2012 republican presidential nominee III: can romney get santorum out of his hair?

it feels like he has run 4 john kerry campaigns at this point

"I especially love Joe C--he's just the right height."

(I realize I'll burn in hell for that.)

lmao

I guess that's marginally better than "I don't follow music as closely as some people, but I'm friends with many of the label moguls."

real life lol

"I appreciate the opportunity to be here and to discuss obviously the number one issue in this campaign and the number one issue here in the state of Michigan, which is the health and state of our economy and what we can do in Washington, D.C., I would put it, to create an atmosphere for our economy to grow, the private sector to grow.

Here in Michigan, you've been through a lot of tough times. I knew she was a snitch so I cut off her tongue. Got happy with the trigger, now I'm on the run. An assassin! We all know that, and it's exciting to see the resurgence of the auto industry here. But over the last four years, Michigan's lost over 140,000 jobs; 250,000 people from Michigan have left the workforce and the unemployment rate is, unfortunately, still higher than the national average. So if you were to ask the question 'Are you better off now than you were four years ago?', for too many people in this state, the answer would still be, 'Wicked clown, wicked clown, wicked clown, wicked clown.' Don't fuck with me.

I'm going to lay out very quickly my economic plan. And you're going to hear this and you're going to say, 'Well, that's pretty similar to other economic plans' that you've heard from Republicans. Let me do that first, and then let me tell you how we're just a little different from some of the others in this race and how we approach the issue of creating an opportunity where everyone in America can rise.

My father was a priest, cold blooded, he's dead. Hypocrite, he was a bigot, so I cut off his head. Poured on the holy water, 'Bless the dead' is what I said. And heard the demons screaming as his body bled. I also believe in reducing the size of government. That's key. You can't just cut taxes and reduce as a result ... revenues to the federal government without creating a balance by reducing the size of government. And that's important, too -- to remove the regulatory burden from the people of this country.

Now I know you folks here in Michigan have been hearing some things on the television from one of my opponents that I am a big spender. You will find that fairly surprising to the folks who are my colleagues and any objective look at my spending record when I was in Congress, and there was one done just yesterday by the Weekly Standard. Went into my trailer, I filled up the glass. Before she took a sip I had my dick in her ass.
I banged it, and banged it, the shit was absurd! Like she was Sporty Spice, and I was some fuckin' nerd. Wicked clown, wicked clown, wicked clown, wicked clown.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a hostile world, and we need to make sure that we are relying upon ourselves and that means we need to create a marketplace where we can compete with everybody around the world. No advantages, just a level playing field. Wicked clown, wicked clown. Wicked clown, wicked clown. Don't fuck with me."
--Rick Santorum, speech to the Detroit Economic Club, 2/18/12

Oh man, where's a magic typewriter when you really need one?

serious question here:
is the outcome of the republican primaries essentially moot? does it matter who wins?
this is the party that got George W Bush elected. twice. couldn't they just nominate, say, a block of wood and proceed to do that thing they do - where they just attack attack attack and say whatever they want about their block of wood regardless of how laughably false it may be?

i guess, it seems to me like what decides U.S. elections is essentially the democratic candidate's ability to deflect the mud being hurled at him throughout the campaign. the republican candidate can be Bush, Romney or a block of wood for all it matters.

how off base am i here?

this is not the party that got george w bush elected, this is the party that exists after george w bush got elected. it actually matters a lot who serves as the face of the gop righ now.

where they just attack attack attack and say whatever they want about their block of wood regardless of how laughably false it may be?

I think they'll continue this m.o., but the difference this year is that the cracks in the party facade are really starting to show. In previous elections, they could attack-attack-attack and pretend that it was a position of strength; now it's more revealed as a position of batshit insanity and desperation. (c.f. Taibbi from last week)

shit. the link: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/arizona-debate-conservative-chickens-come-home-to-roost-20120223

Tabibi not particularly perceptive but generally OTM

Also the party that exists after George W Bush became a massive negative that everyone tried to distance themselves from.

It obviously matters who becomes president, but I guess that's not what you mean. For all that Romney seems to be dissolving into a series of gaffes, Obama will have to run much more seriously against him than against Santorum - I don't remember whether it as this thread or the sandbox one that someone pointed it out, but Obama can basically shut that one down with "Some of you don't like me, some of you for reasons that aren't racist, but I am not going to make contraception illegal", and that's the election.

I think they'll continue this m.o., but the difference this year is that the cracks in the party facade are really starting to show. In previous elections, they could attack-attack-attack and pretend that it was a position of strength; now it's more revealed as a position of batshit insanity and desperation.

It always feels like this in the depth of the primaries but Republicans fall into line very quickly and if enough antipathy for Obama can be whipped up everyone will have forgotten about this whole phase

'republicans fall into line very quickly' doesn't square w/ this primary

that's not going to happen. primary is draining the GOP of money and morale.

xp

not yet - but after....

xp

Also the party that exists after George W Bush became a massive negative that everyone tried to distance themselves from.

it's worth noting that liberals/most people and conservatives now say "i hate bush" but for totally opposed reasons.

If Willard Romney is the nominee, there will be a hard core of bitter losers on the Republican right who will not fall into line this year. It may not be huge in terms of numbers, but the republican coalition isn't big enough to elect a president without them. However, I expect the anti-Obama rhetoric to glow red hot at the convention.

Wicked clown, wicked clown. Wicked clown, wicked clown. Don't fuck with me."
--Rick Santorum, speech to the Detroit Economic Club, 2/18/12

aero I <3 you

In other words this will be like every GOP convention in my lifetime.

who will be this year's Zell Miller I wonder

I have to strain to think of any GOP convention in my lifetime in which the rhetoric didn't glow red-hot. 1976?

Remember when the GOP was supposed to shatter into a hundred pieces after November 2008?

that's what they said about the democrats after 2004

well i'd argue it did happen to the republicans but they still won in 2010. the country only changes so much.

that's what they said about the democrats after 2004

But you can't shatter what broke decades ago.

goole OTM

the GOP was supposed to shatter into a hundred pieces

At the level of single Congressional districts, this hasn't happened, obv. But the big coalition looks damn shakey at the national level, whether you're talking about presidential politics or just the grit in the gears among the republicans in congress. So, to some extent that mirrors a party that is cracked and fragmented, but still has the power to obstruct and frustrate democratic initiatives.

post-2010 was disastrous for the GOP, Boehner couldn't keep his caucus together, threatened government shutdowns over basically nothing etc

like, they one, but they were definitely broken as a party

one WON argh

If anything, being cracked and fragmented makes it even easier to obstruct, since even if they wanted consensus they'd never get it.

Gore Vidal in 1892: "The Republicans aren't a party, they're a mindset, a pathology."

Had no idea Vidal was that old.

It's quite likely that Vidal doesn't know either.

"I especially love Joe C--he's just the right height.

Between this and aero's santorum speech, I'm still laughing.

early voted for Santorum today in my state's open primary. it felt... right.

wish it coulda been you, Newt ;_;

lol that's great

pulling the lever for Santorum always feels good

make sure to wash your hands afterward

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_un4SKl1mygU/TFS67nJ64JI/AAAAAAAACm4/39syZhK0KRc/s1600/soda_fountain.xlarger.jpg

I really wish I could vote for santorum

early voted for Santorum today in my state's open primary. it felt... right.

I appreciate the shenanigans behind this, but I would still feel a little skeeved.

I'd be skeeved too, but what I do I know. My votes have gone to tickets including Joe Lieberman and John Edwards in the past.

doing one's civic duty has become a very degraded idea

i'm all for celebrating the clusterfuck, but I could never go into a voting box and say I prefer Santorum to Romney.

well you do, within the context of a certain contest

i prefer that the GOP nominee be santorum over romney, what's wrong with that?