You Can't Keep a Good Man Down

The media is trying their darndest to destroy Rick Santorum.

I say trying because their attacks are, quite honestly, surprisingly weak. The media is finding it hard to smear Rick because there simply isn't that much you can criticize him on.

The Las Vegas Sun reports that Republican Catholics cool so far to Rick Santorum. Eek! Rick is a Roman Catholic, so he must be taking this pretty hard, right? Then the Sun shoots its own argument in the foot. "Catholics haven't voted as a bloc in decades, leading analysts to declare 'the Catholic vote' as such doesn't exist." If that's the case, why should we care whether Catholics like Santorum or not? Furthermore, why should Catholics read the Las Vegas Sun--according to this newspaper, their vote doesn't matter. I thought Rick Santorum was supposed to be the bigoted one?

What about all this hubbub on twitter about a gay couple being escorted out of a Rick Santorum rally as the crowd chants "U-S-A!"? Surely that proves Rick Santorum is Hitler reborn, right? To read the comments on twitter, you would think the guards led the gay couple straight to a gas chamber by order of Fuhrer Santorum. As it turns out, the two protesters (who may or may not actually be gay) interrupted Rick by yelling "mic-check!" and then once they got the attention they wanted, then they kissed. Then guards escorted them out (although, it appears as though the protesters leave peacefully and of their own accord, rather than being man-handled by fascists). If a straight couple had behaved that way THE GUARDS WOULD HAVE ESCORTED THEM OUT TOO! This is one of the poorest excuses for a non-story I've ever heard. Step aside, Gandhi--the real protesters are this ambiguously gay duo. The behaviour of the crowd was a little out of line, but how does this reflect poorly on Rick Santorum? It doesn't.

But wait, there's more!

The Daily News reports Oops! Rick Santorum calls Puerto Rico 'a Spanish-speaking country.' *Gasp!* What an ignorant thing to say. How could anyone confuse Puerto Rico with a Spanish-speaking country? Everyone knows it is a Spanish-speaking United States commonwealth. How can anyone confuse a country with a commonwealth? They're so different! Right? Stupid Rick Santorum. I bet he thinks we have 57 states too... or not.

However, as it turns out, the media doesn't have to try too hard to smear Rick Santorum. All of Barack Obama's supporters are so blindly in favor of him that anyone running against him must be the antichrist. Ever tried to reason with an Obama supporter, and support your argument with documented facts? The facts won't faze most Obamabots I've encountered. Better save your breath and vote for Rick Santorum.

Thank You, Bill Maher

Thank you, Bill Maher!

Thank you for revealing the hypocrisy of the left. They have cried day and night, online and on every news network for Rush Limbaugh to be boycotted and taken off the air, but they say nothing about your much more offensive comments.

Thank you for turning Rick Santorum into a martyr, highlighting his contrast between him and Barack Obama.

Thank you for showing us how ignorant, small-minded, and bigotted you are. You criticized Rick Santorum for homeschooling his kids, saying, "He wants them locked up in the Christian madrassa that is the family living room, not out in public where they could be infected by the virus of reason." You've managed to kill three birds with one stone, simultaneously insulting homeschoolers, Christians, and Muslims! Way to go, Hitler, Jr.

Thank you for giving Rick Santorum the chance to respond to you and the left by saying, "My 12 year-old will out-reason Bill Maher when it comes to understanding how logic works, because he [Maher] is completely illogical. They've abandoned faith in Bill Maher, but they've abandoned reason too."

Thank you for making Barack Obama look like a fool. With every arrogant, sexist, racist, anti-religious comment you make, he regrets more and more accepting $1 million from you for his campaign super PAC (along with all the sheeple that defend him).

Thanks to you, I expect Rick will have an edge today over Newt Gingrich in Mississipi and Alabama. Thanks to you he will be that much closer to the GOP nomination, and then the presidency.

Realism

Rick Santorum did well in our state, and he also won the popular vote in Oklahoma and North Dakota. However, delegates are what count. Currently Romney has 369 compared to Rick Santorum's 158 (at the time of writing; numbers may change by the end of the day). That's a gap of 211 delegates in Romney's favor. Newt Gingrich has 91 delegates--only a gap of 67 delegates in Rick's favor.

I do not say this to encourage anyone to abandon support for Santorum. Far from it, I still support him 110%. I still beleive he is the strongest conservative GOP candidate. I still believe Santorum can win the nomination, but it will be a battle.

There are still over 1600 delegates at stake. Now is not the time to drop our packs (as we used to say in the Marines). Volunteer for the Santorum campaign. Donate money if you can. Learn the ins and outs of Rick's ideas to improve our economy, and his stance on abortion, same-sex unions, immigration, and the importance of the Constitution. Learn how to defend Rick's stance calmly and intelligently, without manipulating people with emotional pleas or name-calling (that is how the left operates!). Learn how the other side is criticizing Rick, and be able to explain why they are wrong. Especially direct your arguments to friends and family in states that have not had primaries or caucuses.

Constructively criticize the other GOP candidates, but set your political phasers on "stun." They are not the enemy. The real enemy is the Marxist in the Whitehouse! Focus your most brutal attacks on him, and point out to your friends that Rick Santorum is the best man to beat him.

If a cranky old man like John McCain could win the GOP nomination in 2008, then Rick Santorum still has a good shot. But not if his supporters give up or get lazy. We must fight tooth and nail!

Doing the right thing

On Saturday, Senator Stacey Campfield, who had been the co-director for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's campaign in Tennessee, announced that he was withdrawing as Newt's statewide co-chair, and as a Gingrich delegate, and throwing his support behind Rick Santorum. Stacey also announced that he wasn't alone.

Therefore, as of now, I am stepping down as the statewide co chairman for Newt Gingrich and throwing all of my support behind Rick Santorum. Going with me are the top 3 second congressional district delegates for Newt (Dr. Leonard Brown, Dr. Aaron Margulise and Scott Smith).

I know that this was a tough decision for Stacey, and I am not just saying that because it is the polite and politick thing to say, I am saying it because I really do know. I've known Stacey personally for years, and I consider him to be one of my best friends, and he is certainly the best friend I have in the politics of this State-he has stood with me and stood up for me and behind me when no one else would. He is a real champion of the conservative movement if there ever was one in Tennessee.

Stacey called me Thursday to let me know that he was considering this switch. He said that Rick had called him personally, and they dealt with scenarios and with political realities. Stacey said he really enjoyed his talk with Rick, and said he felt that Rick had a real strategy in place to win. When I talked to Stacey, though, he still hadn't made his decision. He's a loyalist to the bone whose word is known to be his bond. He didn't want to seem like he was betraying a commitment that he had made. I reminded him of words he had once said to me: "Politics is a cruel and expensive mistress, and when the votes aren't there, you just have to move on."  He repeated part of that in his blog post announcing his decision. It is a reality that any of us who have ever been involved in political campaigns have had to deal with at some point, and it is always a hard one, especially when it is confronting a candidate that you believe deeply in.

I shared with Stacey why I feel the way I do about Rick, of course, but I didn't try to persuade him, only offered my help in any way I could to help make it a smooth transition if he did decide to switch. "I can only offer you one word of advice," I told him, "do the right thing."

He, Dr. Brown, Dr. Marguilise, and Mr. Smith made their choice for the good of the Republican Party and the country.

Tennessee Conservative Legislators Endorse Rick Santorum

Santorum garners endorsements from Conservative legislative leaders.

Vote Democratic-vote for Willard Mitt!

I might have more sympathy for the Frontrunner's "outrage" over some Democrats crossing over into Republican primaries in Michigan voting for Rick Santorum if the Frontrunner hadn't done the same thing himself. He voted in 1992 in the Democratic Presidential Primary for Paul Tsongas. Now he says he did it to try and badly influence the Democrats' primary process in 1992. Back then, the Frontrunner was humming a different tune:

Back in the 1990s, he said he voted for Tsongas out of home state pride and because he liked his platform better than Clinton. Either way, Romney is on record saying that it’s fair game for partisans to participate in the primary with their own team’s best interests in mind.

Now, the Frontrunner (or people in his camp) believe that Rick deep-sixed the Frontrunner's so-called "win" in Michigan-you know, the primary where Rick got half the delegates-because Democrats crossed over to vote for Rick in significant numbers (Where are the numbers?). In Mittworld, it is okay for slick-haired sons of politicians who claim to be Republican to vote in Democratic primaries, but it is not okay for his political opponents inside the party to ask for Reagan Democrats to be helpful in defeating the Frontrunner. In short, the Frontrunner thinks it is okay for him to pinch-hit for the other team, but he doesn't think you should be able to if you don't vote for him.

Let me be clear about something: I do not and never have supported crossover voting. I am a Republican, and I vote in Republican primaries only, because I do not believe that it is right for me to tell the other party who they ought to nominate for offices. I have never voted in a Democratic primary of any kind in my life-for that matter, I have never voted for a Democrat in my life. I've met some Democrats and know many who were and are incredibly nice folks and decent human beings, which, considering the current state and wording of the Democratic platform, leaves us to wonder why they would want to be Democrats-but we'll leave that between them and the Lord.

                 "Crossover voting is bad except when I do it!"



The reality is that in many primary states, open primaries are the reality, crossover voting is something that any candidate running in such a primary has to consider-it can work for them or it can work against them, but it will happen. Until primaries close or are replaced with a caucus/convention system universally, it makes sense for any candidate to make sure that the crossover vote is working in their favor.

The Frontrunner would do it, he has before, most recently in Michigan in 2008. So either what's good for the goose is good for the gander, or the Frontrunner preferred voting in the Democratic Primary!

The Frontrunner uses a tactic from four years ago

The last day of early voting in Tennessee's presidential primary (note: if you have a chance to get out and pick Rick before your local early voting polling station closes tonight, please do so) also happens to be the day of one of the most critical primaries of the season so far-Michigan. This State was supposed to be a "gimmie" for the Frontrunner. He was born and raised there, his father was Governor there, and he is supposed to know the local lingo. This Michigan supporter of the Frontrunner admits, however, that the Frontrunner has been away from Michigan too long for his so-called roots to make much of a difference, even admitting that the younger generation could care less about the Frontrunner's family name.




 The Frontrunner seems to know he has a problem, because he has resorted to a tactic which he first used in 2008-whining like a spoiled rich kid who doesn't get his way. In 2008, Romney whined like a baby whose candy had been taken away after the West Virginia State Republican Convention voted for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee instead of Romney. Instead of congratulating Huckabee like a man, Romney blamed John McCain because the few McCain delegates in West Virginia opted to vote for Huckabee rather than hold up their State's nominating process indefinitely.I discussed the Frontrunner's whiny child persona in this Super Tuesday 2008 podcast with Adam Graham, Ken Marrero, Warner Todd Huston, and John McJunkin. My description begins at 21:05 and ends at 23:26.

One possible scenario being thrown around that could happen in Michigan tonight is a delegate split. Michigan's delegates are awarded by congressional district and there are 14 congressional districts in Michigan. There is some talk that if Rick can take at least seven of those districts, he will walk out of Michigan with half of that State's delegates regardless of the final results.

You can join Rick Santorum's Idaho State coordinator, Adam Graham, along with me (David Oatney, and maybe a few other guests) as we break down the results from Michigan and Arizona in a live podcast beginning at 9:30pm Eastern and 8:30pm Central time tonight. We'll talk about what these results mean for Rick's campaign and where the race for the Republican nomination goes from here.

Willard Mitt can't run from his past

Normally, I wouldn't share my daily Examiner column in this space as a primary source, because this blog exists to help elect Rick Santorum, not to promote my column. However, much has been said within conservative circles in recent days about why the Frontrunner has failed to "close the door" with conservatives among the base of Republican Party. Today, I posited that a big part of the reason is that religious conservatives matter much more than the so called "party establishment" seems to think.

The Frontrunner should not be discounted as a candidate because of his Mormon faith, and to do so would be a profoundly un-American position. However, it is quite reasonable to hold any candidate accountable for their positions based on the tenets of the faith that they profess, and the Frontrunner has shifted positions on social issues repeatedly depending on who his political audience happened to be.


 


This 2008 McCain ad successfully highlighted the problems with the Frontrunner's flip-flops.

It is precisely because so many of us cannot pinpoint where the Frontrunner really stands on almost anything that he is not the wonderboy that so many people at the top of the party heap have spent so much time leading us to believe. Does this look like enthusiasm for a candidate to you?

  This was an address to the Detroit Economic Club and rally for the Frontrunner at Ford Field in Detroit. The Frontrunner's people apparently really believed they could bring in enough people to make the place look full, or at least make it appear as though the voters gave a flying flip. Ego, anyone?

If you want to win the votes of conservative people, it might help if you behave and act as if you are one of them.

Rick Santorum, the American Taliban?

On This Week, Rick Santorum told George Stephanopoulos that John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech on the separation between church and state made him want to throw up.

In the particular statement Rick referred to, JFK said, "I believe in an America where separation of church and state is absolute..." Not surprisingly, extreme elements of the left-wing media are spinning Rick's statements to make him sound like a fundamentalist bigot, who wants to transform the United States into a Christian theocracy.

I found an article in the Huffington Post with the inflammatory headline, "Santorum: Separation of Church and State 'Makes Me Want To Throw Up.' In a another article, with a similarly twisted title, the author quotes Ibraham Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic relations as saying, "It seems (candidates like Rick Santorum) are not really opposed to the separation of church and state--as long as it's their church." This is a little odd, considering Hooper once said, "I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future..."

It seems as though the left-wing media will stop at nothing to smear anyone who opposes them. The truth is irrelevant. Only political victory counts. Personally, I care more about the truth than partisan politics.

Rick Santorum's political enemies are doing everything they can to discredit him. Since he is a man of integrity, they have to lie to make him look bad. After hearing or reading Rick's full comments, no clear thinking person could ever say the former senator was speaking against the separation of church and state. What Rick actually told Stephanopoulos was,

"I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute. The idea that the church can have no influence or no involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical to the objectives and vision of our country. This is the First Amendment. The First Amendment says the free excercise of religion. That means bringing everybody, people of faith and no faith, into the public square."

Clearly, Rick does believe in the separation of church and state; he just doesn't agree that this separation is absolute. This is hardly a controversial idea, since sessions of congress open with prayer, the military has chaplains, and important religious figures like Billy Graham and the Dalai Lama have visited our nation's presidents.

Separation of church and state has never been absolute, nor ought it be. Religious movements have been a powerful influence in our nation for good, without dictating government policy in a theocratic way. English Separatists, the Pilgrims, came to the shores of Plymouth Rock to practice their faith freely, without government oppression. Quakers led the movement to abolish slavery. One of this nation's greatest heroes, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a Baptist minister who led an explicitly religious fight for civil rights.

The very notions of liberty and the cry for independence from Great Britain originated in the pulpits of Reformed churches. The English journalist G.K. Chesterton wrote, "The United States is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence." He was referring to the familiar words,

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness...

As Rick would point out, although our highest law is the Constitution, the Constitution without the Declaration is like peanut-butter without jelly. The rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are endowed by our Creator God. Rick Santorum stands up for these rights, while opposing the new "rights" that government has given: abortion and entitlements, now including government-mandated healthcare.

That is why the left hates him, lies about him, and tries to crush him with their propaganda machine. He stands for everything they hate, while standing against everything their hero, Barack Obama, stands for. Well, to borrow a line from Herman Cain, "How's that workin' out for ya?"

If you want higher gas prices, higher unemployment, higher taxes, a weaker military, and more government, I suppose you'll vote for Barack Obama. But if you're like me, you'll vote for Rick Santorum because he sticks up for the rights of the unborn, he sticks up for religious liberty, and he isn't running for "pastor-in-chief." These are all things this pastor finds encouraging.

And he is not just a strong social conservative, but has a solid economic plan to help the United States prosper once again.

He stands in sharp contrast to our current President. If you're sick of Barack Obama's hope and change, please support Rick Santorum with your vote in your state's primary or caucus. Get the word out among your friends that Rick Santorum can win the GOP nomination, and beat Barack Obama. If we support Rick, we might get our country back in November.

Rick Santorum Headlines the Chattanooga Tea Party Liberty Forum

Rick Santorum headlined the Chattanooga Tea Party's Liberty Forum, held at Abba's House at Central Baptist Church in Hixson, TN. I attended the event with my wife and in-laws, and I thought I would share some of my thoughts and experiences of the event.

We arrived about 1:30 PM; Rick was scheduled to speak at 2:30. The first thing we saw as we pulled in to the parking lot at Abba's House was Occupy Chattanooga out front on the side walk, holding up signs in support of abortion and against Rick Santorum. They chanted, "Tell me what democracy looks like? This is what democracy looks like!" and offered anyone who passed by condoms.

As we entered and sat down in the auditorium Michael Patrick Leahy of the National Tea Party Coalition took the stage, followed by state Senator Bo Watson, who gave a rousing speech about the 10th amendment. The next scheduled speaker was Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, however the headliner showed up a little earlier than expected and took the stage instead (Congressman Fleishmann ended up speaking after Santorum left).

Rick Santorum was extremely well received by the Tea Partiers present, and spoke for an hour. Rick had a lot of great things to say, but several comments stood out to me. Rick said that, "True happiness comes from doing God’s will. It comes not from doing what you want to do, but doing what you ought to do." He spoke on his experiences fighting against entitlements and for the right to life of the unborn. "It’s one thing to be pro-life; it’s another thing to go out and fight for life. I have fought for life.”

An awkward moment occurred at the end of Santorum's speak, when the host interrupted him and told him the speech was over. This took Rick aback, as well as most in the audience, who were eating up everything the presidential candidate said. It is still unclear to me why they did not just let him finish his speech--whether it had to do with the Chattanooga Tea Party's schedule, Rick's schedule, or something else. Many (including my father-in-law) thought that the host was a bit rude to Rick.

Seeing Rick in person only more deeply confirmed my support for him. He showed himself to be a sincere conservative, and not a "fake" as some of his opponents have claimed. I believe he stands out from the other candidates, especially in his consistent stand for pro-life issues and religious liberty. Some in the media have tried to paint him as a bigot or a theocrat, but he has made it clear that he is running for President, not "Pastor in chief." In the most recent GOP debate in Arizona, he spoke knowledgeably, citing scientific studies which confirmed that out of wedlock births were detrimental to children and society. He said, "We have a society… the increasing number of children being born out of wedlock in America, teens who are sexually active. The left gets so upset: ‘Oh, look at him talking about these things.’ Here is the difference between me and the left — and they don’t get this — just because I’m talking about it doesn’t mean I want a government program to fix it. That’s what they do. That’s not what we do.”

Please tell your friends, your family, and your churches, that Rick Santorum is the man to beat Barack Obama in 2012. If you have cash to spare, please support his campaign with a financial donation.

Get out early to pick Rick

Just in case you live in Tennessee and you might have forgotten, you don't have to wait until March 6th to cast your vote, you can vote early until February 28th-that's this Tuesday. All 95 counties allow registered voters in those counties to cast their ballots early at your county election commission office. In addition, many counties have opened other satellite locations where voters can come and participate in the early voting process. In counties such as Knox, Hamilton, Johnson, Sullivan, Davidson, and Shelby, there are several early voting locations to choose from, and many of our suburban and rural counties have also adopted an early voting program that encompasses more than one early voting site.

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett and Election Administrator Mark Goins say they are encouraging early voting this year, and they invite Tennesseans to contact their county election offices to find out where to cast their votes early. You won't want to forget that photo ID as part of Tennessee's new voter identification law, and remember that if you don't drive, even if your ID card is expired so long as it is a Tennessee-issued identification with your picture, you are good to cast your vote, whether early or on Primary Day itself.

Yesterday we talked about a couple of important and fun straw polls that Rick's supporters could participate in. Straw polls are extremely enjoyable and sometimes they can even be politically important, but no poll is more important than the one that really counts, and thanks to the sacrifice of so many of our veterans and men and women still in uniform, that poll is absolutely free-all you need to do is show up-and if you can't do that, you can even vote absentee.

If you are familiar with Tennessee politics, you know that since early voting has been introduced here, it has been a real factor in our electoral process. I've seen elections decided on the early votes alone, and we've seen some of our news media able to successfully call elections based on the return of the early vote, which in most counties in Tennessee are always the first votes to be counted. If you vote early in this Presidential Primary, your votes could help show us quickly who the delegates go to on Primary Night.

I've already picked Rick! You can too, if you haven't already-find out where to go tomorrow (Saturday), Monday, or Tuesday by contacting your county election commission. If you can't vote early, remember to pick Rick Santorum at your local precinct on March 6th.

Ron selling out so that Rand can reap the profits?

If you watched the debate the other night you noticed that the Frontrunner wasn't the only candidate throwing unsubstantiated half-truths and epithets such as "fake" at Rick Santorum. Texas Congressman Ron Paul, the so-called libertarian in the race, was leading the attack in a supporting role, attempting, it would seem, to assist the Frontrunner in his campaign against Rick. This was a strange spectacle to observe from a man who hasn't even pretended to like the Frontrunner-until now.

It seems like a strange alliance-the libertarian and the pseudo-Democrat-two people who, within the Republican coalition, could not be further apart ideologically. Why on earth would Ron Paul want to help the Frontrunner, unless he thought he could get something out of it?

...Or at least that a member of his family might.

Matt Lewis of The Daily Caller says Paul hasn't really gone after the Frontrunner, while he routinely attacks more conservative candidates such as Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, and now, Rick Santorum. Ron Paul's attacks aren't helping him in the polls in the least, but the one person they do seem to help when he lobs them is the Frontrunner.

What has the Frontrunner promised Ron Paul for his backhanded help, assistance which literally contradicts everything Ron Paul purports to believe? Lewis says the promise may have been to Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), and that Romney or his campaign may quietly be dangling the Vice Presidency in front of Rand Paul in return for his father's delegates, should the Frontrunner need them to win the nomination.

Conservative radio host Mark Levin says that Ron Paul is acting as the Frontrunner's wingman so that Rand can get the number two spot.


Mark Levin says Ron Paul is acting as Willard Mitt's wingman in order to get something out of it for Rand

If our friends the Paulies had the kind of principles that so many of them claim to have, they would be outraged at the very thought that their man would sell out to get something for a family member...that would mean that Ron Paul is playing politics and being pragmatic, something the Paulies claim to detest most horribly.

That would make Ron Paul...oh, perish the thought...a FAKE!

Can you pick Rick in a straw poll?

If you want to know a way that you can show Rick Santorum some Tennessee support that might help turnout among the Republican base on March 6th, you can show up and participate in one of two straw polls coming up in the next few days (if you have the funds and can spare them, by all means vote in both).

The first straw poll will be taken at the Hamblen County Republican Party Lincoln/Reagan Day Dinner, which will be held tomorrow night, February 24th, 2012 at 6:30pm at First Presbyterian Church, located at 600 West Main Street in Morristown. Tickets are $25/each, and can be obtained by calling Hamblen County GOP Chairman Paul Chapman at 423-312-2027. You can also get tickets at the door provided that they aren't sold out.

The second straw poll opportunity will be the Tennessee Conservative Union's Reagan Day Dinner and Southern Conservative Caucus. This important event will be on Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 at the ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Knoxville. It's quite a bit more pricey than the Morristown straw poll at $100 a ticket, but the food is always fabulous at this annual who's who of East Tennessee conservatism (fried chicken, collards, hominy, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, fat and calories et. al.), and a big part of that hundred bucks a head is going to pay for Herman Cain's speaking fee. If you can spare the time, travel, and funds for either or both of these straw polls, please show up and pick Rick!