Liberty is What You Do For Yourself, Not What Government Can Make Others Do For You...

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Do you prefer a nation of monuments glorifying the successes of private citizens or a nation of monuments ingratiating itself to politicians? The first begins with equality of opportunity while the latter begins with equality of outcome, well, except for the politicians the monuments glorify.






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Scoring Santorum...

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The Right Scoop makes the point that when sifting through a candidate's record we all find problematic moments, however when a candidate's record is taken as a whole and compared with the options a more honest reading of the record may emerge. This seems to be the case with Santorum.

One of my fears is that he could repeat Bush 2. This report from the The Weekly Standard allays my fears to a degree:

NTU’s (scoring paints a radically different picture of Santorum’s 12-year tenure in the Senate (1995 through 2006) than one would glean from the rhetoric of the Romney campaign. Fifty senators served throughout Santorum’s two terms: 25 Republicans, 24 Democrats, and 1 Republican/Independent. On a 4-point scale (awarding 4 for an A, 3.3 for a B+, 3 for a B, 2.7 for a B-, etc.), those 50 senators’ collective grade point average (GPA) across the 12 years was 1.69 — which amounts to a C-. Meanwhile, Santorum’s GPA was 3.66 — or an A-. Santorum’s GPA placed him in the top 10 percent of senators, as he ranked 5th out of 50.

Across the 12 years in question, only 6 of the 50 senators got A’s in more than half the years. Santorum was one of them. He was also one of only 7 senators who never got less than a B. (Jim Talent served only during Santorum’s final four years, but he always got less than a B, earning a B- every year and a GPA of 2.7.) Moreover, while much of the Republican party lost its fiscal footing after George W. Bush took office — although it would be erroneous to say that the Republicans were nearly as profligate as the Democrats — Santorum was the only senator who got A’s in every year of Bush’s first term. None of the other 49 senators could match Santorum’s 4.0 GPA over that span.

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PPP - Santorum Takes the Lead Nationally and in Michigan...

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Only tweets until morning:

Nationally Santorum seems to have captured the lead. But beyond the margin of error? "Healthy" would suggest so:

We're going to have our new national GOP poll, showing a pretty healthy Santorum lead, out tomorrow morning

And in Michigan:

Santorum topping Romney on the first night of our Michigan poll. This may be the biggest surge yet

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Santorum Trifecta...

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Yep! He got Colorado!

Final numbers to come.

Update--
 40.2 Santorum
 34.9 Romney

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Minnesota Also Called for Santorum...

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Two out of three states for the night have gone for Santorum over Romey.  That makes two big wins for Santorum.  Especially so for Minnesota which went for Romney by 19  over McCain in 08. Consider also that Romney is well behind Ron Paul on Minnesota.


In the case of Missouri, Newt was not one of the choices.  This proves that Newt's votes will go Santorum rather than Romney when he is not included on the ballot.

Bad, bad night for Romney.

Interesting night.




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Missouri Called for Santorum --- Entered the Night With Momentum...

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It appears that Santorum went into the night with momentum.  The expectation of 45% turns out to be 55%.

Although not called, in  Minnesota  Santorum also leads with 45% but entered the night with the expectation of around 35%.

This bodes well for Santorum in Colorado.  Although he currently leads in Colorado, high population  areas have yet to be counted.

Word for the night Momentum...





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Watch the Returns on Google...

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At  top right there is a pull down menu of states one can select from. Below is Missouri showing Santorum in the lead with 52% and Romney at 26%.

Nifty.

It is google, so watch your privacy.




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Some Santorum Polls...

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Via PPP, in Missouri Santorum has 45% to Romney's 32% and Paul's 19%. With Newt not on the ballot in Missouri the anti Mitt vote is less divided and we get a glimpse of Romney's soft conservative weakness. Romney seems to gain little from Newt when Newt is absent from the race.

Newt is, however, in contention in Minnesota. But there too Santorum leads but only with 33%, followed by Romney with 24%, Gingrich at 21% and Paul at 20%.

In Colorado Romney leads with 37%, Santorum with 27%, Gingrich 21%, and Paul 13%.

Then, of course, there is excitement or momentum to consider:














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Old Advert, Current Charge...

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So, it's a Rick  Perry advert.  I like it and either Santorum or Newt could have run it...





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Santorum and Newt Lead in the Mid West...

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TheStateColumn:

Two Public Polling Policy polls of voters in Ohio and Missouri show Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich leading rivals Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul in the two mid-western states.

In Missouri, Mr. Gingrich is not on the primary ballot. Mr. Santorum finished with 45 percent of the votes among Missouri voters, with Mr. Romney trailing at 34 percent and Mr. Paul finishing third at 13 percent.

Mr. Gingrich leads the way in Ohio, finishing with 26 percent of the votes, followed by Mr. Romney at 25 percent, Mr. Santorum with 22 percent and 11 percent for Mr. Paul.

...

In addition to leading in popularity, Mr. Santorum also has the highest favorability rating in Missouri and Ohio. According to the poll, 63 percent of voters in Missouri have a favorable view of Mr. Santorum while 59 percent of voters polled in Ohio have a favorable view of him.

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There is Much to Like in Santorum...

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...beyond reducing the left to inside joke adolescent giggles every time his name is mentioned.

Michelle Malkin:

Rick Santorum opposed TARP.

He didn’t cave when Chicken Littles in Washington invoked a manufactured crisis in 2008. He didn’t follow the pro-bailout GOP crowd — including Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich — and he didn’t have to obfuscate or rationalize his position then or now, like Rick Perry and Herman Cain did. He also opposed the auto bailout, Freddie and Fannie bailout, and porkulus bills.

Santorum opposed individual health care mandates — clearly and forcefully — as far back as his 1994 U.S. Senate run. He has launched the most cogent, forceful fusillade against both Romney and Gingrich for their muddied, pro-individual health care mandate waters.

He voted against cap and trade in 2003, voted yes to drilling in ANWR, and unlike Romney and Gingrich, Santorum has never dabbled with eco-radicals like John Holdren, Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi. He hasn’t written any “Contracts with the Earth.”

Santorum is strong on border security, national security, and defense. Mitt the Flip-Flopper and Open Borders-Pandering Newt have been far less trustworthy on immigration enforcement.

Santorum is an eloquent spokesperson for the culture of life. He has been savaged and ridiculed by leftist elites for upholding traditional family values — not just in word, but in deed.

I suspect she would have gone Newt if it appeared he might be winning Florida. As it is...

And I don't blame her.





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Santorum Defends the Liberty of the Unborn...

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An unborn human that child not only has a right to live, but is entitled to government protection of his or her liberty from infringement.

Via iOwnTheWorld:


But the logic is lost on Piers Morgan, as he can't see past his own prejudices.





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SC Primary Roundup...

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Three polls put Newt ahead of Romney in SC:

•  Insider Advantage .......Newt 32, Romney 29
•  Rasmussen..................Newt 33, Romney 31
•  PPP..............................Newt 34, Romney 28

Rick Perry drops out and gives his support to Newt.



A recount finds that Romney lost in Iowa and that Santorum won by around 30 votes.  Unfortunately for Santorum the result was that Romney was able to steel valuable momentum from him  coming out of Iowa.  This should weaken Romney, albeit immeasurably, in SC, but then Romney's supposed win in SC was immeasurable as well.



All good news for Newt, right? Nah.





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Nosy Critiquing Big Government Liberals Should Stay Out of the Grieving Process...

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In response to Creepy  Colmes' critique of the Santorum family's personal choices regarding grief Santorum had this to say:

Santorum recounted this story to the crowd, choking up as he did so, explaining that "we brought [Gabriel's body] home so our children could see him" — that it was important for them to "know they had a brother." As Karen, who was standing a few feet away from her husband, listened to him talk, she began to weep and blurted out, "This is just so inappropriate." Santorum held back his own tears, building to a ringing chastisement of Colmes and others who criticized their actions. "To some who don't recognize the dignity of all human life, who see it as a blob of tissue that should be discarded and disposed of, [what we did] is somehow weird," he said. "Recognizing the humanity of your son is somehow weird, somehow odd,
and should be subject to ridicule."

Yet it continues via Eugene Robinson.

H/T Guarino.





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Santorum Has Upset the Apple Cart With Iowa...

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98% in ... Santorum ahead by 5 Tea Party votes.

Santorum seems to have earned the Tea Party edge in Iowa...

Time to coalesce folks.




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Creepy Alan Colms Inadvertently Stumps For Santorum...

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Santorum responds to Alan Colm's judgmental attack.

ABC:

In a Fox News interview on Monday, Colmes characterized Santorum’s decision to bring the deceased child home an example of “some of the crazy things he’s said and done.”

But in Iowa this afternoon, Santorum explained that it was important for his other children to “know they had a brother.”

Santorum’s wife, Karen, who was at the event and listened to her husband talk about the experience, began to weep.

“It’s just so inappropriate,” she said as tears streamed from her eyes.

...

“Get a load of some of the crazy things he’s said and done, like taking his two-hour-old baby when it died right after child birth home and played with it so that his other children would know that the child was real,” the liberal pundit said in a Fox News interview.

And Santorum also responds on Hannity:





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