GOP Candidate Mitt Romney - image ABC News Radio Online
From the New York Times: GOP Candidate, Mitt Romney, has won three additional primary contests: Wisconsin, Maryland and D.C., giving Romney a total delegate count (including super delegates) of 655 to Rick Santorum’s 278, Newt Gingrich’s 135 and Ron Paul’s 51. The win in Wisconsin was the closet for Romney’s nearest competitor, Rick Santorum, with 98% of the votes reported, Romney at 42.5% to Santorum’s 37.6 – Ron Paul came in third at 11.7 % with Newt Gingrich rounding out 4th at 6.1% of the vote, the Maryland and D.C. (where Santorum was not on the ballot), were both won handily by Romney.
The win in Wisconsin, according to the Democrat Party of Wisconsin, was accomplished by Team Romney through bribery! Apparently, Romney, along with Wisconsin Congressional Representative, Paul Ryan(R), purchased votes by handing out submarine sandwiches at a local restaurant in a campaign event ABC News dubbed the complaint: “A Cold-Cut Case”, bringing home the pettiness of politics as usual. That said, Wisconsin State Laws prohibit the distribution of items worth more than $1.00 to either persuade or dissuade individuals from voting (ABC News), however, in the sub-shop in Wisconsin, those getting sandwiches, may or may not have been intending to vote, in today’s economy, it may have been a welcome free-lunch. In 2008, the Obama Campaign was prevented from handing out box lunches to poll-workers, (Appleton Post Crescent) which is slightly different than handing out sandwiches at a campaign event, even if the candidate is urging those in attendance to go out and vote. Those working at the polls have access to ballots, and anyone with common sense would not draw a straight line between handing out sandwiches to random individuals who may or may not vote and handing out lunches to those in charge of the polling place. Apparently, that is not the case with ABC News or the Appleton Post Crescent!
It is evident, from the articles that followed these last three GOP primaries, that Team Obama (including some in the Press), are gearing up with, what amounts to, pettiness, in an attempt to downplay the GOP candidates, with the main focus on Romney as the front-runner. (See Real Clear Politics: Obama Instructs Journalist on How to Report His Positions (includes video)) A perfect example is Politico’s Mah-velous Mitt vs. Out-of-Touch Obama”, a satirical post spoofing Mitt Romney’s use of the word “marvelous”: “But what was the president saying about Mah-velous Mitt? I think he was saying Romney was the kind of guy who uses wimpy words, a man insulated from the rough and tumble of real life and out of touch with real Americans due to his vast wealth.”. The article ends with the AP’s point of view that the President is becoming “combative” and “stinging” (Politico), which, in a real world sounds a tad like school-yard bravado from a news organization(s) which obviously have a favorite.
Of the two top GOP candidates, however, the one who has taken the biggest beating from the press has been Rick Santorum – so far. Santorum has been up in “Google News alerts” since he began to surge with wins in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota – being painted as a right-wing, religious zealot, similar to the treatment the Press gave 2008 candidate Mike Huckabee. Santorum, who, like Huckabee, has a solid political record that does not reflect his religious choices, has been hammered by the left press over his personal choices as a Catholic – his case has not been helped by the usual GOP “establishments’” desire to have a nominee immediately following the Iowa caucus – generally a moderate, rather than a Conservative.
What to watch for: The ridicule of Romney by the press, no matter how apparently mundane, as the reality of supporting a Carteresque Obama re-election campaign has set in, and Romney edges closer to the nomination. This may have worked in 2008, with a weak candidate in John McCain, who was much less vigorous (kindly put) compared to the candidate Obama, and was battling both a lack of enthusiasm by the conservative wing of the Republican party, as well as a badly damaged Republican brand. Post 2010 may see conservatives, once-again, holding their noses to vote for a candidate, however, the environment is slightly different, and in the long-run, compared to President Obama, Romney or for that matter, anyone, would be an option. In other words, it will “take a miracle” for the President, even with a little help from his friends in the press, to pull this one off.
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