Is Rick Santorum More Electable than Mitt Romney? >
Both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum Disappoint Conservatives
Santorum makes for easy fodder for Obama, but neither addresses concerns of fiscal conservatives
February 22, 2012
Who is more electable?
A: Mitt Romney
B: Rick Santorum
The correct answer would be C. None of the above.
Neither is electable. We are two months into Republican primaries and the only way Mitt Romney can win is to literally carpet bomb his opponent du jour with negative ads.
Where he fails to do this, he fails to win.
Romney offers no compelling reason to vote for him, other than the myth he is electable. He is only electable when he outspends his opponent 10-1 and crushes the opponent with negative ads. With that strategy, even O.J. Simpson would be electable.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Mitt Romney.]
Santorum faces a different problem. He has been marginalized and he has as many problems with the base as Romney does. Santorum jumps right up and down on one of the great fault lines of the conservative movement. There is a split among conservatives that divides the movement. Some are fiscal conservatives who are only interested in the fiscal issues. These people want the social issues left out of the movement. Social conservatives are frequently also fiscal conservatives as well. They want the social issues advanced as well as the fiscal issues.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Rick Santorum]
The problem Santorum faces is that he is not a fiscal conservative. He is socially conservative on many issues, including abortion, but that is not going to work for those who are exclusively fiscal conservatives. Even some social conservatives like Santorum but are put off by the fact he is a big-government Republican.
Santorum has the other problem of self-inflicted marginalization.
[See pictures of Rick Santorum.]
He has made statements on social policy that are going to be incredible fodder for Obama's campaign, left-wing super PACs, and even the liberal media.
Unfortunately, far too many people simply get their opinions from a 30-second news clip or attack ad. Santorum, with some of his comments on birth control and other social issues, has walked right into the buzz saw.
While Republicans should not play to the middle, they should run as conservatives, every Republican has to be mindful of their words.
Rick Santorum has uttered so many off-the-wall comments that he will be easier to parody than Sarah Palin was.
Saul Alinsky said ridicule is the best weapon, and Santorum has opened himself to that and destroyed his electability.
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- Other Arguments
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#111949
No — Rick Santorum's ideology is far too right and his campaign organization far too weak to win the presidency
JAMIE CHANDLER, Professor at Hunter College
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#29028
No — Support of evangelists will not make up for independents, moderates, and women Santorum turns away
LARA BROWN, Professor at Villanova
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#310646
No — Romney would fare slightly better than Santorum vs. Obama, but both primary campaigns need work
FORD O'CONNELL, Republican Strategist, Conservative Activist, and Political Analyst
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#46543
Yes — Mitt Romney's record is weighing him down
TONY PERKINS, President of the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council Action
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#55940
Yes — Voters can trust Rick Santorum; they can't trust Mitt Romney
BOB VANDER PLAATS, President and CEO of The Family Leader
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#65339
Yes — Rick Santorum connects on social issues in a way Mitt Romney has not
GARY BAUER, Former Presidential Candidate
