South Carolina primary wrap up
What a difference a week makes!
Last week at this time it looked as though Mitt Romney was positioned to win the first three contests and sweep his way to the Republican nomination virtually unchallenged; he had won Iowa and New Hampshire and had a big lead in South Carolina and Florida, but when the Iowa votes were recounted because of a typo Rick Santorum was declared the winner in Iowa. This news, coupled with Newt Gingrich’s strong debate performances last week and Mitt Romney’s debate meltdown over a question he should have twice been prepared for allowed Newt Gingrich to surge into the lead in the South Carolina polls leading up to the vote and he won the primary going away, has shaken up the GOP primary race.
Instead of the coronation Mitt Romney was anticipating after South Carolina he is now going to have to fight for his political life going forward. It is true he still enjoys a big lead in Florida, but South Carolina has just shown us what that means–nothing. Mitt Romney is showing us that he simply cannot seal the deal and this should be troubling to all of those who want to defeat Barack Obama in the general election.
He lacks the killer instinct and that was evident in the South Carolina debates and in the final results in the Palmetto State. Mitt Romney is too soft and lacks the political fortitude to make a serious challenge to Barack Obama and if he is the nominee I fear that he will wilt just as he did in both Iowa and South Carolina, paving the way for Barack Obama’s reelection. Newt Gingrich will hold his own in the debates against Barack Obama–he will not wilt as did Mitt Romney–but the fact is there will probably only be two debates in the general election and that probably will not be enough to persuade enough voters that he is the conservative he claims to be in light of his history. (He cosponsored over 400 bills with Nancy Pelosi)
This race just got a hell of allot more interesting, so what does this mean heading into Florida? I don’t know the answer, but what I do know is this: After three contests we have three different winners and the race is wide open. Brilliant analysis, huh? But at this point I do not know what to expect anymore.
It looks as if Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are in this for the long haul, but what about Rick Santorum and Ron Paul? Ron Paul’s support has remained steady as the race moves forward while Rick Santorum had a modest bump between New Hampshire and South Carolina. Rick Santorum’s bump might be enough to carry him into Florida, but if he remains mired in the 10 to 15% range in Florida the writing is on the wall and it might be time for him to bow out.
The same could be said for Ron Paul, I think his support is maxed out and I do not see him gaining momentum in Florida, but I do not see Ron Paul going anywhere anytime soon and he could very well play the spoiler heading forward.
The remaining states will be left to choose between two moderate to liberal big government Republicans when the only conservative and the only libertarian end up dropping out of the race and the Republican party will be worse off for it when they square off against Barack Obama. When the American people are given the choice between a known and unapologetic liberal in Barack Obama and a liberal masquerading as a conservative the American people will choose the real deal every time.
Having said all that, it is on to Florida and God only knows what will happen next, but I rest assured that what I think will happen probably will not happen.
America's Watchtower 
I agree completely. Mitt is the McCain of 4 years ago … with not enough intestinal fortitude to go for the jugular. We can pray that Newt is who he seems to have become; he certainly has the ability to defeat this fascist president in any debate. Our nation has been in the forefront of liberty and yet has been sold out from under us by both parties and those who would rule the coming feudal system, in case he / we fail!
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I do think that Newt will have the courage to go right after Obama in a debate and for that reason he may be the more electable candidate despite what the media and the establishment have been saying. Mitt is too timid to deal a knock out blow when the chips are on the table.
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It’s not just about the Presidential debates—like you say, Obama will only agree to two. It’s about the guts to carry the conservative flag to the top of the hill. Mitt just is not able to do that because he is moderate no matter how loud he claims to be a conservative—-the voters are smelling the truth. Newt can win in the general! Unlike the last moderate Republican who faced Obama!!!!
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There is no doubt that despite his assurances that Mitt Romney is simply not a conservative and I don’t think the people are buying it either and this could be the beginning of his downfall.
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Newt can’t even stay married and Mitt sells KB Toys to make profits. Don’t know about you but I can picture the both of them taking a back door cheque after they are sworn in…just like good ole’ Obama..
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The children get toys they want and people make money because of it, I don’t see how that’s a bad thing.
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Maybe South Carolinians are unfamiliar with Newt Gingrich? Maybe they think he’s an ‘outsider’ new to the game? Unbelievable.
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Newt Gingrich winning South Carolina in this fashion has me buffaloed. I would not have thought it possible that he could win the state, especially with such a large margin. It makes me wonder what in the world were the voters thinking.
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This result shocks me as well, and the margin of victory shocks me even more. Newt really did come out of nowhere and I wonder how this will effect Florida.
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The great thing about Newt is he demonstrates not so much courage, but a guy is is very righteously pissed! As we all are–with the system, our entrenched, career politicians, and especially at the liberal media that no longer knows how to report the news, but editorializes it to push their own agenda. Are we but cattle to be spun in the direction the want us to go? When Newt laid into that asshole from CNN I shouted “All Right!”
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There is no doubt that the media has tried to push Romney on us and so has the Republican establishment, maybe this is a sign that the people are going to push back this time. However Newt is still an inside guy so it would seem to me that if the people really were ready for a change they would look at one of the two other remaining candidates.
Newt is mad and he may have to be careful about going too far because that would come back to haunt him.
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I’ll toss this out for what’s its worth. New England conservatives are in the same group as southern moderates and New England moderates are—akin to southern liberals—-just the world we are in and overlooked by most pundits.
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Fact is, the majority of true conservatives do not want Mitt Romney, author of Romneycare, to be the nominee. Fact is, old line republicans do want him and have from the jump – that makes me suspicious to say the least as well as left wondering what deals were made.
The nation’s tea party members have let it be known quite clearly that they want a true conservative, which Romney is not.
Newt comes with his own baggage but is a viable candidate – I’d vote for him over Romney.
Personally I like Rick Santorum best but, I readily concede that Newt is the best at debates and would totally wipe the floor with Obama and anyone else they try to throw at him. And that while Santorum has the same facts & figures in his head, he’s not the wit that Newt is but is the best of the candidates.
Newt would likely shame Obama into more than 2 debates – he’s already started the process.
Ron Paul should get out of the race, he doesn’t want the nomination and wouldn’t get it even if he did. He’s great on the fed, Fannie & Freedie but on foreign policy issues his positions are unrealistic and leave us virtually defenseless in a very dangerous world.
I hope that whoever we elect will put Ron Paul in charge of auditing Freddie, Fannie, The Fed & F.t Knox. We also need a plan to return to the gold standard, which takes time to accomplish – especially if there’s no gold in Ft. Knox as is rightfully suspected.
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