An Ohio Santorum Guy Looking at Florida

Guest post by Carl Dorsch.
Note: each contributor at 3BP has their own favorite in the GOP race. One opinion for or against a certain candidate is not necessarily shared by other contributors.

All things considered, I wasn’t too displeased with way Florida Republicans voted on Tuesday. Sure, I would rather they had given a landslide to my preferred candidate, Rick Santorum. But since that wasn’t in the cards, this result isn’t half-bad.

Let me state, I can live with any of the four remaining Republican candidates. The main thing is to defeat Obama and to repeal ObamaCare. So in these primaries, I want to hear about every negative issue the Democrats might drag out in the fall against the eventual Republican nominee. I want it out now, so we can watch the candidates cope with every charge – whether it’s false or valid. If a charge can hamstring anyone, then let’s eliminate that guy now. Let’s not have any fatal surprises in the fall. I want our guy to prove he can handle any mud that’s slung at him, and won’t freeze like a rabbit on the big stage.

Going farther, I don’t mind mud-slinging all that much. Like most Americans, I’d rather watch a tough fight than a coronation. I want to see who’s going to whine, who’s going to weird out, and who’s going to stand strong. More to the point, when the fall rolls around, I want all the worst news to be old news to the public. American voters can tolerate a great deal, but they can get spooked when it’s sprung on them at the last second.

As for the order of finish, Florida was about right. Since Santorum wasn’t going to win Florida, then I’m glad Romney did – only so Gingrich can’t claim to be the “inevitable” candidate for conservatives to rally about. I want all those people who lately ran to Gingrich to start reflecting more fully on his deficiencies. But having said that, it’s good Gingrich did as least as well as he did. We can’t have Romney running away with the nomination. And I’m glad Ron Paul found another state, like South Carolina and Iowa, to lose to Santorum in. If it had gone the other way, I’m sure the Paul supporters would now be heaping abuse on Santorum, their favorite guy to attack.

We’re entering a slow spot in the primary process. Given time to catch their breath, many of the people who are presently favoring Romney are going to realize they’re mostly just opposed to Gingrich, who they see as flaky and unreliable. But being against someone isn’t as satisfying as being for someone. And who’s really for Romney? Even he doesn’t know what he stands for.

Looking forward, Romney and Gingrich will likely keep slinging mud at each other. That story should then bog down in the media, and hopefully, a large chunk of the voters will start seriously looking at Santorum. Missouri may be the place for him to emerge, when he goes head to head with Romney with no Gingrich on the ballot. At that point, Ohio might be the place for Santorum to take on the mantle as the conservative standard-bearer. Stranger things have happened.

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