Santorum’s Rise Unleashes the Romney Attack Machine – Romney Attacks Santorum on Pork, but - Ran Olympics on Federal Funds – McCain Appalled - Analysi

Mitt Romney Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, now Romney's Target: Besting Romney In Polls, A Family Man who resounds with Blue Collar Voters, and one who can school Romney in the debate arena - without using a teleprompter - image Politco.

Rick Santorum is a nice guy, and one knows the old epitaph – “nice guys finish last” – well, that’s not always the case. First, Santorum must survive the “Romney Attack Machine” – legendary in politics since he began to run for the Office of the President in 2006. A combination of PAC’s and the campaign itself, Romney focuses on each rising candidate in turn; unleashing a barrage of negative advertising that is often misleading. With Rick Santorum, who is as squeaky clean as they get – Romney has gone the fiscal conservative anti-pork in the Senate Route. From The Boston Globe: “Romney Looks to Squelch Santorum’s Late Rise”, speaks to the tactics employed by Mitt Romney in order to maintain his alleged front-runners position.

The problem is the headline is also misleading – if anything, Santorum had an early rise, and has maintained momentum in states that were not partially Romney friendly, winning Iowa, besting Romney in a very close race. Gingrich took the state of South Carolina, and had been under attack by Romney since his polling numbers showed he was besting the former Bay State Governor. Money might not buy votes, but it sure can make your opposition look bad, and by default, one might get a win. The problem with this philosophy is that the public soon becomes aware of a pattern – and if it were just one candidate, that would be possibly overlooked, but every single candidate that stands to best Romney – that becomes habitual.

The fact of the matter is that there are several candidates that are equally compelling and that currently there are no real front-runners, given the very low delegate count and 5 states weighing in – one might also note that until Super Tuesday, on March 6th of this year that the front-runner will not be established. It is where the opportunity exists for one candidate to amass enough delegates should they win the majority of the states, to claim that mantle. It appears Romney may have the same difficulties he had in 2008 when he spent most of his energy on demonizing Mike Huckabee, former Govenor of Arkansas
Now that Romney’s calling out Rick Santorum as a spendthrift, instead of thrifty Rick, there appears to be hundreds of articles available pointing to the fact that when it came to Pork, Romney had no problems taking Federal Funds – in fact he embraced it to the point where John McCain went to bat against the millions requested to support the Salt Lake City Olympic Games. Understanding that the Olympic Games are a host nation’s responsibility – and that Romney, as the CEO actively sought and fought for federal funds, his pork laced attacks on Rick Santorum fall a tad flat.

Nowhere is this more evident than in an article from the Desert Sun found on Newsbank (a fee based newspaper archive).

In an article from the Desert News: Avaialbe at Newsbank.com:

Deseret News, The (Salt Lake City, UT)
September 20, 2000
Edition: All
Section: Wire
Page: A01

Topics:
Index Terms:
News
McCain vows to wage war on S.L. 'pork'
But Romney says he's confident funds will come
Author: Lisa Riley Roche and Lee Davidson, Deseret News staff writers
Article Text:
WASHINGTON -- Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., vowed Tuesday to kill any bills with "pork-barrel" spending for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
But Mitt Romney says he is confident needed federal funds still will come.
"I'm expecting the funding we need to host the Games," the Salt Lake Organizing Committee president told reporters in Sydney Wednesday. "I'm quite confident."
But in Washington, D.C., McCain was vowing war.
"I will filibuster and do everything in my power to delay any more appropriations bills that have this pork-barrel spending for Salt Lake City," McCain said. He was specifically attacking a treasury appropriations bill that contained a Secret Service request for $14.8 million to improve law enforcement communications for the Games.
"The Olympic Games, supposedly hosted and funded by Salt Lake City, which began in corruption and bribery, have now turned into . . . an incredible pork-barrel project for Salt Lake City and its environs," McCain told the Senate.
McCain complained that numerous Utah road, transit, sewer and other projects have been been quietly tucked into appropriations bills through the years -- with the excuse that they are critical to the Olympics -- without the normally required "authorization" through separate legislation.
"Instead, they are stuck into an appropriations bill without scrutiny," McCain said, adding he will do everything possible to block funding for any more "unauthorized" projects.
Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, told the Senate, "I know of no funds in the 2001 bill that are yet to come before us that have not, in fact, been authorized in the appropriate procedure."
McCain said a U.S. General Accounting Office report he formally released last week projected that the federal government will spend $1.3 billion on the Utah Games, far more than the $609 million it spent for the Atlanta Games in 1996 and the $75 million spent for Los Angeles in 1984.
He said host cities increasingly use the Olympics as an excuse for pork-barrel spending.
Bennett, however, said all but $254 million of the $1.3 billion would have gone to Utah anyway through projects such as rebuilding I-15 and constructing the new TRAX light-rail system, which would have proceeded without the Olympics but not as quickly.
Romney said that since he took over SLOC in early 1999 he has tried to make it clear that light rail and the I-15 reconstruction are not needed for Salt Lake City to host the Games.
He said Wednesday he resisted pressure from former Salt Lake City Mayor Deedee Corradini to sign a letter stating light rail was essential to the Games.
After meeting with congressional leaders, Romney said he realized such a statement could jeopardize SLOC's chances of getting federal help. "I thought it was very important that we not overstate in any way what was an Olympic project and what was not," he said, adding that Corradini came around to his way of thinking.
Romney's predecessors were more willing to go along with state and local officials in claiming that the big-ticket transportation projects were needed.
McCain does raise some legitimate points, Romney said, especially questioning what role the federal government should play in staging the Olympics.
Unlike other countries that provide government funding for the Games, the U.S. government's financial responsibility has never been clear.
What the Salt Lake Games need from the federal government is money for buses and park-and-ride lots, as well as projects such as the road to Snowbasin, site of the Olympic downhill and super giant slalom courses.
Federal funding is also key to providing security at the Games, as well as staging the Paralympics that follow for the world's disabled athletes.
Some $77 million in transportation funds are still needed from this session of Congress, Romney said, calling the appropriation crucial to the Games.
"If it did not get put in place, I would question our ability to host the Games," he said. "I believe our requests in Washington are appropriate."
Romney also said inclusion by the GAO of light rail and I-15 costs as Olympic funding is "absurd." Although I-15 and light rail will be used during the 17 days of competition in 2002, Romney said, "$1 billion wasn't spent to get ready for the Games." The actual amount of federal funds going toward the Games will be closer to about $250 million, Romney said.
Meanwhile, Bennett told the Senate an increase in federal spending for the Olympics in Utah over previous Games is appropriate -- because threats are increasing and the Games are becoming more complicated. "As the Olympics get bigger and bigger, with more and more nations, more and more athletes, and more and more opportunities for international terrorism, they become a bigger and bigger problem for the federal government," Bennett said.
Meanwhile, Romney said he spent several days in Washington lobbying for the final funding request before coming to Sydney last week. He also said he has congressional and White House support.
"We're less than a year and a half away," Romney said. "That's no time to change horses midstream."
E-MAIL: lee@desnews.com; lisa@desnews.com
Copyright (c) 2000 Deseret News Publishing Company
Record Number: 0009200155

Romney needs to stop the negatives while playing the victim every time someone fights back – it will not win him hearts and minds, and it will not win him the nomination – that contest appears to be developing on its own between Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich heading into the Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri contests this week. Santorum, according to polls, is in a good position to do well in all three states, and to break the Romney as front runner myth prior to Super Tuesday. In addition Romney is no longer the one who is best positioned to beat the President in the fall – Santorum is – this according to Rasmussen Polling and of course, subject to change. Romney has been seen in this light from the beginning, a combination of name recognition and the foregone conclusion that he will be “the front runner”. This has been blasted in the news, by the GOP Elite, and may account for the low voter turnout in the primary and caucuses to date. If Romney is pre-ordained to be the winner, why bother to vote? (Fox, CNN discussions)

That is Rick Santorum’s biggest challenge, to help the voters understand that he is a viable alternative, and those contests today will establish that fact. One can, therefore, anticipate Santorum under blazing attack by Romney should he take even one of the 3 states, let alone 2. In addition there is the vitriol from the left labeling him as “religious” – stick in the word “Christian or Catholic” and one understands that the game is on, and Santorum is now seen as a viable threat to Obama – not Romney.

What to watch for in the next debate then? Santorum receiving questions based on social issues rather than his rather strong positions on the economy, specifically manufacturing, as well as foreign policy and national defense. Of all the candidates, Santorum and Gingrich have the strongest showings is past debates on these specific issues, with Ron Paul taking the lead on economics. Should the moderators at CNN allow Santorum and equal stage with equal topics, he stands a chance of besting both Romney and Gingrich. With Newt Gingrich, who has risen from the ashes in the past, one can look at the race as between Santorum and Gingrich – both battling to unseat Romney from the artificial throne upon which he is currently seated. Romney, who does not give a speech without a teleprompter, (sound familiar), is up against the best in the orator business, especially when it comes to Gingrich, and Santorum, who studied under Gingrich, has found his footing in the debate arena,. However, it will depend a great deal upon the behavior of the candidates, should Gingrich continue to attack Romney, it will open the door for Santorum to take the high road, once again, and this scenario is far from unlikely. Moreover, Santorum is seen as most likable by the GOP voters in poll after poll, and with Romney’s inability to reign in his attacks, should he turn up the heat on Santorum in the debate arena, let alone in the primary states via advertising, that will be the final straw for those who are sick and tired of the personal and over the top policy attacks – and Romney’s bid.


There are a few remaining primary debates: courtesy of www.2012 presidentialelectionnews.com:

February 22, 20128pm ET on CNN
Location: Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona
Sponsor: CNN and the Republican Party of Arizona
Participants: TBD

March 1, 20128pm ET on CNN
Location: Georgia
Sponsor: CNN and the Georgia Republican Party
Participants: TBD

March 5, 2012Air time TBD on NBC
Location: Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA
Sponsor: Reagan Library, NBC News and Politico
Participants: TBD

March 19, 20129pm ET on PBS
Location: Portland, OR
Sponsor: Oregon Public Broadcasting, NPR, PBS, The Washington Times and the Oregon Republican Party Participants: TBD

2012 GOP Update: National - Santorum Leads Obama, Romney Falls Behind – Media turns up Santorum “Religious” rhetoric, Ignores Polling on MO, CO, MN

Rick Santorum surrounded by Press - image Salon.com

2012 GOP Presidential Candidate, Rick Santorum is now leading President Obama in the Rasmussen Daily Presidential-GOP match-up polling by 45 to 44%, while Romney has fallen to 43% versus Obama 47%. In addition, Public Policy Polling has has Santorum in 2nd place in the Colorado primary to be held on Tuesday, while he leads in both Missouri and Minnesota. One would, given the fact that it is early in the primary contest, and the Massachusetts Governor has three rivals in Santorum, Gingrich and Paul heading into Super Tuesday, one would think that the media push for one candidate, an early winner in Romney, be premature. This given the polling data, as well as the fact that the other candidates, specifically Gingrich and Santorum, have each won a primary or caucus to Romney’s three wins, two of which were anticipated early (Nevada and New Hampshire). In the Maine Caucus, which has had little to no attention, one would anticipate a Romney win as well, however, Ron Paul is favored to win as the Maine caucus began on Saturday with Nevada, but will not finish on the same day.(The Hill)

Yet Rick Santorum keeps hammering home the same message, “don’t count me out” – he is clearly able to articulate the contrast he presents to voters versus Romney. On the eve of the Nevada contest, it was brought home in the most ridiculous of manners by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, who, covering the Romney victory speech, noted back and forth with the field reporter, that Romney’s teleprompter was in place. Although that may seem petty in the broader scheme of things, it is another point in the litany of “why Romney is just like Obama” and faces an uphill battle against a president who, by all polling data, especially Gallup, should not win a second turn. (The others being: Moderate, Massachusetts, Health Care and Romney’s “miss-speak” on the fate of the nation’s poor versus the middle class.
Meanwhile, the media, regardless of which way it leans is refusing to accept the fact that there are other candidates in the race that might win at all – and since it looks like the beginning of a Santorum surge, and Santorum is “squeaky clean” as one can be in politics – there are only two tactics left: Denial and Religion.

In a lively piece by the Los Angeles Times: entitled: “As Nevada counts, Republican candidates press on” which details Gingrich’s second place win, his press conference rather than traditional post-primary speech and a lampoon on Saturday Night Live. They also touched on the dust-up between Obama and the Catholic Church, the new ruling that insists the Church affiliates must provide insurance that covers contraceptives, which is against Catholic doctrine. Both Gingrich and Santorum are Catholics and both had different takes on the ruling, which inserts the Government into Religious institutions - Gingrich straight forward Catholic defender, while Santorum held to a more Constitutional viewpoint. Yet, in the pro-Romney piece, the Times speaks to Santorum as the candidate that is specifically courting the evangelical vote, noting that his appearances in Colorado focused solely on that Demographics in rallies, which is blatantly false. In addition, the AP released an article this morning specifically aimed at Santorum titled: “Santorum refuses to bow despite another loss”as if winning only one out of 5 contests held to date, and having the potential to a) best the President, and b) win multiple states between now and Super Tuesday, just weren’t on the table.

What is on the table is religion - the fact that the piece focused on one of several events Santorum had attended in Colorado on Saturday, a church service, while ignoring the Republican sponsored events such as a Lincoln Breakfast. In addition, it dismisses his win in Iowa completely and although one might reasonably assume Romney, who has the backing of the establishment GOP, the DNC (they would want to run against no other candidate), and of course, the media, it is the blatant disregard for the facts and the Presidential candidate, that is most evidenced by this on small AP article.

Super Tuesday on March 6th, will, in all likelihood, be the bellwether as to who stays in and who leaves the GOP nominating process – and it is far too early to call this a Romney dominated contest given the makeup and geography associated with the Super Tuesday States, it may well show multiple wins, by multiple candidates, and with a plethora of proportional delegate states (including Massachusetts), Ron Paul will continue to amass delegates – and may give Romney a headache in Virginia, where he bested him in the 2008 primary – Romney and Paul being the only two on the ballot.

What is healthy for the GOP is a continued process; this is basically due to several factors, including a full vetting of the candidates, and the media being forced to focus on the events. If one were to sign up for Google News alerts on all candidates, one would find that those alerts, which were in the hundreds two weeks ago, have dwindled to merely mentions – former presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, and Sarah Palin, former VP candidate, both had more news alerts this past weekend, despite two caucuses being held, than any of the candidates – no one more evident than Mitt Romney.

Therefore, one might want to pause before discounting Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney’s campaign is just beginning to wake up to the fact that Santorum should be next in line for hits from Mr. Negative, who’s staff begin to send out emails on Santorum(according to the LA Times article: “In a tacit acknowledgment of Santorum's potential to do well Tuesday, Romney's campaign attacked him in an email Sunday as a defender of congressional earmarks.”
However, Santorum, unlike other candidates in the race, has bested Romney in the Florida Debates, and has little that the Romney campaign can truthfully challenge. In fact, there are few if any Congressional Representatives and or Senators, who do not accept earmarks, and Governors, accept those earmarks – even Governors like Mitt Romney.

Therefore, before one counts out anyone, pick a candidate, either Gingrich, Santorum or Paul, and donate – to keep it going and if one is not a fan of the Massachusetts Governor, it’s a sense of gratification to donate to a campaign that can do well, is doing well, be it any of the aforementioned (in truth, Santorum is doing the best at this point and has the greatest potential, next to Ron Paul to actually defeat Mitt Romney and go on to defeat President Obama. This makes one wonder if, back in the early stages of the debate process, where Gingrich acknowledge his friendship and pride in Santorum, and later continued to promise to stop Mitt Romney, if he weren’t throwing himself on the proverbial sword, in an attempt to weaken Romney while Santorum rose in the polls. If this were the case (speculation only), it would explain a lot.

Rick Santorum, Catholic, and Italian American – would be the first Catholic-Italian American President of the United States, just imagine the field day the press would have with that one – and the pride that Italian Americans’ would feel in being able to cast their votes for the first time for one of their own. Of note: there are 70 million Catholic voters, most of which tend to vote Democrat as they are blue collar (if the nation still had a blue collar workforce), and that is Rick Santorum’s bailiwick. That should give pause to any contender, be they GOP or the President.
According to the latest U.S. census Italian Americans’ are third in overall population with those of Irish decent in 2nd, and those of Germanic Decent being the largest group.

Therefore, one has to use the old adage, which may not be terribly politically correct but true non-the-less: “It ain’t over until the fat lady sings” and she hasn’t even begun a tune at this stage.

To donate to the Santorum Campaign visit: www.ricksantorum.com - although money can’t buy love, it can buy airtime.

New York Times Floats Elizabeth Warren, Advisor to Obama, Running for MA Senate as DNC Presidential Candidate in 2016

Elizabeth Warren with Obama and Geithner, image reason.com "Just How Stupid Does Elizabeth Warren (& Barack Obama) Think You Are?">

With the GOP Presidential Primary Race the number one topic in the news lately, Obama’s latest approval rankings by Gallup showing approval above 50% in only 10 States (and DC)(i.e. unelectable), and the price of gas inching towards $5.00 per gallon this summer (CBS) an article in the NY Times suggests that the 2016 election is already starting, and those on the left might as well start to pick out some candidates.

One name that stands out among the rest is one Elizabeth Warren, best known in Massachusetts as the one who would hope to unseat popular Senator Scott Brown The quote from the Times is priceless:

“A plausible newcomer for 2016, Democrats say, is Elizabeth Warren, who advised Mr. Obama on the creation of a consumer-protection bureau for financial products and is now running to be a senator from Massachusetts (against Scott P. Brown, the incumbent and a Republican hero). She can deliver a punchy case for economic fairness, which has already made her a YouTube sensation. Obviously, she first would need to unseat Mr. Brown.

(NYTimes, 2/5/2012)

The woman who takes credit for starting the Occupy Wall Street Movement, (Business Insider) is about as viable a candidate as Mickey Mouse, even in Massachusetts Scott Brown, who is yes, a Republican – (the times “Republican hero” may be a stretch) was elected in a Massachusetts wave of resentment towards the Democrat Party and the state of the union back in 2009 (and it hasn’t gotten better – fair warning). It was the fact that Brown never wavered from telling those from the Tea Party, or those Die-Hard Massachusetts Conservatives (of which there are more than one would think), that he would be an independent vote in the Senate, and has done exactly that – Brown votes for Massachusetts, sometimes it’s not the most conservative vote sometimes it is, making him appealing to the number one voter in Massachusetts –the Unenrolled. The unenrolled voter is neither Democrat nor Republican, rather, the 51% of the electorate when given a choice of a viable candidate, will turn the entire state red. To think that Lizzie Warren, Obama advisor, and Occupy Wall street supporter, will garner more than Democrat support, is, at this point in time, a bit unthinkable - thus the “she first needs to unseat Mr. Brown” from the NYTimes.

To float her name as a candidate for President is a sign that the left (Progressives) have no grasp on the reality of what works for the nation – and that to continue to use Massachusetts as a stepping stone for extremist, might not be the best of plans. Understandably Massachusetts does offer Amherst, Cambridge, P-Town and of course, the hills west of the Connecticut River, where time has stood politically still since Arlo Guthrie first penned Alice’s Restaurant, does not, when the Democrats are being watched (as in the case of the Scott Brown election), belie the fact that Republicans can win by 5 points or more in a statewide election. Brown won the MA vacant senate seat despite the dead voting and DNC operatives trolling for votes in every nursing home in the state.

Perhaps Lizzie Warren, the Marxist academic, might do better by launching a bid for senate up the street, in Vermont, if the DNC wants her to run for President in 2016, then perhaps they can convince Bernie Sanders to retire. Other names floated in the article: Hillary Clinton and Maryland Governor, Martin O’Malley.