Robert A. Levine
Michigan Republicans had a decision to make today that will resound in the party’s race for president. Romney defeated Santorum 42% to 37% as projected by MSNBC at 10:15 PM.
On one hand, they had a candidate, Mitt Romney, who appeared out of touch with middle-class voters, constantly placing a “silver foot” in his mouth regarding his affluent life style. The most recent examples of his difficulty in connecting with ordinary citizens were his comments about loving American cars, with his wife driving two Cadillacs. There was also his mentioning that he had good friends who were NASCAR owners to show his interest in the sport. Romney, who was born in Michigan, and whose father was governor of the state, also had to overcome his willingness to let the auto industry go bankrupt while supporting the bailout of Wall Street and the financial industry. His campaign and Super PAC devoted great resources to the Michigan race, but recently started lowering expectations about the outcome.
Santorum had also had a habit of placing his foot in his mouth, his off beat comments mainly over the role of religion and culture in America. His emphasis on some of the social issues may have alienated women voters. Among his statements were that he felt like throwing up over President Kennedy’s speech reaffirming the primacy of separation of church and state in American society. Santorum also wants religion to play a major role in government and governing. And he doesn’t believe in contraception or that insurance companies should have to pay for it. He’s also unhappy with the concept of public education, home schools his children and wants to get the federal government out of education (Guess that means no national standards) He called Obama a snob for wanting everyone to have the opportunity to go to college.
Robocalls by the Santorum campaign to ask Democratic voters to cross over and vote for him will give Romney ammunition against him in the future. Gingrich’s presence on the ballot also hurt Santorum by splitting the conservative vote, even though Gingrich did not actively campaign in Michigan. Interestingly, Romney outpolled Santorum among Catholic voters in the state.
There were 30 delegates up for grabs in Michigan and these will be distributed proportionally. Romney won the primary in Arizona and the state will give all of its 29 delegates to him.
So the choices were between a backward-looking candidate and one who’s out of touch with ordinary citizens. Not very great options.
Resurrecting Democracy
http://www.robertlevinebooks.com/
Michigan Republicans had a decision to make today that will resound in the party’s race for president. Romney defeated Santorum 42% to 37% as projected by MSNBC at 10:15 PM.
Santorum had also had a habit of placing his foot in his mouth, his off beat comments mainly over the role of religion and culture in America. His emphasis on some of the social issues may have alienated women voters. Among his statements were that he felt like throwing up over President Kennedy’s speech reaffirming the primacy of separation of church and state in American society. Santorum also wants religion to play a major role in government and governing. And he doesn’t believe in contraception or that insurance companies should have to pay for it. He’s also unhappy with the concept of public education, home schools his children and wants to get the federal government out of education (Guess that means no national standards) He called Obama a snob for wanting everyone to have the opportunity to go to college.
Robocalls by the Santorum campaign to ask Democratic voters to cross over and vote for him will give Romney ammunition against him in the future. Gingrich’s presence on the ballot also hurt Santorum by splitting the conservative vote, even though Gingrich did not actively campaign in Michigan. Interestingly, Romney outpolled Santorum among Catholic voters in the state.
There were 30 delegates up for grabs in Michigan and these will be distributed proportionally. Romney won the primary in Arizona and the state will give all of its 29 delegates to him.
So the choices were between a backward-looking candidate and one who’s out of touch with ordinary citizens. Not very great options.
Resurrecting Democracy
http://www.robertlevinebooks.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment