Today's the Day we make or break

Today is Primary Day, and if you haven't cast your ballot to Pick Rick, get out before eight o' clock and get it done.

Rick will be in Steubenville, Ohio tonight celebrating victory, but if we all get out and do our duty, we will all have something to celebrate this evening.

Today I wrote a somewhat personal "Election Reflection" in my column for The Examiner, but perhaps it will help you understand why today is so important, it is make-or-break. If you know someone who wants to support Rick and they need a ride to the polls, get them there. Call your family, tell your friends, do all that you can.

Just maybe you can tell your grandchildren or other family members how you helped make political history in the Republican Party.

Later tonight, if you are so inclined, join me, Hatton Humphrey, Ken Marrero, and maybe even Senator Stacey Campfield for a special Super Tuesday podcast at 9:30pm Eastern and 8:30pm Central time.

Michigan was a Victory for Santorum

Although Santorum officially lost this past Tuesday in Michigan, in many ways it was actually a win. It is now being reported by the Associated Press that Rick and Mittens both won 15 delegates in the state of Michigan. Santorum was only three percentage points behind Romney in the popular election, and received the same number of delegates.

So how is this a win?

As Rick pointed out at a recent rally I attended in Powell, Tennessee:

This is a big win for us. We went into his backyard. He spent a fortune, money he had no intention of spending, and we came out there with the same number of delegates he does. We are in great shape going into this election. We are excited about what's going to happen on Super Tuesday.

Romney barely squeaked by with a popular victory in his birth state. Rick nearly beat him on a shoestring budget. Remember, no one ever expected Rick to get this far. A few months ago he was running far behind candidates that have now dropped out of the race. Rick Santorum is the ultimate underdog.

This Tuesday, March 6th, is Super Tuesday. Ultimately, it is delagates that count. This Tuesday over 400 delegates between ten states (including our own great state of Tennessee) are up for grabs. Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Vermont are also voting for the GOP nominee.

Rick Santorum will do very well in Tennessee if the polls are accurate. However, often the polls are not accurate, and we should not presume he will win. If you're like me you voted early. If you haven't, get off your butt on Tuesday and go cast your vote! Encourage your friends and family to go vote too.

If they are undecided, remind them that under Obama the real unemployment rate is around 15%. Remind them that under Obama gas prices are higher than ever. Remind them that our defense budget is the first thing the President always cuts. Remind them how he and his Democrat majority in Congress shoved Obamacare down our throats, and that he wants to pass more mammoth government programs. Remind them that he's doing everything he can to make sure the United States is not energy independent.

Then remind them that Rick Santorum is the polar opposite of Barack Obama. Rick is a strong social conservative and a devoted family man. At one point a few months ago, he even took a break from campaigning to be with his sick daughter. He has fought, and continues to fight, for freedom of religion and the rights of the unborn. He also has a great economic plan to strengthen our nation financially. Among other things, Rick plans to repeal Obamacare and replace it with market based healthcare innovation that works. He wants to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitutiom that would cap government spending at 18% of GDP. Rick wants to reform the tax code and the EPA, and eliminate agriculture and energy subsidies. I encourage you to read his plan for yourself.

Here's another thought. If underdog Rick Santorum can almost beat wealthy Mitt Romney in his own birth state on a shoestring budget, just imagine how much better he might do with a little more financial support. If you can spare, donate to his campaign today.

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 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.