Does anyone else wonder if Mitt Romney is starting to feel like the last kid always picked in a neighborhood pick-up game of football? We went through Bachmann, Perry, Cain, and it seems we may be sending Gingrich back to the bench for the new kid Rick Santorum. Yet, there stands Mitt Romney, all alone in front of everyone, pretending not to notice that everyone else is looking everywhere but at him hoping some other kid is going to round the corner and save them from having to pick him.
It’s not as if they haven’t tried to play with Mitt before. A few years ago he was finally picked to play on Massachusetts’s team. He insisted on playing quarterback, so they let him. What did he do on the first play of the game? He took the snap, turned around, and ran into his own end-zone. He spiked the ball and did a little dance as the rest of his stunned team mates watched. Mitt didn’t care if he scored a 2 point Safety for Kennedy’s team. Mitt just wanted to be able to say he scored. Even after Ted Kennedy himself came over to share a victory belly bump, Mitt still didn’t get it. Worse, he decided he was too good for Massachusetts’s team and walked off the field leaving them 2 points down. After all, he was the only one on the team who had scored a point. What use were the rest of his team anyway? He decided he was going to go pro.
News travels fast in the neighborhood and all the kids are very wary of Mitt. They don’t want to pick a kid who they may have to tackle before he scores for the other team, again. But that’s not the only reason they don’t want to pick him. Mitt knows the rules of the game. He knows how it is played. He just has a natural ability to trip on his own two feet. No hand-eye coordination. No natural instincts for the ball. Mitt also hates to get tackled. He always has a laminated signed note from his mom, Ann Rubin, stating no one is to tackle Mitt or even look at him cross. Someone once made the mistake of tagging him too hard playing Tag a few years back. Mitt’s mom was right on the phone with that kid’s mother screaming that her son should have shown her Lil’ Mitt more respect.
All the kids have done everything they could to get Mitt to not want to play football again. They offered him anything he wanted. From official Head Coach down to cheerleader so he could still be part of the game. Both positions he would be good at. But Mitt refuses. He still has it in his head that he is the best damned quarterback in the country right now and he should be a lock for neighborhood M.V.P. He thinks the rest of the kids a suck compared to him. Heck, he doesn’t understand why anyone else would even play if he is on the field. He’s the only one with a proven ability to score. Plus, he has a great ability to make the opposing teams like him.
The neighborhood kids are starting to get worried now though. Fewer kids are showing up to play on Saturdays. Word gets around as it always does. Take Newt Gingrich for example. He was starting to get good at the game and kids were picking him more and more as their first pick. Rumors have it that Mitt and his moms hated Newt and started a whisper campaign saying Newt actually hates football and loves soccer. They talked about Newts girlfriend; said he got cooties from her. They started saying Newt actually hated his late Uncle Ronny; a local high school sports hero who did go pro. Even Newt’s Aunt Nancy and his cousin Mike had to come out and say that wasn’t true. Almost everyone knew it was a lie. The list goes on. Now people are wondering about where those rumors started about the Cain and Perry kids. So now no one wants to play anymore if Mitt or his mom is involved. Some of the kids have even been talking about finding other friends to hang out with. There’s this group of kids in the working class part of town who call themselves the Tea Party and they are playing football the old way. Anyone can play and its tackle football only. No special rules for anyone. Come as you are. No pansies allowed. Some of the kids invited the Tea Party kids to play with them here a few months ago but Mitt’s mom called them a bunch of uneducated losers who didn’t respect how the game of football was played in her neighborhood and told them all to leave so she could go back to her Bridge club, mint juleps, and not have to worry about Tea Party rabble-rousers roughing up Lil’ Mitt or touching her Lexus.
If Gingrich can’t make it back, it looks like the kids are going to pick Santorum as the quarterback. Barring a couple of other kids who have been out of town for a while showing back up, it looks like this Santorum kid may be it. The final kid before someone is forced to pick Romney. If that comes to pass, I will bet you plenty of kids are just going to go across town and play with the Tea Party or just stay home and play Xbox on Saturdays from now on.
All is not lost though. Some of the neighborhood kid’s parents are seeing how Mitt and his mom are creating havoc in the usually quiet cohesive neighborhood. A few friends of Ann Rubin have been hinting that maybe she should just tone it down a bit. They have to do business with the Tea Party kids parents and they are having a hard time making deals while defending her remarks. Some of the Tea Party kid’s parents are friends and family as well. It’s getting uncomfortable at the hair salon and barber shop. No one is talking anymore. Everyone is on eggshells. They also count on these Saturdays for the kids to be out of the house so they can get house work done or nap a few needed hours. They don’t want to jeopardize that. Its bad enough they are working late and going in early trying to keep up with Obama’s “New World Order”. A few hours without kids is a very rare and expensive commodity if you have to pay for it.
Lil’ Mitt Romney isn’t a bad kid. He is decent, bright, and good looking. Just one look at how he turned a local bake sale into a multi-million dollar revenue generating company and you know Lil’ Mitt is going places. He just needs a little guidance. Some have suggested a military academy to put some meat on his bones, knock some of the lace and bubble wrap off, inject a little reality into his sheltered world.
Maybe then he comes back as the next Ronny. Who knows? That wouldn’t be such a bad thing now would it?
He is just a fat guy in Maine.
Problem with Santorum as quarterback is he has a losing record as a player. In his last game he was sacked and his team lost by a wide margine. Seems Ricky likes to talk about his past accomplishments but he leaves out a few details.sd Ricky is not very good at calling plays on the fly. Only his cousin Newt, who is a veteran player and has a history of winning can counter the other team’s quarterback.
Are you guys seriously going to back Romney before Ron Paul, the most conservative legislator in the US Congress since 1937?
Seems to me that for some, Paul is the last man to be picked. He only gets the ball once per game but manages to score every time he does.
Draft Perry/Palin or Perry/West. We need real leadership an Santorum ain’t it.
Yup, @Zelsdorf Ragshaft III. So far Santorum’s had it easy since he’s not been considered a threat until his sweep of the three state beauty contest. Believe me, I was happy to see it… since it did again postpone the coronation. Not because I’m that all fired crazy about Santorum, mind you. But he’s still to the right of Romney.
Via the latest documented Open Secrets SuperPAC records, negative advertising shows that Santorum has only been the target to the tune of $399,001. The only one with less negative advertising against him is Ron Paul, with $132, 990. When the opposition isn’t spending much to tear you down these days, you’re not even a blip on the radar.
Newt has been the target of $17,273,447, while Mitt has been the recipient of $5,112,568 worth of negative advertising. Of that amount, only $3,538,391 came from the Gingrich SuperPAC. The rest of it came from Obama’s PACs and/or SuperPACs: the largest amount from the public union, AFSCME. The second largest from the Priorities USA (which teams up with the SEIU). This is only O’SuperPAC and PAC activities while in “idle” mode. They have no reason to spend much until there’s a GOP candidate… so they just occasionally throw a spit-wad at Mittens just to stay warmed up.
Santorum? We’ll see if his sweaters bristle with static when the onslaught comes his way. He’s got some back tracking to do, even as of last summer when he slammed both Libertarians and the Tea Party in his townhall meetings.
I’d take a wild guess that earmark and union supporter Rick isn’t likely to have someone as fiscally extreme as Libertarian Ron Paul in his cabinet, tackling monetary policy. Don’t think that observation of the Tea Party movement as being of concern.. and he did fight the TP candidates in 1010… also goes over well under close scrutiny.
Will all be forgiven and forgotten, just because his last name isn’t Obama? Probably. But I suspect some of the adoration and glow he’s receiving now will tarnish as facts surface, and he will become nothing but a “not Obama and better than Romney” alternative. I don’t see Santorum whipping the base up into an enthusiastic frenzy.
No perfect candidate.. that’s’ for sure. Still no Romney for me. I’d pull the lever for Santorum, but I also feel there wouldn’t be much left of him after the general campaign season was over. Like Mittens, both are a perfect set up for Obama, each in their own way.
Still prefer Newt as the nom out of those left standing… plus a Gingrich admin cabinet that includes Ron Paul and Palin. But then, as I said quite a while ago when Newt was gaining momentum… it’d be grand fun to watch the heads do the exorcist spin with a Newt/Palin ticket. Don’t think that would be likely, but entertainment value may be all we get out of this election.
Ron Paul is not a conservative. He’s a libertarian on fiscal issues (quite acceptable to most of we conservatives), and a liberal/progressive/leftist on foreign policy in the mold of Dennis Kuchinich, Sheila Jackson Lee and Maxine Waters.
The former is acceptable. The latter means he will never get the conservative nomination.
Paul would be extremely helpful in getting the libertarian fiscal platform incorporated into a Republican plan… at least in lip service. Since Romney and Santorum are pretty establishment type politicians on their own, I expect little of either in meaningful performance as a POTUS.
Keep bashing Romney.
Then finish the job by voting for Obama.
This IS a pro-Obama site, isn’t it?
If not, maybe you should follow Reagan’s 11th Commandment, and stop bashing Republicans.
Sounds like you mean “stop bashing Romney”, SpySmasher. Channeling Coulter and John Hinderaker, perhaps?
Considering your chosen poison, Romney, spent $17 mil plus, violating Reagan’s 11th Commandment, doesn’t it occur to you that your observation is either extremely naive or massively hypocritical?
Thanks… I’ll continue to exercise my 1st Amendment rights, and vet anyone seeking to occupy the Oval Office as the face of “conservatism”. If you blind loyalists can’t take it, maybe you should join that other party of drones and clones. My values and rights aren’t for sale.
Rick isn’t the last man, though. All three (four if you’re a Ron Paul optimist) contenders are still standing. I certainly worry about the state of the winner’s coffers by the time he gets to take on Obama, though.
Looks like Romney managed to keep Maine with some last-minute campaigning (still fell short of his 2008 vote totals though). We’ll see if that helps him.
@Bob Dobbs: To complete the metaphor you might say that Ron Paul is only allowed to play in the Colored League, the neighborhood boys refuse to play with the likes of little Ronny.
Mata you are right once again…Ron Paul is not a conservative, he follows Constitutional principals rather than the party line. You said “He’s a libertarian on fiscal issues…and a liberal/progressive/leftist on foreign policy” can you please get off the left/right, conservative/liberal bandwagons and show me how ANY of his positions, Foreign or Domestic, are contrary to the ideals put forth by the framers in the Constitution. And please don’t tell me that the founders thoughts concerning this nation abstaining from foreign entanglements and wars are no longer valid in the world we live in today…that is the exact same argument the left uses when they desire to institute Positive as opposed to the Negative rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Any time the left wants to change something they disagree with in the Constitution, for instance… the right to keep and bear arms…they use that same worn out rhetoric.
@Poppa_T, I’ve already been there, done that on the Just Plain Crazy thread. Since you were also commenting in that thread, I’m going to have to assume you read my comment nine behind yours that relates to the military.
If you still don’t remember enough of my views on Ron Paul, feel free to go back and parse the Hard Hitting New Ad thread, where you and I have already been over this very subject, as well as your tangents about how the “military supports Ron Paul” (how’s that one workin’ out for ya…), and the suicide tangent.
And at no time did I use the lib/prog “living Constitution” type debate, as you erroneously suggest.
Needless to say, you and I have exhausted any debate on the topic of Ron Paul, and I find no need to be repeating myself yet again. I find your choice unacceptable. You find mine unacceptable. That’s’ the way life goes.
MATA
how about RICK PERRY come back with NEWT GINGRICH, AND SARAH PALIN?
NO BILLION FROM EITHER SIDES COULD BEAT THEM.
MAY THE AMERICANS GIVE HIM THE SUPPORT HE NEED TO RISE,
MAY THE WORTHY PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA STAND UP PLEASE AND BE COUNTED,
Last I looked, Bees, the US has only one POTUS, and we don’t elect the Three Musketeers, nor the Three Stooges to occupy the Oval Office. The Vice President is a selection by the POTUS nominee… not the voters.
There are four “standing up” waiting to be counted now. Perhaps others are waiting to be called to service at a brokered convention… who knows. But if those thinking they want to be the savior at the convention don’t have the excuse of being too new (like Rubio, West and other freshman Congress members), or Governors wanting to “finish the jobs” they started in their states (Walker, Scott, Brewer etc) any one else’s reluctance to get in the race for whatever their reasons has one demerit from me already for their cop out attitude.
And that also includes Sarah, who has been a let down by not lending her support to a candidate when endorsements can make a difference at this stage. That means, to me, she’s donning the “Party” hat.
MATA
you said something very important, that is the all LEADERSHIP STATES SHOULD BE MORE INVOLVED IN THIS SO CRITICAL TIME, AND IF THEY DON’T WANT TO DO THEIR PART ON WHAT IS NEEDED TO REALlY BE DONE, THEY ARE LOOSING in standing if they don’t have a good excuse to stay behind,
there is no room for being scare to take a stand loud and clear,
RICK PERRY did take a stand and face the dirty public accusations, with his head high above all those demwith, it did scared other ,of course we can understand it fully, the public also became cynical around the CANDIDATES, making it difficult for them to explain their PLAN to help reclaime this NATION, WHERE THE MINDS HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO THE WORSE mind bending depression EVER PRACTICE
IN AMERICA BY A PRESIDENT OUT TO DESTROY THEM IN THEIR MOST PRECIOUS VALUES.
GIVEN BY THE FRAMERS OF AMERICA FOR THE PEOPLE TO ASPIRE A BETTER LIFE FOR THEM AND THEIR FAMILY
in a SUPERIOR AMERICA ENVY FROM THE WORLD
BYE
@Bob Dobbs: You said:
Sorry, but you aren’t even close to being right about that.
Ron Paul only has an 83.51% lifetime Conservative voting record as recorded by the American Conservative Union.
Except it looks like the majority of the neighborhood kids prefer Romney. Of all the time kids have picked him his total beats his fellow competitors COMBINED total. Trouble is a fringe part of the neighborhood kids can’t accept that – and instead try to back another competitor but that has turned into a series of losers who fumbled the ball and we watch them crash and burn. I thought sour grapes was unsporting. LOL
My dear Mata, I know that you and I are never going to agree when it comes to Libertarian v. Conservative ideals and that’s a shame because I think we hold many similar viewpoints. I believe the place for Liberals and Conservatives to battle is at the State NOT the Federal level. The main reason I became a Libertarian was because I could see how each party used the Constitution to advance their own goals. Thank you for pointing out your post#9 on the aforementioned thread as it clearly illustrates our fundamental differences. You claim that “one of the prime purposes of the central government was to provide for the common defence [sic]”. I disagree…the only just reason for a central government is found not in the Constitution but in the Declaration of Independence…
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”
Please look carefully at the words so painfully chosen by Thomas Jefferson and others…”all men are created equal” not just Americans but all people. When Bush the Younger signed the Patriot act he betrayed those words by saying that only Americans were entitled to those unalienable rights President Obama went even farther with the NDAA by creating law that strips those rights away from even American citizens.
I don’t need the government to protect me….I need it to protect my Rights…anything or any party that infringes on those rights is not worth defending . Ron Paul is the only candidate that I believe cares more about my Liberty than my Protection.
@GaffaUK: You said, about Romney:
Really? Let’s look at New Hampshire:
Hmm, looks like Romney’s 39% is less than all the other kids combined total of 59%. Looks like you’re wrong on that one Gaffe machine.
But let’s peruse Florida, shall we?
But in Nevada, Romney did trounce them all. He got more than all the others’ votes added together. He won by a HUGE margin!
Maine, where Romney came in first:
Conclusion: Gaffer the live Gaffe-machine is at it again.
You know it is really too bad you aren’t a natural born citizen of our country, for you would make a helluva Vice President after Obama gives him the boot and sends him over to the soon to be vacated Secretary of State position.
Sheesh, if it weren’t so sad about how often you were wrong, it would be funny.
Poppa_T
hi,
I think RON PAUL popularity is because he his so strong on the CONSTITUTION,
and you make a lot of sense in your comment, because the key to good GOVERNMENT
IS TO OBEY THE RULES OF THE LAWS OF THE LAND,
that is as simple as it is, they have disobey those rules, and look where AMERICA IS now,
the JUDGE GINSBURG HAS SAID SOMETHING TERRIBLE ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION, this is very wrong,
to deny the rules of the lands which have serve to shape the most powerful NATION of the WORLD,
and the time has come to return to it, in order to come regain everything else, is in it,
just like a building which is crumbling because they had add up too many floors layered on top of each other became dangerous for the tenants lives, SO it must be destroy as a whole, not patch up which will not fix the core problem, but a lot of DYNAMITE TO IMPLODE it, and HAS TO BE CLEANED UP, SO TO REBUILT ON THE LAND WHICH IS STILL AT THE BASE ,forever stable as the CONSTITUTION IS
bye
Apparently I’m going to have to cut/paste my comments from the “Just Plain Crazy thread. Providing for the common defence is a goal that absolutely *is* enshrined in the Constitution both in the Preamble and under the Executive authorities in Article II, Section 2. Do you think the Preamble to the Constitution is not part of that document?
Here’s a recap of the Preamble to the US Constitution. I recite it to myself every 4th of July as a reminder. Hey, it’s all the brain can retain. I sure can’t remember the entire Constitution – even without the Bill of Rights – to recite. Nor can I retain the entire Declaration of Independence by the 13 colonies that was actually signed that day in 1776.
So again I will cut/paste the Constitutional authority for a national military and the CiC’s position as the commander of that military from my prior responses to you and other Paul supporters. And again remind you that no where in the document does it state any size or limitations on that army, or how and where it is to be deployed. Just that Congress has the power to declare war… or at the very least would have to agree to it since only they can fund any war.
Post WWII, to my knowledge, there has never been another formal declaration of war. However both Iraq and Afghanistan have had AUMF Resolutions that have passed Congress in it’s stead. Then again, it’s difficult to declare war on a state’less enemy who functions as gangs of thugs stashed around in the corners of the world, and has “soldiers” all using different gang names.
Below is what I said:
That fluctuating size and power of the standing army is the decision of both the CiC and Congress.
I find it interesting that you say “…the only just reason for a central government is found not in the Constitution but in the Declaration of Independence…”. Frankly, when one reads the Declaration today, and the list of grievances the colonies had for the British monarchy, you can say it’s more of a reason for the free and independent states NOT to have a central government.
Indeed, our federal government has done similar acts. The only difference is it was not perpetrated by a single monarch or despot, but with the aid and abetment of our turncoat elected officials. One can then suggest this is “the will of the people”. Lately, I question that since the Congress is doing anything *but* the “will of the people”, but what they feel is best.
And yes, we do have a lot in common. None of that precludes we will tangle in areas where we don’t. I just don’t have the patience to do it over and over.
Correction for myself, since I was curious. This was about either formal declarations of war, or AUMF’s in US history.
The CRS did a study in March 2011, that states AUMFs have been used 11 times in our history, and that WWII was the last time that a formal declaration of war was declared by Congress.
Other AUMFs?
INRE formal declarations of war:
@Bob Dobbs: See, the “You guys” kinda sums it up with Paul as well as it does with Lil’Mittens… Neither one of them is on our team. Neither one of them is “öne of us”. Ron Paul is not a Republican, let alone a Conservative Republican. He’s a Blame America First lunatic Libertarian. And regardless of what Mitt, his Mom, Ann Coulter, Karl Rove, or anybody else says, Mitt Romney is a LIB ER AL. Period!!!
@MataHarley: What Rick said was “this movement within the Republican party and the Tea Party…” Not that he is opposed to the TP itself , but to people within the TP who want to “re-fashion Conservatism”.
Yeah… we can’t have establishment conservatism being “re-fashioned” into being conscious of fiscal responsibility these days. May hurt Santorum’s support for the unions and earmarks.
Hilarious and sad at the same time. This post is linked over at IOwnTheWorld.
xthred
hi,
please tell us about it, and start with the hilarious side, you know how we like to laugh, and continue with the sad side and we wil cry with you and I OWN THE WORLD,
bye
bees,
So you don’t like iOwnTheWorld? Can’t help you there.
@MataHarley:
You know Ms. Mata I really hope you never get the patience to respond over and over because I’m having a hard enough time replying to you as it is, but, once more into the breach.
Do you think that the Governments of Iraq or Afghanistan had the authority to defend themselves?
Would you consider those Governments to be “just” ?
Any form of Government be it a Constitutional Republic such as we once had or a Feudal Monarchy, Communist Utopian Society or even God Forbid, a Democracy, will act in some fashion to provide for the “general welfare” of its population they will also defend themselves against attack but that doesn’t mean that those forms of Government are “Just” systems for the people who must live there.
But our system, as it was intended, was different. We were different because we were intended to be a Nation of Law with firmly established limits on the power the Federal Government could exercise. Our “just” system of Government was established first and foremost to ensure that we remain a free people. Those other issues “general welfare and common defense” are the responsibilities of all governments be they “just” or not. That Ms. Mata is where Ron Paul separates himself from the other candidates, he is the only one who has vocalized the fact that it is our liberty that must be protected above all else and having that liberty usurped by an out of control government is far more dangerous to the citizens and the future of this nation than any Islamic terrorist or foreign enemy could ever be.
@ilovebeeswarzone:
Hi Ms. Bees, you are absolutely correct concerning Justice Ginsberg, she is more concerned with establishing precedent for Government provided positive rights such as health-care, housing, retirement etc. rather than the negative rights our Constitution was based on. Just about every Constitution in the world besides ours grants it’s citizens those aforementioned positive rights you can take a look at any of them, the old USSR, the Red Chinese, France, Greece etc. they all grant some form of positive rights to the people….the problem is they never deliver on the pie-in-the-sky promises they make.
@xthred:
Thanks for turning me on to the “iOwn the World” site. They’ve got some good stuff.
oh mercy… Now that the spotlight swings on Mr. Santorum, the cuts are beginning to bleed profusely.
It turns out that when the majority Republicans in the Senate wanted to block Clinton’s 1997 appointment of Sotomayor to the Circuit Courts, fearing it would fast track her to the SCOTUS, Santorum was one of those who broke ranks. Instead he, along with such stalwart “conservatives” [/sarc] like Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Gordon Smith… yada yada… joined the Dems in voting yea for her confirmation.
The battle to prevent her catapulting to SCOTUS was documented back in 1998 by the NYTs.
Being that Sotomayor was considered an activist judge, they wanted to prevent the easy path to SCOTUS even back then. Since, at that time, there was a potential, and incorrect rumor of a possible opening, Santorum will have some serious explaining to do as to why he would support Sotomayor’s stairway to SCOTUS. And it also calls into question just what kind of appointments we’d see from a POTUS Santorum.
What is the progressive’s/socialist’s problem with math,anyway?
30-40% is not a “majority”. The majority is the 60-70% that do not want Romney.
@Mata
I’m referring to delegates -you know the process on how the ‘kids pick who they want to play football’. LOL
As for actual votes casts – no Romney doesn’t beat the others combined and nor was I refering to that. But let’s look at that – so far Romney has had 1,183,317 votes with Gingrich on 836,757, Santorum on 569,404 and Paul with 337,613. So looking at the total votes cast for the remainig four – Romney has a commanding percentage 40% – followed by Gingrich on 28% who only has won one state – and despite winning the same number of states as Romney – Santorum has less than half the votes cast for him compared to Romney. So by any reasonable measure – Romney is hardly the kid who gets picked last! 😀
Your math is getting worse, Gaffa. 9% of allocated delegates is far from a “majority”. We are not a “popular vote” nation.
xthred
hi
on the contrary the one time I was there It was from a link here at FA, and there was a video about a military song that really impress me, and I was glad to have seen it, that was last year from another vet here, I thanked him for the link, and that’s why I remember the BLOG, NAME I OWN THE WORLD, AND i ALSO LIKED THAT NAME TOO,
THAT’s why I reply to you also.
bye
I’m talking about those who have already picked (as you very well know) – the favourite has been Romney. Twist that as much as you like Mata – but he’s winning so far. But of course long way to go – however look at how many horses have already fallen.
60% of those who have voted don’t want Romney but then using that logic you can say 71.5% don’t want Gingrich and 81% don’t want Santorum.
Put this way – as a foreigner I reckon Romney will win the Republican nomination. As an American who knows so much more than me regarding US politics – tell me who you think is going to win? 😉
Gaffa, the winner of the Indy 500 is not determined in the 45th lap of the race. Therefore, no one is “winning”.. there is only one race car that currently leads the pack, but has a long way to go before racing past the checkered flag. If I were to continue the analogy, I’d say that Romney forced Newt’s car into the wall twice so far, Santorum has been left alone, just came out of a pit stop and could overtake Romney because he’s overdue for a pit stop.
I wouldn’t even begin to guess who will win the nomination. Certainly, out of all, Romney has the greatest capacity to buy the nomination, as I’ve pointed out before in my post following the Florida primary. Plus he enjoys the free campaign benefits of a GOP and conservative pundit backing. But there is a strong resistance to him that may render all that spending, plus those pushing him hard, less than effective for the stated goal.
There is the possibility of a brokered convention strictly because of how the new GOP rules were set up, which some say were gamed to catapult Romney to an early victory. Obviously that backfired… It also depends on what comes out about Santorum and if the flush of adoration is washed away by reality. Then there’s Newt, the Lazarus, and the possibility of him managing a third resurrection. Lastly, it will depend upon how many more times Mittens can stuff his mouth with his feet, and still come out pretending to be a conservative.
In the meantime, Ron Paul will remain in the background as a slow leak in the other three’s delegate count.
Bottom line? It’s anyone’s guess. This is the process as it should be. No coronations or anointment, but the slug fest while everyone weighs in. The Dems did the same with Hillary and Obama in 2008.
Poppa_T
hi
you know I think this why there is so much doubt on people’s mind this time, they are so afraid to be in the same box as they are now, choked by entitlements, and unable to find jobs, tired of being lied to,
lost trust on words, and lean on the thought that everyone does it on both sides,
they would not be able to recognize a just person if it was right in their face, because of the corrupt media propagande telling them lies all over the screen where the people take their news, I personly like FOX NEWS for they deserve my trust,and I don’t need any other because I don’t know if they are worthy of my trust for some and other I really see their cover up, so that is enough, no need to dig for more.
but some people feed on all the scam they are told, and live by it, look at OCCUPIED STREET PEOPLE PAID TO BREAK THINGS WHICH DON’T BELONG TO THEM, THEY ARE PAID TO TERRORIZE THE PEOPLE, THEY ARE PAID TO SEND BOTTLES AND ROCKS AND BOMBS TO THE LAW OFFICERS DOING THEIR WORK TO PROTECT THE CITIZEN, what do you call those , anyway it give a lot of deep thinking to
THE PEOPLE CONFUSING THOUGHT OF WHAT THE HELL IS THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING, WHY DON’T THEY USE POWER TO STOP THAT, AND THAT IS WHY THEY ARE SO ANGRY AND DOUBTFUL AND CYNICAL, THEY ARE IN FRONT OF SOMETHING THE GOVERNMENT GAVE THEM TO LIVE WITH THE LOWEST SCENE OF DIRT AND MOB RULES FEAR FACTOR, AND THE PEOPLE CAN’T DEAL WITH IT,
BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT SUPRESS IT BECAUSE THEY AGREE WITH IT, AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE GOVERNMENT CREATED THAT CRISIS TO HUMILIATE AMERICA IN FRONT OF THE WORLD OVER,
@GaffaUK: You said:
Translation:
LOL, revisionist history on a comment on which the ink is barely dry!
Oh Gaffer.
@GaffaUK: You asked:
That’s easy.
I will go through this slowly, just for you Gaffer.
Ahem…the winner will be the person who garners the most GOP delegates.
Fish.
Barrel.
Bless Antics doesn’t get analogies. Then contradicts himself. LOL
I guess he’s unable to make a political prediction and state which candidate he reckons will win because he has no idea and afraid to embarass himself.
😀
@GaffaUK: As Mata stated, it is way too early to predict with any accuracy which candidate will emerge as our nominee.
Tell me Gaffer, can you predict the winner of next year’s Indy 500? Preakness? Wimbledon?
No?
Didn’t think so. But no worries, I won’t stoop to your level and say you’re afraid to embarrass yourself.
Q. How often does the Indy 500 finish with only one car going past the finishing line?
Looks to me like the last five republican presidential candidate nominees were pretty much wrapped up after Super Tuesday which is in 3 weeks time. You have to go back 36 years to Reagan & Ford for a close race that went to the convention. And when was the last time the Republican had a brokered convention? Over 60 years ago.
So the comparison with the Indy 500 doesn’t work.
Santorum lost his last Senate race by 19 percent because of his over zealous religious views.
@Gaffer: You said:
Well, it is the first one that gets all the attention…
Then you said:
Your point being?
.
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@Liberal1 (objectivity): So you’re getting your talking points from Donald Trump now?
Interesting.
As to why he lost, Rush summed it up quite nicely, lib-one:
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@Antics
Wow – do I really need to spell it out for you? During the race – the Indy 500 can have the person leading changing many times – indeed in 2011 when Brit Dan Weldon won, it changed 24 times. On lap 198 he took the lead and won completing 200 laps. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Indianapolis_500
So it was hard to tell at lap 45 who was going to win. Whereas it the Republican Primaries for the last 30 years the guy who was leading early – certainly after Super Tuesday was the one who went on to become the Republican nominee.
My point being is whilst nothing is guaranteed it is hardly preposterous to say that Romney is likely to win the nomination and it is unlikely to go to a brokered convention and that comparisons to the Indy 500 in that front-runner status keep changing throughout the whole race doesn’t hold up. And Romney is hardly the kid who is being picked last by Republicans as a whole.
Fish
Barrel
@Gaffer: My, my. You do bloviate. BTW, thanks for the rudimentary lesson on the Indy 500.
I’m wondering, what are your thoughts on Le Mans?
With all foolishness aside, I knew exactly what you meant. I was just being a smart-ass, but you took the bait and favored us with your long winded, condescending reply. And I also know that you are trying to goad me into picking someone as the likely GOP nominee in the hopes that my pick doesn’t win so that you can claim some sort of silly victory.
If you honestly want to know my thoughts on who will win the GOP nomination, then I will be glad to tell you.
It doesn’t matter.
I do not want Romney, but if he gets the nod, I will cast my vote for him. It will be more of an anti-Obama vote, rather than a pro-Romney vote, but it will (hopefully) get the job done. Even with Romney in, a GOP majority in both houses of Congress will keep a milquetoast like him from being Obama’s shadow, so to speak.
America is at a crossroads and we desperately need to remove Obama from the White House. Another four years of him in office with no need to worry about re-election, is a scary proposition. His blatant disregard for the Constitution, combined with his massive ego and narcissistic complex is a recipe for disaster.
When he was first elected, I had hopes that he would be your ordinary, run of the mill, bleeding heart liberal. He quickly let his true colors shine through (to paraphrase Cindy Lauper), and started us down the road towards European style, soft tyrannical socialism, spending insanely all the way. He must go so that we can begin the long process of undoing his many Chicago-style, quid pro quo crony capitalistic misadventures, burdensome regulations, and to begin installing Constitutionalist judges on the bench to counter act the far left activist choices he has been quietly making for the last three years.
So go ahead, Gaffer. Show us more of your holier-than-thou demeanor and pretend you know what you are talking about when it comes to American politics.
I await your brilliance.
/sarcasm off
Antics
See that’s better isn’t it? You and I and Mata – can actually have decent conversations on politics. I am actually interested in yours and Mata’s views rather than us trying to point score of each other. I’m not interested in motorsport but I am in politics – and at the moment US politics is more interesting than UK mainly because there is an election on. Obama is a disappointment but I feel the Republicans haven’t put forward any strong candidates. I can’t see Paul winning. I believe Santorum and Gingrich have an outsiders chance but would do better if one of them dropped out. Romney like all the remaining candidates, but particularly him, lacks charisma. If only the right had a charismatic fiscal conservative – someone focused on the reducing the debt, upping employment and productivity rather than distractions about abortion, gay marriage etc
@Liberal1 (objectivity): Not really correct. Santorum was running against the son of a popular former governor (Casey) who was also pro-life and pro-gun. And Santorum himself is just not that charismatic. Triangulation plus name recognition plus greater charisma added up to a resounding win for Casey. It was never about religion (that time around), though it may be in fall 2012 if Rick gets the nomination.
Gaffa, it seems you still don’t get my point. You and far too many of the media and establishment seem to want to declare a winner of the contest, and not let the process/race run it’s course.
As you now admit, you cannot determine the winner of the Indy in the 45th lap. You need to wait until:
1: the last lap in the Indy race is run or
2: any candidate has garnered 51% of all the delegates needed to win the nom
I don’t care when the last time the GOP has had a brokered convention, or when it has been so hotly contested. And one need not look back so far in history to see another close contest between Hillary and Obama, that literally went up to the convention. That’s the way the process runs, and while many want it to be easy and over quickly, I like the horse race.
At this point, there has been nine states with either primaries or a caucus. Out of that, there are only 115 delegates – only 10% of the delegates needed to win – that are bound/allocated from only four of those contests. That means the other states’ delegates belong to no one yet.
Of those bound delegates, Romney only has 7.8% of the delegates needed.
Needless to say, there are many “laps” yet to be run in a race that has shown the lead has unpredictably changed hands due to influences in a moment in time. And still the majority of voters do not want Romney.
Between Mar 3 and 10th, fifteen more states will hold their primaries or a caucus. Two more by the end of February. By then, 26 states will have weighed in. We’ll know more than. Historically, it has only been in March, after a “super tuesday” run of races, that a genuine front runner was visible.
It seems that impatience is the rule of the game, because so many want to just skip the process, and hand the nom to Romney prematurely.
You are, of course, free to make your predictions until you’re blue in the face. But as an uninvolved bystander, I can’t say I much care. What I do mind is the US media and the GOP authorities manipulating the “herd” into believing there is no need to fight a Romney candidacy, forget who we prefer and throw in the towel.
It’s not the GOP’s, or your decision.. it’s the choice of the voters in each of these states. And at this time, there is no clear choice.
In the week lead up to the round of elections in early March, Romney will unleash his fiscal arsenal at Santorum. Since Rick’s had an easy ride and very little scrutiny until now, we have no idea how he’ll stand up. Time has actually been on his side. I doubt that Santorum would be standing now had the $15 mil that Romney spent against Newt been directed at Santorum instead.
Frankly, I think Santorum not only has a lot of problems, but is no match for Obama in a one on one. But we’ll have to see if he’s still left standing after Romney’s upcoming assault. He has earmarks, unions, Sotomayor all as minuses on his record. And should he use the contraceptive bogus bait to portray himself as an intolerant fiery evangelical, he’s not likely to do himself any favors with any demographic except for the primary social/religious voters. Only time will tell.
As for Newt, Romney doesn’t have to spend any more money destroying him. The media is attempting to finish him off – doing that for Romney for free even now – despite the fact he’s in third place. They will not be happy until they force Newt out of the race completely. They may accomplish that… again, only time will tell.
The GOP probably feels more certain that Romney can tackle Santorum one on one easily. I’m also just as sure that Romney would rather fight Santorum than Newt for the top dog spot. Using Santorum’s Congressional record, he will have a chance to portray himself to the “right” of him. It won’t be an apples to apples comparison, of course. He’ll point out Santorum – while a member of a majority Senate (and briefly the House before) lent his support for Arlen Specter, for earmarks, for Amtrak, for Sotomayor, and the fact that the only leadership he demonstrated was for religious issues. Then Romney will say his liberal gubernatorial performance cannot be parsed the same way, using a Dem legislative opposition.
The gullible are likely to believe him. While I’m not all that thrilled with Santorum, he’s definitely more conservative than Romney.
But Romney up against Newt, should he resurge? Not such a cakewalk. Newt’s record is undeniably more conservative, and successful, than either Romney or Santorum. Both of them dearly hope Newt is going to be finished off, courtesy of the media and establishment, at no cost tot hem.
anticsrocks
I just heard of a heart stem cell therapy, using the person self own heart which has a scar on, and take a piece
of the heart and use some kind of stem cell method to multiply the piece in many of them and re-apply them on the scar which have proved to heal the scar, that come from CALIFORNIA RESEARCH CENTER,
I thought that was a fabulous discovery to bring here at FA,
THEY NOW are looking at applying it to other organs will they will continue the research for it,
bye
Mata I feel the pain when supporters look at Newt’s rapidly descending poll #’s in Mich.,Arizona and now even nationally. He’s 3rd. Haven’t seen any updated Ohio #’s but it seems a 3rd there on S.T. would be death knoll to his candidacy ??? Would he then throw his support to Santorum. If not and he stays till convention,will it be brokered with a call for a new face?
So many unknowns.
One thing certain.Mitt will have all guns trained on Rick in Mich. now till 26TH. Toss-up.
@ilovebeeswarzone: Thanks, Ms. Beezy
@MataHarley:
Rick’s got enough resources to fight back now, though. Figure he raised about $5 million in the first five weeks of 2012, then another $3 million in the days following his 3-state sweep. Probably at least another $4 million before Super Tuesday. Romney will probably have raised a similar amount *and* started the year with $20 million… but I’m thinking he has outspent Santorum by oh $12 million or so just this year, so his financial edge will only be about 3:2. And Santorum seems far more able to put together wins on a shoestring.
Point being, Romney can’t really afford another Pyrrhic victory like Florida. Well, unless he reaches back and puts $20 million of his own money on the table; but then it will *really* start looking like he’s trying to buy an election.
bbart, got any FEC data on Santorum’s latest? i.e. how much did he raise to his campaign direct, and how much was SuperPac money? Haven’t had time to prowl the latest FEC site.
Romney had $30 mil in SuperPac funds alone as of 2011 Q4. His campaign direct raised $56,465,509. So he was well over $20 mil with all resources at his disposal. His SuperPac, Restore our Future, carried the bulk of the FL onslaught against Newt to the tune of $13,029,882. That same SuperPac only spent $396,653 against Santorum.
No, the FEC data on everyone is only available through end of 2011, at which point Santorum was still raising peanuts (less than a million in all of Q4 2011). But his campaign has been fairly upfront about how much they’ve been raising (much like Paul’s), not least because they want to make it clear that they now have enough money to compete. So they actually came out and said that they had raised $4.3 million in January and further mentioned having raised three million in the three days following the MN/CO/MO sweep. The remainder is just my estimates.
I know Paul’s fundraising has dried up somewhat in 2012… a little less than $4 million in January and I expect a little less than $3 million in February. On the other hand he started the year with $2 million and I believe can still roll over $1.9 million in unused Congressional campaign funds, which he hasn’t to my knowledge done. Still, no more TV ads for him I think.
Gingrich is most likely the one with the toughest financial position. He came into 2012 with no money in the bank and likely had to spend money as fast as it came in in order to contest SC and FL, and given his current polling and prospects is not going to be getting a lot of contributions (a little over $1 million per month at this point I think). Frustrating position to be in.