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A surge of Santorum

JoeTheJuggler

Penultimate Amazing
JoeTheJuggler
Joined
Jun 7, 2006
Messages
27,766
It would be truly "interesting" if Santorum got the nomination and went on to win the election. I know it's difficult for one individual to influence policy but I guess that such a result would indicate a significant shift in public sentiment which could precede policy change.
 
These people have had months and countless debates to see these guys. That so many of them are so easily swayed every ten minutes to have a new favorite is puzzling.
 
Santorum is most certainly going to win Michigan. After Romney said "Let Detroit go bankrupt", he's not exactly a favorite son there anymore. This is a good article on why nobody likes Romney in Michigan. But will it carry over to other states? Probably not. Too many Republicans still think the bailouts were bad, despite the ringing successes that they have mostly been. Santorum has a limited audience, even as the favorite "Not Romney" right now, and it is unlikely that he'll be able to expand it much.
 
kajata said:
These people have had months and countless debates to see these guys. That so many of them are so easily swayed every ten minutes to have a new favorite is puzzling.
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I think it's telling. I think it means there isn't a single candidate the party is ready yet to unite behind.
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
I think it's telling. I think it means there isn't a single candidate the party is ready yet to unite behind.
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I actually see hope in this for the political environment. If the GOP is unable to come together on this, we may see a re-balancing of the political debate such as occurred when the Whigs fell apart, and we might see a real middle-conservative party on the Right, and a truly liberal party on the Left.

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. ;)
 
BenBurch said:
I actually see hope in this for the political environment. If the GOP is unable to come together on this, we may see a re-balancing of the political debate such as occurred when the Whigs fell apart, and we might see a real middle-conservative party on the Right, and a truly liberal party on the Left.

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. ;)
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There's no question in my mind it will happen. It's just a question of when. Certainly when the WWII and much of the Baby Boom generations lose enough political sway we will move closer to European political sentiment.
 
Santorum getting the candidacy is the one of the few things that would make me actively and energetically campaign for Obama.
 
It might be a bit premature to see this as the impending collapse or restructuring of the GOP. After all, at this point in 2008, the Democratic Party was pretty strongly divided between Obama and Hillary Clinton.

ETA: OTOH, polls from that race showed a 2 way divide, with both clear front runners polling consistently in the 40-50% range. The "also rans" and "undecideds" comprising only a few percent.
 
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JoeTheJuggler said:
It might be a bit premature to see this as the impending collapse or restructuring of the GOP. After all, at this point in 2008, the Democratic Party was pretty strongly divided between Obama and Hillary Clinton.

ETA: OTOH, polls from that race showed a 2 way divide, with both clear front runners polling consistently in the 40-50% range. The "also rans" and "undecideds" comprising only a few percent.
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Certainly the divide itself tells us little to nothing as far as the future of the GOP. It's the ever changing public sentiment about social issues. Gay marriage, abortion, contraception, etc.. These issues unite the party less and less. Being "the true conservative" still holds sway but I don't think for long. Republicans are going to have to let some of that BS go. JMO.
 
RandFan said:
Certainly the divide itself tells us little to nothing as far as the future of the GOP. It's the ever changing public sentiment about social issues. Gay marriage, abortion, contraception, etc.. These issues unite the party less and less. Being "the true conservative" still holds sway but I don't think for long. Republicans are going to have to let some of that BS go. JMO.
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At least this time around, I don't think they can possibly avoid those issues. They lose clearly on all the other issues.

Their strongest sell on the economy is that recovery should be happening quicker, and if we only shift the tax burden further downward--cut taxes on the wealthy even more--the recovery will happen even quicker. You have to ignore that lack of capital isn't what's preventing the "job creators" from creating more jobs.

And I think they realize shifting to foreign relations or national security will not be a good way of getting Obama out of the White House.
 
BenBurch said:
I actually see hope in this for the political environment. If the GOP is unable to come together on this, we may see a re-balancing of the political debate such as occurred when the Whigs fell apart, and we might see a real middle-conservative party on the Right, and a truly liberal party on the Left.

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. ;)
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It may be time to resurrect some of those "Is this the end of the Republican Party" threads from 2008.
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
It might be a bit premature to see this as the impending collapse or restructuring of the GOP. After all, at this point in 2008, the Democratic Party was pretty strongly divided between Obama and Hillary Clinton.
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Yes, but Obama and H-Clinton weren't really, really different from each other, like Santorum and Romney are. And one of Obama and H-Clinton wasn't considered way out there by mainstream America. If the race for the GOP nomination dragged on and on but it was between two normal Republicans then it wouldn't be such a big thing.
 
Number Six said:
Yes, but Obama and H-Clinton weren't really, really different from each other, like Santorum and Romney are. And one of Obama and H-Clinton wasn't considered way out there by mainstream America. If the race for the GOP nomination dragged on and on but it was between two normal Republicans then it wouldn't be such a big thing.
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Agreed. There is a difference between a real horse race and what is happening in the GOP.

It's almost like that comedy sketch where they ask volunteers to step forward, and everybody but one guy steps BACK.
 
The idea that this guy can even sniff the white house is so scary. It would be a new dark ages for homosexuals in this country.
 
The Don said:
It would be truly "interesting" if Santorum got the nomination and went on to win the election. I know it's difficult for one individual to influence policy but I guess that such a result would indicate a significant shift in public sentiment which could precede policy change.
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It's 2012. Nehemiah Scudder is supposed to win.
 
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