PrairiePundit

Rick Santorum has written a piece attacking refiners for wanting to reduce the Renewable Fuel Standards in which he claims they are needed because we are still importing oil.  He could not be more wrong.  I think the only people who support this travesty are corn farmers and politicians and the exporters of heavy crude to the US. As a consumer, the product sucks.  But consumers are never consulted in these decisions, and people like Santorum attack the refiners for wanting to end the waste. If the refiners were able to invest the money they are wasting on the RFS in the conversion of their operations to refining the light crude produced from shale wells there would be much less need for imported oil and the country would be more energy secure.  Tortillas would cost less and people would not have to do costly repairs on the small engine equipment.  Cars would be more fuel efficient. If ethanol were a worthwhile product it would not need the RFS to be ...

NY Times: Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum Slammed for Appearing at Donald Trump Event From the looks of the polls, they had little to lose, but Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum might have lost the respect of some conservatives by attending a Trump rally. I suspect it hurt them not just with conservatives but with veterans too.  It was basically just a Trump infomercial where he induced a few of his rich buddies to donate to Trump's foundation  for funds that are supposed to go to veterans groups.  But in the past Trump has donated more money to the Clinton's than he has veterans which raises the suggestion that he is just doing it as a political stunt. BTW, I am a veteran.

NY Times: Gingrich Accuses Fox News of Bias Newt Gingrich became the latest Republican candidate to lash out at the cable news network, accusing it on Wednesday of dooming his flagging campaign by slanting its political coverage to Mitt Romney's benefit. I don't believe Fox had a pro Romney bias.  They were as tough on Romney as they were any of the candidates and they gave both Gingrich and Santorum nightly interview time to get their message out.  They were both on significantly more often than Romney.  I got where I changed the channel when they came on, because I already had heard their pitch on previous nights.

Santorum was not going to win the nomination, but now Romney will have several million more to direct toward defeating Obama.  That is no small thing.  It gives the Republicans a better chance of winning in November.

Washington Post: Rick Santorum  will announce Tuesday that he is suspending his presidential campaign, all but bringing to a close the 2012 GOP presidential contest and formally handing the nomination to  Mitt Romney , according to an official close to the campaign. Santorum is set to announce his withdrawal at a campaign event happening shortly in Gettysburg, Pa. — the site of the historic and pivotal Civil War battle. ( Video of the event is here .) ...  I think it was the right thing for him to do.  His chances of defeating Romney had grown more and more remote and he was starting to alienate Republicans he may need to be friends with in the future.

PPP: Mitt Romney's taken the lead in PPP's newest poll of Rick Santorum's home state of Pennsylvania. Romney has 42% to 37% for Santorum with Ron Paul at 9% and Newt Gingrich at 6%. The numbers represent a dramatic turnaround from when PPP polled the state a month ago. Romney's gained 17 points, going from 25% to 42%. Meanwhile Santorum's dropped 6 points from 43% to 37%, for an overall swing of 23 points in the last four weeks. Pennsylvania Republicans are expressing major doubts about Santorum's viability both in the primary and the general election. Only 36% of GOP voters think Santorum has a realistic chance at the nomination to 54% who believe he does not. And when it comes to matching up against Barack Obama in the fall only 24% of Republicans think Santorum would provide their best chance for a victory while 49% think that designation belongs to Romney. ...  Santorum has a few weeks to turn things around, but the momentum in the state has clearly...

Politico: The long, draining Republican primary season may finally have reached a turning point Tuesday, with Mitt Romney on his way to sweeping three contests in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and potentially dealing a decisive blow to his most dogged foe, Rick Santorum.   Romney is projected to win both Maryland and the nation’s capital; he had 50 percent of the Maryland vote with 12 percent of precincts reporting and 68 percent of the D.C. vote with 14 percent of precincts in. There was little mystery surrounding the outcome in either contest as Santorum wasn’t on the ballot in D.C. and Romney led by huge margins in Maryland polling. The  Wisconsin  contest is likely to be the marquee result: both Romney and Santorum have campaigned heavily there and the super PACs supporting them have spent substantial sums on the air.   There, too, Romney is the favorite, maintaining a 7-point edge in polling conducted by the Democratic fir...

Glenn Kessler: Santorum’s ‘kitchen sink’ ad slam He gives the ad four Pinocchios.  It does suggest a campaign that is desperate to change minds of people that have already rejected him.  It is another example of his creating sound bites for Democrats in the fall.

The Hill: Santorum’s chances for VP slot slim Maybe it was all those sound bites he has been creating for Democrat ads against Romney.

Washington Post: We finally know what Mitt Romney really thinks of Rick Santorum. That he should be a press secretary.   Romney was joking, of course, making a light-hearted reference on late-night television to his rival’s Sunday night squabble with a New York Times reporter. It came during a taping Tuesday for “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Romney’s fourth appearance and first of the 2012 campaign cycle on the NBC show. ...  The article has some video of the appearance.  Romney's staff had told him not to try to be funny and he largely succeeded.   The press secretary line was pretty clever though.

NY Times: Santorum Unveils 'Obamaville' Video, Scary Music Included The video reflects Rick Santorum's penchant for language and imagery brimming with disdain if not hostility toward the Obama presidency. So did Democrats demonstrate disdain for President Bush?   It seems to be part of any campaign.  There are many voters who are brimming with hostility toward Obama's failed energy policies and his despised health care law.  Appealing to them is what his opponents do.

Fox News: The polls are now closed in Louisiana, and Fox News is projecting that Rick Santorum will win by a comfortable margin, leaving Mitt Romney to finish second, Newt Gingrich third and Ron Paul fourth.   Santorum did well with evangelical and conservative voters in Louisiana, as he has in other Deep South states. But tonight he also edged out Romney among self-described moderate voters and those who consider the economy the most important issue, according to Fox News exit polls. The former Massachusetts governor and frontrunner has amassed more than twice as many delegates as Santorum nationwide and is nearly halfway to the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the Republican presidential nomination.   There are 20 delegates up for grabs tonight in Louisiana, although it is not yet clear how those delegates, which are allocated proportionately, will be divided among the candidates. It does appear that Santorum will win a plurality of the delegates.   San...

CNN is already projecting Romney as the winner with just seven percent of the votes tallied.  He appears to be headed to a strong finish.  It is possible that Santorum may pick up a few delegates here and there, but it will not be enough to change the outcome.  Santorum's path to the nomination is fading and it will be even more difficult after April first when states can start awarding delegates on a winner take all basis.  Right now he is leading in Texas, but that is probably the only big state prize he can look forward to.

NY Times: In Illinois, Santorum Talks of Brokered Convention Rick Santorum on Monday again raised the specter of a brokered Republican convention as he seeks to appeal to conservative voters to deliver another setback to Mitt Romney’s presidential ambitions The stress of falling behind is starting to show on Santorum's face as well as in what he is saying on the campaign trail.  He has always had a problem of staying on message and it has become worse in recent days.  Polls showing falling far behind in Illinois.

The guy really needs to get focused on the issues that a majority of voters think are critical.  He seems too easily distracted by some issues that fall way down the list of things on the minds of most.

PPP: Mitt Romney is headed for a blowout victory in Illinois on Tuesday. He leads with 45% to 30% for Rick Santorum, 12% for Newt Gingrich, and 10% for Ron Paul. Romney's particularly strong among voters who live in suburban areas (50-29) and with those who live in urban areas (46-23). But he's even running slightly ahead of Santorum, 38-36, with folks who identify as living in rural parts and that strength with a group of voters he hasn't tended to do that well with is why he's looking at such a lopsided margin of victory. Romney tends to win moderates in most states and Santorum usually win voters describing themselves as 'very conservative.' The swing group in the Republican electorate is those identifying as just 'somewhat conservative.' Romney is winning those folks by a whooping 60-20 margin in Illinois. Romney's also benefiting from a 52-28 advantage with seniors. ...  He seems to be on a roll at this point.  While there are states ...

Dan Balz: ...   So much has been written about frontrunner Mitt Romney’s inability to put away his rivals with greater ease and why he hasn’t wrapped up the nomination more quickly. But another part of this contest is why it may not be possible for Santorum, the candidate seemingly most in tune with the Republican base, to overtake Romney, who has been unable to win over significant portions of that base.   The reasons only partly relate to Romney’s or Santorum’s skills as a candidate, or even the huge differential in resources. What now defines the contest for the Republican nomination are the demographics of today’s Republican Party.   Whatever weaknesses people ascribe to Romney or Santorum as candidates, the Republican race is  turning on the economic and religious divides in the GOP coalition . That’s why states like Illinois, Michigan and Ohio are difficult for Santorum and states like Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee were hard for Romney.   S...

Washington Post: In GOP race, voters divided over religion’s place in politics   Faith has emerged as a significant fault line in the Republican race for president, according to   a new Washington Post-ABC News poll , which shows that Rick Santorum’s supporters seek a much stronger role for religion in American politics than do voters who support rival Mitt Romney. More than half of Santorum’s backers say political leaders should rely on their religious beliefs while making policy decisions, but two out of three Romney supporters feel the opposite — that leaders should steer clear of their faith as they set policies for the country. ... I suspect that those same Santorum voters would feel that Romney should steer clear of his faith in making decisions.  It is part of the prejudice Romney faces in the race because of the distrust about his Mormon faith.  

Houston Chronicle: About the time President Barack Obama was swooping out of storm-tossed skies into the Bayou City to raise a bit of cash last Friday evening at Minute Maid Park, a group of conservative leaders were convening a few blocks away to help fuel Rick Santorum’s campaign and Super PAC. According to Jonathan Martin of Politico, more than 200 conservatives from around the country gathered at the Houston Omni for a Friday evening reception and then met with the former Pennsylvania senator Saturday morning to plot strategy. They also pledged to raise at least $1.78 million for the candidate and his Super PAC. Martin noted that many of those who came to Houston had been at the January gathering of conservatives at Paul Pressler’s Washington County ranch, where Santorum was designated as the chosen one — the conservative alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. ...  I am not convinced he can win in November.  He has trouble staying on message and s...

Washington Post: Rick Santorum has won the Republican primary in Alabama, based on exit polls and vote tallies, bolstering the former Pennsylvania senator’s case that he is the favorite of conservatives in all corners of the country, and should be the sole challenger to front-runner Mitt Romney. Polls have also closed in neighboring Mississippi, home to the day’s other Southern primary. But the outcome in that state remains too close to call. ...  The Mississippi polls are even tighter than they were in Alabama which also suggest a three way split of delegates.  Santorum may have some bragging rights but he is still not gaining on Romney.  It appears that he and Gingrich are going to stay in to deny Romney a majority if they can.  I am not sure that is going to help Republicans defeat Obama, but they have become passionate in their animosity toward Romney.