Romney pushing for four-state streak to steamroll GOP opponents

[onehandle]

TILTON, N.H. — After preparing for a drawn-out nominating battle that would stretch well into the spring, Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign is now quietly shifting gears in an effort to steamroll his underfunded opponents — and lock up the Republican nomination by the Florida primary at the end of this month.

Buoyed by a narrow win in the Iowa caucuses and his commanding lead in the New Hampshire polls, Romney has turned his attention to South Carolina, where he is dispatching a slew of high-profile surrogates and relocating some staffers ahead of the Jan. 21 primary. Looking further ahead, Romney has begun a massive advertising blitz in Florida and launched an aggressive outreach program to early voters in the state.

Romney campaign advisers insist that they are moving forward one state at a time and not taking any contest for granted. Yet Republican observers see Romney executing an ambitious strategy that would quickly maximize his momentum and try to quash any further surges by his rivals.

“If Romney wins the first four states, he’ll be the de facto nominee of the party,” said Steve Schmidt, a senior strategist on Sen. John McCain’s 2008 GOP campaign who is unaffiliated in the current race. Ed Rogers, another unaffiliated Republican strategist, said the notion that Romney may wrap up the nomination by Jan. 31 is “perfectly plausible.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-pushing-for-four-state-streak-to-steamroll-gop-opponents/2012/01/06/gIQAWkpjfP_story.html?hpid=z1

[izquierdista]

1. I hear he increased the chocolate ration.

Convinced Big Brother all by himself. It's got to be true.

[high density]

2. I think Paul is going to surge in New Hampshire

I'm not sure the repukes of NH want Evangelical batshit crazy like Santorum, but they do like batshit and Ron Paul will fulfill that for them.

[WCGreen]

12. He is not an Evangelical...

He is a fanatic Catholic. Big difference.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. WTF: Romney tied with sanatorium by vote count and

if delegates are selected proportional to the caucus results, this was a three way tie with Paul.

How is that a win? How is this not an example of the media simply parroting a scripted narrative with no objective basis?

[onehandle]

4. Romney got the 'win' headline. Few heard the details. The primary is over.

Really, it was over three years ago.

[Skidmore]

7. Romney is Big Money's annointed one.

They want someone willing to say anything to keep the RWR reactionaries coming to the trough and greedy enough not to spill the gravy train they have put on track. Sorry for the mixed metaphors, but they are not going to hand it over to the likes of Santorum or Paul, both loose cannons.

[The Genealogist]

10. I am wondering about this too

I have been led to understand that the delegates before a certain date will be divided proportionally among the candidates according to their totals. Thus, it is not winner take all. Romney BARELY beat Santorum in Iowa, if in fact he DID beat Santorum, and he--and other people--are acting like he got some kind of absolute mandate. I guess it is just how the Republican propaganda machine works. The Republican powers that be want Romney, so the facts on the ground are moot; Romney wins it all because they want it that way.

[customerserviceguy]

11. Yep, that's the game they're trying to play

However, there will be the long month of February, and I imagine the fundies will consolidate themselves. Romney will not get any higher than about a third of the vote in any contest outside of NH, MI, and UT, and with Paul getting maybe 10-15%, that leaves about 50% to go to a single anti-Romney. Once we get to winner-take-all, that anti-Romney will be able to rack up a fairly impressive amount of delegates, but if Mitt's people can keep Santorum, Perry, and Gingrich all in dwarf status for the rest of the January states, no one has the strength to get the money to be the anti-Mitt.

[DCKit]

5. Dude, you're a freakin' MORMAN.

That shit don't sell in the south.

[racaulk]

9. Exactly.

I would think a social conservative like Santorum could give Romney some competition in the upcoming South Carolina primary.

[HopeHoops]

6. I hope that doesn't include PA - I just so DO NOT want to see him naked.

[Cognitive_Resonance]

8. Going for the quick kill. Romney's team must be amazed by the stupidity and extermism. nt

[MindMover]

13. All I could think of when you said steamroller is this clip.....