It is not because of his intense moral convictions. Nor, it is because he may alienate women or Independents. Rick Santorum goes against the proverbial Republican flow.
This 53-year old ex-Senator/Congressman has always been in his own way, a marvel. While Pennsylvania has tradionally leaned toward life due to it heavily Roman Catholic influence, it is what it is: A Northeastern, big labor, big union state. Santorum was the rule, never the exception.
When he announced his run for the Presidency everyone, including myself, felt that he would be the " Republican Dennis Kucinich" of the primary. He was a "pro-life, sanctity of marriage" ideologue. He was what Kentucky Senator Rand Paul would have described in his book, "The Tea Party Goes to Washington," a "neo-con."
In short, Senator Santorum always had his admirers. His chances in the GOP primary would have been described as "none and none." However, this was 2012. Nothing went according to script!
When you are seen to be out of the race before the race starts, you do have one advantage: You aren't on the radar. The remaining candidates saw Santorum as a "one and doner." He would quietly make his best pitch to the small towns in Iowa, finish sixth or seventh and be through. As we know, this isn't how it unfolded!
Amazingly, Senator Santorum reaped the most delegates in Iowa. What was even more incredible is that he didn't learn this fact until a week later! When the public finally realized that Mitt Romney had indeed not won Iowa, there was a pause, then the Establishment resumed their plea to call the race. Then, as we know, an aggrieved Newt Gingrich exercised "payback" over the airwaves against Romney. Romney's antics(actually it was his Super Pac)in Iowa were vigorously returned.
Meanwhile, a cash strapped Santorum weighed his options. What may have kept him in the race was the endorsement of some key Evangelical leaders in Texas. This surprised everyone, including Santorum! Most had expected Texas Governor, Rick Perry to be the beneficiary!
Still Santorum looked doomed. Gingrich won handily in South Carolina. Florida was a "brass knucks brawl" with Romney's great war chest ultimately determining the outcome. Santorum briefly returned home to attend to his ailing baby daughter. He looked cooked! Gingrich was throbbing from the millions spent on negative ads by Romney's Super Pac.
The Establishment renewed it's call to end the race. Fred Thompson accurately pointed out that only 10% of the delegates had been determined.
Romney moved on to win Morman friendly Nevada. Then came Santorum's pivotal sweep of Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado. Everything seemed to turn. Contributions began to come in. Gingrich hinted at what many were already secretly thinking: Romney should withdraw from the race, for the sake of party unity.
This was the high water mark for Rick Santorum. Everything had been stacked against him. Suddenly he was polling ahead in Michigan, Ohio and several key states. The "bluebloods" took notice. Romney again opened his warchest. The negative ads began to fly. We know the rest of the story.
The questions became "why" was the party Establishment so afraid of Santorum? Why were they so quick to push Mitt Romney at the conservative base? It was apparent that conservatives never warmed to the former Massachusetts Governor. In fact, most were looking at any option other than Mitt Romney.
We must mention that a large percentage of party faithful were doing their best to "buy" Romney. "Mitt Romney's like a can of beer in the morning." one Tea Party head compared. "In the afternoon, he looks better than he did eight hours earlier."
Santorum's verbal attacks on Romney grew sharper. He pointed out to voters that Romneycare was the preamble to Obamacare. He reminded voters of his own consistent stances on abortion, the bailouts and green energy. Romney continued to outspend him anywhere from 6-1 to 20-1 and in doing so, violated Ronald Reagan's axiom.
Through it all, the Establishment was persistent in it's call for the race to be over. Their propaganda ministry, AKA as Fox News was even accused of "shilling" for Mitt Romney by Santorum.
Then came the endorsements. It started with New Jersey Governor,Chris Christie. That was explainable. He owed California Republican, Carly Fiorina a favor. South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley obviously was promised something. Ditto for Haley Barbour. Then came Paul Ryan's "Harrumph" and finally Jeb Bush's stamp of approval. Marco Rubio's endorsement and subsequent plea for Santorum to exit was supposed to have ended it.
The question is, "why?"
"Why" is the party so focused on wrapping up the nomination in April? We finished '08 early and as I recall the Democrats took theirs into June. If '08 was an indication, declaring John McCain the winner wasn't the recipe for success! Perhaps it's due to Santorum's being "against the flow."
Santorum's Republican version is, in the minds of Fortune 500 CEO's "an anachromism." He talks about "the family, the job at the factory and the church." That's a different America. It may be what the "angry white male" longs for, but it's the past. In fact, "protection for American industry," while the original hallmark of the party, is now looked upon with suspicion, if not contempt by these corporate heads. There remains the question of where Santorum stands with organized labor.
Rick Santorum has voted against anti-right-to-work measures repeatedly, throughout his career. He is perceived to be a closet protectionist. He proposes bringing manufacturing jobs home. He has hinted that offshore outsourcing might be curbed. He is talking about an America that, according the National Review, doesn't exist anymore.
This could be a problem for Globalists. When you look at the Fortune 500 companies that support Mitt Romney, a Santorum administration could throw a monkey wrench into their plans. Romney has flip flopped on green energy. Santorum is about "going for it." Basically, these "blue collar jobs with high wages, benefits and union protection are what America is all about!" In other words, initiating coal, natural gas and oil exploration at a rate never seen before in this country; in the name of "job creation and national security," trump all other concerns!
Sounds good to "Joe Six Pack." To the "big boys" it could complicate things. It is akin to Governor Huckabee proposing a "fair tax." We're talking about, as they say in Arkansas, "upsetting the apple cart."
At this point some readers may becoming angry. "Why" would our Republican leaders be so willing to get behind an unpopular front runner when his opponent clearly better resonates with the country? Simple. Romney is part of the elite. He is the candidate of Fortune 500 companies, Wall Street and the big banks. He represents the system, the current status quo. Santorum is an outsider. Sure, he has made recent strides and has climbed the ladder nicely. But he is from a Plebeian past. Furthermore, his "working class" ideas are not in step with our leaderships' globalistic agenda.
Okay. "Bluebloods" like other "bluebloods." But what about guys like Marco Rubio. His past mirrors Santorum's to an extent. Two years ago, he was campaigning against the "Arlen Specter wing of the party." Rubio is another discussion for another writing. But he was clearly co-opted by an Establishment who has promised him something. What? That's a million dollar question! But, write it down! It's worth a lot!
Is there any path to the nomination for Santorum? It looks hopeless. But stranger things have happened. On delegate count alone, Romney should be there. But if he falls short, there will be another discussion. It probably won't make a difference BUT, with a party split on the horizon, it's imprudent to rule out the impossible.
A lot will depend on how strong Obama looks in July. If Obamacare is overturned the President will be in an interesting position. As Dick Morris suggested, "his two main achievements were the Stimulus and Obamacare. The Stimulus failed and if Obamacare is ruled unconstitutional, he will have nothing to run on save failure."
How will this impact the Republican convention? Nobody honestly knows! Obamacare's overturn should result in a combination of "relief and anger." The fact that Mitt Romney supported government mandated health care in his home state will not be forgotten. There will be countless arguments over the actual unemployment numbers. Energy exploration will likely be the issue most frequently discussed at the convention.
The stage could finally be set for a third party emergence in 2016. If Romney is the nominee and loses in November, BANK ON IT!
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