DAE believe the only reason Santorum came in 2nd was because it was his 15 minutes?

[Liberal Veteran]

My theory is Santorum became 2nd in Iowa because his turn as flavor of the week just happened to fall around caucus time.

And yes, pun intended with flavor of the week with Santorum.

[immoderate]

1. DAE is right. Who is DAE?

--imm

[Liberal Veteran]

2. DAE = Does anyone else -nt

[immoderate]

7. Ah! Well Santorum, their last card, peaked at the right time of the cycle.

With time for scrutiny, and he is plenty wacko, and the attacks of his colleagues, he will settle down significantly.

--imm

[Vogon_Glory]

3. Don't Underestimate The Power Of Social Conservatives Within The GOP

Don't underestimate the power of social conservatives and the Religious Right within the Republican Party. The GOP is not only suspicious of Mitt-sie's changed positions regarding abortion and health care, but since so many of the Religious Right are Evangelical Fundamentalist Christians or VERY conservative Catholics or Orthodox Christians, they are also strongly biased against Mitt's Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints faith. I suspect that a lot of the Iowa caucus-goers voted against Romney because they really DO believe that the LDS is a non-Christian cult.

Furthermore, whatever pleasant reception Romney receives in New Hampshire, he's going to be facing similarly-hostile mindsets in the South Carolina and other southern primaries. The Religious Right is VERY strong in Bible-Belt states, and many evangelicals have been waging campaigns against Mormonism for years (And some still are).

It's too early to bet on outcomes, but I wouldn't be surprised if Rick Santorum ends up being the Republican Party's presidential nominee this year.

[Liberal Veteran]

5. True. The GOP seems be all over the place though.

Every week or so, they have a different star. Attention deficit disorder seems to be their defining attribute when it comes to picking a candidate.

[Vogon_Glory]

6. But Watch The Bible-Belt Primaries

But keep an eye on the Bible Belt primaries. That's where the GOP has a lot of its strength. The Bible Belt not only comprises the old Confederacy (I exclude Florida), but also Oklahoma, Kansas, and parts of Indiana and Ohio. Those primaries might be enough to knock the wind out of the Romney campaign and make Rick Santorum the Republican presidential nominee.

The GOP is running out of non-Romney flavors. Huntsman's a goner for the same reasons that Romney does so poorly among the Religious Right, and unless either Newt or Perry manage to resurrect their campaigns, I think that Santorum will be THE non-Romney contender for right-wing Republican reactionaries.

[Erose999]

4. Pretty much. It was a strange sequence of events... Cain's withdrawal, backlash against Perry's

bigoted ad, Ron Paul's racism exposed, and Gingrich's implosion. Santorum was the only candidate that was

A.) Not Mitt Romney
B.) Hadn't had a public meltdown

He was due his 15 minutes and it just happened to happen at caucus time.


If Huntsman can pull off 3rd in NH he may get his 15 minutes as well.