I think it is too, but with all these proportional elections, the Republican party has created a situation where if one guy gets a decent lead, the other guys play hell trying to catch up. And if two are dragging each other down trying to catch the leader, it’s basically impossible.
As time rolls on, I think it’s going to become embarrassingly obvious, how much eggo is playing into this.
IMO, most people have had enough of Newt. It seems that in the South at least, they prefer Santorum over him.
It would be real interesting to see what would happen if Newt did stand down. If his support when 50/50 to Mitt and Rick, it would sure be a real eye opener. Newt’s folks like to say he’s the best Conservative in the bunch. If his followers break for Mitt, that’s going to become less and less of an easy sell.
Taht's a stupid thing to post...if you can't do better than thjat you shouldl just turn the computer off and take a walk.
Cut the ad hominems and focus on issues.
Actually, I don’t totally disagree with you, and I respect Heninger’s work and have for years.
The problem is, most Americans don’t know who Heninger is and won’t get to speak to Rick’s supporters up close like that. That’s not how campaigns are won.
Rick cannot resist waxing on and on about the social issues when questioned. He has no ability to shift gears. He also is screaming social issues the way he uses his family as props and dresses like a damned geek.
These images, not the articulate and intelligent Daniel Heninger assessment, will determine elections. That Heninger had to get up close and personal to find out what RS game is proves that RS don’t have game.
Santorum will disappoint an even larger number of voters than he did in PA. I can't tell the difference between him and Romney, other than he wears a sweater vest and has absolutely no executive accomplishments or business experience.
There is no way I will support this fraud.
Fine. No disagreement. But tell me genius, when all the adults have their money, their time, their property, their freedoms and liberties stripped away from them, JUST WHO THE HELL IS GOING TO PROTECT THE UNBORN????? WILL THEY PROTECT THEMSELVES? Think about it. Without property rights, you can't do a damned thing to protect the unborn. Yet you simply hide behind your self righteousness and your platitudes and refuse to see the totally unworkablitiy of how you want to fight this fight.
Just as credible with names reversed. You're going to need some evidence to be persuasive about who's name goes where.
“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”
Before Newt won GA. He will likely get a good bounce in AL and MS from that.
OK, Here you go........”Facts and Issues” Over 110 reasons NOT to vote for Santorum;.........
Rick Santorum’s Voting Record:
As you decide which candidate is worthy of your vote in the primary, Liberty Counsel Action encourages you to review the positions of all of the candidates on controversial issues. Here is Rick Santorum’s voting record on some key issues. Each vote linked to senate.gov roll call record.
NEA
Voted for taxpayer funding of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Voted against a 10% cut in the budget for National Endowment for the Arts.
Bankruptcy
Voted for a Schumer amendment to make the debts of pro-life demonstrators not dischargeable in bankruptcy.
Defense and Foreign Policy
Voted for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Voted against requiring the President to certify that the CWC is effectively verifiable.
Voted against requiring the President to certify that that Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, North Korea, China, and all other countries determined to be state sponsors of terror have joined CWC prior to submitting the instrument of ratification.
Voted for the START II Treaty
Voted to allow the sale of supercomputers to China.
Voted to ban antipersonnel landmines
Voted against increasing defense spending offset by equivalent cuts in non-defense spending.
Voted to require that Federal bureaucrats get the same payraises as uniformed military.
Voted to allow food and medicine sales to state sponsors of terror and tyranical regimes such as Libya and Cuba.
Voted to limit the President’s authority to impose sanctions on nations for reasons of national security unless the sanctions were approved by a multilateral regime.
Voted against requiring Congressional authorization for military action in Bosnia.
Voted to give $25 million in foreign aid to North Korea
Voted to weaken alien terrorist deportation provisions. If the Court determines that the evidence must be withheld for national security reasons, the Justice Department must still provide a summary of the evidence sufficient for the alien terrorist to mount a defense against deportation.
Voted against delaying the India Nuclear until the President certified that India had agreed to suspend military-to-military exchanges with Iran.
Voted against the Conventional Trident Missile Program
Nominations
Voted for Richard Paez to the 9th Curcuit (cloture)
Voted for Sonia Sotomayor, Circuit Judge
Voted for Richard Holbrooke to be Ambassador to the UN
Voted for Margaret Morrow to be District Judge
Voted twice for Marsha Berzon to the 9thg Circuit
Voted for Mary McLaughlin to be District Judge
Voted for Tim Dyk to be District Judge
Voted for James Brady to be District Judge
Labor
Voted against National Right to Work Act
Voted against Real of Davis-Bacon Prevailing union wages
Voted for Alexis Herman to be Secretary of Labor
Voted for mandatory Federal child care funding
Voted for Trade Adjustment Assistance.
Voted for Job Corps funding
Voted twice in support of Fedex Unionization
Voted against allowing a waiver of Davis-Bacon in emergency situations.
Voted for minimum wage increases six times here here here here here and here
Voted to require a union representative on an IRS oversight board.
Voted to exempt IRS union representative from criminal ethics laws.
Voted against creating independent Board of Governors to investigate IRS abuses.
Guns
Voted to require pawn shops to do background checks on people who pawn a gun.
Voted twice to make it illegal to sell a gun without a secure storage or safety device
Voted for a Federal ban on possession of “assault weapons” by those under 18.
Voted for Federal funding for anti-gun education programs in schools.
Voted for anti-gun juvenile justice bill.
Reform
Voted for funding for the legal services corporation.
Voted twice for a Congressional payraise.
Voted to impose a uniform Federal mandate on states to force them to allow convicted rapits, arsonists, drug kingpins, and all other ex-convicts to vote in Federal elections.
Voted for the Specter “backup plan” to allow campaign finance reform to survive if portions of the bill were found unconstitutional.
Voted to mandate discounted broadcast times for politicians.
Voted for a McCain amendment to require State and local campaign committees to report all campaign contributions to the FEC and to require all campaign contributions to be reported to the FEC within 24 hours within 90 days of an election.
Immigration
Voted against increasing the number of immigration investigators
Voted to allow illegal immigrants to receive the earned income credit before becoming citizens
Voted to give SSI benefits to legal aliens.
Voted to give welfare benefits to naturalized citizens without regard to to the earnings of their sponsors.
Voted against hiring an additional 1,000 border partrol agents, paid for by reductions in state grants.
Taxes
Voted against a flat tax.
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for Medicare prescription drugs
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to fund health insurance subsidies for small businesses.
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for an $8 billion increase in child healh insurance.
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for an increase in NIH funding.
Voted twice for internet taxes.
Voted to allow gas tax revenues to be used to subsidize Amtrak.
Voted to strike marriage penalty tax relief and instead provide fines on tobacco companies.
Voted against repealing the Clinton 4.3 cent gas tax increase.
Voted to increase taxes by $2.3 billion to pay for an Amtrak trust fund.
Voted to allow welfare to a minor who had a child out of wedlock and who resided with an adult who was on welfare within the previous two years.
Voted to increase taxes by $9.4 billion to pay for a $9.4 billion increase in student loans.
Voted to say that AMT patch is more important than capital gains and dividend relief.
Welfare
Voted against food stamp reform
Voted against Medicaid reform
Voted against TANF reform
Voted to increase the Social Services Block Grant from $1 billion to $2 billion
Voted to increase the FHA loan from $170,000 to $197,000. Also opposed increasing GNMA guaranty from 6 basis points to 12.
Voted for $2 billion for low income heating assistance.
Waste
Sponsored An amendment to increase Amtrak funds by $550 million
Voted to use HUD funds for the Joslyn Art Museum (NE), the Stand Up for Animals project (RI) and the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Project (WA)
Voted to increase spending on social programs by $7 billion
Voted to increase NIH funding by $1.6 billion.
Voted to increase NIHnding by $700 million
Voted to for a $2 million earmark to renovate the Vulcan Monument (AL)
Voted for a $1 billion bailout for the steel industry
Voted against requiring that highway earmarks would come out of a state’s highway allocation
Voted to allow Market Access Program funds to go to foreign companies.
Voted to allow OPIC to increase its administrative costs by 50%
Voted against transferring $20 million from Americorps to veterans.
Voted for the $140 billion asbestos compensation bill.
Voted against requiring a uniform medical criteria to ensure asbestos claims were legitimate.
Voted to increase community development programs by $2 billion.
Spending and Entitlements
Voted to make Medicare part B premium subsidies an new entitlement.
Voted against paying off the debt ($5.6 trillion at the time) within 30 years.
Voted to give $18 billion to the IMF.
Voted to raid Social Security instead of using surpluses to pay down the debt.
Health Care
Voted to allow states to impose health care mandates that are stricter than proposed new Federal mandates, but not weaker.
Voted twice for Federal mental health parity mandates in health insurance.
Voted against a allow consumers the option to purchase a plan outside the parity mandate.
Education
Voted to increase Federal funding for teacher testing
Voted to increase spending for the Department of Education by $3.1 billion.
Voted against requiring courts to consider the impact of IDEA awards on a local school district.
Energy
Voted to allow the President to designate certain sites as interim nuclear waste storage sites in the event that he determines that Yucca Mountain is not a suitable site for a permanent waste repository. Those sites are as follows: the nuclear waste site in Hanford, Washington; the Savannah River Site in South Carolina; Barnwell County, South Carolina; and the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee.
Voted to make fuel price gouging a Federal crime.
Go over to KOS then, if you’re so in love with the MSM>
You must have flunked logic. If not, you will with that extrapilation.
Thanks Ingtar. I appreciate your insite on it.
Cut the spam crap.
Thanks Ingtar. I appreciate your insight on it.
;^)
No,,, it doesn’t work that way. Ricky attacked Newt hard,,, so I get to return the favor. I’m for Newt, and I think Ricky is an unethical establishment hack. His time spent pandering for the religious vote is going to assure Obama a victory.
Four dollar gas,,, and Ricky can’t stop trying to lead a revival.
Ricky is a lightweight who cannot possibly stand there with Obama in a debate without saying something like pregnant rape victims should just make the best of a bad situation,,, or that JFKs remarks on his independence from the pope make him want to vomit.
No Ricky,,, go newt.
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