Several things to take from yesterdays primaries in Michigan and Arizona. First there is the fact that the media keeps touting Romney's popular vote win in Michigan as a HUGE win, when the fact is Romney only won by 3% in his home state. You look at the margin of victory and take out one county Oakland which Romney won by more than 30,000 and the margin becomes less than 900. You look at the state as a whole and Santorum won more counties by far with 59 and Romney won less than 30. Another thing the media fails to mention is that it is likely that Rick will obtain at least 15 delegates from Michigan which is half of the 30 delegates the state possesses. Chances are Rick could win upto 18 or more since Rick won more districts than Romney and delegates are proportioned by congressional district. Rick has won at least 7 and leads in two others out of the 14. The Michigan Primary was still an embarrassment for Romney as he had to spend a fortune to win the popular vote there outspending Santorum 5 to 1, just to win by the skin of his teeth in his home state. I score this as a win for Rick because he will walk away with half of the states delegates which is far more important than the popular vote anyway.

The 2nd thing I noticed was that the media was quick to announce Mitt the winner in Arizona even though polls were still open there and not a single vote had been counted. I also noticed that because of early voting thousands of votes had been cast for candidates that were no longer in the race. I hope the party makes a move to end early voting on such a large scale.
Also Arizona broke party rules by allocating their delegates as winner take all before April 1st. According to party rules all primaries and caucuses that occur prior to April must be proportional. Arizona is one of 4 states that lost half of its delegates for breaking the party's set timeline; Michigan, Florida, and South Carolina are the others. So this could be challenged.

The third thing I noticed was all the Republicans that got bent out of shape because Rick reached out to Democrats and Independents in Michigan which was an Open Primary meaning everyone could vote in it regardless of party affiliation. First off it was Romney's idea for it to be an Open Primary. And secondly hasn't anyone ever heard of Reagan Democrats those socially conservative blue collar folks that are predominant in the Rust belt? How do they think Reagan won two landslides? With gasp votes from Democrats. I guess Newt and Mitt supporters don't want to win Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota come November. The reality is they are scared because Rick with his Manufacturing Plan is connecting with voters in those states and they're not. In conclusion while the other campaign's are getting desparate Rick is gaining momentum and is staying the course to victory in next weeks Super Tuesday Primary.
Vote 4 Rick

With the Michigan and Arizona Primary just a day away and Super Tuesday around the corner Newt Gingrich joined Ron Paul and Mitt Romney in their attacks against Rick Santorum. Ron Paul has accused Rick of being a "fake" conservative. Romney has accused Rick of being Liberal, behaving like a Democrat, of being a Big Spender, and a whole host of other things. Both Paul and Romney have attacked Rick's Pro Life credentials. Now we have Newt attacking Rick as a "Big Labor Republican". Gingrich has fallen into 3rd or 4th place in most polls, the only state he is leading in for Super Tuesday is Georgia his home state. Newt trails in every other state up through Super Tuesday. It has now turned into a 3 on 1 assault on the most Conservative candidate left in the race. One thing I find strange is that after publically stating that he was cutting Newt off, Adelson shelled out $10 million dollars to his PAC, this also after having met with Romney. Is it possible that Romney asked Adelson to save Newt's floundering campaign which was in the hole moneterally until Adelson's donation? Why would Romney keep Newt in the race you ask? It is simple really as long as Newt is in the race it keeps a chunk of Newt's support from going to Rick Santorum. Mitt Romney saw what happened in Missouri a race without Newt and it frightened him. We already know Romney has some kind of deal with Ron Paul as evidenced by the fact the two never attack eachother and the latter attacks all of Romney's top rivals. It was evident in last weeks debate when both Ron Paul and Romney attacked Rick Santorum virtually ignoring Newt. It seems now that a desparate Newt Gingrich has now made some kind of deal with Romney as well. His debate performance having failed to change his poll numbers, Newt must be getting pretty desparate to save his flailing campaign. It is definitely now apparant that the 3 non conservative rivals of Rick Santorum have teamed up against a man who is running his campaign on a shoe string budget that has caught fire with the American people. These attacks are unfounded and false, this all out onslaught from all sides on Rick's record and character only serves to make Rick's case that he is the clear contrast that can win.  So if you are in Michigan,Arizona today, Washington on the 3rd, or one of the Super Tuesday States Vote Rick Santorum!

Last  night in the deserts of Arizona what was perhaps the final debate of the GOP Primary took place on CNN from Mesa, Arizona. While the talking heads in the media want everyone to believe that Romney and Gingrich had the best night and that Rick Santorum lost his opportunity. Nothing could be further from the truth. What I saw was Senator Santorum go into this debate the clear target, under fire the whole night from both Romney and Ron Paul, but he also had to deal with a blatantly obvious Pro Romney/Paul hostile crowd that went as far as to boo loudly when Rick Santorum attacked Romney on Romneycare. The significance of this is obvious elsewhere Rick has received thunderous applause for his attacks against Romneycare but not last night. Despite  all that Rick Santorum still managed to come out strong and finish even stronger, And in my opinion Rick delivered a powerful performance last night and won the debate.
First he managed to take Romney's attacks against him on Earmarks, No Child Left Behind, Debt Limit increases, and on his fiscal conservative record and turn them around on Romney who sought earmarks as Governor and as head of the Olympics, and when Romney described the process of how it should work, Rick pointed out that that's how it did work in the past, he also said when it got out of control he wanted to put a stop to it and stated that he voted for the line item veto which would allow the President to veto the waste in bills. On the debt limit Romney supported the most recent one, on No Child Left Behind, Romney supported it, and finally once again Rick hit Romney on his Romneycare and how in some instances it was to the left of Obamacare and more onerous on businesses, how it raised taxes, and imposed the very same mandates on Catholics as Obamacare.  Rick also went after Ron Paul as a Prolific earmarker that doesn't vote for the bills, and pointed out his conservative ratings as compared to Ron Paul who ranks near the bottom, Rick near the top. Thus Rick defended himself well against the two front attacks with a hostile crowd. 
Secondly Rick delivered a powerful answer on the contraceptives question when he talked about the decay of our morals and of the family unit, pointing out the growing number of kids having kids, and single parent homes thus spreading poverty and government dependence in America. The most powerful line though was when he said, " I may believe these things but I don't believe we need a government program to fix the problem that is what the Left does not us". I am paraphrasing a little but that is the gist of it. That was a clear shot at Obama and the Left with their Big Government agenda.  Rick also delivered some powerful answers on foreign policy and explained his Specter endorsement well by stating that Arlen Specter was the key to getting Bushes Supreme Court nominees through and thus the reason we have a 5 to 4 conservative edge in the Court. Rick overall was forcefull, direct and to the point. He stayed positive and on message, that he is the one that offers the clear contrast to Obama.  He layed out his vision for America as restoring our Principles and Family Values. He outlined his plan to tackle the debt by making REAL CUTS in spending not cuts in the rate of growth, he pointed out that it is not earmarks or military spending that holds the highest percentage of our budget but entitlement spending does and until we tackle those we won't solve out debt problem. He outlined his plan to reform entitlements, starting with repealing Obamacare then working to shrink the need for Welfare, Foodstamps, and Medicaid by getting people off of those programs and back to work and making cuts by eliminating alot of the bureaucracy involved. And also he will work to make Medicare and Social Security solvent again. His one word answer of "Courage"  describes him exactly. My favorite line came at the end when he stated that "We need someone that can do alot with a little" All I got from Romney was a bunch of double talk and he came out looking like a hypocrite, Ron Paul clearly is Romney's attack dog and is just plain loony. Finally Newt did better than last debate but his smugness and his penchant for just making applause line statements, rambling out encyclopedia factoids like a professor, and no real substance beyond generalities he too didn't measure up in my opinion. Santorum won this debate while on the hotseat and should continue to Surge in Tuesday's Primaries.
Rick Santorum 2012

As you all know President Obama recently issued a mandate through HHS (Health and Human Services Department) using the authority of  Obamacare to force Catholic organizations like charities and hospitals to pay for contraceptives, sterilization, and other immoral things that violate Catholic teachings and law. This blatantly violates the 1st Amendment Rights of Catholics in this country as it abridges Freedom of Religion. Obama riled Catholic fury with this move so he made what he calls a "compromise" making the insurers pick up the tab. Two problems, first this is a doubling down not a compromise because he knows that many of these organizations are self insured and thus still stuck with the bill, those that aren't it passes along to everybody. Second its not a compromise since the other party involved didn't agree to it, in fact the Catholic Bishops see right through his ploy. You can't compromise with yourself, this was a tactical adjustment NOT a compromise. This brings me to another point, anyone that believes Obama accidently stepped into this and that it is a blunder is mistaken. As far as Obama is concerned this action was deliberate, intentional, and part of his strategy. His strategic game plan by doing this is evident: he wants to trap Republicans into being against Contraceptives, to create a narrative that the GOP candidate wants to ban them and is thus extreme. Now we know why Stephanopolis badgered Romney on contraceptives during that New Hampshire debate a month ago. Luckily Senator Santorum has seen through this tactic by the left and has been making this an issue about Freedom, Religious Liberty, and what happen's when government creates rights. Very well played by Rick. Also we can not getted bogged down by just this one issue, it is great to galvanize the base but we need to keep talking about the economy which I am glad to see Rick Santorum doing. There is a debate tonight in Arizona and I am sure this will come up. Stay Tuned!
Rick Santorum 2012

We have been hearing a lot about a Brokered Convention lately.  The Establishment and Mainstream Media have been saying that if Romney falters that that's where we are headed. Ron Paul people are banking on this eventuality, some Newt folks, and others wanting other candidates are also talking about it.  And of course the Palin Earthquake Movement which I once supported seems to be moving in this direction as well. So what is a Brokered Convention you ask? Well as opposed to the typical Open Convention, it occurs when none of the candidates achieve the majority of the delegates during the primary process and nobody crosses that threshold during the first ballot at the convention. Once this happens all the 2000+ delegates are released to vote for whoever on the next ballot. This is Problematic for Conservatives because we don't have the organization or influence to insure that these delegates all get behind one candidate. Thus the power is in the hands of the Party's Power Brokers who will secure a large enough block for an establishment candidate like Mitch Daniels or Chris Christie or even Jeb Bush. While conservatives will be divided amongst the likes of Palin, Bachmann, West, Cain, and a dozen others, the Establishment will be united with their main threat coming from Ron Paul people who have been attempting to stack delegates in the caucus states by becoming the delegates. This is a chaotic scenario that does not favor Conservatives at all, in fact the last time we had one was in 1976 when the establishment screwed Reagan in favor of Ford. So it doesn't end well for us. The reason it is a hot topic now is because Romney is struggling and Rick Santorum is Surging. The Establishment want to discourage people from voting for Santorum by making it seem as though his winning is not an option, they even go as far to dangle Palin as a carrot knowing full well that she won't come out of a Brokered Convention.  Clearly what we need to do is prove them all wrong and surge forward and bring Rick Santorum across the Finish Line with the needed 1144 Delegates, we have a long way to go till that happens. I am Ready and Prepared for it are you?

Well the Romney attack machine has turned its sights on Rick Santorum and he is not alone Ron Paul and Pro Newt media sources have begun attacking Rick Santorum as well.  They are attacking his record, his character, his integrity, his values, and even his family.  I have seen Rick called a "Pro Life Statist" , a "Religious Bigot", a "Big Government Guy",  and a whole host of other names.  I have seen a many smears and lies about Rick's record. I would like to set the record straight on a few of them right now.
First I have seen people saying that Rick voted to fund Planned Parenthood, this is misleading and deceptive.  The truth is Rick voted for the Budget which happened to include funding for Planned Parenthood, Rick fought tooth and nail to have that removed but at the end of the day you got to vote for the budget. While on this point how dare Newt folks criticize Rick for voting for the budget while bragging that Newt "balanced the budget" meaning he voted for the very same budgets.  On the matter of the budget people are saying Rick voted to raid Social Security instead of using Surpluses. First there was no surplus in the General Fund only deficits it was Newt and Clinton that raided that trust to hide the deficits. Newt is the one bragging about those budgets. Rick has stated he opposed this action. So any Newt folks bashing Rick for these two items and defending Newt, there is a word for this; hypocrite. Another thing I am seeing is this idea that Rick is a Big Government guy because he has voted for some earmarks and raised the debt limit. Firstly Newt has voted to raise the debt limit as well and second he did what was expected of him by his constintuents. And on the earmarks, people mistake allocated funds for ones state for the Solyndra's, items like Solyndra is nothing but Pork and crooked back scratching. McCain brought up earmarks to avoid talking about the real heart of our spending problem and that is entitlements. Pork Items should be stopped that is why Rick supports line item veto and the Balanced Budget Amendment.  Rick opposed the Stimulus Package in its entirity and the whole concept, Newt however praised parts of it. Mitt Romney wants to slam Rick Santorum on earmarks yet when he was in charge of the Olympics as he likes to brag he turned around, he sought a Congressional Earmark to help him do that, yet again hypocrisy on display. Rick is Not a Libertarian that doesn't make him a Big Government guy. On the matter of his No Child Left Behind Vote the bill he voted for was completely different then what was implemented as parts of the bill were stripped out during the reconciliation committee including the Santorum Amendment which would have allowed for Intelligent Design to be taught in class in counter to Evolution Theory. The bill was meant to insure students weren't just passed along without learning English and Math, the concept was good but like with all things from the federal government the implementation was bad. Unlike Mitt and Newt who continue to defend their mistakes Rick states that he regrets his vote for No Child Left Behind and Medicare Part D because they aren't the kinds of things he supports. Rick wants Health Savings Accounts, Insurance Competition across State Lines, Tort Reform, entitlement reform of Medicare and medicaid, and he wants to get the Federal Government out of Healthcare. In Education he wants to return the power to the local governments and eliminate all the federal mandates on education and he would like to see school choice. Rick Santorum supports bottom up solutions to things not top down, he believes the role of government is to be the referee on the sidelines not the QB. The only candidates in this race to have supported Individual mandates for healthcare, Carbon Caps and man made Global warming, Bailouts, Stimulus, Amnesty,  Creating the department of education, supports government subsidies, and against entitlement reform are Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. Thus the only Big Government Guys in this race are Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. The Only reason they are all attacking Rick and his record is because they are desparate, Rick is surging, and they don't have a record they can defend so they have to attack and distort Rick's record. Well as long as Rick Santorum stays on message and remains positive while answering the smears in a positive way he should continue to surge as we are seeing in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and elsewhere. The Attacks are backfiring as people are tired of the negative campaigning they want solutions and Rick Santorum is offering them.
Rick Santorum 2012

On Tuesday night voters in 3 states made their voices heard. In Missouri a Primary was held with no delegates at stake and in Minnesota and Colorado caucuses were held to select their candidate of choice 76 delegates at stake combined. The result shocked many in the media and in the Romney camp as Senator Rick Santorum swept the 3 contests in convincing fashion; a 30 point shelacking in Missouri, a 19 point beatdown in Minnesota 29 points over Romney who finished 3rd there, and a 5 point win in Colorado a state Rick had been trailing in according to recent polls by as many as 14 and 10 points. he has been rising in the polls but has been largely ignored by the media and the party establishment. Now they have no choice but to take notice.
What Tuesday did was burst Romney's bubble of inevitability, it threw a wrench in what was supposed to a Romney sweep in February, and it ended the notion of a two man race between Mitt and Newt. Of course the media is trying to spin this as unimportant, that it won't effect the nomination process, and that no delegates were at stake. The Romney camp adopted the same tone and rhetoric diminishing the vote from last night. I hate to break it to Mitt Romney but diminishing the voters in 3 key swing states by saying their vote was meaningless isn't gonna endear them to your cause come November.
While Mitt had a bad night, Newt had a worse night. He posted a no show in Missouri, finished fourth with 11%  in Minnesota, and third with 14%  in Colorado the latter two states he had been polling well in until recently his numbers plummeted. What is worse for Newt is that for weeks he has been insisting that Rick drop out to consolidate the vote, now Rick has delivered 3 huge defeats to Romney bringing his wins to 4 to Newts 1.  Newt is hurting for cash and seeing his numbers fade while Rick is surging.  Maybe Newt should take his own advice.
With a caucus in Maine this Saturday and primaries in Michigan and Arizona plus Super Tuesday on the horizon look for the Santorum Surge to Continue.
Santorum 2012

The Radical Voice is here to weigh in on the 2012 Presidential GOP Primary.
The field started with 10 candidates with 3 dropping out before a single vote was cast and 3 dropping out since.  Now we are down to 4 candidates to choose from with now 5 states having voted.  Three of these candidates have serious flaws and will have trouble getting elected in a general election contest against the billion dollar candidate Barack Obama. Especially since voter turn out in Florida and Nevada were down from 4 years ago.

Sadly these 3 flawed candidates lead in delegates currently.

First you have Mitt Romney the former Governor of Massachussetts. About the only thing he has going for him is his executive experience and his private sector business background. The President will try to turn the latter into a problem as he attempts to paint Romney as an out of touch corporate fat cat elitist and watching this election cycle and Romney's gaffes, it might work. That isn't even Romney's fatal flaw though, Mitt's achilles heel is Romneycare. With Obamacare being a major issue this election we CAN NOT Afford to have a candidate that has a record that contains anything similar to it, RomneyCare effectively negates any argument we can make against Obamacare, thus the President won't have to defend it. Romney has several other policy flaps on key issues such as; Global Warming, Gun Control, Abortion, Same Sex Marriage, The Bailouts, etc.  How can a candidate with this record seriously contrast himself with the President without looking like a hypocrite? Answer: He Can't!

Then there is the Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. He claims to be a conservative reformer that can knock Obama out in debates. His record tells a different story. Newt has a history of supporting everything from Healthcare Mandates, Global Warming, NAFTA, Gun Control, Voted to create Department of Education, voted with environmentalists to lock up Alaskas land, was ousted as Speaker over ethics, endorsed uber liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava who was so liberal the marxist Working Families Party endorsed her. He slammed Paul Ryan's entitlement reform as "right wing social engineering". Newt took money from Freddie Mac and we are supposed to believe he received $1.6 Million for practically nothing.  Newt also has serious character flaws in regards to his family values and his tendency to admire Liberal Progressive Presidents like FDR and Wilson. And as far as debating goes, Newt floundered in the last two debates and even complained about the atmosphere, does he think the atmosphere will be favorable against Obama? Finally a serious problem both he and Mitt share is they can't contrast themselves from Obama and their campaigns have gotten way too negative and in Newt's case he hasn't managed his campaign well whether its staff departures or being in the hole money wise. Given all these flaws I don't see how Newt can win.

Finally there is Congressman from Texas Ron Paul. His flaws are obvious, he is old and frail and doesn't have the presence of a President, his zany antics during debate may be attractive to his followers but to the general public he just looks like a fool. And that isn't even his biggest flaw, his major achilles heel is his crazy naive and dangerous foreign policy of isolationism. Under Ron Paul Iran would be allowed to have a Nuke, and the tyrants in Cuba and Venezuela will prosper and there type of rule will spread because Ron won't interfer.  He fails to recognize the grave and serious threat Islamic Jihad poses to America. Then there is his policy of legalizing drugs including narcotics. And legalizing prostitution, and a host of other things. Ron Paul is basically a zany libertarian version of Obama on a lot of issues. His candidacy would be an embarrassment to the Republican Party. 

That leaves only one candidate in this field that stands a chance against Obama. That candidate is Rick Santorum, he is the ONLY Conservative in this race and the only one that can effectively contrast himself against Obama.
I believe alot of people have bought into the Two man race narrative being perpetuated by the media who by the way want Obama re elected, so why anyone listens to them is beyond me.  Another belief being spread among conservatives is ABO(Anybody But Obama). This is a misconception because you can't just throw anybody against a sitting President and expect to win. We are looking for a President not a debater and not a CEO. A President has to Lead as the Commander in Chief and as head of state. We need a President with a Vision, a Plan, and most importantly with Convictions. Grandiose Ideas like moon bases may make good campaign rhetoric but they aren't realistic and talking about business expertise may sound  but what about foreign policy?  Ranting about the Federal Reserve may get applause from Libertarians but ranting about Isolationism etc will lose the base. Only one candidate makes a clear contrast with Obama, can effectively debate Obama, and win over voters in critical states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Minnesota with his Manufacturing Made in America Plan. That is why I support the Only True Conservative in this race......
Rick Santorum!