It figures that Rick Santorum would eventually have his turn in the sun in this crazed Presidential beauty contest. He’s Mitt Romney’s latest bum of the month, albeit one with more of a record than some and, by virtue of still being in the race, some staying power too. His victories in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri last night, added to his performance in Iowa, show one thing is certain: outside Nevada, Mitt Romney has a problem in any state that holds a caucus. (Missouri was a non-binding almost-nonsense last night; the other pair were caucuses, not primaries.)
Does this make Santorum the comeback kid? Up to a point. The catholic vote over at National Review is breathless and excited this morning and that’s their prerogative. Let’s see what he can do in a primary before we get too excited, OK? (Nor is it actually clear, to get technical for a moment, how many delegates Santorum will win from these caucuses. That ain’t been determined yet.)
There’s a school of thought that wonders what might have happened if conservatives had swung behind Santorum, rather than the preposterous Gingrich. Be that as it may, last night confirmed Romney’s inability to either enthuse conservatives or capitalise upon his past victories. Those are important failings (and Colorado, a state Republicans could do with winning in November, is an especially concerning warning-shot). Nevertheless, Michigan and Arizona, the next contests, should favour Romney while his financial muscle (itself the result of an important, primary contest) should still give him an important advantage come Super Tuesday. Moreover, since Newt & Rick will remain in the race, the anti-Romney vote will remain split. Lucky Mitt!
Santorum, to give him his due, has run a plucky campaign. He has focused on some subjects – notably social mobility – that often go unmentioned when the Republican party talks amongst itself. For that he merits some credit. Nevertheless, a Santorum candidacy would be a disaster. This, remember, is a man who, as an incumbent, lost Pennsylvania by 18 points last time he ran for office. Nor is it easy to think of a major contender for either party’s nomination in recent years more hostile to individual liberty than Santorum. He makes Hillary Clinton, circa 1988, seem a libertarian wet dream. His conservatism is not the kind of conservatism that has generally fared well at the national level.
Ad on foreign policy, he makes George W Bush’s record seem mild and benign. Santorum, for instance, appears to believe in an Iranian-Venezuelan joint-venture to topple the United States. That’s good enough for cranks; it’s not ready for too much scrutiny.
Which means, again, that the poor old Republican party remains in a bind, trapped between a front-runner they do not like and alternatives they know, damn it, cannot win in November. Happy times for Democrats, then.
PS: That “Made in America” slogan is a classy dog-whistle, don’t you think?
Comments