Tea Party Support for Mitt Romney about 1" Deep

"Mitt Romney today announced the support of Tea Party leaders in Michigan..." starts off a widely circulated press-release put out by the Romney campaign yesterday. You would think that Mitt Romney's backing of Romneycare, his flip-flopping on abortion, his support of bail-outs would be an anathema to everything the Tea Party stands for. You would think that Rick Santorum's Constitutional Conservatism would be a natural fit.  So, it was a little surprising to see that "Tea Party" leaders would endorse the Republican establishment-approved candidate.

So I decided to take a closer look at Mitt Romney's Tea Party support, and sure enough this thing unravels like a cheap sweater. There are four Tea Party groups and six leaders mentioned in the press release.

The first group called Rattle With Us was co-founded by Maribeth Schmidt who is endorsing Romney. But if you look at this article: Why is Rick Santorum leading in Michigan on Rattle With Us' web site, you will clearly see that this group is anything but in support of Romney.

These questions and assessments of Romney are why Rick Santorum is going to win Michigan because he is not a self professed conservative but a practiced conservative with conservative ideologies.

It is also interesting to note that  Marco Lollio, Owner Of Marlo Trucking, is listed as a Tea Party leader in support of Romney. Well if you read this article in the Detriot News, Lollio and his wife Sharon, she is a co-founder of the Rattle With Us Teaparty, are interviewed at a Romney speech. Sharon was part of the "anybody but Mitt crowd" but still undecided because though she likes Santorum she doesn't think he can win (this wrong belief should be dead by now but I digress). Marco went over to the Romney side, while Sharon is not listed among Mitt's six Tea Party supporters.  So it might be more accurate for this press release to say, "The Husband of a Tea Party Leader Supports Romney" rather than "Tea Party Leaders Support Romney."

Next mentioned is "Dennis Moore, Founder/Former Director Willow Run Tea Party Caucus." Dennis is described as a former director because his decision to back Romney and not Santorum was so unpopular that he was forced to resign!!! Moore's "pragmatic" reason for endorsing Romney was that he is more "electable."  (Again when will this wrong-headed notion die?)

Next we come to Leisa Audette And Patty McMurray, Red Heels On The Ground. I don't doubt that these ladies are political activists, but when you lead an ACTIVE Tea Party group, you tend to leave a trail behind you that any search engine could find. The only group called Red Heels On The Ground that I can easily find is a facebook group with 36 members!

Lastly we come to Rose Drouillard, board member of the Brighton Tea Party. Even this group admits in a blog on their site that Romneycare could be a problem for Mitt since it so closely resembles Obamacare. Obama and the media will have a field day with this and that definitely gives Romney his own electibility issue.

Romney is trying to give the impression that he is making great in-roads into Tea Party voters, but nothing could be further from the truth. So don't be fooled by a slick politician.  We'll let these Tea Partiers sum it up best:

Dave Parker, a Santorum supporter from the Willow Run Tea Party, said Santorum, he believes, is a consistent conservative who is electable. Plus, Santorum's values align with his as an evangelical Christian.

Sharon Lollio co-founder of the Rattle With Us Tea Party says of Santorum "he has the "fire in belly" and "you feel he's one of us."

Why is Santorum not on the Primary ballot in all states?

Newt is not on the ballot in Missouri (52 delegates). Santorum is not on the ballot in DC (19 delegates). Neither Newt nor Santorum are on the ballot in Virginia (49 delegates). Other than that (and finishing up in Indiana) the rest are easy and shouldn't be a problem. None of these are game changers.

My Vote Doesn't Count

For those in states with primary election dates that seem too late to matter...

WHEN WILL A NOMINEE BE CHOSEN? By Dianne Edmondson
Thanks to the new RNC rules, only 2286 delegates are approved for the national convention. (Several states were penalized half their delegates for holding their primaries too early: SC, FL, MI and AZ.) Thus, it will take 1143 delegate votes to win the nomination. Using the data below, even if one candidate takes ALL delegates in every primary between now and May 22 (the Arkansas proportionate primary date), there WOULD NOT BE ENOUGH DELEGATE VOTES TO NOMINATE until at least the California winner take all primary, June 5. And proportionate states likely will have split delegates making it even less likely that any candidate can lock up the nomination, as long as two or more remain in the race.

CHRONOLOGICAL PRIMARY DATES AND DELEGATE COUNTS
We are assuming that one candidate will take all delegates (shown in parentheses) in these primaries, even in the proportionate states. Proportionate states and their thresholds are italicized.

IA (28) 6/5/12 (based on Jan. caucus)
NH (12) 1/10/12 prop. 10%
SC (25) 1/21/12
FL (50) 1/31/12
NV (28) 2/4/12 pref. caucus
MI (30) 2/28/12 prop. 15%
AZ (29) 2/28/12
OH (66) 3/6/12 prop. 20%
AL (50) 3/13/12 prop. 20%
MS (40) 3/13/12 prop. 15%
ID (32) 3/6/12 caucus prop. 15% - 5/15/12 primary
PR (23) 3/18/12
IL (69) 3/20/12
DC (19) 4/3/12
MD (37) 4/3/12
TX (155) 4/3/12 prop. 20%
PA (72) 4/24/12
NY (95) 4/24/12 prop. 20%
IN (46) 5/8/12
NC (55) 5/8/12 prop.
WV (31) 5/8/12
NE (35) 5/15/12 non binding primary
OR (28) 5/15/12 prop.
KY (45) 5/22/12 prop. 15%
AR (36) 5/22/12 prop. 15%
DELEGATE COUNT WILL BE AT ABOUT 1140 IF ALL ABOVE WENT TO ONE CANDIDATE, 5 SHORT OF NOMINATING NUMBER. PROBABLY WILL BE LESS DUE TO PROPORTIONAL STATES’ DELEGATES BEING SPLIT AMONG SEVERAL CANDIDATES

Tea Party Support

Recent comments have been taken out of context and made it sound as if Santorum is against the tea party.  In reality, he is against the free-for-all liberalism that some have tried to pin on the tea party as one of their goals.

Rick explained, “I don’t agree that people should be empowered to do what pleases them the most. We have a responsibility beyond [ourselves].” Santorum characterized the “liberal view” as “anti-responsibility,” saying it holds, “I should be able to do whatever I want to do as long as no one gets hurt.” He continued:

Particularly in the area of sexual freedom and personal issues, this is the mantra of the left. Which is, “I have a right to do what I want to do.” And that is not the kind of freedom that our Founders envisioned, and it is not the kind of freedom that makes up a society that is devoted…to the common good. …The definition of liberty as our Founders understood it, was freedom with responsibility. Responsibility to who? To themselves? No. It was a responsibility to others. It was responsibility to your family, but not just your family. It was a responsibility to your neighbors and to your country.

Santorum complained that we have “an entire culture that focuses on immediate gratification and the pursuit of happiness and personal pleasure, and it is harming America.”

Several videos and opinions have come out calling Santorum a big-government candidate.  Here is an excellent article proving otherwise.
http://www.redstate.com/wosg/2012/01/06/rick-santorum-yes-he-is-a-true-conservative/

Rick Santorum has a long history of cutting taxes, reducing spending and fighting for a balanced budget amendment.  He even took on leaders of his own party in that fight.  He has never voted for a tax increase, and one year introduced more original bills cutting spending than anyone else.  


Sarah Palin said Rick Santorum's "been consistent in saying we need to slash the federal income tax."


Santorum is a member of the "Gang of Seven" that exposed taxpayer scandals at Congressional bank and Congressional post office.  This is one of the reasons the Washington Post praised Santorum as "a tea-party kinda guy before the tea party even existed."


Rick Santorum has called for significant tax rate cuts for middle class Americans and will cut wasteful spending to take the growing deficit off the backs of our children.

On a conference call to tea party folks, Rick said he supports the tea party and their principles, saying he's repeatedly praised them around the country and noted the huge gains they've helped accomplished.  He was especially appreciative of the educational forums the tea party provides.  Rick made a point to say he's a Reagan Conservative, not a Libertarian, which makes us isolationists and ignores faith and family.

Too Conservative To Win?

Too conservative to win? What has been interesting to watch is how he interacts with people about his so-called ultra conservativism, and by the time he's done, the people end up agreeing with him.

There's no doubt that Rick is a true conviction conservative with a record of results to back it up.  But his conservative vision actually unites Democrats, Independents and Republicans because his vision for America is rooted in common sense.  The Made In America Plan, the Manufacturing Plan, the Balanced Budget Amendment, the economic plan, are undoubtedly rooted in conservatism and common sense -- and that's what we need.

Santorum Lost His Last Election

When Rick lost re-election in 2006, it was the worst environment possible for Republicans.  President Bush's approval rating was remarkably low in Pennsylvania.  Not only was Rick defeated, but the Republican candidate for Governor lost that race by 20 points, and 4 Republican members of the US House of Reps were also defeated.

Can Santorum Beat Obama?

This article lays it all out very nicely:
http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/05/the-case-for-santorum-why-barack-obama-should-fear-the-vest/

Rick Santorum has won many tough races.  His election to the US House of Reps in 1990 was considered the biggest upset of the year.  He was re-elected overwhelmingly in 1992 despite having a new district that was over 60% Democrat.

In 1994 Rick was successfully elected to the US Senate. He was one of only two people to defeat a sitting Senator that year.

In 2000, Rick was successfully re-elected despite being the number one target of Democrats, in a state that has a more than 1 million voter registration advantage for the Democrats.

When Rick lost re-election in 2006, it was the worst environment possible for Republicans.  President Bush's approval rating was remarkably low in Pennsylvania.  Not only was Rick defeated, but the Republican candidate for Governor lost that race by 20 points, and 4 Republican members of the US House of Reps were also defeated.

Santorum is considered an outstanding debater and will be a formidable opponent for Obama.