Republican voters have finally accepted the fact that Mitt Romney is going to be their GOP presidential nominee, much the way you accept the fact that the dentist is right and you really do need a root canal. You just grit your teeth and get on with it.
The passionless affair between Romney and the base will now commence, with an eye toward turning Obama (who the base really is passionate about) out of office. Romney’s sweep of the Tuesday primaries, along with the list of establishment endorsements he’s collecting (George H.W. Bush! Jeb Bush! Barbara Bush!), signal that the race for the nomination is over. That there ever was one is a reflection on just how anarchic the GOP has become and just how lousy a campaigner Romney himself is.
This means farewell, to Rick Santorum. When The New York Times runs a headline questioning your relevancy, the jig is up. And so, as the sun slowly sets on the Santorum campaign, let us bid a fond adieu (fond because it’s well deserved) to one of the worst campaigners in modern times by reviewing the low points of his candidacy:
- At a presidential candidate debate, Santorum used the nationally televised forum to insult a gay soldier serving in Iraq.
- Santorum’s outreach to Hispanic voters consisted of suggesting that they shared a similar interest in denying gays and lesbians rights.
- Reaching for new rhetorical depths, he said that comparing traditional marriage to same-sex marriage was like calling a napkin a paper towel.
- There was the time that Santorum got himself booed by college students when he equated marriage equality with polygamy.
- Forced to answer a question, Santorum took the bold step of saying that he would love a gay son “just as much,” if by love you mean denying him the right to marry and believing he’s going to burn in eternal hellfire.
- Santorum gained the support of some of the leading homophobes driving GOP politics today. Maggie Gallagher, whose life’s cause is marriage inequality, endorsed Santorum in a statement that dwelled upon his Google problem. Bob Vander Plaats, the man responsible for the campaign to remove three judges in Iowa who voted in favor of marriage equality, was another big backer.
- Wife Karen Romney groused that gay activists “vilified” her husband because, well, maybe they read what he’s saying.
There’s plenty more, but we’ll spare you. But don’t despair. This is probably not the last we’ve heard of Rick. After all, the GOP has a tradition of the runner-up becoming the front-runner next time out, so..
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And even if Santorum sits that race out, we will still have him to thank for forging a tight bond between evangelicals and the Catholic leadership. That’s an achievement that will keep paying nasty dividends for some time to come.
Photo by Gage Skidmore
Charlie in Charge
I will almost the weekly damage he would do to Romney’s eventual campaign. Almost.
Joe B.
Santorum’s not leaving the race anytime soon. He’s committed. Sorry about the pun.
SeaChas
Wife, “Karen Romney”? Are you advertising for a copy editor?
tjr101
He’ll be back come 2016 and given how increasingly uneducated and right- ward the GOP base is becoming he just might win.
Steve
To the extent that Republican primaries continue to drain funds from Republican coffers, they are helping Democrats. This is especially true when the Republican primary ads are negative. Republicans spending their own money to run negative ads about the eventual Republican candidate, is helping the D’s.
Patsy Stoned
Oh let the door hit him. If it hits his head he’ll hardly notice. This man belongs in a straitjacket, NOT the White House.
shannon
WHAT??? NO ONE THINKS HE IS “HAWT”?……..LOL
velocifero
Santorum is a Larry Craig sex scandal just waiting to happen. Oh, did anyone see the BBC2 documentary about “Curveball” – the supposed CIA informant who the Bush administration used as justification to invade Iraq? He admitted on the BBC that he lied about the intel. So where is George Bush? Why hasn’t Dubya endorsed Romney? Guess they are keeping him hidden lest stupid Americans are reminded that the economy was stolen and thrown into recession by th Bush REGIME.
the crustybastard
I’ve been loving the campaign signs that read:
MEH. ROMNEY.
Romney’s in for a brutal asskicking. But the Santorumizers and other partisan idiots and extremists will interpret Romney’s loss as a public rejection of what passes today for a moderate, and urge the party ever onward toward the theocratic far-right fascist fringe. And a segment will cheerfully will go there.
However, when their derp reaches critical mass, the Republican Party itself will need to decide whether they will continue accommodating the fascist theocrats, or whether they finally need to divorce them…for the children.
Because seriously, how much longer can America support a party dedicated to advancing the interests of selfish old racists, homophobes and godbotherers who insist that the only people who deserve welfare are profitable corporations?
the crustybastard
Oh ferchrissakes, autoflagged again?
C’mon, mods.
Henry Holland
Damn, sad news. His sons John and Daniel are not bad looking.
http://tinyurl.com/cjo3up9
FunMe
Will he get rid of the vests that hide his fat belly? Or will he stay that way and head over to Atlantis Cruise after he got a taste of it in Puerto Rico?
B
There’s a news item that Santorum spent yesterday discussing the future of his campaign with “his backers and conservative leaders.” It seems they told him that he has to win Pennsylvania if he is going to have any chance at all at the nomination.
If he ignores them, he’ll end up sounding like that guy in Monte Python and the Holy Grail who still wanted to fight after all his limbs were hacked off.
They are funding him not because they think he’ll win, but to force Romney to pay attention to their agenda. Once he reaches the point where Romney can completely ignore him, Santorum will not be useful to his backers and the financial plug will be pulled.
axon
His statement that president Kennedy’s speech almost made him throw up was also a gem, though lost on the uneducated GOP underbelly. A man, who can’t read or understand basic history, running for office. Scary.