Super Tuesday Exposes GOP Chaos

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 8, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

          Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney limped to the finish line on Super Tuesday, barely pulling off six-out-of-10-wins but managed to squeak out the most important one in Ohio, beating his closest rival former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum 38% to 37%.  While Romney couldn’t land a knockout punch, he picked up 212 more delegates adding to his total of 215.  Romney’s campaign stated the disheartening facts for Santorum and Gingrich that it’s near impossible to catch the 64-year-old former governor and venture capitalist.  Despite the wins, Romney still can’t figure out what to do in the South where he hasn’t won a single state other that Florida, an exception because of the high percentages of transplants from the Northeast.  With an estimated wealth of around $250 million, Romney’s wife Ann admitted recently that she doesn’t consider herself rich.

             Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich picked up only one state, his native Georgia, spelling doom for his lackluster campaign.  While Santorum picked up three states leaving his delegate count at 176, there aren’t too many states left other than Alabama and Mississippi that seem realistic for the 51-year-old Christian evangelical.   “We’re ready to win across the country,” said Santorum, not explaining how he expects to overtake Mitt.  Romney told MSNBC he’s “getting the kind of support across the party that I need to become the nominee,” yet couldn’t explain his poor showing in the Deep South.   Even Gingrich couldn’t explain his way forward, admitting he would have dropped out had he not won Georgia.  “If I thought he was a slam dunk to beat Romney and to beat Obama, I would really consider getting out,” said Newt.  “I don’t,” knowing full-well none of the GOP candidates are a sure thing.

             Beneath he happy faces of the GOP, a twilight struggle exists between Christian evangelicals and Romney, not happy that the Party could be led by a Mormon.  While the Constitution demands a separation of church and state, religious conservatives want a growing say in Party politics.  Handing the Party over to a Mormon doesn’t fit with the growing influence of the Moral Majority started under the late President Ronald Reagan and completed under former President George W. Bush.  Pulled in all directions, the GOP doesn’t know which way to turn.  If they accept Romney, religious conservatives may choose to stay home next November.  If they go with less popular candidates, they’re heading for defeat next November.  As the economy improves, beating Obama looks like an exercise in futility.  All GOP candidates have been running on the bash Obama platform, not what they’d do differently.

             Republican strategy has been built on painting Obama as incompetent on managing the economy.  Today’s GOP message is now several months behind current economic trends that have the country adding over 200,000 jobs a month and 3.5 million jobs since June 2010.  If the trend continues before Election Day, the nation’s 8.3% unemployment rate could fall to 8%, with federal budget deficits dipping to around $1 trillion, the lowest level since Inauguration Day.  At some point, the GOP talking points will have to match Labor Department stats that show more improvements in U.S. employment and Gross Domestic Product.  Painting Obama as weak on defense also has problems since he got Osama bin Laden May 1, 2011, ended the Iraq War and is working on finishing the Afghanistan conflict.  Obama has resisted recent calls by Sen. John McCain to begin bombing Syria.

             Rep. Ron Paul picked up not one state Super Tuesday but continues to hammer the same worn out message about U.S. deficit spending and hyperinflation.  Paul finds himself befuddled about how it’s possible that his Austrian economics theory hasn’t panned out, including his dire warnings of bailouts, deficit spending and predicted hyperinflation.  He keeps telling his loyal supporters at losing election night events that he’s the only one that can beat President Obama.  Paul takes himself more seriously than about six percent of primary voters supporting his campaign.  Why Paul continues to linger on is anyone’s guess.  Like Gingrich, he’s only hanging on to give himself more clout at the Aug. 27 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.  With only 47 delegates to date, Paul doesn’t have the influence for the Party platform or eventual VP pick.

             Super Tuesday exposed glaring cracks inside the Republican Party, where religious conservatives aren’t content with Romney’s eventual nomination.  Santorum’s victory speech showed how he’s prone to rambling almost incoherently, lacking the kind to impromptu speech-making needed to represent the GOP.  All Republican candidates face stiff headwinds as their theory of change is disproved by an improving economy.  None of the GOP candidates has yet to present any vision of new leadership other than bashing Obama.  Santorum’s appeal to born-again voters won’t carry to the general election, where the vast majority of voters believe in the Constitution’s Separation Clause, keeping religion out of politics.  Eking out a win in Ohio, Romney showed he has trouble with religious conservatives.  Whether he wins the nomination or not, they’re not likely to follow him in November.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.       

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