It’s Primary Election Day!

Voters are going to the polls today in Connecticut (28 delegates), Delaware (17 delegates), New York (95 delegates), Pennsylvania (72 delegates), and Rhode Island (19 delegates).

Hoping to further finalize the primary process, Romney supporters are hoping for victories in all five states.

A better America began tonight!

“After 43 primaries and caucuses, many long days and not a few long nights, I can say with confidence – and gratitude – that you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility.
. . .
To all of the thousands of good and decent Americans I’ve met who want nothing more than a better chance, a fighting chance, to all of you, I have a simple message: Hold on a little longer,” he said. “A better America begins tonight.” ~ Mitt Romney

Text of Governor Romney’s victory speech, given tonight in Manchester, NH, may read here.

“Four years ago Barack Obama dazzled us in front of Greek columns with sweeping promises of hope and change. But after we came down to earth… what do we have to show for three and a half years of President Obama.

Is it easier to make ends meet? Is it easier to sell your home or buy a new one? Have you saved what you needed for retirement? Are you making more in your job? Do you have a better chance to get a better job? Do you pay less at the pump?” ~ Mitt Romney

► Jayde Wyatt

UPDATE – After John Boehner endorsed Mitt Romney, he appeared on CBS This Morning. Charlie Rose tried to play hardball:

It’s been over 10 months since the race began.

It turned out to be a marathon, not a 50 yard dash. Some GOP primary runners sprinted off the starting line, others jogged. As the contest proceeded, some forged ahead then faltered, surged then slogged, took the lead then limped away.

Along with blistered feet, there was blistering rhetoric. We’ve heard warm-up and wind-down speeches and everything in between. It’s been a real spectator sport and at times, a spectacle. But, mostly, it’s been spectacular. Every runner enriched the race. Each competitor pushed the others to run stronger, better.

While not officially over, the tape stretching across the primary finish line is, at last, in sight.

Who do we see coming down the home stretch?

We see the runner who was oft derided because he didn’t grandstand. The runner marginalized because he was steady. The runner who gauged his pace while others flashed past. We see the runner whose lifelong preparation, principles, and message gave him the strength to recover from bumps in the road. We see the runner who wasn’t rash, but knew when to rush. We see the runner who, in the end, proved he had the stamina and stuff to win…

Mitt Romney.

Carl M. Cameron (Real Clear Politics) writes:

Resilient Romney Bests His Last GOP Challenger

… Romney… proved to have one key prerequisite to running a competitive general election campaign: He can take a punch. When he got decked, which happened repeatedly, sometimes by his own corner, Mitt Romney picked himself off the canvas and began launching haymakers on whatever rival was standing in his way — and there were several of them.

… No Republican candidate ever captured the nomination after having trailed so many rivals at one time or another in straw votes, fundraising, public opinion polls, and buzz. They came at him in waves, as though they were running a relay race and Romney was running a marathon by himself. In the ended, he bested the entire tag team of Trump, Bachmann, Perry, Cain, Gingrich & Santorum.

Romney’s last two competitors are trotting a mile behind:

One Romney adviser said Tuesday that the campaign would mostly refrain from engaging Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, although both men vowed in similar language to remain in the race as the conservative alternative to the front-runner. The focus, this Romneyite said, would be “on Obama and bringing the Republican Party together.”

Senator Pat Toomey offers advice to spectators determined to defeat Obama:

“Now is the time for conservatives to rally around Gov. Romney and help deliver a victory in Pennsylvania and America this November,” conservative Sen. Pat Toomey said in a statement issued hours after Santorum’s withdrawal. “I am confident Gov. Romney will be a great president and will return our country to the conservative principles that make our nation great.”

Toomey represents Pennsylvania, a state Obama carried four years ago by 10 points. But with the sour national economy, the most recent polling shows it much closer than the race between Obama and McCain — and it’s not a state that Romney’s forces are planning to concede to the Democrats. As for the 11 states Romney lost to Santorum, for the most part they were either low-turnout caucus states or places such as Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri and North Dakota, where Republicans should win in November.

Cameron continues:

So perhaps there has been no lasting harm to Romney’s general election chances, despite all the punches that have landed on that still-handsome mug. But many conservatives remain wary. They will watch how Romney campaigns from now on, whom he picks as a running mate …

While politicos will now chatter about V.P. possibilities and we Romney supporters are breathing somewhat of a sigh of relief, we understand it’s a time for others to catch their breath, reflect, and face reality. Governor Romney earned the right to grip the GOP baton. He will be the one to take the race to Obama. Each participant made the race ever so exciting. Sincere thanks to all.

We hope all who love America and our opportunity society will soon rally to Romney. Like Senator Toomey said, we need everyone to chime in, cheer the baton-bearer, and help chase Obama from the White House.

Believe in Romney.

He can win this thing.

Then, America wins.

(emphasis added to article)

► Jayde Wyatt

Observations:

****** A pretty good online resource for remaining primaries to bookmark is HERE. ******

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ~ Edmund Burke

Governor Mitt Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) take a break from campaigning to grab a bite to eat at Culver's restaurant in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. 4/1/12
(Photo/Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Romney/Ryan team continued yesterday taking their timely message to Wisconsinites. They were invited to hold a town hall meeting at Moore Oil Company in Milwaukee. Here’s video of The Gov and Congressman Ryan:

Later in the day, at the same venue, Romney and Ryan were interviewed by FOX News’ Greta Van Susteren:

We’re at a halfway point…

Today’s elections in Wisconsin, Maryland, and D.C. mark the halfway point in the race for delegates. Yesterday, Governor Romney picked up three more delegates… Coincidentally, he’s now halfway to clinching the GOP nomination:

The former Massachusetts governor inched up to 572 delegates on Monday _ exactly half the 1,144 needed _ after the Tennessee Republican Party finalized delegate totals from its March 6 primary. Results in several congressional districts were too close to call on election night, leaving three delegates unallocated.

Romney got all three delegates. He also picked up an endorsement from a New Hampshire delegate who had been awarded to former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. Huntsman dropped out of the race in January and endorsed Romney.
[...]
According to the Associated Press tally, Romney has more than twice as many delegates as Santorum. Santorum has 272 delegates, followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 135 and Texas Rep. Ron Paul with 51.

Romney has won 54 percent of the primary and caucus delegates so far, putting him on pace to clinch the nomination in June. Romney could substantially add to his lead Tuesday, when 95 delegates will be at stake in three primaries, in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Current reality:

Santorum, who has won 27 percent of the primary and caucus delegates so far, would need 74 percent of the remaining delegates to clinch the nomination before the national convention. Gingrich would need 86 percent and Paul would have to win nearly all of them, which won’t happen because most states award delegates proportionally.

Anyone but Romney? Martin Sieff (FOX News Opinion) wrote yesterday that he is “sick of Santorum”:

Read more…

They packed the hall yesterday at the Faith & Freedom Coalition at the Country Springs Hotel in Pewaukee, Wisconsin…

Governor Mitt Romney and Wisconsin’s beloved homeboy and rising GOP star, Congressman Paul Ryan, both speakers at the event, inspired the crowd with their remarks. While speaking, Romney did not mention his GOP primary opponents and focused on President Obama (he also worked in a good comment about Joe Biden). At the conclusion of Ryan’s speech, he introduced The Gov with another strong endorsement (SEE VIDEO BELOW).

◆ Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum also participated – but the latter did something that raised eyebrows…

WAUKESHA, Wis. — The current state of the Republican nominating contest was on display in Wisconsin on Saturday, with underdog Rick Santorum vigorously slamming front-runner Mitt Romney, while the former Massachusetts governor ignored his GOP rivals and focused solely on President Barack Obama.
[...]
Santorum’s rhetoric against a fellow Republican is a departure from the typical remarks candidates have given at previous Faith and Freedom events held this campaign season. The group draws a variety of GOP voters, and one candidate bad-mouthing another is usually avoided. But the former Pennsylvania senator did not tone down the attacks he frequently uses on the stump.

◆ MSNBC Nightly News Report March 31, 2012:

Santorum, speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press today, vowed that even if he loses in Wisconsin, he’s staying in the race:

The former Pennsylvania senator dismisses the notion that a prolonged primary would harm the party’s chances against President Barack Obama in November. Santorum says GOP establishment figures are making that argument to convince voters that “they need Mitt Romney shoved down their throats.”


… 
Santorum said he needs to win Pennsylvania’s primary on April 24.


While speaking at the F&F forum, Santorum and Gingrich both referred to Congressman Ryan, but notice the interesting difference:

While Gingrich called the congressman “a great guy,” Santorum referred to Ryan as “some other Wisconsinite.”

Maggie Haberman (Politico) writes:

Since Ryan’s endorsement, Santorum has been largely silent about the rising Republican Party star on the campaign trail. When asked about the endorsement by reporters, Santorum brushed it off, saying: “What I find out is that most endorsements are worth one vote.”

Besides the lies he tells about Governor Romney, Santorum’s rancorous, uncouth, and gauche behavior serves as a continual poke-in-the-eye reminder of why he should not get anywhere near the Oval Office. For someone who claims he got in the GOP presidential race because of “God’s calling” one would think he’d try to do a better job emulating the supposed caller.

By the way, the Romney and Ron Paul campaigns have filed a joint complaint citing “serious and prejudicial misconduct” from Santorum supporters at a previously-held Missouri county caucus.

◆ Here’s video of Wisconsin’s Faith & Freedom forum:
Newt Gingrich: @5:00
Paul Ryan: @25:20
Mitt Romney: @40:45
Rick Santorum: @1hr:29

◆ After speaking at the F&F conference, Gov Romney and Ryan headed to Muskego, WI, to host a town hall meeting. D.G. Jackson, Romney’s campaign shadow, videoed The Gov and Paul Ryan before going on stage:

The Gov and Ryan also spent time at a phone bank in Madison for Governor Scott Walker.

◆ GOOD NEWS…

Earlier this morning on NBC’s Meet the Press, Tea Party favorite Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson endorsed Romney:

Read more…

The Romance of Delegate Math

If you’re like me you find yourself looking at polling data and calculating delegate counts in your head. If Mitt takes so many delegates in DC, Maryland and Wisconsin, that puts him at a new total of X, extending his lead over Santorum by Y, and making Rick need Z percent of the future delegates to win…. Okay, maybe you’re not like me.

It may sound boring to the uninitiated, but it’s the math behind propelling the most qualified candidate in the race to his party’s nomination, step one in replacing Barack Obama.

What’s at Stake Tuesday: Long View

What Obamacare teaches us. In case you don’t think replacing Barack Obama is a big deal, reflect back on the biggest political story of this week. Okay, not the open mic incident. I’m referring to our hearing our president’s Solicitor General argue to the Supreme Court why Obamacare’s Federal mandate is constitutional. The traditionally conservative justices asked for a rationale that could possibly limit Congress’ power under the commerce clause should they accept his argument. Meanwhile, the traditionally liberal justices tried their best to supply that rationale. Based on the impressions of those reporting, the decision appears headed for a familiar 5-4 vote against the law, with the four traditional conservatives on one side, the four traditional liberals on the other, and middle-of-the-road Justice Kennedy likely voting with the conservatives. But time will tell.

Shape of the Court to come. As someone concerned about finding real limits to Congress’ power (history proving we need limits to preserve our freedom), and knowing the general police power was intended to be reserved to the states (making the difference between Federal Obamacare and state Romneycare night and day), I thank my lucky stars we had presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush to appoint the four conservative justices currently on the court. The liberal justices? Two from Clinton, two from Obama. By way of preview, the next president may have a chance to replace not only the lead conservative on the court in Scalia (currently 76 years old) and a staunch liberal on the court in Ginsburg (79), but iconic swing justice Kennedy, who has made the difference in many 5-4 decisions (currently 75 years old). In other words, who the president is matters, a lot, not just in signing and vetoing laws, but in appointing justices to the court who can protect the Constitution for a generation to come (a combined half-century now for Scalia and Kennedy).

MORE REGARDING THE SUPREME COURT AND AN ESTIMATE OF DELEGATES AWARDED TUESDAY BELOW! Read more…

I don’t want to come off as presumptuous, but among my friends, family, and colleagues at least, it seems most people would rather that super PACs not exist at all and that presidential elections be controlled by the largest number of average voters rather than by the select super wealthy. That would be my preference.

Harold Simmons (photo: Amy Simmons)

Wishes aside, super PACs do in fact exist. They are reality in this cycle. And they will have an enormous influence in shaping voter perception.

Monica Langley of The Wall Street Journal wrote an excellent, thoroughly researched article about the influence of super donors in the Republican party. In particular, she examines the intentions of the 80-year old Texas multi-billionaire, Harold Simmons.

I wanted to share this article, in part, because it reveals the shear determination and will of a very powerful man to ensure defeat of Obama in November, along with his administration’s terrible policies.

Few people want to defeat President Barack Obama more than billionaire Harold Clark Simmons, who is willing to spend many millions of dollars in the quest. As it happens, campaign rules now give him the opportunity.

Watching a TV news report that Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum was rising in polls last month, Mr. Simmons wondered about the prospects of the former Pennsylvania senator. He called his personal political muse, Republican strategist Karl Rove.

“Is he worth investing into his super PAC?” Mr. Simmons asked. He rose from his leather recliner in the den and stood at a bay window overlooking swans gliding on a lake encircled by 17,000 tulips. “Does he have a chance?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t count him out,” Mr. Rove said. Mr. Simmons’s wife, Annette, who was keen on Mr. Santorum, promptly donated $1 million to his super PAC, cash badly needed for an ad blitz ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries.

I found it fascinating that two spouses would decide to financially support two different presidential candidates. See “Biggest Spender” chart at the end of article… Read more…

The Santorum campaign woke up in a ditch this morning.

Their intrepid driver, Rick, was reportedly suffering from something a senior advisor called “campaign fatigue.” But there were other reports that a distracted Santorum had his head down and was fiddling with something on his knee while driving.

His patchwork campaign, which already bears a striking resemblance to a neighborhood yard sale, gave the word “disarray” new meaning with this latest mishap.

You realize, of course, that I am referring to (and pardon me for paraphrasing) his ill-advised but very revealing statement yesterday that he can see no difference between a Romney presidency and the continuation of Obama’s relentless war on liberty.

If Rick weren’t a teetotaler, I’d suggest that somebody get a cop down there to administer a roadside sobriety test.

But it must be that he’s just worn out. You know, there’s a reason why there are federal regulations limiting the length of time that a professional bus or truck driver can drive at a stretch. Campaigns can go on too long as well. Fatigue is a killer.

In this case, Rick’s fatigued statement has blown a giant hole in the thin veneer of conservatism and Republican Party loyalty that he has been trying to craft from the passenger seat of Chuck’s pickup truck since last year. By the way, where is chauffeur Chuck-in-the-Truck when you need him?

But although he would dearly love to take it back, Rick said it, and he meant it. What an amazing display of unvarnished self-interest and personal ambition. What happened to cause and country, Rick? When did you lose sight of the fundamental objective, a Republican win in the general election? How you could let yourself fall into the rookie mistake of believing your own publicity?

Sadly, I think we’ve seen the real Rick Santorum this time, and he is neither as publicly-minded, nor as purely conservative, nor as ready to govern as we might have hoped.

In fact, it’s starting to look like the only reason today’s road-weary Republican voters haven’t already run Rick off the road themselves is that, by contrast to his chief rival for that increasingly-distant second place, Rick’s narcissistic tantrum is a barely-audible whimper compared to the screeching whine of self- aggrandizement and vengefulness being displayed by a progressively less-relevant Newt Gingrich.

Their unguarded rhetoric has revealed that both are in this for themselves first. That leaves the rest of us and the good of the country as distant a second place on their agendas as they themselves are in the polls.

Rick will likely have his last hurrah in Louisiana tomorrow. Let it be a farewell party, so that Mitt Romney and the Republican Party can move on to the real business of taking on Obama, and retaking America from the freedom-crushing machinery of the liberal wrecking yard.

It’s over, and everyone knows it but Rick. By its leader’s own desperate and reckless act, the Santorum campaign has been totaled this time. As an aside, a somewhat dazed campaign spokesman dragged himself from the wreckage last night to refute media reports that Santorum’s little accident was the result of rhetorical texting while driving.

I sort of believe him, but only because I have it on good authority that the device he was fooling with on his knee at the time of the fateful crash was not his Blackberry, but an Etch-a-Sketch.

With anti-Obama voters poised to revoke his driver’s license, I suspect that Rick will have lots of time to hone his Etch-a-Sketching skills in the months to come.

Maybe he’ll take a driving lesson too.

What was going through Mr. Santorum’s mind when he said this?:

“If they’re going to be a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk of what may be the Etch A Sketch candidate for the future.”

How presidential. Real class Mr. Santorum. And he was serious. My opinion of Santorum is that he is done politically, especially if Gov. Romney is elected President. Mr. Santorum has given up any chance of getting any support to run for POTUS in the future. He is done.

Mr. Gingrich replied to Santorum’s judgment:

“Rick Santorum is dead wrong. Any GOP nominee will be better than Obama.”

Gov. Romney responded,

“This election is more important than any one person. It is about the future of America,”

Finally, Gov. Romney was interviewed yesterday by Hugh Hewitt and gave a class response to Senator Santorum’s childish comment:

Well, I’m afraid Rick is confusing the nature of this race. This race is not about one person. This is a race about the direction for the country. The country is going in a very seriously wrong direction under President Obama. And I’m afraid that Rick increasingly thinks this race is about him. It’s not about him. It’s not about me. It’s not about a personality. It’s about the country. And I’m really disappointed in Rick’s statement. Obviously, he endorsed me three years ago when I was running for president. He had no problem calling me a real conservative, a solid conservative. But now that he’s in the race, it has become all about Rick. And that’s just not right for the party, it’s not right for the country.
[...]
We’re way down in the process, and so I’m sure that the Senator’s hearing from some of those people saying hey, let’s get going, let’s move on and get our nominee ready to go against President Obama. And perhaps he’s striking out with some frustration from those kinds of questions. But you know, he’s welcome to stay in obviously as long as you’d like to stay in. But this kind of rhetoric, suggesting that we’re better off with Barack Obama than with one of the other Republican nominees is, I think, an enormous mistake on his part.