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!

The heat and the fight is on (Yes your vote counts)

The media spin of supposed inevitability of the Frontrunner has already begun after the Frontrunner just barely survived in Michigan last night. A serious look at the map does not show us inevitability, but shows precisely what I predicted here yesterday, a delegate split out of Michigan. Indeed, had it not been for the vote in Oakland County, where the Frontrunner grew up, the Frontrunner would likely not have "won" at all.

Now comes Tennessee's turn, and while polls have consistently shown a lead for Rick Santorum, it is important to remember that the money and power of this State are behind the Frontrunner, and if it appears that the Frontrunner will do badly here, he may rely on Ron Paul to do his dirtywork of undercutting Rick's votes, or perhaps even try and throw the State to Newt Gingrich, not to help Newt, just to hurt Rick.

The political holy war over the next week will be in the State of Ohio. No Republican has ever won the Presidency without carrying Ohio, so it is very important for any potential Republican nominee to show that they are capable of winning there. Failure to do so brings the viability of a candidate into very serious question, so Ohio is a must-win for both Rick Santorum and the Frontrunner. If you think the ads and the blanket campaigning has been a sight to behold here in Tennessee, it will be a hundred times more intense in Ohio over the next seven days.

Former Ohio Lt. Governor, U.S. Senator, and current Attorney General Mike DeWine withdrew his support as a Romney delegate so that he could join Rick's team. (Photo: beta.wosu.org/Mandie Trimble)


Rick has said that he is relying on Washington State (which votes Saturday), Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Ohio to propel him on in the race for the Republican nomination. That makes Tennessee not only important, but a must-win for Rick (not for the Frontrunner), and the opposition knows it. We're in the primary homestretch, and we can win this thing! We can't afford to let up now. Every phone call, every door knocked on, every friend reached out to, every person driven to the polls, every sign, every minute, and every vote matters. After this primary, none of us will ever be able to say "my vote doesn't count."

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.