E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
NAPLES, FL -- Failing to show early signs of momentum in the Sunshine State, presidential hopeful Rick Santorum on Wednesday signaled he may be cutting out of Florida before the state's Jan. 31 primary.
Speaking to reporters here, the former Pennsylvania senator said was unsure if he would be in Florida the night of the primary, committing only to campaigning in the state over the next two days. On Saturday, he'll head home to Virginia for fundraisers and to prepare his tax records which he plans to soon make public.
Santorum said this weekend will be the first time he's slept in his own bed since Christmas.
His campaign has acknowledged that the large and expensive state of Florida would be a tough place to do well. His war chest is dwarfed compared to that of frontrunners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, who each also have well funded Super PACs. A Quinnipiac Poll released today shows Santorum running nearly 20 points behind the top candidates.
But the GOP hopeful has been seen strong crowds in the South, drawing more than 1,000 supporters to a Megachurch here. And his rhetoric suggests he has no plans to leave the race anytime soon.
"This race has just started. It's a three man race. We're going to be in this race for the long term," he said.
Santorum will campaign in the Florida Panhandle on Thursday before tomorrow night's debate in Jacksonville. But plans after that remain fluid, his staff has advised. The candidate has dismissed any change in schedule is a sign of a waining campaign. His trip is a chance to raise money and prepare his tax documents, said Santorum.
"I want to get that issue, you know, out there and behind me so I'm not the guy thats not doing their taxes."
Leave a Comment:
Man
Darn FR Gramlins!
Man, first we get up to the minute coverage of when Santorum "Touched Down" in Florida, now we get a heads up on when he is going to leave.
Nice job FR, keep hitting the hard stuff.
Commence with the Google scam on his name jokes in 1,2,3....
So that's your story & you're sticking to it... eh? *wink wink*
You really aren't very good at this are you?
Nah Feisty, I'll never be as good as you.
Of course, un-like you, this is not all that I have going in my life.
Hell, I even typed "Gremlins" wrong.
WCA - I liked the way you typed Gramlins... Struck a chord with how screwy this board becomes when Red Betty is fighting to be the first poster.
Thank you for recognizing that! ;o)
Could of fooled me with the amount of time you spend around here...
Fiesty, I guess you've earned your battle pennant. You can get under the skin of these nitwits like no one can. I bow to your superior wit.
So... Does Rick think he has a shot at being Newt's VP, or is Newt just leading him on, or does Sanotrum just need to do some laundry (not magic underwear, but gotta take care of those stains just the same)? Oh come on, I'm referring to skid marks...
Aw Shucks KOMH - it's like shooting fish in a barrel with these morons...
Whoa Red Betty bam-a-lam, Whoa Red Betty bam-a-lam
Red Betty had a child bam-a-lam, The dam thing gone wild bam-a-lam
And she's always ready bam-a-lam, She's shaking that thing bam-a-lam
She makes me sing bam-a-lam, Whoa Red Betty bam-a-lam
brianb Being a bit absurd now. Ignore you!
When he did not correct the old lady who called POTUS a Muslim (there is nothing wrong with being a Muslim), my opinion of this man changed. I am glad he is leaving.
A double profile in courage moment for Santorum as he failed to correct the woman's mistake about the President's religion and also the birtherism comment she made. And then he later doubled down on it by saying it "wasn't his job" to correct her.
It is so troubling to me that we have not moved beyond our religious differences that to be a Muslim would be a negative.
Rick didn't correct the crazy old lady because he secretly believes it himself!
I give the guy high marks on credibility. He has been very clear on his stance on abortion, marriage, and foreign policy. That being said, good riddance. The country doesn't need a divisive anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-Muslim, pro-nuke Iran president.
That's right RedDevil - You tell em!!! Don't ever, ever, ever let an opposing viewpoint water down your beliefs... After all, everyone should believe as you do! You are the only one in this world that's correct, right? Not a single person should ever have opposing beliefs... When they conflict with your's, "off with their heads!!" A little draconian, wouldn't you say? ::running from the drawn sword::
So if Santorum must correct one clueless old supporter, imagine the time the poor President would have to spend in here correcting the hateful personal nonsense spewed by his eccentric radical loons in here...
Unless Obama agrees with these nasty hateful class warriors ?
I am no Santorum fan but I am curious to all his liberal detractors that are Catholic. What is your take on this? How do you reconcile your beliefs with your politics?
http://www.catholicregister.org/columns/item/13728-fighting-back-against-obama%E2%80%99s-divide-and-conquer-approach
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/archbishop-timothy-dolan-president-obama-spat-birth-control-mandate-article-1.1011413?localLinksEnabled=false
I am Catholic, and if you followed the Catholic doctrine strictly you couldn't support or vote for either party. The Democratic stance on abortion and birth control IS in direct opposition; but so is the Republican stance on the death penalty and their approach to taking care of the poor and elderly.
I was taught to "hate the sin, but love the sinner" and I can reconcile my Catholicism more with the core beliefs of the Democratic party than I can with those of the Republican party.
Each person still has the ability to make a personal decision as to whether the use of contraceptives conflicts with their faith and beliefs, this just does not allow an employer (Catholic university or hospital) to force their morals on their employees.
Good and thoughtful response. Thanks TNSEVOL.
The comment by the woman about being an "avowed Muslim" in addition to claiming an illegal presidency (Birther crap) is so beyond the pale, anyone who let's this ignorance go unchallenged is not a leader -- Certainly not able to represent ALL Americans as a leader. B-bye Santorum.
Appreciate your thoughtful response but I know a lot of Rep in my family and there is no edict or mandate from the Republican party that says you have to support the death penalty. I agree a lot of Republicans may support the death penalty but it is not a mandate. That is a lot different than what the article is saying that Catholic Church is not exempt from a mandate that is totally against their ideology. We want to keep religion out of government, isn't the opposite also true?
"His campaign has acknowledged that the large and expensive state of Florida would be a tough place to do well."
You think Florida's tough? Wait'll you get to the large and expensive state of Pennsylvania, Rick. You know, the one where you had your tail handed to you by 17 points last time you ran here?
"Santorum said this weekend will be the first time he's slept in his own bed since Christmas."
Ladies and gentilemen - start your punchlines!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2012_timeline
That's assuming Ricky makes it that far. Pennsylvania does not hold their primary until April 24th. How many states can Ricky come in 3rd or 4th before the funds dry up?
...and on that note, congratulations to the great state of Iowa for once again picking a winner in the Caucus!
Santorum always leaves from the behind.
Ew.
Don't let the Panhandle hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.
Well Ricky,
If you had been paying attention, your three man race is a two man race. You are blowing somebody's money. It would be nicer for you and the Mrs. if you just stayed in Florida until the primary is over and then just leave the race. Are you still wearing those sweater vests on the beach?
Are you still wearing those sweater vests on the beach?
That's Funny.
Not as funny as a good ethnic joke, though. Eh, ideology and phine?
You really have NO idea when to quit - do you WCA?
You just got your ass handed to you on the last thread about this, so now you've snuck over here... lol
Aw Feisty .. I thought it was refreshing to see a new rant. The old GM bailout, screwed shareholders and bond owner routine was getting tedious.
Wayne---I think Rick is just hanging around waiting for Newt to implode and then be there to pick up the conservative votes. He can do that just as well while raising money in Virginia.
One day WCA was molested by a horde of snails. When the officer arrived on the scene he asked the poor fellow to calm down and tell him exactly what took place. "Well", stammered WCA, I, I don't know s s sir, it happened so fast."
@Ideo - hysterical. WCA asketh, WCA receiveth!
It is nice to see you libs "gang up".
Only safety in numbers, eh?
Seems to me you all were calling Spanky a bully on these pages for things he said.
Boy are you guys easy to flip.
Bring it on Libbies. See, I'm a big boy boy just throwing ouyt some chum.
You folks keep rising to the bait to show your true colors.
Let me help you with that...
There... that's better...
You're welcome! ;o)
Why don't you give your side-kick Spanky a call - you sure seem to enjoy hiding behind his skirt...
Feisty stop stalking me
You said it, not us WCA, the best way to handle a bully is to gang up on them.........in this case you.
Yep.
There's plenty of santorum to go around folks!
No ad money, no organization, no Super-pac benefactor...
He's out kids.
Said it last week.
What happens now?
In a recent PPP (D) poll, Gingrich was the second-choice of 31 percent of Santorum voters, while Romney was the next option for only 15 percent of those who planned to vote for the former senator.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/01/25/florida_supporters_stay_loyal_to_lagging_santorum__112903.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Newton will benefit the most, the Republican Establishment will go apoplectic, and the J-E-B scenario becomes more likely...
As a good Catholic he is headed deep into Virginia territory for a Hail Mary pass or Ressurection ... oh there I go, another bigot strewn comment on my part today ... hit self with monkey wrench.
It worked for Eli- but he had a great organization behind him and Super Blockers in front...:-)
Presidential politics is cash intensive and Rick is slowly bleeding to death. When Newton wins Florida, there will be no rationale for Santorum to continue. In fact there is really no path to the nomination for him now, whatever happens in Florida, but if Nate Silver is right (and I'm not betting on his numbers) and/or the Santorum camp's internals are similar...
NATE SILVER’S FORECAST projects a seven-point Gingrich victory here next Tuesday, but he adds a bunch of caveats. “Our forecast model currently gives Mr. Gingrich a 75 percent chance of winning the state. That seems like too confident a prediction, frankly,” he writes on the 538 blog. “On the other hand, Mr. Gingrich does appear to have a modest lead in the polls — and the nonpolling factors do not clearly favor one or the other candidate, in my view. So I would call Mr. Gingrich the favorite for now — but not a clear favorite.” http://nyti.ms/w6huui
He may be exiting even sooner than that...
How's the hot water situation?
I did not see the last debate but from what I read Gingrich was tired and played rope-a-dope. I suspect he will come out swinging on the CNN debate. From what I have seen in the south so far, there seems to be unbridled enthusiasm for seeing Romney whacked. 3 point field goal for Gingrich.
new water tank arrives this evening ...
Will Santorum pull a Perry and quit Thursday morning?
Good thing Mr. phinephancy has friends in the plumbing trade. Really came in handy when my water heater went kaboom!
When it comes to my house I do my own.
I used to let Mr. phinephancy do some - but got tired of his swearing and yelling. Found it easier to get someone else to do it (and he does know how to do it, but he always wants my help, then yells at me). That's why I am here and not in jail for beating him over the head with some tool!!! LOL
Poor Santorum wants so bad to make himself relevant that he has to bring up his taxes himself, because no one else cares.
We would never want a president who is so intellectually backward he still thinks that gay is catching or a choice you made last week? Not only is he against abortions, he is also against contraception. Lets let a catholic notion rule our country, after all the catholic church is so holy and have taken such good care of their children surely they have a right to be telling the rest of us what to do with our bodies.
The republicans are trying to pass laws to force all Americans to abide by Catholic doctrine. Republicans just call it the person-hood amendment.
A law so radical they could not even get it passed in very conservative Mississippi. A law that Romney supports after openly promising that he would protect your right to choose. You can trust Romney's word for as long as it takes for him to say it.
Wait a sec,
First it was Nazism, then it was Fascism, then they were the Taliban in America, now they are all Fundamentalist Catholics?
Can you guys make up your minds on what you want to label republicans please? I'm sure it would make your task of insulting them easier and more coherent.
Egilman,
It's tough, because the Republican party isn't a single monolithic movement. Neither is the Democratic party. They're too large to represent a single constituency, so they are both coalitions. You can break Republican Extremism up into a few major cohorts, though (note that not all registered Republicans are extremists, but the makeup of their elected officials has certainly been moving in that direction lately).
1. The Plutocrats. Romney or the Koch bros. Donald Trump fans. People who think more money entitles them to more power so that they can rightfully redirect even more money and power away from everyone else and to themselves. Their primary agenda is to reduce taxes and regulation.
2. The Fundamentalists. Santorum, Perry, Bachmann. An uneasy alliance of Evangelical and Pentecostal Protestants, conservative Catholics (not to be confused with liberal Catholics, again Catholicism is not the united monolithic entity its leaders wish it was), and Mormons who despite agreeing on nearly all social issues distrust the other groups because they view them as heretical cults corrupting their own one true religion. Their primary agenda is to increase the influence of their church, and to this end they need government to reduce its own social influence and cut back on spending and domestic programs.
3. The Faux Libertarians. The dark side of Ron Paul's support base. Faux because they actually tend to be highly authoritarian. Mainly they want to reduce the authority of government so that their other preferred sources of authority (aka, themselves) can take over. Many conspiracy theorists, survivalists, and militias would fall into this group and their primary agenda is to repeal governmental protections that prevent them from doing whatever they want to people they don't like and can either outgun or outnumber.
4. Militaristic Authoritarians. Bush/Cheney. Romney would like to belong to this club as well. Also sometimes called "neo-cons" or "fascists", they believe might makes right and are big fans of sabre rattling and military intervention and even, with the Bush Doctrine, pre-emption. Their main goals are national supremacy abroad and domestically cracking down on crime to preserve law and order. Big fans of police brutality and capital punishment, they'd like to skip over the bits in the bill of rights that specify protections for those accused of crimes.
You can, of course, play the same game with left wing extremist groups, but they aren't nearly as well represented in government or the media right now.
AS you bid fare well to the "Sunshine State", Rick Santorum, please stop by Tallahassee AND TAKE OUR GOVERNOR WITH YOU!!!!!!!!!
Florida is not that liberal, but women are not held to the same backwards standards that some women in rural Pennsylvania or rural Iowa uphold. Unfortunately for Santorum, Florida women do not willingly accept Santorum's counsel that they must accept the spawn of their rapist as a blessing, carry the rapist's fetus to term, and raise the child in a loving home (all enforcible by state statute or constitutional amendment). Also, Floridians like their condoms and other forms of birth control. In other words, Florida is not moonbat crazy for the Opus Dei crockery that former Senator Santorum is peddling.
And then there were 3. Could it be that ridiculous Rick has finally figured out that this country doesn't want any more extremists in power? Maybe that is the epipheny that the Great Creator Spirit has been trying to tell him but he just wansn't getting the message until now. Well good riddance.
So who will remain standing? Will it be Flip Flop, let them eat cake, Romney? Will it be Sleeze Ball and chief hypocrite Gingrich? Or will it be crazy old man with goofy unworkable ideas Ron Paul? This should be interesting.
Good news for Florida. One helping of santorum is always more than enough.
Good riddance! Don't let the door hit you in your sanctimonious behind.
3 Man race eh? Maybe they're forgetting someone?