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Adding to his list of victories, Mitt Romney’s convincing win in Illinois has many bloggers analyzing what it means -- and if it could signal the end of the GOP race.
Conservative Erick Erickson of Red State simply says: “In Illinois, Romney won. Period.”
"The Santorum campaign stumbled badly in Puerto Rico, gave up a lead in Illinois, and the candidate proved horribly undisciplined. Like Dug the dog in Up getting distracted by every random squirrel, Rick Santorum loses all ability to focus when social issues come up. His lack of discipline and message focus steering those issues to families as he did so beautifully in the Mesa, AZ debate has hindered him and solidified a media narrative that he is more concerned with those issues than jobs and the economy. It is not fair. It is not even accurate. But fairness and accuracy are rare commodities in American retail politics and Rick Santorum has not leveraged his strengths well.
On the other hand, Mitt Romney’s win in Illinois still highlights his struggles. Blue collar voters are not fond of him. Staunchly conservative voters are not either. Evangelical voters also are not fond of him. The voters do not feel quite comfortable with their pick. But though evangelicals and social conservatives are the base of the base of the Republican Party, they are not enough to stop Mitt Romney and a spending advantage some have estimated topped 20 to 1 against Santorum in Illinois.”
Andrew Sullivan at the Daily Beast notes that although Romney won, he continually struggles to convince the Conservative base, which can pose a problem in November.
“…In a state where Romney did very well, with a 12 point margin over Santorum, that he still lost non-college educated whites by 7 percent and was essentially tied with Santorum among those earning under $50,000 a year. I think this means real vulnerability to the attack line coming in the fall that he is the Wall Street mega-rich candidate who wants even more tax cuts for people like him and Ryan-style cuts in the safety net. And he still lost the white evangelical vote by seven points.
I don't think his weakness among the very conservative matters much for the general. They'll turn out for him. But I do think his continued weakness with the core enthusiasts in the GOP base, white evangelicals, is a potential problem for turnout this November. Some of it is surely about his Mormonism; some of it his patrician Yankee style. But he'll need something powerful to motivate these voters, while not poisoning his appeal to moderate Republicans by emphasizing issues like abortion, gays and contraception.”
But Jay Cost, conservative contributor at National Review Online, says if Romney continues to win with his core groups, the path to the GOP presidential nomination will come sooner than later.
“Without a substantial shift in these major blocs (suburban, upscale, relatively moderate voters), there is no way Santorum will come close to Romney in terms of votes or delegates. The electoral math is simply undeniable: The Mid-Atlantic states and California, where demographics favor Romney, are still to vote; plus, the big delegate hauls remaining in the South — North Carolina and Texas — are more like Florida than Mississippi, full of upscale, suburban voters who have typically backed Romney...
Thus, the Pennsylvania primary in late April is key. The demographic mix will favor Romney, but it is Santorum’s home state. If Romney wins there, game over. If Santorum wins, then the race will probably drag out until June.”
Jennifer Rubin, a pro-Romney conservative opinion blogger for the Washington Post writes that after Romney’s victory last night in Illinois, he is finally receiving the credit he deserves.
“Mitt Romney’s Illinois win was so impressive that neither Rick Santorum nor the press corps bothered to spin the results. Whatever the verb — “crushed,” “rolled,” or “clobbered” — there was rare consensus that Romney had finally crossed the threshold from “weak front-runner” to ”presumptive nominee.” Both the extent of the victory and the reminder that Santorum is essentially a well-funded Mike Huckabee (winning only in rural areas or among very conservative evangelicals) have, it seems, forced the chattering class to adjust its analysis to fit reality...
As we’ve said before, by the end of a presidential primary, the winner seems more polished and presidential than at the beginning of the contest. This is both a factor of how we view him and the shot of confidence a candidate gets after all the elections, speeches, debates and interviews. It is a grueling process, but in the end the winner is elevated. The press and Democratic operatives would have us believe that Romney has been diminished by the process. In fact, as last night demonstrated, quite the opposite is true.”
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It always has been Romney, and dogs everywhere howl their disapproval!
Romney is getting the 1%-er vote, because that is who he is. Like the rest of the GOP-ers, he is for Big Corporations running our lives.
We recently learned that in 2010 – 93% of all income gains in America went to our topmost income bracket - the same group that brought about the economic crash of 2007.
Btw, it is way past time for the affluent 0.02% to pay equal effective taxes and start repairing the damage they have done via 30 years of short-changing the US Treasury.
This race was over when Romney announced he was running. And I'm not talking about the just the primary.
Mitt Romney will be President in 2013!!!!!!!
Here is a super pac that may give Mitt a problem. It seems 40% of voters still don't know about it. www.dogsagainstromney.com
Dream on Rob. It aint gonna happen.
Romney is getting the 1%-er vote, because that is who he is. Like the rest of the GOP-ers, he is for Big Corporations running our lives.
Must be a lot of 1%er's out there seeing Romney has amassed over 1 million more votes that all the candidates combined.
Rob, wanting to be president may be the only think Romney hasn't changed his mind about over the past six years.
A lot of folks are cleverly & systematically duped by the GOP/Koch party:
That voting GOP will help them become a member of the affluent classes.
The top 1% is a private club. They will not let the rest of us join, but they thank all of you gullible, conservative suckers who vote republican against your own economic self interest.
Wayne,
Thanks for posting that site. It was funny--and also serious. As a dog lover, I really appreciated it and believe it says a lot about Romney's character.
It would be interesting to know whether it's true that Seamus ran away once they arrived in Canada. Sounds plausible to me.
The poor animal was probably in shock and had suffered permanent hearing loss. Who knows what it would do under those conditions. This is a major problem for him with members of any party who are animal lovers. His family still feels this is a real hoot. The fact that this is still a funny family story after 25 years speaks volumes about the whole Romney clan.
The funny thing is that Mitt has his own "google problem." when you type in "romney," the first item to pop up next to his name is "dog."
Yes, indeed.
Flip Romney will not be elected President. He is too much of a Nervous Nelly. That Nervous Nelly laugh comes out especially when someone gets in his face.
Oh noes! This Republican primary has been such fun!
Romney garnered less than 50%; translation: Santorum, Gingrich and Paul (the not-Romney slate) got 52% of the Illinois vote. So it was a 12 point win, but again Romney underperforms.
BTW, no pundit ever credited Santorum with being astute pollitically. Nor has anyone praised his campaign acumen. Nobody is surprised Santorum squanders his opportunities.
"Romney underperforms"?
Bull...Romney won big, period. There is no "non-Romney" slate , any more.
President Obama has "underperformed' very day in offcie.
Fancy This Too -
Yeah, an earlier thread noted that "With 99% in, Romney led Santorum in Illinois 47%-35%."
Nice, but how many times does this make now that Romney has "won" and yet still came in second to "Anybody But Romney"? He probably is still the inevitable nominee. But for even the pro-Romney blogger quoted above to write something like "Whatever the verb — “crushed,” “rolled,” or “clobbered” — there was rare consensus that Romney had finally crossed the threshold from “weak front-runner” to ”presumptive nominee” is kind of wishful thinking.
In Romney's case, I don't see where the terms "presumptive nominee" and "weak front runner" are yet mutually exclusive.
If and when he starts consistently winning even 60% of the vote, maybe we can start talking "won big" - but even that's a long way away from "clobbered".
JoAnne, you set an impossible standard for Romney.
60%? Ridiculous . Did Obama win 60% in any primary?
Bill Clinton won 2 terms and didnt get over 51% of the vote either time, if I recall.
bOb...you may want to take a look at this...seems Virginia women voters don't want him near their vaginas:
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/institutes-and-centers/polling-institute/virginia/release-detail?ReleaseID=1722
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2012/mar/21/approval-ratings-drop-mcdonnell-general-assembly-ar-1782402/
First, yes, I'm pretty sure he did get above 60 percent in some states, just as I'm sure Clinton did as well.
Second, this isn't a replay of that contested nomination battle. In 2008, the party saw what it considered two strong candidates and had a hard time choosing between them. Myself, I wasn't a Clinton fan. But her party saw her as fully capable of being the next president. It just ended up choosing Obama.
This year, the Republican question isn't "which one do we want more," but rather "which one can we sorta, kinda stomach."
Respond however you will, but you and everyone from both parties and beyond knows that true.
Bob the probe guy is never going to be the VP. However, we will always call him VP Bob.
Bob -
Read 'em and weep:
Mississippi - 61%
Wyoming - 61%
Hawaii - 76%
D.C - 75%
Maryland - 61%
Virginia - 64% (surprised you don't remember!)
Nebraska - 68%
Virgin Islands - 90%
Washington - 68%
Alaska - 75%
Colorado - 67%
Democrats Abroad - 67%
Georgia - 66%
Idaho - 80%
Illinois - 65%
Kansas - 74%
Minnesota - 66%
North Dakota - 61%
And there were another 13 states where he got between 50 and 60%.
http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/results/votes/index.html
Usually I do not find that Erik guy to be even remotely funny. But today his analogy made me laugh. ; )
If Santorum wins Louisianna, we'll be right back where we were after Alabama and Mississippi.
Yes, Santorum remains a longshot. But... what are the alternatives? Just one. Romney. And whenever that idea has sunk in over past weeks, Santorum wins another primary. Then, Santorum seems to get himself on a bit of a roll, and Romney wins. Basically, it seems like Republicans don't really want any of these guys.
It would be something if Romney actually finds a way to lose the nomination; but when his party doesn't want him, that possibility is still out there.
Romney's win in Illinois, and the endorsement by Jeb Bush, means it is 99% sure Mitt is the nominee, and the next President.
so bob- what have you got a moderate in conservative clothing?
just the angry white man's party is all you got
Anybody who thinks Romney represents them must be pretty damn rich, but the top 1% obviously won't get him elected. He needs those people who aren't in his tax bracket and those people who vote for him must be pretty damn ignorant.
Like I said Bob, Flip Romney will not be elected President. He is too much of a Nervous Nelly. That Nervous Nelly laugh comes out especially when someone gets in his face.
Just an empty suit with a Nervous Nelly laugh.
Hey bOb...there's a thread with your name on it:
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/21/10791886-more-2012-mcdonnells-approval-drops?threadId=3375017&commentId=63627429#c63627429
Hi Mickey,
VP Bob want like this.
Nominee?
The only people who ever doubted he was the nominee were republicans. Even Obama knows he's the nominee.
Next President?
Not so much. Want to make a wager, Bob in VA?
"Not so much. Want to make a wager, Bob in VA"?
Can I have a piece of that Teknishan? Comon Bob man up! Wanna bet 10K?
bob - "Mitt is the nominee"
Seems like you will have to send that memo to the GOP cannibal convention.
Santorum, Newt and Paul has not got the message.
OBAMA 2012
Mitt Romney is the nominee at this point. The Illinois win and Jeb Bush's endorsement sealed it. Santorum and Gingrich are out, but they can't see it yet. Terribly entertaining though--seeing at the goofy, stupid, sexist, and unintelligent things they say!
I think it is time for Santorum to pull his foot out of his mouth and call it quits.
The bottom line is that Romney has had to buy his way to marginal victories against the weakest presidential primary field in modern history. Never has there been the amount of criticism and satire aimed at a presidential nomination contest as this GOP contest in 2012. Sure, Romney won 47% of the vote in Illinois (with a very low turnout). He outspent the field by more than 7 to 1 and the field is incredibly weak. Romney is now a 10 to 1 favorite against the rest of the field for the nomination. But amateur hour will be over when he takes on Obama. Obama will remember all of Romneys's various postions on the issues and will slice and dice. Romney will not get away with spouting pablum about freedom, individualism, and apple pie. And eventually, he will have to answer reporters' questions. If he is such an economic guru, then surely he will want to enunciate how he will balance the budget without tax increases (with specifics) and bring about faster job creation.