In a refreshing turn of events, Rick Santorum wins in Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado, letting everyone know that the conservative base is no longer the silent majority.
In his speech last night Santorum told the crowd that, “conservatism is alive and well in Missouri and Minnesota”. Apparently, it is also alive in Colorado, a state that Romney was expected to win.
It was a good night for Ron Paul as well, placing second in Minnesota. He is looking forward to Maine, which wraps up its caucus Saturday.
It was a bad night for Gingrich and Romney. Gingrich failed to qualify in Missouri. He placed third in Colorado with 13% of the vote, and last in Minnesota with 11% of the vote.
Romney expecting to do poorly last nigh, sent out a pre-emptive press release stating that the eventual nominee John McCain lost 9 primaries before he emerged as the eventual nominee in 2008. Even though, he brushed it off as no big deal; this trend spells trouble for Romney, who all but thought he had the nomination wrapped up.
During the 2008 campaign, Romney, the favorite child of the Republican Party, could not win the south, giving Huckabee, the dark horse, an advantage that almost won him the nomination.
Despite Romney supporters claims that he is the best candidate, polling shows that he still fails to connect with the conservative Republican base. Even in the states that he has won, New Hampshire, Florida, and Nevada, he has failed to win the hearts of conservatives and tea party patriots. His supporters are overwhelmingly made up of moderates, liberals, and blue-blood Republicans, much like those who supported McCain in 2008.
In fact, several stories today are comparing him to McCain, who eventually lost to Obama in 2008. Romney’s positions on healthcare and abortion are so similar to Obama that it would essentially take two big issues off the table come August.
One thing that we can take away from last night’s wins by Santorum and Paul is that as Rush so eloquently states “conservatism wins every time it is effectively communicated”, a lesson that the GOP would do well to remember.
