The biggest lie ever told is that there is something more important than winning in politics. For the rest of us, the concepts of valor, honesty and morals have clear cut lines and distinctions. Certainly, on a governing level, they do for the Presidential candidates as well. But first, you have to win. That's what Rick Santorum is trying to do, and that feigned outrage of Mitt Romney and Co. is just laughable. They're not offended...they're scared.
In the state of Michigan, the primary system is open. Anyone who is a registered voter may vote in the GOP primary. Any registered Democrat may show up to a polling place, sign in (not sure if ID's are required, but if they are, you know, racism!) and vote. Democrats are using this as an opportunity to vote for someone who they don't believe in, but who they think will make it harder on the Republicans going forward.
As with all Leftist ideas, it has no originality or is straight out stolen from someone else. In this case, it was stolen from Rush Limbaugh, who called it Operation Chaos during the Obama-Clinton primary battle. In Michigan, they are calling it Operation Hilarity. Democrats are calling on Democrats to ask for a Republican ballot at their polling place, and vote for Rick Santorum. Their bet? According to Daily Kos:
“…to keep the Republican primary race in a deadlock in order to tarnish the viability of the frontrunners and ensure a second term for Obama.”
A Santorum win will make Romney a weaker candidate. If Romney loses Michigan (his home state, where his father was a three-term governor) he can no longer claim the mantle of "obvious choice." He is no longer the front-runner. Electability? Are you kidding?
Would it be so shocking to realize that Santorum can love God AND not be the Leftist caricature of someone who loves God? Santorum is not dumb, as the Left thinks of all of those "bible thumpers!" (He may be a believer in the value of big government, but that's just wrong...far different than dumb.) Santorum has put out robo-calls to Democrat voters, asking them to vote for him. He's pro-actively pursuing Democrat votes. Romney called it a "dirty trick," saying:
“We don't want Democrats deciding who our nominee is going to be, we want Republicans deciding who our nominee is going to be.”
It's not a dirty trick. It's called running for President!
Santorum has lost in Arizona with its large Mormon population and its early ballots that have had people voting weeks ago. He has Super Tuesday staring him in the face. He doesn't have a full slate of delegates in Tennessee, and he's not on the ballot in Virginia. His entire future presidential career is riding on a victory in Ohio. (And, to be clear, this is it for Santorum. If he loses the primary, he will never have an opportunity to run for President again. There will be no second chance for Santorum like Romney has received. None.)
Splitting the primaries is a must for Team Santorum. He must win Michigan to give himself the necessary boost to take Ohio, and force the race to Tampa, site of the 2012 Republican National Convention. Yes, Michigan is a proportionate state, with 30 delegates on the line. But, while the race for each delegate is necessary (1144 delegates are needed to get the nomination,) the win is greater than the delegate count right now. A win in Michigan proves that he can win the nomination. It proves that his victories in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota were not a fluke.
Further, it sets in the mind that Mitt can't take competition. If he can't beat Santorum, how the hell is he going to beat Obama? Fast-forward to Super Tuesday. What happens if Newt Gingrich takes Georgia and Tennessee? Gingrich will rise, and the "inevitability" of Romney will become the "what happened to" Romney. It will take a Herculean effort on his part, along with an incredible amount of money, to get back into the game. Romney has taken on challenges before, and has remained at the top of the pack. But a loss in Michigan and a three-way race out of Super Tuesday brings about another possibility - the brokered convention. If he loses Michigan and splits Super Tuesday, you can almost (almost!) bet on it.
For those people unhappy with their current choices, what better news than a possible (possible!) brokered convention. Yes, let the Democrats vote. It doesn't hurt the field, as the Democrats want to think. The opposite is true (as it is with most Leftist ideas!) it strengthens the field either way - determining it, or forcing a new look at it. Besides, maybe some of the Democrats will get used to the idea of voting for Republicans, and vote for them again in November. (Maybe!)
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