The Human Pretzel vs. the Catholic Missionary
Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are courting approval from Republican voters with vicious personal attacks on each other. A loss in Michigan would be catastrophic for the favored Romney. Santorum's arch-conservative statements on abortion, climate change and attacks on religious liberty are very popular with the Republican base — and probably just as popular with the current president as well.
Rick Santorum was all fired up. "Disqualified, disqualified, disqualified," Santorum thundered to about 1,000 tea party movement followers in Troy, Michigan. It wasn't President Obama he railed against, but rather Mitt Romney. “Why would we nominate someone who is uniquely unqualified to take on the biggest issues of today?”
Then he returned to his favorite argument: Romney's Massachusetts health care plan was the blueprint for Obamacare, a plan that would lead America to ruin. The Democrats have to be voted out of office on Nov. 6 so that the federal government's meddling into the lives of the American people could finally be reversed. And, unfortunately, Romney was not a reliable warrior capable of doing that.
Just before the primary elections in Arizona and Michigan, the tone between Santorum and Romney became increasingly antagonistic — and not just in the television spots put out by the super PACs. After the last debate, Santorum complained that Romney and Ron Paul had formed a conspiracy against him, a charge Romney's advisers dismissed as “whiny silliness.” In his Troy speech, Romney countered with his successful debate claim that Santorum was a shrewd Washington insider who, as a senator, had been an unscrupulous power broker.
The stakes are high for both contenders. A Michigan defeat would be catastrophic for Romney: He grew up in the state and his father served as governor there. Santorum's aggressive appearances can be explained by the fact that he has been slowly losing ground both in Michigan and nationally, and he fears that his sudden rise after the threefold victories he enjoyed just a few weeks ago may be abruptly reversed.
So he now presents himself as a dyed-in-the-wool conservative. In Troy, he said that the 53-year-old “moderate from Massachusetts” lacked character: “What you have with me is ‘what you see is what you get,’” Mr. Santorum said, “as opposed to ‘what you see today may be something different than what you get tomorrow.’” In 1994, Romney ran against Ted Kennedy, claiming to be more liberal than Kennedy, and was elected as moderate governor of Massachusetts in 2002, but now he presents himself as a conservative.
Santorum's rhetoric sounds threatening not only to European ears but also to liberal Americans; it even gives pause to Republican strategists. When Santorum rails against abortion and same-sex marriage, denies climate change and questions President Obama's faith, it goes over well with evangelicals and tea party fans. But the father of seven feels that Obama's health care reforms requiring church-affiliated hospitals or schools to offer their employees health insurance that covers the costs of contraception are a clear infringement on his religious liberty.
But what excites diehard Republicans and may work well in swing state primaries such as Ohio and Michigan may not go over as well with independents, who make up one-third of the electorate. That awakens memories of Barry Goldwater, who was able to carry only six of the 50 states in 1964 after he publicly considered the use of nuclear weapons in Vietnam and ridiculed the civil rights movement.
"I fight fire with fire"
A majority of Americans no longer consider same-sex marriage to be an important issue, and Santorum's views on abortion and contraception come off as old fashioned in a nation where over half the mothers under 30 years of age are unmarried and 82 percent say they have no objections to using contraceptives.
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times can only shake her head at Santorum, whom she called “a small town mullah,” adding there are “independent and Republican women who like to work, see their kids taught by professionals and wear Victoria’s Secret.” Influential GOP strategist Alex Castellanos thinks Santorum is on the wrong track, telling Dowd, “Republicans being against sex is not good. Sex is popular.”
The list of Santorum pronouncements that have angered women has been growing for weeks. He complains about radical feminists who try to coerce mothers into seeking careers instead of devoting themselves full time to their children, and he castigates couples who choose to live together without getting married. He also rejects the notion that female U.S. soldiers can serve in combat units. In a television interview, Santorum claimed that religious liberty and conservative values were threatened in America, and even that colleges were hostile to conservative students.
Eight months prior to election day, the Washington Post's Kathleen Parker predicts, “If Republicans nominate Rick Santorum to run for president, they will lose.” The liberal magazine New York concludes its informative primary election analysis with the recommendation to Obama supporters to cheer “Go, Rick, go!” It's especially necessary for Republicans to attract women supporters, who are now going to the polls in increasing numbers and who have traditionally supported Democrats.
The principal reason for Santorum's decline in the polls, however, is likely to be due to the constant barrage of attacks from Mitt Romney and the effects of his super PAC money. Santorum's congressional record has come under closer scrutiny, and he is being ridiculed for several flip-flops. He is also attracting more media attention. An often-repeated quotation made by a former Santorum aide to the New York Times in 2005 still makes the rounds today: “He's a Catholic missionary who happens to be in the Senate.”
The human pretzel
At both the Romney and Santorum campaign headquarters, the betting is the primary battle will stretch into May with no let-up in intensity. Santorum said the race for the Republican presidential nomination is “going to go a long time,” and he vowed that he would “fight fire with fire.”
Romney faces greater risks as the situation now stands: Even if he's victorious in Arizona and Michigan and comes off well on Super Tuesday, Gingrich and Santorum will drive him further to the right and force him to make increasingly conservative statements. Whether he will then appeal to moderate voters in November remains a mystery even to political analyst Charlie Cook: “His odds of winning the nomination are growing longer. And even if he does, he has twisted and turned himself into a human pretzel. I’m not sure how electable he is. The alternatives, however, seem even less so.”
Rick Santorum was all fired up. "Disqualified, disqualified, disqualified," Santorum thundered to about 1,000 tea party movement followers in Troy, Michigan. It wasn't President Obama he railed against, but rather Mitt Romney. “Why would we nominate someone who is uniquely unqualified to take on the biggest issues of today?”
Then he returned to his favorite argument: Romney's Massachusetts health care plan was the blueprint for Obamacare, a plan that would lead America to ruin. The Democrats have to be voted out of office on Nov. 6 so that the federal government's meddling into the lives of the American people could finally be reversed. And, unfortunately, Romney was not a reliable warrior capable of doing that.
Just before the primary elections in Arizona and Michigan, the tone between Santorum and Romney became increasingly antagonistic — and not just in the television spots put out by the super PACs. After the last debate, Santorum complained that Romney and Ron Paul had formed a conspiracy against him, a charge Romney's advisers dismissed as “whiny silliness.” In his Troy speech, Romney countered with his successful debate claim that Santorum was a shrewd Washington insider who, as a senator, had been an unscrupulous power broker.
The stakes are high for both contenders. A Michigan defeat would be catastrophic for Romney: He grew up in the state and his father served as governor there. Santorum's aggressive appearances can be explained by the fact that he has been slowly losing ground both in Michigan and nationally, and he fears that his sudden rise after the threefold victories he enjoyed just a few weeks ago may be abruptly reversed.
So he now presents himself as a dyed-in-the-wool conservative. In Troy, he said that the 53-year-old “moderate from Massachusetts” lacked character: “What you have with me is ‘what you see is what you get,’” Mr. Santorum said, “as opposed to ‘what you see today may be something different than what you get tomorrow.’” In 1994, Romney ran against Ted Kennedy, claiming to be more liberal than Kennedy, and was elected as moderate governor of Massachusetts in 2002, but now he presents himself as a conservative.
Santorum's rhetoric sounds threatening not only to European ears but also to liberal Americans; it even gives pause to Republican strategists. When Santorum rails against abortion and same-sex marriage, denies climate change and questions President Obama's faith, it goes over well with evangelicals and tea party fans. But the father of seven feels that Obama's health care reforms requiring church-affiliated hospitals or schools to offer their employees health insurance that covers the costs of contraception are a clear infringement on his religious liberty.
But what excites diehard Republicans and may work well in swing state primaries such as Ohio and Michigan may not go over as well with independents, who make up one-third of the electorate. That awakens memories of Barry Goldwater, who was able to carry only six of the 50 states in 1964 after he publicly considered the use of nuclear weapons in Vietnam and ridiculed the civil rights movement.
"I fight fire with fire"
A majority of Americans no longer consider same-sex marriage to be an important issue, and Santorum's views on abortion and contraception come off as old fashioned in a nation where over half the mothers under 30 years of age are unmarried and 82 percent say they have no objections to using contraceptives.
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times can only shake her head at Santorum, whom she called “a small town mullah,” adding there are “independent and Republican women who like to work, see their kids taught by professionals and wear Victoria’s Secret.” Influential GOP strategist Alex Castellanos thinks Santorum is on the wrong track, telling Dowd, “Republicans being against sex is not good. Sex is popular.”
The list of Santorum pronouncements that have angered women has been growing for weeks. He complains about radical feminists who try to coerce mothers into seeking careers instead of devoting themselves full time to their children, and he castigates couples who choose to live together without getting married. He also rejects the notion that female U.S. soldiers can serve in combat units. In a television interview, Santorum claimed that religious liberty and conservative values were threatened in America, and even that colleges were hostile to conservative students.
Eight months prior to election day, the Washington Post's Kathleen Parker predicts, “If Republicans nominate Rick Santorum to run for president, they will lose.” The liberal magazine New York concludes its informative primary election analysis with the recommendation to Obama supporters to cheer “Go, Rick, go!” It's especially necessary for Republicans to attract women supporters, who are now going to the polls in increasing numbers and who have traditionally supported Democrats.
The principal reason for Santorum's decline in the polls, however, is likely to be due to the constant barrage of attacks from Mitt Romney and the effects of his super PAC money. Santorum's congressional record has come under closer scrutiny, and he is being ridiculed for several flip-flops. He is also attracting more media attention. An often-repeated quotation made by a former Santorum aide to the New York Times in 2005 still makes the rounds today: “He's a Catholic missionary who happens to be in the Senate.”
The human pretzel
At both the Romney and Santorum campaign headquarters, the betting is the primary battle will stretch into May with no let-up in intensity. Santorum said the race for the Republican presidential nomination is “going to go a long time,” and he vowed that he would “fight fire with fire.”
Romney faces greater risks as the situation now stands: Even if he's victorious in Arizona and Michigan and comes off well on Super Tuesday, Gingrich and Santorum will drive him further to the right and force him to make increasingly conservative statements. Whether he will then appeal to moderate voters in November remains a mystery even to political analyst Charlie Cook: “His odds of winning the nomination are growing longer. And even if he does, he has twisted and turned himself into a human pretzel. I’m not sure how electable he is. The alternatives, however, seem even less so.”