Anyone but Romney! That is what the South expressed Tuesday with the victory of former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum who came in first in both Alabama and Mississippi, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich coming in second. Or perhaps they're saying former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney isn't conservative enough. He's not a true conservative.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Mitt Romney.]
The victories for both Santorum and Gingrich are not a surprise, and certainly Mitt Romney will not be packing his bags anytime soon. Romney still has a huge lead in the number of delegates he holds, not to mention the amount of cash in his coffers. And we Democrats should not be too excited; remember back in the presidential election of 2008? Then Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were in a dead heat and battling it out until June, and it's still March. Now we all know that once that GOP candidate is firmly planted on that GOP platform, and all signs point to it being Romney, that most Republicans, begrudgingly or otherwise, will put their support and their cash behind the nominee. Many have said Romney will have a harder time winning a primary than a general election. Romney is still the guy to beat, and not only for Santorum and Gingrich, but also for the president. He has the most appeal among independents and centrists, who in my opinion, will determine the outcome of this election in November. So although we Democrats might revel in this fight and appearance of a split among Republicans, unless Ron Paul pulls a Ralph Nader and runs as an independent, don't get too excited. This will be a tough race.
[Read the U.S. News debate: Is Mitt Romney Vulnerable in the South?]
The president will have to resell himself to the Hispanic community (although he has a vast majority of the vote from that group, according to polls), especially since deportations are up and the Dream Act didn't make it through Congress. He will have to sell healthcare all over again, and of course there will be a Supreme Court ruling that will either assist him in doing that or provide an obstacle to the mandate he signed into law. Gas prices are up, unemployment is coming down, and jobs are being created, but not at the pace Americans desire. And of course, there is the polarization of opinions on how to deal with Iran and how far our loyalty must go in protecting Israel.
So the circus we're watching called primaries is not much more than a distraction at this point. The numbers, and I'm talking delegates, only add up for one candidate and that's Romney. What Rick Santorum has done with these two wins is not put himself on the GOP platform as the guy running for president against Barack Obama, but rather, put himself in the position of vice president; it makes him more relevant in this game. So Sen. Marco Rubio watch your back!
Watching the primaries this week has been almost as entertaining as the new television show getting so much attention (even Gingrich made remarks about it): GCB. The primaries are a bunch of rich white guys backstabbing each other and our president and invoking the name of Jesus as much as possible, just like the GCB cast of rich white women doing the same! So if you don't like the infighting among Christian women in a new sitcom, or if you are sick of the infighting of the Republicans, their debates, and their promises to unseat the president, do what I do: Exercise your freedom, your right—change the channel!
- See a collection of political cartoons on the 2012 GOP hopefuls.
- Check out U.S. News Weekly: an insider's guide to politics and policy
- Follow the Thomas Jefferson Street blog on Twitter at @TJSBlog.
Reader Comments Read all comments (4)
Eagle II of TX 3:36PM March 29, 2012
bing of AL 8:51PM March 14, 2012
Ricd785 of NE 12:41PM March 14, 2012