With Class, Santorum Bows Out....Leaving Two Straw Men and Newt...and a Kook

With characteristic class and dignity, Rick Santorum suspended his campaign for President today. Santorum went from being a long shot and afterthought to being one of the last men standing for the GOP nomination. In the end, the idiotic war on women meme and the mischaracterization of a fight for religious freedom being about choice, did him in. Also, his daughter has had quite a battle with health problems, as well as being savaged in the no class Mainstream Media and pop culture elite. God bless Senator Santorum and his family. Here is the statement from RickSantorum.com:

Thank you. For your support, for your encouragement, and for your prayers for our family, especially Bella. You may have heard that we were able to bring her home from the hospital last night.

She has pneumonia, but like her Dad, she's a fighter. It's in the blood.

Today I announced that I am suspending my campaign for the President of the United States. This has been one of the hardest decisions Karen and I have ever had to face together. And it has been hard in large measure because of you. I know that my candidacy has offered you a way to fight for your convictions, and I do not want to let you down.

Since I first ran for Congress in a Democrat-majority district in Pittsburgh, I have fought for struggling families. I have fought for the unborn. I have fought for those losing hope in the American Dream.

And during this Presidential race we have fought hard. Together. You have been with me every step of the way. Every volunteer, donor, friend and family has given sacrificially of their time and their treasure. We are humbled and thankful.

We literally started this campaign in our kitchen with family and a few friends. The way that you make decisions. We believe America is the land of opportunity, and decided to do what we can to protect the hope that our forefathers sacrificed to give us a future for our children. A future of freedom secured through our sacrifices today.

Over 160,000 of you contributed to the campaign. Like you have for your children, we have sacrificed almost everything we have to ensure that this hope and dream is not lost with another four years under Barack Obama. Our average donation has been only $73.10. Few races in history have so many people give so modestly to preserve liberty.

We have been outspent in most states 5-1 or even 10-1. And we still won, or we've come incredibly close. Iowa and the three-state sweep. An over 20-point win in Louisiana. Only a few votes short of victory in Michigan and Ohio. We have made history. There has been no other Presidential comeback race like ours.

Our good friends in Texas have been working non-stop to make sure that they have a say in the choice of our nominee, but without the state changing its delegate allocation to winner-take-all, I do not see a path forward that does not risk our shared objective of defeating Barack Obama in November. I want to thank them for their valiant efforts.
From the start of this race I have offered a unique voice in the debate. One that the party and the country needs to hear. I have been your voice. I have been positive. I have been willing to stand for issues that some believe are controversial and would prefer to sweep under the rug.

We have carried the torch. High. Together we have fought for the principles that this country was founded on; that made this country great. Without fighting for them, this country cannot continue to be great.

And we have fought fair. I am proud of the race we have run. We talked issues. We avoided character attacks. We have run almost entirely positive ads.When I ran for the Senate in 1994 and defeated a sitting incumbent Senator, I asked the people of Pennsylvania to Join the Fight. They did.

I know you will. God bless you, and please keep us in your prayers. And know that we keep you in ours.

Santorum was also done in by a ruthless opponent who uses the same tactics as the Left, as well as lots of cash. Let's hope that now the Mittster can quit savaging and bloodying his friends and focus on his enemies.

Unfortunately, the Republican establishment wins again. We conservatives are left with supporting Mitt or allowing Obama to destroy our country with another term. Once again, we are left with pale pastels, not bold colors. However, there is a key difference. We know that Barack Obama wants to destroy our country as it is. Obama thinks our Foundnig was flawed, that our system is wrong. He wants to turn us into the EU. I do not believe Mitt Romney wants that. I, for one, will put my personal distaste and such aside for the good of our country, hoping that the push right that Cain, Gingrich, and Santorum gave to Romney will not wear off like an Etch A Sketch. That, my friends, is what we the people are for, to hold our leaders feet to the fire. That is what we must do in the days ahead. After all, it is not just an election. It is the future of our country.

Butler County Presidential Nominee Politics

Over the weekend, I received an email that I thought I would address here because it gives me a chance to talk about a few things beyond just the question that was asked...

Roger writes:

Enjoy your post but I need you to answer, why did the BC GOP not support Santorum? They were all leaning towards Romney, why?

First of all, thanks for reading the post and the blog...

Now on to the red meat...

We need to define "BC GOP" or Butler County Republican Party. Most folks think those terms refer to the party itself. I don't think that is what Roger is actually asking here. I suspect Roger is inquiring about the election results, which is about Butler County's registered Republican voters and not the party itself.

As far as I know, and if I am wrong, I'm sure I'll hear about it; the Butler County Republican Party did not endorse any candidate for Republican nominee to the office of President of the United States. So, in that sense, the BC GOP didn't support ANY candidate. If/When a candidate asked for resources such as information, I am quite sure that the party was cooperative with every campaign that asked.

However, the registered voters in Butler County favored Mitt Romney. The question that I think Roger wants answered is why. The answer starts with this...

This "country club" used to be the headquarters of the Butler County Republican Party. It is the perfect symbol for the registered Republican voters in Butler County, who turned out to support an establishment "country club" Republican.

Don't get me wrong, I do believe that the Santorum camp dropped the ball BIG TIME (as former VP Dick Cheney might say) here in the Great State of Beautiful Ohio, but he had delegates for Butler County and his name did appear twice on the ballot as it should have (at least in my precinct anyway). Rick campaigned pretty hard in Ohio and just came up a little short.

Back on point, while I think some progress has been made in advancing conservatism in Butler County (as opposed to raw Republicanism), we still have a LONG way to go. I take note that Sheriff Spotlight had a pretty BAD night on E-Day here. He endorsed Jeff Wyrick who lost 60-40 and Santorum. We're still waiting on recount and provisional ballots to see if Spotlight's chosen crony for county commissioner, St. Rep. Corky Combs, gets to surrender Butler County's budget to the Sheriff or not.

All in all, the answer to the question, Roger, is that while Butler County enjoys the reputation and being the reddest county in Ohio, it isn't the most conservative county in Ohio. That distinction is what made the difference. The Tea Party still has a LOT of work to do in educating the rank and file here in Butler County.

Ohio Poll: Santorum Leads in Ohio

Release:

Cincinnati, OH--With one week remaining until Ohio's Super Tuesday Republican presidential primary, Rick Santorum leads Mitt Romney by 11 percentage points among Republican primary voters. However,nearly half (47%) of primary voters say they could change their mind between now and Election Day.

These findings are based on the latest Ohio Poll, conducted by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. The Ohio Poll is sponsored by the University of Cincinnati. The Poll was conducted from February 16 through February 26, 2012.

In the latest Ohio Poll, registered voters who intend to vote in Ohio's March 6 Republican presidential primary were asked their preferences among the candidates that will appear on the ballot.

Learn more here (PDF).

VIDEO: Rick Santorum at Brown County Lincoln Day