Associated Press
Mitt Romney had vowed to win Alabama, expected to put up a strong showing in Mississippi, and invested heavily to excel in yesterday's Deep South primaries. In effect, the former governor placed an expensive bet, assuming that victories here would end the nominating race altogether.
As the dust settled, it became clear that Romney lost that bet.
The night belonged to Rick Santorum, who eked out narrow wins in both Alabama and Mississippi, despite being outspent, and despite lacking meaningful campaign organizations. Looking ahead, the former senator can now plausibly make the case that the race for the Republican nomination is a two-person contest -- and given the GOP base's discomfort with and distrust of Romney, that's not a bad position to be in.
Newt Gingrich, meanwhile, staked his entire campaign on succeeding as a "son of the South" yesterday, and just last week, his spokesperson conceded these primaries were "must-win" contests. The former Speaker kept it close, but obviously came up short, effectively ending his campaign. Whether Gingrich formally drops out quickly remains to be seen, but as a practical matter, his ability to present himself as a credible contender disappeared last night.
And then there's Romney, the ostensible frontrunner. The night wasn't a total loss for the former governor -- he won Hawaii and the American Samoa caucuses, and picked up a fair number of delegates -- but after an aggressive effort in Alabama and Mississippi, he came in third in both.
When Gingrich said last night, "If you're the frontrunner and you keep coming in third, you're not much of a frontrunner," the point was not without merit.
Romney is still the likely nominee, but when prominent voices in his party ask why he simply lacks the strength to overcome his weak challengers, his focus on delegates isn't much of an answer. As John Dickerson put it, Romney "is approaching the qualities of some cursed mythological figure who gets stronger on the outside while his insides decay: With each contest, Romney gains delegates but appears to get weaker."
What's more, the road ahead isn't exactly friendly. The Missouri caucuses are this Saturday, and Romney isn't expected to do well, and the Louisiana primary a week later should also be a tough haul. The Illinois primary on Tuesday will apparently become a major contest, but with Gingrich flailing, the former governor can no longer count on the anti-Romney vote being split.
Romney was confident the GOP race would, for all intents and purposes, be over as of this morning. It's not. It's an increasingly muddled picture, with no end in sight.
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Rick Santorum will not be the next president of the United States. Period. The end. The Republican Party's most radical elements are on the verge of nominating an unelectable figure who is well outside the mainstream of voters needed to actually elect him and beat Obama. The White House is sitting back and giggling uncontrollably as the GOP shoots itself in a circular firing squad of Tea Party revolution. http://www.sunstateactivist.org
And I am giggling along with them. I loathe Rick Santorum with the special loathing only a Pennsylvanian can feel, but I am rooting for him with all my strength. Now we just need to get Gingrich the hell out of there.
I forgot was he The Scarecrow or the Tinman?
He was the Tincrow, no heart and no brain!
Mittens may not have been able to buy enough love from the crackers, but it matters not!
After all, Mitt won the American Somoas! And he will win easily in Alabama and Mississippi this November. He may not be a Christian and he may not be a Conservative, but he white!
And that's all he has to be in order to defeat Obama in the fall election. He could be a white ax murderer who scammed millions from working class folk, but the fact that he's white would be enough in the deep South.
Sad, but true mpguy. Not saying everyone in the South… or just the South…
I do know many Republicans would vote for a black person, but it is pretty clear that "the President is black" is just not acceptable for so many. They say it's something else, but primarily it that. We all knew this in 2008. It was not a problem for quite a large number of voters in 2008.
I think AL and MS, along with SC were the only states to have significant boosts in turnout compared to 2008. My takeaway is that Romney tends to win by discouraging enthusiasm in other candidates, but he loses where bad isn't bad enough. Santorum, for all his piety, has absolutely nothing positive to say. Ever. And Gingrich gets votes despite his promises for a better future, which everybody dismisses.
There is at least 1 thing that each of these candidates believes that it is so fundamentally wrong. If you aren't too worried about one of their stances there is another one that will scare the hell out of you. I know rascism is contagious but, is Schizophrenia also contagious. What do you call this? Jekyl and Hyde syndrome?
Newt- 'this is NOT a book tour!'-Gingrich will not drop out. He has yet to spend a dime of his own money, and has nothing to gain by leaving the field, be it with his shield, or on it.
The Big
SpoilerGrifter will waddle into the convention with a pocket full of delegates committed to him on the first ballot, and his to dispense with calculated largesse on the second. (Remember, he has played this game before, as Mister Speaker!)Kinda like the Kingmaker vs the Godmaker vs the Studebaker?
You got THAT right, DAY! This has always been by Newt, for Newt and about NEWT - the man is pure ego. There's no political logic or altruism for the GOP in this; the entire point for the former Speaker is to make money and get publicity to position himself to be able to make MORE money after November...whoever wins.
He liked being the star of the New Reality series called "Right Wing"
Has Gingrich, who is motivated above all else by spite, considered that the best way to frustrate Romney would be to quit? Santorum would then have him one-on-one.
Why, oh why, does the Mittster continue do poll well against President Obama? Are there enough independents out there that would REALLY vote for him? It just doesn't make sense that, it's obvious the wingers don't want him, so who are responding positively in the polls?
I'm sure the rich corporations have found a way by now to commit poll fraud. We do need the Democrats to come out and vote now more than ever before.
It is fairly simple to "rig" a poll. If you want it to go Republican go to the Whitest, Richest part of any town USA. If you want to poll to the Democrats, go to colleges, women, and everyone else, except the rich white guys! So polls are easy to manipulate.
Probably true, but looking at yesterdays exit polls, it looks like the Alabama and Mississippi women are singing from a different hymnal. Polls are not 100%, hence the need to purchase the vote of certain demographic groups.
the evangelicals are clear:
THEY DON'T WANT NO PARTS OF THE MORMON.
"why he simply lacks the strength to overcome his weak challengers"
Because he is a phony piece of S**T
He exudes insincerity in every appearance . just listen to the laugh (Hey,Hey,Hey)
Rachel nailed it last night with the Mendacious Mitt Flip Flop Video record .
Gol Durn Fernickity video cameras , why back in the day you had to put it all on expensive film and the press would let you lie with impunity.... er well that hasn't changed.
The Pundits thought he was the inevitable candidate, but so far, it seems they were Mitt-Taken.
If Santorum were to be elected Pres.(God forbid)would he want to be innaugurated or ordained?
Annointed.
Why doesn't any site report how many DELEGATES each candidate has won?? It used to be winner-take-all, but no more. Between Mississippi and Alabama, the frothy one only gained TWO delegates on Mittens. Yes, that is right. Santorum got 26 and Mittens got 24. Yes, Mittens really can't go on losing a delegate here and there, but if he can get through the south losing only a handful to Santorum, then he will easily be the nominee. If Newt were to drop out, then the math becomes much harder for him since the anti-Mittens vote will be overwhelming.
I hope they'll find some time in the show tonight to explain how Romney "lost" in Mississippi, but "won" the most delegates in Mississippi. And most importantly, why is that reported as a loss? The numbers I'm looking at show a victory for Romney in MS with 14 delegates to Santorum's 13, apparently because of 2 superdelegates free to do whatever they like.
http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/primaries/delegates
"This" "is" "what" """"democracy"""" "looks" "like".
We really need to go back to the popular vote. There is too much corruption going on where these delegates are concerned. The 1 who wins is the one who is the most corrupt. One of them figured out how to stomp out the competiton one of them knows how to destroy people. The others haven't figured that out yet. How do you make it to the top again?
Dear Gilbert, Thank you so much for pointing this out. I thought I was the only one! Why is THIS not the reported number? Me thinks that the media loves to keep this running on and on! I do not understand how this was a BIG win for Santorum?
Mary ... It's a big win for Santorum because the popular vote expresses the sentiments of the party voters, not the delgate count.
This whole nominating process was built for Romney. The states in which he figured to be challenged, such as those in the traditional South, allow him to win delegates. States like Florida, California, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and several others with big delegate stakes--where Romney figures to do win--are "winner take all."
When you're fighting uphill against the machine, any win is a big one. Especially when it puts a big dent in Romney's "inevitability" argument.
When you design the game and you still don't win outright--that's a problem. That's the situation in which Romney now finds himself.
Delegates won as of last night:
Romney- 401
Santorum- 177
Gingrich- 136
Paul- 31
And I'm with Rachel in considering this whole show to be the best entertainment television has had in years. It's delightful to know that the show hasn't been canceled.
Partly because it is more informative than entertaining.
I mean the Republican comedic reality show.
Romney may have won the most delegates last night, but he's still not winning the love he craves from the GOP base. Poor Mitt.
That's because he knows that after the wedding in Florida, the bitches will do what they're told.
LOL, but will they ever love him? They’ll hold their noses and vote for Mitt because they can’t abide Obama as president.
So? They'll probably look at the ceiling and think of Rockefeller. As long as they obey.
Settle down, all y'all.
Why does it matter to Democrats who wins the Republican nomination? The South - with the possible exceptions of Virginia, Florida and NC - is going to vote GOP in November WHOEVER is nominated. That's the thing about Republicans; they vote their guy.
What WE have to do is make 150% certain that Democrats get into office in LOCAL elections - or re-electing the President isn't going to mean any more than electing him the first time did. We HAVE to have the mojo on our side for the next 5 years to get anything positive accomplished legislatively - and to overturn all the damage done by ALEC and the Teapublicans who got elected in 2010.
I am with you Carolinalady. Where is the Democratic Party? Where are the Democratic candidates? Eventhough the networks don't want to admit for fear of offending advertisers, there is every indication that the election this fall could result in a giant landslide for Obama. How about taking advantage of it? By the way, acting like a landslide is possible and pushing down ticket Dems could reenforce the landslide.
Now is the time for The Democrats in Washington to get a backbone. They shouldn't embarrass us, if they don't start speaking out are we to assume that they also don't care and are only concerned about their future and not Americas. I know there are some who are also only in it for the money. This cannot become the norm or never again will an Americans voice be heard why can't they hear us? Does Money really talk? Money is truly the root of all evil. This quote has been resurrected and still rings true. Put down that money for a minute and listen. You were not hired so that we get a chance to see what outfit you were going to wear today.
Love the idea of Illinois deciding this for the GOPers!
Romeny should have known better. AL, MS and usually GA votes the same way TN votes.
Am I the least bit surprised? No. Santorum spoke boldly about faith, telling us what is "right" and his anti gay stance would seem to be something that excites some folks.
Combined with the Romney who knows owners of football and NASCAR teams and says ya'll and I ate cheesy grits, pretending to be one of them… ugh.
Again, I don't care which of them are nominated, because they are all a w f u l to me and there's much hate for Obama around there. Some love, too... but… reality check folks… there could be some that won't vote… on both parties, but we need to face reality.
We have to vote for Obama this year or just keep turning back the calendar to 1912. Come on women, do you really think men/government should control women? That's what they are doing, these Republicans. Maybe a few Republican women can see that and vote accordingly. These people do not want women deciding for themselves. I know the recent bills and radio attacks will not be forgotten by Democratic women (and men). Should not be forgotten by Republicans either No complacency allowed.