Republican Primary

[qui_est_ce]

I’m not sure if the meme of the day should be “Rick Rolls” or “You’re the Vest Around.”

• Marty Lund

Let the kind jokes begin!

How much do you have to contribute to get a vest?

 

[qui_est_ce]

Just another backtrack from Obama.

I know how strongly prolife you are. Do you think the recent HHS mandate might have anything to do with Santorum’s surge?

 

[mlund]

You know, thinking like this is would make for an excellent VP pick to pair with Rick Santorum:

nationalreview.com/articles/290464/president-s-war-religious-freedom-sen-rand-paul?pg=1

Did anyone check out Rick Santorum’s victory speech last night, btw? 11 minutes without a teleprompter and my take away from it was simple: he gets it.

Video: news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/rick-santorum-victory-speech-conservatism-alive-well-missouri-062328251.html

Transcript: washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/rick-santorums-missouri-victory-speech-full-transcript/2012/02/07/gIQAGcUwxQ_blog.html

• Marty Lund

 

[TravisDover]

(Click Here for More from Lifesitenews.com…)In a shocking turn-around, Massachusetts’s governor Mitt Romney announced yesterday that Roman Catholic and other private hospitals in the state will be forced to offer emergency contraception to sexual assault victims under new state legislation, regardless of the hospitals’ moral position on the issue.

Listening to Rush Limbaugh this morning discuss the article on lifesitenews.com about Mitt Romney in 2005 forcing the Catholic Church to provide emergeny contraception to assault victims, which we all know any girl going in for the morning after pill or even an abortion can claim to have been raped and receive what she wants. After hearing this, and hearing Romney’s own words just a few years back about how an underaged girl can get the permission of a judge to get an abortion when her parents do not allow her, I am convinced that Romney is not for me.

Incredible.

I do understand that we all have conversion of heart. I pray Mitt is past all this and is as pro-life as he says, and has only made some bad decisions before. I am not promoting any one canidate, but I do think we should all consider this MOST IMPORTANT issue when we go to vote.

What are your thoughts?

 

[_Abyssinia]

I know how strongly prolife you are. Do you think the recent HHS mandate might have anything to do with Santorum’s surge?

I am not sure, it is an interesting question, people do see Santorum as the reliable conservative, strong on pro life issues, maybe this attack on religious liberty ushered people to him who they know will stand up for religious liberty. But Mitt Romney spoke out against the mandate too, as did Newt Gingrich I think.

 

[mlund]

Let the kind jokes begin!

How much do you have to contribute to get a vest?

A $100 donation gets you a genuine, Made-in-America, Rick Santorum sweater-vest

Maybe next they’ll put up those “limited edition collectors plates” and bowling trophies.

I am not sure, it is an interesting question, people do see Santorum as the reliable conservative, strong on pro life issues, maybe this attack on religious liberty ushered people to him who they know will stand up for religious liberty. But Mitt Romney spoke out against the mandate too, as did Newt Gingrich I think.

A poster on National Review going by the handle “cateye” had a comment that fits the bill here:
cateye:

I think Kathleen Sebelius just nominated the next President. When all’s said and done the historians will trace Santorums’ wins back to her decision. He should send her a nice gift basket - say something with a dead fish.

Also, one other interesting factoid I picked up this morning from Guy Benson, whose ben camped in the Romney tent for a couple of months now. That 12-minute victory speech Rick Santorum gave on conservatism and defending the Church and everyone’s freedoms? No teleprompters. No written notes. No prepared statements. Rick Santorum doesn’t need a prep-team to speak to conservatism and faith with confidence in front of a crowd because he believes it and knows it by heart.

• Marty Lund

 

[mlund]

You know, thinking like this is would make for an excellent VP pick to pair with Rick Santorum:

nationalreview.com/articles/290464/president-s-war-religious-freedom-sen-rand-paul?pg=1

Did anyone check out Rick Santorum’s victory speech last night, btw? 11 minutes without a teleprompter, notes, or prepared statements and my take away from it was simple: he gets it.

Video: news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/rick-santorum-victory-speech-conservatism-alive-well-missouri-062328251.html

Transcript: washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/rick-santorums-missouri-victory-speech-full-transcript/2012/02/07/gIQAGcUwxQ_blog.html

• Marty Lund

 

[irishpatrick]

I know how strongly prolife you are. Do you think the recent HHS mandate might have anything to do with Santorum’s surge?

I believe he is surging because he is speaking strongly for conservative values. Romney does not do that, Newt has to much baggage and Paul seems extreme to many.

Santorum also speaks in a way that the vast majority on the right can connect with–he does not come across as a rich elite (think Obama and Romney). He comes across as a solid family man, a solid man of faith and values, and he is the closest person to being a “common man.” He uses words like “God, faith, family, children, life, country, exceptionalism, integrity and honor,” and people believe he means it when he uses the name of God.

I will not be shocked if Santorum’s cause continues to rise–and I am of the firm belief that he can win against Obama.

I’d sure rather the right vote for the best person of those left, and let things fall where they will, rather than voting for someone they think has the best chance to win against Obama. I recall a certain guy named Reagan was once thought of as being an inconsequential candidate–he went on to do some things.

 

[gilliam]

Full delegate count so far:

Romney 115
Gingrich 38
Santorum 34
Paul 20
Delegates Needed to Win: 1,144

Next in line:
Feb 11 - Maine - 24 delegates are chosen later at a state convention (caucus)
Feb 28 - AZ - 29 delegates (closed primary) - winner take all - Likely Romney win
Feb 28 - MI - 30 delegates (closed primary) - proportional allocation of delegates however if any candidate receives more than 50% of the votes it becomes a Winner-take-all contest.

 

[irishpatrick]

Full delegate count so far:

Romney 115
Gingrich 38
Santorum 34
Paul 20
Delegates Needed to Win: 1,144

Next in line:
Feb 11 - Maine - 24 delegates are chosen later at a state convention (caucus)
Feb 28 - AZ - 29 delegates (closed primary) - winner take all - Likely Romney win
Feb 28 - MI - 30 delegates (closed primary) - proportional allocation of delegates however if any candidate receives more than 50% of the votes it becomes a Winner-take-all contest.

The rest of this month should be very interesting. I really think people on the right have a feeling of distrust for Romney. I think America, in general, does not want another elitist in office.

 

[mlund]

Feb 28 - AZ - 29 delegates (closed primary) - winner take all -

Actually, my own state (AZ) is in violation of party rules regarding proportional allocation of delegates prior to April 1. That puts them subject to various penalties at the convention hich may include being apportioned proportionately, having half their delegate count removed, or not being seated at the convention at all.

Florida already lost half their delegates for jumping their primary up ahead in line. Now they are under scrutiny for violating the proportional allocation rules.

• Marty Lund

 

[Corki]

[What are your thoughts?

That something that happened in 2005 is not really Catholic “News”.
[/quote]

 

[gilliam]

Santorum says he’s raised $250k overnight

That won’t be enough

 

[irishpatrick]

Santorum says he’s raised $250k overnight

That won’t be enough

No, but he will get more.

 

[gilliam]

Actually, my own state (AZ) is in violation of party rules regarding proportional allocation of delegates prior to April 1. That puts them subject to various penalties at the convention hich may include being apportioned proportionately, having half their delegate count removed, or not being seated at the convention at all.

Hi! I am also from AZ. The 29 delegates I listed was after all penalties imposed by the GOP. It would have been more had we waited until March as usual, but then again, we usually have the nominee selected before we vote and we only go through the motions over here, as you know.

 

[Jeanne_S]

Rick Santorum did well in the caucuses,here in Colo.,as well as Missouri,Minn. he is gaining momentum,there is a reason for that.Don’t think the conservative right are convinced that Romney is the one.

 

[Sabda]

Actually, my own state (AZ) is in violation of party rules regarding proportional allocation of delegates prior to April 1. That puts them subject to various penalties at the convention hich may include being apportioned proportionately, having half their delegate count removed, or not being seated at the convention at all.

Florida already lost half their delegates for jumping their primary up ahead in line. Now they are under scrutiny for violating the proportional allocation rules.

• Marty Lund

Yep, Florida is in trouble. Romney won’t be getting all the delegates from them. Honestly, they need to just set A date like the general election and have all the states vote on that date. They would be done with all this and you wouldn’t have to worry about states violating rules like this. It’s ridiculous that it gets spread out for almost half a year and ends up hurting states that actually try to play by the rules.

 

[mlund]

Hi! I am also from AZ. The 29 delegates I listed was after all penalties imposed by the GOP. It would have been more had we waited until March as usual, but then again, we usually have the nominee selected before we vote and we only go through the motions over here, as you know.

Actually, that’s the 50% penalty for line-jumping the primaries, same hit as Florida took.

Not awarded delegates proportionately is a completely separate rules violation that can carry it’s own penalties. If they decide to actually enforce the rule and apply the same penalty as last time we could easily see Florida reduced to 25 delegates and Arizona to 15 - or even no delegates at all.

All the efforts to make various states more important than others by moving ahead in the primaries are refusing to allocate delegates proportionately has largely been a money-grab boondoggle of epic proportions. Everybody wants to be the new Iowa and get ridiculously disproportionate political pay-offs for playing King Maker in the primary season, effectively making everyone else’s votes moot.

• Marty Lund

 

[Luigi_Daniele]

Yep, Florida is in trouble. Romney won’t be getting all the delegates from them. Honestly, they need to just set A date like the general election and have all the states vote on that date. They would be done with all this and you wouldn’t have to worry about states violating rules like this. It’s ridiculous that it gets spread out for almost half a year and ends up hurting states that actually try to play by the rules.

Won’t happen. A candidate can’t be in all the states at once. Maybe voting in “waves” (by region?)?

And they need to stop allowing voting by persons not registered as Republicans.

 

[_Abyssinia]

That article is not accurate.

Romney vetoed legislation that would of forced private hospitals to provide rape victims ‘‘morning after pills.’’ The Legislature overrode Romney’s veto, after Romney had tried to make an exemption for private hospitals by citing a conscience clause in state law which protects private hospitals.

Romney’s strong record on religious liberty

Excerpt:

Romney’s legal counsel said the law provided absolutely no religious exemption at all, so fighting the Constitutionality of the law on these grounds would go nowhere. Now, perhaps the legal counsel’s analysis is wrong.

From the Globe in September 2005:

The Senate voted, 37 to 0, to reject Romney’s veto, and the House followed suit with a 139-to-16 tally. Supporters needed a two-thirds majority in each chamber to overrule the governor.

So Mitt Romney is not the bad guy in this story. Who is? How about 90% of the politicians in the State House? How every single State Senator. It is indeed a sad fact that well over two-thirds of the Massachusetts Legislature wanted this onerous legislation. But give credit where credit is due: Romney vetoed this bill.

catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=26087