New certified totals from the Iowa Caucuses reveal that Rick Santorum finished ahead of Mitt Romney by 34 votes. Iowa GOP Party Chairman Matt Strawn discusses.
Updated at 2:55 p.m. ET
Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn says Rick Santorum is the winner of the Iowa Caucus. Period.
After the Republican Party of Iowa released the final certified results Thursday morning with eight missing precincts, Strawn released a statement saying he wanted to congratulate both "Senator Santorum and Governor Romney on a hard-fought effort during the closest contest in caucus history.” The press release specifically did not state a specific winner of the Jan 3. Caucus, rather implying it was a tie.
But this afternoon, Strawn went on WHO Radio in Iowa and announced there should be no “ambiguity,” that Santorum is, in fact, the winner.
"Certified results show Rick Santorum leading or won by 34 votes,” Strawn told Jan Mickelson, noting that he needed to apologize to Santorum for any misunderstanding.
On MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports," Strawn said, "In the wee hours of Jan. 4 ... I explained we had a two-week certification process."
Thursday afternoon, NBC News reported that Santorum aides say received a phone call from Mitt Romney offering congratulations for the new result in the Iowa caucuses.
The switch of views comes just hours after a prominent Iowa Republican, Craig Robinson, called for Strawn’s removal as chairman.
“Matt Strawn should be removed as RPI Chairman for refusing to declare Santorum the winner. The votes are either certified or they are not,” tweeted Robinson, who was the state party's political director last cycle.
It is unclear whether Strawn felt pressure from other prominent leaders in Iowa to make the switch, but the chairman was very assertive on the radio program -- even further acknowledging that if the missing precincts were able to be counted, if the results they currently have for them stuck, Santorum would be the winner either way.
But it is common knowledge in the Hawkeye State that Strawn has hopes of running for higher office in the state and obviously would not want complications over caucus results surrounding any run.
Many, though, wonder if the caucus process as a whole can continue in this fashion -- a process of hand-writing names on pieces of paper like a straw poll.
"One of the strengths of the Iowa caucus process is that the state was a level, fair playing field. Candidates could come to the state and get an honest airing. There aren't political machines or a history of fraud. The inaccurate counting tarnishes that reputation,” longtime Des Moines Register reporter David Yepsen told NBC News Thursday.
There has not been any official press release from the Republican Party of Iowa naming Santorum the winner, but the Santorum campaign and Strawn have.
NBC's Kelly O'Donnell contributed to this report.


It's official!
The coin toss has settled it!
Santorum won with 'tails'... lol
the head side of the coin exploded.
Wow, Santorum really did, "Surge from behind," in Iowa.
It won't matter, Romney will be the nominee. It was always going to be Romney; he was next in line.
Sure is hard to figure how how Santorum received more votes and the GOP wanted to call it a tie.
It is a strange thing; lately I've asked my GOP friends who they support and none of them want to commit to a candidate. I thought they secretly supported Ron Paul. But come to think about it, maybe they don't have any idea who to support. None of the GOP candidates can beat President Obama.
Ron, ask them when the Primaries are over.
Bet ya, they'll tell ya that they support the GOP candidate.
See, it doesn't matter. They could all beat Obama.
Cause it's ABO.
nisl:
You are right, Republicans always pick the next in line. It is Romney's turn. Just like it was for Robert Dole.
We saw how well THAT worked out! lmao!
I love the choice of Romney cause he embodies the problem in this country. He's a better candidate to run a "choice" campaign against. I do not ENVY him though.
@ Ron -- you're right about Dole, and George W. Bush jumped John McCain's turn, which led directly to the Republican disaster of '08. It does seem to be Romney's turn, but for the life of me, I can't think of anything he's done to deserve that turn.
AM - The opportunity to run against the "choice" we face as nation couldn't have presented itself better in Romney.
Romney is,
1 WS choice.
2 Off shore accounts
3 pays less or nothing in taxes
3 corporation are people
4 vulture capitalism.
5 shipping jobs overseas
On the stage, Obama can point to him and the people will connect the dots immediately.
Oh, and don't forget that Romney ONLY made $374,000 in speaking fees last year, 'but not very much.'
The choice of the average American? Not a chance.
7 Delegates to Santorum
7 Delegates to Paul
7 Delegates to Romney
4 Delegates to Gingrich
Bag of Coal for Bachmann and Perry
Actually total vote count means nothing, just ask Al Gore..Great System..
Maybe we should send the candidates into a Corn Field, who ever picks the most wins.. Makes about much sense.. Just sayin..
I think it goes to show you the flaw in the Iowa caucus process - it reminds me of a bunch of grade school kids voting for class clown. They will not declare an official winner now because they can't locate eight precinct results. I think it is time to have an adult conversation about Iowa stepping away from their 1st in-line non-representative of the true face of America - we need to take this more serious than a bunch of farmers pouting if they don't get to go first. I mean really, does Iowa really matter at this point or ever did in this case?
It doesn't matter whether Santorum is the technical winner. Republican primaries don't use a "winner takes all" system, so Romney is still in the lead.
This is great news for the GOP because I love to watch them implode as their social consertive base votes against everyone but the Mormon. If Romney wins the GOP nomination, as I expect that he will, I wont be surprised if we see a Christian splinter party for TEAparty members.
Republicans who vote for Romney can't complain about Obamacare because its predecessor Romneycare also has a mandate, plus it covers abortion and illegal aliens.
epistemologist: I like your moniker, and wonder how many right wing nuts even knows what it means. ha
TJefferson. Thank you very much. I doubt that many Americans know what the term means or have any knowledge of that field of philosophy.
My minor was poli' philosophy.
TO: White Collar Auto who wrote:
Yes, they will all "support the GOP candidate" and no "it doesn't matter" to Republicans which is EXACTLY why they are called "Republican Followers" and NOT "Constituents". Republican voters conduct themselves like sheep and seem to enjoy NOT having to use their own brain, and they just do whatever the GOP tells them to do.
That's how they ended up putting 2 oil men in the White House who exploited every means available to the United States, and used ALL of resources to drill for oil in Iraq, the 2nd largest oil producing nation in the world. They spent every penny of our money, maxed out our credit cards, ran up the debt, used our military to overthrow that government, and never even gave us lower priced gas in return.
Republicans STILL haven't put the invasion of Iraq together with the 2 oil men in the White House, Bush & Cheney. Pitiful!
Obama / Biden 2012
Hey TJeff - I'm a conservative. I know what epistemology is. It's the study of knowledge. How do we know what we know etc. Can we try to not be partisan about things in the future?
PS: Go Ron Paul
Don't count all the chickens too quickly for Romney. New polls out today show Gingrich actually leading in SC polls, and there is another debate tonight. By next Tuesday the whole landscape could have changed. Newt clearly is the better debater and unless Romney brings his A+ game, he is in danger of losing momentum.
Yes I agree with many posters that the Republican party has been pretty much a "next in line" affair (one poster mentioned Bob Dole, but I would definitely add John McCain to that list, and Mitt Romney would be the next "next in line" candidate). But there are a lot of people who are tired of that. THere are a lot of people who are beginning to believe that the people, and not the republican machine, should pick the candidate. The tide could shift, and I for one hope it does. Americans are ready for a president who tells it like it is, not one who panders to the old guard. The republican establishment doesn't like Gingrich, which for me is a pretty good reason to take a closer look. Get him on the debate stage mano-o-mano with Obama and I believe he will chew him up and spit him out. Obama has no compelling story to tell that a blunt man armed with facts couldn't refute... I only hope I get to see it.
Iowa should think about doing this first in the nation since they can't get it right the first time. Reminds me of Florida vote counting.
Is this the correct time and place to type "Who Cares?".
The candidates left do not have a chance. Obama will slide easily into the Presidency in 2012. Any chance that the Republicans had for an electable President for the middle electorate went out the window with the withdraw of Pawlenty and Huntsman.
Looks like another vote for a Dem. President for this voter. That will make 4 elections in a row now.
cdahl: Hope you are right!
So a really, REALLY good reason to have the Iowa caucus as the 1st presidential poll is because Iowans CAN'T COUNT??? Can these twits READ?? Maybe they actually thought they were casting votes for...SATAN???
Doubter222
I believe it is because they can't count. Can you imagine Iowa being last, and having to wait 4 weeks to see who the Rep. candidate would be?
(Sorry to Hawkeye avatar Jodi!, doubter left this one a little too open)
"Maybe we should send the candidates into a Corn Field, who ever picks the most wins"
or with this lot whoever finds their way back to the starting point wins
Now knowing statistics like I do you can count those votes as many times as you like and still not be able to determine a winner. Human error in the counts will probably give you a new winner each time just like Bush and Florida. Preposterous to think anyone could be certified with a 527 vote margin out of 6 million vote.
I am sure many on here watched on TV the media showing Iowa and how their process was being done - talking about a rigged Bingo game...I mean really. We are talking about choosing a candidate to run against the failing Obama - and these farmers are shuffling around paper like 1776. They can create ethanol to grub up your gas tank, but Iowans can't find a way to introduce modern technology into their archaic political system so there is some probability to locate any count problems - I swear some one stuffed his pockets with ballots when no one was looking and I thought I saw purple inked fingers on the farmers walking to their gas guzzling pickups on 3 Jan with their yellow golf pencils on one ear!
I am not even sure what hinsight2020 is even trying to argue...
Mr. Anon - you must be from Iowa, so I can understand why my points are too much for you to grasp!
Hindsight, I am not from Iowa. You just raised irrelevent points about farmers and basically called all Iowans stupid. That's not an argument.
I didn't call anyone stupid - I said their political process on selecting candidates is too archaic in this modern time...you, Mr. Anon called Iowans and farmers stupid, not I.
He was better off coming in second in Iowa... Iowa never picks a President!! We just got lucky with Obama... But 75% of America voted Obama and probably will again in 2012. This Republican is voting Obama 2012.
I never called Iowans stupid. Here are your quotes:
1.27:
1.29:
Great Rick Perry figured out his predicament a little earlier than most.
Now, if Ron Paul would just figure out - WRONG! If Ron Paul's supporters would just figure out that he is about as high a percent of voters that he is going to get through the process. Ron Paul knows he won't get the nod folks. I understand why some people fanatically follow him, Some is his fiscal proposals, some the Libertarian social side. Sorry, but the national defense and libertarian side will never play to the majority of the American people.
The question is which will end up out next. Santorum or Gingrich. When one of these two calls it quits, the other IS going to win. Otherwise, Romney will win more than he should and possibly win - especially because Ron Paul is sucking up a good chunk of the Conservative vote.
I don't see how Gingrich is going to win. He has not won a single delegate, virtually all his claims to fame are false, and he's had three wives (this will not appeal to social conservatives in the south). Man I hate it when he keeps on calling for a "bold Reagan Conservative", as if any viewpoint of Reagan's is absolute and incontestable.
and I thought the last Texas governor was a yard nugget . Wow Texas can pick em. ha!
and RON PAUL can run independent and suck up alot of votes from BOTH sides and win the whole shooting match!!!
and save us from our two party ......uh party?
This is another non-story from the media. We really don't have any idea who won because of the lost votes from 8 precincts. The headline should read; IOWA RECOUNT: LOST VOTES - WTH!
This just shows you how stupid Iowans are when they voted for a loser like Santorum. This guy is not qualify to be a dog catcher.
Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots!
Hey hindsight, For your information Iowa is number two in the nation in education (look it up). Behind only Minnesota. So with that said, Unless your from Minnesota, you need to bring it down a notch.
Santorum is very narrow minded and he looked like a nervous turkey getting his head cut off at the debate. I think Santorum has a traumatic stress disorder ? Something about this guy is drawing flies, could it be the Tea-ReTard support hes getting.
He hasn't won a single delegate, and we've had a whopping TWO of 50 primaries.... It's a long game and momentum shifts quickly (and is shifting as we speak). If Gingrich carries South Carolina and carries that momentum into Florida, he would become the frontrunner.
Sir., The frontrunner is Obama, the rest are ignoring the American people and they don't share our values. The middle class quality of life is under threat with the Tea Retards in the GOP.....Bruce # 1.45 !!!!!!
The real story is not that Santorum won, or that Romney won, or even that it was a tie. The real story is that after all that hoopla about the first state in the union to vote on blah blah blah - THOSE @!$%#ING IDIOTS LOST THE GOD DAMN BALLOTS so nobody will ever know who really won!
What a wonderfully funny way to start the clown contest that is the 2012 GOP primary process. As they say - you just can't make-up this stuff!
The problem is the fact that he has consistently come 4th or 5th indicates that most Grand Old Party people don't consider him seriously. And remember, the victories of Iowa and New Hampshire have a psychological impact on the populace - people now see Romney, Santorum, and Paul as the frontrunners.
If you (Anon) see Santorum and Paul ahead of Gingrich at this point and you (Patriotic) see Obama as a clear frontrunner with the American people squarely behind him, then neither of you has an ounce of objectivity in your bodies and only see what you WANT to see. Whether you acknowledge it or not, Gingrich is surging big time and the race with Obama doesn't even START until the republican challenger is known, picks a running mate, etc. Right now Obama has a huge advantage in that all these candidates (and the media) have been beating up on each other, leaving him completely alone. Soon all of the attention will focus on Obama vs his competitor, and then his record (or lack thereof) will be under a microscope.
4 years ago, he was an unknown candidate who ran on Hope and Change and captured the imagination and souls of Americans with his message of bi-partisanship and transparency. Four years later, he as been exposed as the opposite of everything moderate America THOUGHT they were voting for. The enthusiasm is gone and the record is not pretty. I don't see how he can possibly win at this point. All these "1st time voters" he inspired 4 years ago will stay on the couch this time around.
Bull@!$%#, Brucie boy. Obama really tried to be a bipartisan president and the GOP wouldn't cooperate. Until he realized how hopeless it was trying to work with those who hated him, Obama's attempts to compromise were so one-sided that he started getting flak from his own supporters. Mitch McConnell said it openly - the GOP's main priority was to make Obama a one-term president.
And you're in for a rude awakening, my friend, if you think Obama's supporters are going to stay on the couch and let one of those GOP clowns become president!
Bruce, maybe I'll consider Gingrich as more than negligible when he wins his first delegate, let along first state. We both know that there's nothing Gingrich has to make him better than Romney, let along Obama. All I see Gingrich doing is claiming to be a "bold Reagan Conservative" (a meaningless phrase), claim that Obama is a "secular socialist", and making false claims about balancing the budget. The last one I actually feel offended on the part of President Bill Clinton and Senate Majority leader Trent Lott, who have equal claims to balancing the budget. In any case the claim is misleading, if not outright false (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/dec/28/winning-our-future/ad-credits-newt-gingrich-balancing-budget/).
...guess Romney didn't make history winning both IA and NH after all...knew the Establishment couldn't stand having such a high historical mark being won by Romney, lol
I have always voted republican and most people I know have too. Those that I have talked to all can't stand Romney because he is the "establishment" and we're sick of it. We wish that Ron Paul was a little more Mainstream so he could get the nomination. I personally wish he could get the nomination without being more mainstream but I understand just how crazy that is!
singledad, I understand exactly what you mean. Ron Paul means REAL change and that scares people.
Allen - the establishment is FOR Romney, not against him.
People really love his energy in Fiscal Responsiblility. His legalize drugs that alter people's chemical make-up in their brains, and let us go hid in a little corner and only come out if we are really badly hurt - and then maybe not come out anyhow?
Think about it. 10-20% of Republicans are willing to ignore policies that are far to the left of Obama just to get the federal cuts or currently illegal drugs? WOW!
and RON PAUL can run independent and suck up alot of votes from BOTH sides and win the whole shooting match!!!
Hey, we already know the REPUBES will STEAL AN ELECTION...what's a little bitty ol" Primary to them?
They will rob, cheat, steal and run over ANYONE who gets in the way of their AGENDA...how UNPATRIOTIC how UNAMERICAN!!!!
They'll trot out Fat Fatty, er I mean, Chris Christy to save the day. Isn't it funny how the Repubes elect a Vice-President instead of a President. They just want a figure head that nods their head like a dummy while the VP Puppet Master pulls all the strings...Poor, Pitiful Fools that vote for them.
Does this change the delegate count? If not, just a bragging point. Move along folks, nothing to see here.
Later!
phine,
No is doesn't, but from what I hear Iowa delegates are open delegates, they can vote for anyone, and Dr Paul's people got most of them. Because they stayed in place after the votes were tallied when the delegates were chosen.
Egilman, stop telling yourself that Ron Paul will win. He has 1/3 the delegates Romney has.
No, this does not change the delegate count in the Iowa GOP anyway, this is the first year it wasn't "winner take all" for the GOP. After all their criticism of the "chaotic" Democratic caucuses, they can't even count their own votes! Obama 2012!
To be fair, the GOP has always had proportioned delegates, but yeah, this has no effect on delegates.
Anon: Paul has 1/3 of the delegates that Romney has after 1/25 of the states have voted. I don't know if he'll win or not, but it certainly wouldn't be wise to count Paul out when Mitt needs over a thousand delegates and currently has a whopping fewer than twenty.
At least the GOP doesn't have the "super delegates" system to deal with.
Romney being in the lead also has a psychological impact on voters. They see Romney as a front-runner, and discount losing candidates like newt Gingrich and Ron Paul. Remember that Paul is also behind Santorum
Well, Romney's Historical Victory's have been reduced to 1. O well, he can always say he Won 1 of the 1st 2,New Hampshire being the 2nd.
Tonight is gonna be Entertaining to say the least. Santorum with his Declared Victory in the 1st in the Nation Primary, Newt getting Slick Ricks endorsement & Malibu Mitt acting like a Hockey Goalie deflecting all the Incoming Pucks.
Pop some Popcorn Fiesty, tonight will be Fun,Fun,Fun.
Occupy SoggyBottom!
I'm making a 'run' this afternoon to stock up!
I STILL giggle everytime I see that! ;o)))
With lots of butter please. This will be must see TV.
it ain't over 'til the FAT LADY casts her vote....
American Citizen - since the GOP is so anti-women the FAT LADY will vote Obama! (She may be fat but she's NOT stupid!)
I've heard Mitt referred to as "a well lubricated weather vane"...seems appropriate, but he will be the nominee in the end, for a couple of reasons, the first being he's really wealthy, and has the biggest campaign chest, second, he has the backing of the GOP establishment, third he is still with the mother of his children and fourth...did I mention he's really really really rich?
American Citizen-1779594
Is Michelle allowed to vote?
Liberals have no tolerance for conservative women, therefore they are the ones that are anti-women.
"If we don't run Chris Christie, Romney will be the nominee and we'll lose" - Ann Coulter
Gee, I wonder if Ann is Clairvoyant.
Your mean like Palin and Bachmann.
Romney will probably be the nominee, but with all his gaffes and tone-deaf statements, he'll probably lose in a landslide.
That is, of course, unless he gets more votes from voters who identify with him and his wealth and hate Obama with a blind hatred than Obama gets from voters at large.
Unbelievable, only about 120,000 votes and they couldn't count them correctly the first time around. Maybe the Supreme Court should make the decision. LOL
At least there are no allegations of fraud.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66227.html
Forged signatures. Somebody should be going to jail- but with Eric Holder as the AG. . .
Let's wait until the accused is found guilty ... or has something changed in your neck of the woods.
Ideology,
We don't have to wait, the Iowa GOP was on the radio discussing how they were going to throw the caucus away from Dr Paul by armtwisting the precinct captains to cast the votes for anyone other than Dr Paul, they wanted Mitts but the Captains went with Santorum because he spent the most time in Iowa.
The whole Iowa Caucus was a fraud, the Exit Polls, the same ones the media uses to call elections early because they are so accurate (they actually are within limits) Called it for Dr paul 31% to 42% for Mitts.
The GOP WILL Cheat to keep Dr Paul OUT.
Sorry for the misprint, that was 31% to 24%....
[At least there are no allegations of fraud.]
Poor NoJo...neutered, just like Spanky...
Well, apparently they counted right, maybe, but did not report them correctly to the central Committe, and now there are 8 precinct that can't be found, and 131 precincts that had reported the wrong numbers. For instance, 2 votes for Romney, pushed the phone button 22. Our little gov says "maybe they should train the precinct captains better" ya think....no fraud, just sloppy recording
Holy Smokes!! The gop crazy train is chasing it's own tail now. I've have the perfect solution!! Just hang a pinata shaped like an old pink elephant and give them all long sticks. Blind fold them, then send them all in at once and commence to a-whackin'. Last person standing wins!! Done - hooray that was easy! Las Vegas odds will be announced shortly but by my estimations Michelle Bachmann will be the 5 to 1 favorite. Pay per view will make a killing. Damn, where the heck did I put my popcorn now?
Iowa LOST ballots! Its like a 3rd world banana republic up there, should they even trust the results?
I suspect Ron Paul ballots also went missing.
Rick,
Read my post @5.3
Iowa needs to be held accountable. If they can't do the Caucus right, then they should be penalized from
doing it in the next election.
Romney is the leading candidate in most polls, however, because he really is the best candidate:
Romney has the best education; the best experience in both public and private sector; he's proven he's a leader; that's why he's leading the polls.
Most Americans want a businessperson in the White House, too... there's been a huge void the past 3 years.
Mitts shouldn't be elected Dog Turd Remover....
He's the WORST candidate we could elect at this time.
Paul.........I thought the GOP talking point is 'government doesn't create jobs', if that's the case, Romney being a businessman wont make a difference. Or could it be that GOP thinking, that as long as there is a republican in the WH, all is right with the world?.
Look at the poll numbers for Congress....84% consider them dismal failures. Get real, until members of Congress decide to help the majority of Americans and not stall for the 1%, its all hot air and dead ends.
It will be funny if Mitt doesn't win considering that major media is only running 95% of stories on him... thus making him foremost in peoples minds. MSNBC seems to be the only one even trying to be balanced. Take a look over the news sites and count the stories on other candidates vs Romney its almost laughable.
Egilman...well some one has to become a turd remover...otherwise the turd will be stuck in the oval office
Right. The last MBA Prez...."W" brought us the worst economy since the depression with his "skills". And ALL the GOP field is STILL on board with that same none sense...
Romney "government doesn't create jobs" later on "we need to defeat President Obama because he didn't create enough jobs".FLIP FLOP FILP FLOP.............
Romney "I Never got help from the Government" Bain Capital requested and got millions in tax breakes (state and fed) and government pension relief ($40 Mil in one case) for companies he bankrupted. So far the totals exceed $100,000,000.00 in government (your's and mine) money.
Well said.
Whoa! Citizen at 7.4.
To say what you did on this liberal site must mean that you must have gigantic, steely balls near the size of Texas.
I can't believe these brutish scalawags have not yet blasted you all the way to Ursa Major.
Well James Lee: Frank-669022 wasn't around today and I suspect Feisty Redhead has already started on the wine so their opponents will mostly get a free pass, Feisty's friends usually won't jump on the dung wagon unless she's driving.
Look at These Guys: THE Gangrene, Vomitorium and, Of Course, Mince 'EmRommel.
They are out to convince the voters to put them in power. These guys are corporate slavemasters who want a Dollar a Day payScale for US and the Indentured system Back.
They HAVE BLOCKED AnAmericanNationalHealthCare System and put US at the Mercy of their Corprate InsuranceCompany Masters, Listening WarrenBuffet??? Other "civilized" countries have a NationalhealthCareSystem: England, Germany, Spain, France, VietNam..That's Right, Little D!pSh!t VietNam, Norway,Excellent, Denmark, Israel, Which by the way has One Of the World's best:Health-TheBody, Mental-Psychiatric care AND!!FullDental!!!!!!!! AND! AND!! AND!!! Guess who pays for their whole System?? YouGuessed It We American TaxPayers!!
Well Good for Israel We Want the Same System!!! Ohhh...Wait D!PSh!t Politicos TheGangrene, Vomitorium, Mince "EmRommel Voted NO for US FellowAmericans BUT Yes to Pay For Israel's System.... Nice TrustWorthy Guys Huh???
YOU KNOW WHO To Vote OUT of Their Deceptive Business?? These RepublicanCrimeCartelSoldiers so they can't hurt US Any longer
Great news for Obama!!
Great news for Obama? The republican nominee won't have to campaign after the convention next summer. Obama has taken on the job for them with dumb stuff like the pipeline decision yesterday. This ain't the end of, they're going to force his hand a few more times before the election. It won't be long before he goes into damage control mode, well ahead of the republicans.
LOL, keep telling yourself that imnotlost.
BTW, your map's upside down.
Ooooweee Fred: You ARE evil!
Just calling it like I see it. There's no doubt, Obama is vulnerable, VERY much so. But the GOP seems to have taken this election off, and are allowing the children's table to run amuck.
What? Obama has finally had it and throwing in the towel?
Please! Say it isn't So!
I agree Fred: I'm 62, and can't remember such childish behavior among members of the same party. They could very well lose this election with all the rhetoric.
Look at These Guys: THE Gangrene, Vomitorium and, Of Course, Mince 'EmRommel.
They are out to convince the voters to put them in power. These guys are corporate slavemasters who want a Dollar a Day payScale for US and the Indentured system Back.
They HAVE BLOCKED AnAmericanNationalHealthCare System and put US at the Mercy of their Corprate InsuranceCompany Masters, Listening WarrenBuffet??? Other "civilized" countries have a NationalhealthCareSystem: England, Germany, Spain, France, VietNam..That's Right, Little D!pSh!t VietNam, Norway,Excellent, Denmark, Israel, Which by the way has One Of the World's best:Health-TheBody, Mental-Psychiatric care AND!!FullDental!!!!!!!! AND! AND!! AND!!! Guess who pays for their whole System?? YouGuessed It We American TaxPayers!!
Well Good for Israel We Want the Same System!!! Ohhh...Wait D!PSh!t Politicos TheGangrene, Vomitorium, Mince "EmRommel Voted NO for US FellowAmericans BUT Yes to Pay For Israel's System.... Nice TrustWorthy Guys Huh???
YOU KNOW WHO To Vote OUT of Their Deceptive Business?? These RepublicanCrimeCartelSoldiers so they can't hurt US Any longer
Those who seem to win polls whether straw polls or actual polls in the Republican Party fall and fast. I wouldn't be surprised if Santorum falls after SC or maybe even FLA and it will be down to Mitt and Newt to slug it out. That will be interesting as it is likely to get really nasty especially with Newt in the picture.
Ron Paul will be in it to the end and will draw off votes. The extremists will ultimately vote for Paul as a protest against Romney with the result of giving Obama an easier victory than he would have had anyway.
I'm begining to think that Romney is the Republican equivalent of Dukakis. Can only keep my fingers crossed
Ron in Ind., that was a tough loss last night. Switched over to Cinci and UConn cause I thought they had it. Still love that team though and have been jealous ever since ya'll got Crean.
Typical of Repulicans---When they can't have it "Their Way ", They change the rules !!!
Missing Romney ballots
That way there is no question about "Hanging Chads"... Well done conservatives, jolly well done!
No, Iowa is relevant/sarcasm included.
Eh?
Fire the idiots who ran the Iowa caucus. They are an embarrasement!
This just gets better and better! The Republican Party is worth a laugh a minute, and yes, we're laughing AT you, not with you.
Well, if the media would have given Obama any scrutiny at all, everyone who voted for him would have realized he really is a Marxist! And that's not funny at all, that's scary!
Fights? A "Marxist"? REALLY? Hmmm. I wonder where you got that talking point? Beside being just flat WRONG! Why am I not surprised....?
President Obama is a pragmatist and actually center right. His policies have been a continuation of many of "W" Bush's policies, and allot of ideas he proposes had been first put forth by Conservatives.
I find it interesting that as soon as President Obama is FOR a plan or idea, no matter where it came from, the CONS are immediately against it and calling it "SOCIALIST" or "MARXIST". GMAFB.
Truth be told, President Obama is not a good "LEADER". He's quite brilliant actually, careful, calculating, considered, thoughtful. He has allot of REALLY good things about him, but he's not a leader.
I would have considered voting for John Huntsman, but the rest of the candidates in the extreme right seem in a competition to out-conservative one another without a clear vision or plan amongst the lot.
BTW....anyone with an ounce of sense recognizes your comments for exactly what they are. WORTHLESS and UNINFORMED.
JT-456250,
I disagree with you. The greatest quality a leader could have, among many other things, is the ability of leading others to believe they are leading, when in fact, they themselves are the Leader. And when solutions to problems arise on the Leader's "watch", they modestly avoid crediting themselves for success, as the problems decline by their work for those under their command.
I know this well, as a former NCO from the US Army 10th Mountain Division.
Obama is a great Leader. He doesn't do much talking, as he accomplishes what he set out, strategically.
Excellent point, Tony. Well considered and I agree....mostly. I think his youth and general lack of experience has not helped with what has been a successful presidency, given the pile of mierda he was handed in 2009.
Mitt,Newt,Rick....The Three Stooges Of 2012...plus...The crazy old Doctor and Colbert...Reality imitates art...A comedy sketch......Can you imagine any of these guys answering the phone at 3 AM ?...OK..Colbert.. :)
Better than Odumbo!
You mean the President who got Bin Laden ? Saved GM? Used 1/3 of the stimulus to give middle class Americans a Tax Break,ended "Don't Ask,Don't Tell",appointed 2 women to the Supreme Court,stopped Big Insurance from denying people coverage for pre-existing conditions,won the Nobel Peace Prize,got the U.S. out of Iraq,stopped the record job losses of the previous administration and created new jobs for 22 consecutive months....and who will be re-elected in November 2012....oh yeah,that guy
Well said, earsport!!!! Thank you!
Fights; what's with the immature references to the POTUS's last name? It's guys like you who got General McCrystal fired from his job in Afghanistan; remember the nitwit who called the VP "Bite Me"?
Correctomundo Earspot!!!!
If McCrystal wasn't so stupid he wouldn't got fired.
Let's see, Obama takes a trip with his family to Disney to try to help the tourism industry. Yea, that's the reason, alright! And to think you libs probably believe him!! Haha!, ok, if you say so.....
Let's see...Republicans move their convention to Disney World and deadlocked over a nominee...draft Mickey...who is endorsed by Christian Evangelicals as "the candidate who best represents our family values"...
Man this Fights guy is really making me see the light about what a horrible President Obama is... he went to Disneyland! Isn't that impeachable?
No..but if he takes a picture with Mickey,he's TOAST!!!!!
Fights...aren't you the least bit embarrassed that you have nothing of substance in your argument? I suppose just like facts, shame isn't one of those things you're familiar with.
I still don't see any "LEADERS" emerging. We know what all Rick Santorum is "against" but being "against" something does not a leader make. What does Santorum stand FOR? How about Newt? We know Gov. Romney's priorities....and he will never be elected President.
What our country NEEDS right now is a LEADER! Someone with vision and a clear sense of what it's going to take for us to get out of this hole we're in.
None of the current crop of candidates has demonstrated any true leadership skills.
unless we have a Congress that will work with a President, it doesn't really matter how good the leader is!
You're right there, JJB. I dare say Senator McCain couldn't have done any better given the dire conditions of the economy at the end of 2008. I suspect though, we would not have seen the entrenched and rabid opposition to anything proposed by the POTUS had McCain won the election.
Wouldn't it be refreshing for a candidate to stand up and tell us what they truely STAND for, and what they truely believe....and if you agree, follow them!
McCain, and the rest of the entrenched Republican leadership had no clue of what to do when the@!$%#e hit the fan back in'08.
even then - they went to Obama, eventually. They tried to bring (trick?) the incumbent into helping resolve the crisis (when he had no legal powers to make a decision - legally he was a civilian until inauguration). Intelligently - Obama didn't fall into that trap.
The only thing the Conservatives were advocating was "Stay the course"... this is only a minor correction in the market.
(But it wasn't! it was and remains a crisis which required years, lots of cash and credit and a deft, light touch to navigate us through.
all the while - we were trying to extract our nation from overextending series of wars we should never have been involved in nor could we afford - Rumsfeld.. admitted as much when he sent in too few troops in the 1st place, then under equipped them in the second. We had parents buying and sending their sons the armor they needed - which Rumsfeld would not/could not provide! Not only giving our sons and daughters in defense of our nation... but having to equip them too?).
But... its all good, now. and everyone wants to take credit for making it through the roughest patch. Time to change horses and put he robbers back in the White House?
Now that we have a bit of a breather in these chaotic last few years ... everyone is complaining at how much it cost to keep the country from going the way of the EU.
If you hadn't noticed, over there its getting progressively worse. there is a very reasonable fear that the European Union may dissolve. Italy has or is very close to backing out of the EU, as is Ireland. There are more who are on the fence.
Spot on observations, Beoweolf.
Bain gives more campaign money to Democrats than it does to Republicans
By Alexander Bolton - 01/19/12 05:30 AM ET
Democrats have accepted more political donations than Republicans from executives at Bain Capital, complicating the left's plan to attack Mitt Romney for his record at the private-equity firm.
During the last three election cycles, Bain employees have given Democratic candidates and party committees more than $1.2 million. The vast majority of that sum came from senior executives.
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/205025-dems-receive-more-bain-dollars-than-gop
It just shows that Bain employees are smarter than, the greedy bunch that used to employ them. How is that going to complicate anything? Most Co's give to both sides, it's called hedging your bets! LOL Keep desperately trying to give an out to Romney, who claims that investor's actually create jobs, after they plundered the Co and usually take away at least 3 times their investment. You may fall for that vulture economics, but the rest of us don't!
Reality check that is a good joke keep it up.
and RON PAUL can run independent and suck up alot of votes from BOTH sides and win the whole shooting match!!!
I hate to say it but there is still time for Sarah Palin to get into this. I bet the majority of republican voters would just love to scrap them all and start over from scratch. What a mess.
Ron S couldn't even get elected in his own state now he is running for the republican nomination what is this crap. Ron S is a professional politician who lost his job and so he thinks he can somehow try for another office. Ron S is a loser and the republicans know it and so is Newt and Romney they are wasting their time and money President Obama will get relected and the republicans will lose the house and HURRAY this country will get moving with Tire Tracks over Mitch McConnell face. Good times will be here again in 2 years.
Rick Santorum is absolutely not Presidential. He is out of his league. However, Romney or Gingrich could easily defeat Obama. Obama saying he kept his promises...Like bloody hell he has. He is utterly the worst man to ever walk into the White House. Obama blocks pipeline and WH says it's the GOP's fault?
It was NOT the GOP who blocked it, it was Clown Obama. Never has a President been more DISRESPECTED and DISLIKED as Obama. Thought Carter was going to hold that title, but slippery lipped Obama makes Carter look okay.
No man, black or white, has ever done as much damage to the African Americans in the country as Obama. It will be years before they recover the level of achievement they had before Obama.
Reagan, Clinton, and Bush all were at some point in their presidency more disliked than Obama has ever been.
when little lord romney won it was declared a victory. now that stinky santorum won it's declared a tie. it's called republican logic. the same logic that says a corporation is a person.
Well it doesn't run itself, Einstein.
fights --- there it is! republican logic. by that horse$hit logic a locomotive is a person. good luck selling that to a sane person.
Reminds me of an election a few years back . . . this guys wins . . . oh, nope, hold up, this guys wins . . . . wait, we have hanging Chads . . . yep, it's official this guys wins . . . . wait, maybe the Supreme Court should decide
It's a well kept secret...Republicans can't count!
1929 Great Depression - President Hoover (R)
1987 Black Friday Market Collapse - President Regan (R)
1988 Federal Deficit Tripled - President Regan (R)
2008 Great Recession (worst since Depression) - President "W" (R)
2008 Blew a Budget Surplus and Doubled the Federal Deficit - President "W" (R)
and these clowns want another chance at the wheel.
<sarcasm> yes they do....you see, every bad thing on earth was caused by those "awful" Democrats and their "Socialist" agenda (don't-cha know) </sarcasm>
It's time to put the partisan BS asside and work together for real solutions that benefit ALL American citizens. We can accomplish so much MORE when we find common ground and work together.
That's been tried for 3 years now and met by total recalcitrance on the part of the GOP.
The President went to the GOP retreat in his first year (a first) spoke, took questions debated and won the day in the view of the majority of observers on both sides of the isle. Cementing their subsequent bomb-throwing from a distance strategy we've seen ever since.
He went to the Hill and met with leaders of both parties on the stimulus, he met with the House and Senate leadership at Blair House during the Health Care negotiations, he invited GOP leadership to view the Super Bowl at the White House (they declined), he played golf with the newly minted Republican House Speaker, he invited that leader to visit a recently critically wounded House member in the hospital and help heal the fractured emotional state of residents in her district at a open public forum...the Speaker declined... and played golf instead. That same Speaker agreed to a negotiated debt reduction plan with the President then reneged in quite literally the 11th hour.
So, as a wise man once said: your words on bi-partisanship sound angelic and heavenly, unfortunately we're walking here on earth among flawed human beings...some of whom have publicly pledged their first commitment being defeat of the President, not the Kumbya spirit of our better angels.
and RON PAUL can run independent and suck up alot of votes from BOTH sides and win the whole shooting match!!!
Willard Mitt, as has been said while playing poker, 'early winners, late losers'. Oh well, you can't win them all. Just continue telling them what you think they want to hear. Most of your crowd is so naive/gullible, they will believe it. I can't speak apropos to the Mormon belief, but we Baptists know full well our Bible states it succinctly, 'you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free'. You're in good company Willard for some of the world's most infamous dictators/so-called leaders did likewise, but try calling them now in role call. Good luck with that.
Who cares Santorum is going no where, in fact he should just drop out, he is perceived at least by me, to be a whiny character, every time you hear him talk, he is complaining about why me this, why me that, and he totally lost it with me when he decided to talk about the tragedy in his family in Iowa, sympathy really? Then I noticed in the last debate he brings up an issue with Romney and decides to throw in the African American community, I'm sorry that was a bit much for me, clearly this guy is shady at best! Now that Iowa comes out with this crap, you won't hear the end of it by whiny Santorum, hope he get's 1% in SC!