When Rick Santorum announced his candidacy, like a lot of progressives, I was stunned.
In 2006, I watched his spectacular flame-out, losing to Bob Casey by 19 points. His bigoted comments conflating homosexuality with bestiality fresh in the public's ears. Santorum's downfall was emblematic of voter disgust with a republican party run amok.
A mere six years later, Santorum is not only running for the GOP presidential nomination, he's winning. Moreover he's doing it running on a platform of toxic social issues.
Understandably, the establishment is doing everything it can to submarine Santorum. Romney has the biggest war chest fueled by mountains of super PAC cash. As Chris Matthews recently said, Romney will "carpet bomb" Santorum with negative advertising leading up to the Michigan primary. So far his efforts have been for naught as Santorum continues to the lead in the polls.
As for democrats? We've been watching the show and laughing our asses off.
Last week on Hannity's carnival sideshow, Dick Morris called DHHS's new contraception rule a "hit job." If one works this through in their head, it begs the conclusion that Morris blames Obama for the right wing's working itself into a religious froth.
If it isn't true (and there is no evidence it is) then republicans have no one to blame but themselves for losing their minds and showing the country how virulently they still oppose women's reproductive rights.
If it is true, then Obama and the democrats deserve credit for playing republicans like a fiddle. Tossing this innocuous regulation out and letting the right go insane. More brilliantly, it served to not only show how little republicans care about the economy, but also replaced their only viable candidate with someone epically unelectable.
Democratic strategists would LOVE to take credit for it.
The republicans toss aside jobs, the economy, and everything else voters care about in favor of the most poisonous fringe issue they could find.
Anyone know what the over/under is for an Obama/Santorum race? Obama by 20 points? Put me down for the over.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I might leave cookies out for Santa this year.
In 2006, I watched his spectacular flame-out, losing to Bob Casey by 19 points. His bigoted comments conflating homosexuality with bestiality fresh in the public's ears. Santorum's downfall was emblematic of voter disgust with a republican party run amok.
A mere six years later, Santorum is not only running for the GOP presidential nomination, he's winning. Moreover he's doing it running on a platform of toxic social issues.
Understandably, the establishment is doing everything it can to submarine Santorum. Romney has the biggest war chest fueled by mountains of super PAC cash. As Chris Matthews recently said, Romney will "carpet bomb" Santorum with negative advertising leading up to the Michigan primary. So far his efforts have been for naught as Santorum continues to the lead in the polls.
As for democrats? We've been watching the show and laughing our asses off.
Last week on Hannity's carnival sideshow, Dick Morris called DHHS's new contraception rule a "hit job." If one works this through in their head, it begs the conclusion that Morris blames Obama for the right wing's working itself into a religious froth.
If it isn't true (and there is no evidence it is) then republicans have no one to blame but themselves for losing their minds and showing the country how virulently they still oppose women's reproductive rights.
If it is true, then Obama and the democrats deserve credit for playing republicans like a fiddle. Tossing this innocuous regulation out and letting the right go insane. More brilliantly, it served to not only show how little republicans care about the economy, but also replaced their only viable candidate with someone epically unelectable.
Democratic strategists would LOVE to take credit for it.
The republicans toss aside jobs, the economy, and everything else voters care about in favor of the most poisonous fringe issue they could find.
Anyone know what the over/under is for an Obama/Santorum race? Obama by 20 points? Put me down for the over.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I might leave cookies out for Santa this year.
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