The Other McCain

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Santorum Surge Gets Boost From Endorsements by Anti-Jihad Blogger, Conservative Billionaire and Iowa Secretary of State, But Mainly …

Posted on | December 9, 2011 | 37 Comments

. . . it was Zilla of the Resistance whose support proved to be decisive:

Rick Santorum is widely seen as the underdog in the race for the Republican nomination to top the GOP ticket against Obama, and the MSM wants you to think he doesn’t have a chance, but if you are reading this then chances are you are not interested in letting the MSM do your thinking for you and decide our country’s future anyway, right? . . .
You might say it would take a miracle for Rick Santorum to win the GOP nomination, but primary voting hasn’t even started yet, and . . . Miracles Keep Happening Every Day.

Go read the whole thing because, while the big names and big dollars make a difference in political warfare, sometimes the crucial turning point in a battle involves the actions of “minor” people whose names never make it into the history books, but whose individual decisions and tireless efforts are essential elements of a decisive trend.

Although he has not yet hit my tip jar, I’ve decided to forgive Foster Friess for giving money to Tucker Carlson, now that the conservative billionaire has endorsed the next President of the United States:

Rick Santorum is willing to put country ahead of himself and bear the political consequences. . . .
Recent kind comments by Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck affirm his ability to ignite the all important voters who believe our country is facing a decision between being governed by rules and regulations or inspired by values and virtues.
The energy and enthusiasm and dedication he exhibits can best be demonstrated by his visiting all 99 Iowa counties and moving his entire family to Iowa for seven weeks to let people assess who he really is and to see him up close and personal rather than through the gloss of television messaging. . . .
I like the guy. I like his wife. I like his kids. I like everything about him.

Read the whole thing because, you know, I can forgive a hell of a lot to a guy who assists my campaign to become the first U.S. Ambassador to Vanuatu. And speaking of gratitude, a diplomatic thank-you is owed to some guy you probably never heard of , but who is definitely somebody kind of important:

Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz will endorse Rick Santorum for president on Friday, he told The Des Moines Register . . .
Santorum promoted this coup [Thursday] by saying he’d have “a major announcement” during a campaign stop in the Des Moines area at 6 p.m. Friday. . . .
Schultz, who backed Mitt Romney four years ago, is one of the only statewide elected officials in Iowa to publicly back a GOP candidate this election cycle. . . .
Schultz, a 32-year-old Council Bluffs Republican, stayed neutral through the early stages of this presidential selection process because he supervised the ballots for this year’s Republican straw poll on Aug. 13 in Ames.

And — miracles do happen! — there’s already a Memeorandum thread with linkage by influential bloggers Da Tech Guy and Lisa Graas.

Every time a blogger endorses Rick Santorum, an angel gets his wings. Also, it makes Charles Johnson cry.

Isn’t it just amazing how these coincidences keep happening, as if orchestrated according to the unseen design of an intelligent being?

Ever since that earthquake in Vanuatu . . .

UPDATE: Guess I’d better include this:




Just in case Mr. Friess reads this, eh? But while we’re waiting, y’all should feel free to hit the tip jar for $10 or $20 to tide me over.

UPDATE II: Meanwhile, another Memeorandum thread as The Hill and ABC News report on the Schultz endorsement and the Santorum campaign has issued a “media advisory” informing us that, among other things, the next President of the United States will appear tonight on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program, which should be enough to send Charles Johnson into fits of apoplectic rage.

Ladd Ehlinger just called and said, “Where are you, man?”

To which I answered, “In my mind, I’m relaxing beside a pool beneath the swaying palm trees in Vanuatu.”

UPDATE III: Press release from the Santorum campaign:

Schultz Stands With Santorum!
Urbandale, IA – Today Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum received the endorsement of Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz. Schultz is the first Iowa statewide elected official to endorse a Republican presidential hopeful. In 2008, Schultz endorsed Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for President.
Senator Santorum said: “I am honored to receive Secretary of State Schultz’s endorsement today. Matt is a rising conservative star, not just in Iowa but for the entire nation. Matt built his own campaign for Secretary of State through grassroots campaigning and exciting activists – not through TV ads and occasional rallies in Des Moines. Matt went door-to-door, coffee shop to coffee shop and won over the people of Iowa. I learned from Matt Schultz how Iowa campaigns are run, and I am thrilled to have his vote of confidence today. I am excited to work with Matt over the next month as we execute our plan to win the Iowa caucuses.”
Matt Schultz was elected in 2008 to Iowa’s Secretary of State. Prior to his election in 2008, Schultz served on the Council Bluffs City Council from 2005 – 2008. Schultz has been committed to public service his entire life, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout and a twoyear Mormon mission to Argentina. Schultz holds an Associates Degree from BYU-Idaho, Bachelors Degree from the University of Iowa, and a Law Degree from Creighton University. Schultz and his wife Zola are the proud parents of three children: Levi, Hyrum, and Kendra.

Helpful reminder: It is a neutral objective fact that you can click here to contribute to Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign.

Category: Election 2012, Iowa, Rick Santorum

Comments

37 Responses to “Santorum Surge Gets Boost From Endorsements by Anti-Jihad Blogger, Conservative Billionaire and Iowa Secretary of State, But Mainly …”

  1. Joe
    December 9th, 2011 @ 12:38 pm

    How is Rick doing in the polls in Iowa?

  2. Joe
    December 9th, 2011 @ 12:48 pm

    Making Charles Johnson and Andrew Sullivan cry is a good thing…but Rick Santorum really needs to win, place, or show in Iowa.

  3. Zilla of the Resistance
    December 9th, 2011 @ 12:50 pm

    Stacy, I love all of your posts, but this one might just be the best one ever.   🙂   Thank you.  Great news about all of those other endorsements too! Go Rick!

  4. Santorum Issues Statement on Trump Debate; Plus a Lesson in Moral Reasoning « Catholic Bandita
    December 9th, 2011 @ 12:55 pm

    […] There’s a Memeorandum thread on this subject. Hat-tip, Stacy McCain : Politics : Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, Rick […]

  5. Anonymous
    December 9th, 2011 @ 12:59 pm

    O, ye of little faith!

    Polls are a lagging indicator. You might — just might — see a slight shift in the polls after Christmas. But I don’t need a poll to tell me Santorum’s so hot right now he’s likely to win Iowa outright.

  6. Quartermaster
    December 9th, 2011 @ 1:00 pm

    Making Charles Johnson cry is a good end in itself. That, however, does not mean that placing high in IA is unimportant. Santorum needs to place at least 3rd before going onto NH. I doubt, at this point, that he will.

    Santorum is being haunted by his support for that ultimare RINO Snarlin’ Arlen.

  7. Steve in TN
    December 9th, 2011 @ 1:05 pm

    But I do need some valid indicator that @RickSantorum has a decent shot before I switch my vote.

  8. Just Vistin
    December 9th, 2011 @ 1:11 pm

    If you think Santorum is better than a 100:1 shot, put some money on him on intrade.  He’s trading at an 0.9% chance of winning the nomination.  Or if you just want 50 to 1 on him winning Iowa you can get that.  Easy money if you’re right.  

    I’m tempted to start a blog just to endorse Santorum.  

  9. quite_rightly
    December 9th, 2011 @ 1:22 pm

    Just to mention: The Zilla link isn’t working–and we Santorum (and Zilla) supporters don’t want that! ;D

  10. Lisa Graas
    December 9th, 2011 @ 1:49 pm

    How about looking up “Dean Scream”? That might be clue. He polled well in Iowa, too….and lost big time.

  11. Lisa Graas
    December 9th, 2011 @ 1:50 pm

    Ooooh, great idea!!

  12. Tennwriter
    December 9th, 2011 @ 1:59 pm

    In the great state of Tennessee, in 2008, I imagine you remember how most of the rest of the nation went blue, and yet, we went crimson.  We were not only red, but deep red.

    Now, I’m not sure how that translates to support for Romney without massive amounts of Jack imbibed by the nauseated voters.

    So, I think your anti-Romney status quo in TN is pretty safe, and you can instead concentrate on voting for the best of the gents, or the lady.

    ———————————————

    And we are seeing a miracle from my perspective. I’ve been hoping with some time off for Bachmann for a reshuffling of the table which Santorum represents.  But I would not have given you good odds that he would do this well.  He’s a hop, skip, and a jump from the Presidency.

  13. Zilla of the Resistance
    December 9th, 2011 @ 2:08 pm

    here it is:

    http://zillablog.marezilla.com/2011/12/anti-jihad-blogger-announces-official.html

    and the link about my Savagelanche (in the headlines sidebar here) appears to be malfunctioning as well, it has an extra character at the end. Here’s the working link for that one too, if anyone’s interested:

    http://zillablog.marezilla.com/2011/12/resister-updates-savagelanche-edition.html

  14. Anonymous
    December 9th, 2011 @ 2:14 pm

    Fixed it — should be working now.

  15. Adjoran
    December 9th, 2011 @ 2:26 pm

    If you want to make Charles Johnson cry,  just give his bicycle seat a quick spritz of pepper spray.

    Santorum isn’t going to do much with 3rd in Iowa, although it would be a great story.  He has no organization to speak of elsewhere and would have precious little time to build them.  If he doesn’t finish at least second, he’s done, and he probably needs to win it to create the kind of buzz that might sustain his campaign.

    Conservatives need to reconcile ourselves that there isn’t some strong conservative candidate hiding in the field just waiting for our attention to break out, though.  Go back through every cycle without a Republican incumbent running and count the “strong conservative candidates” in all the fields.

    See what I mean?

    When I asked this the other day, I think it was ThePaganTemple who suggested Duncan Hunter.  Duncan Hunter?  Really?  Face it, folks, if Duncan Hunter is the best example of a “strong conservative candidate” we’ve had, that illustrates the problem perfectly.

    On the other hand, the Democrats will have no trouble finding a dedicated Marxist to carry their banner again.  We may not have the perfect candidate to stop him, but stop him we must.

  16. Adjoran
    December 9th, 2011 @ 2:28 pm

    And yet, strangely enough, when polls showed Cain doing well in Iowa and nationally, you overcame these reservations about them.

  17. Orrin
    December 9th, 2011 @ 3:05 pm

    Again – what is the evidence that Santorum is more philosophically conservative than either Romney or Gingrich, or more likely to win against Obama, or would make an effective President when he wasn’t a particularly effective (or ultimately popular) Senator?  You are absolutely kidding yourselves if you think Santorum is a small government, individual liberty, 10th Amendment respecting guy.  Being ardently religious does NOT make one a Conservative.

    I suspect that if Santorum were doing well in the polls against Romney, and the MSM was hyping this as a two man race between those two (which they would be if Santorum had ever shown an ability to gain any kind of traction), this and other blogs would be up in arms over the MSM trying to tell us to vote for two RINOs while ignoring the only candidate in the race who has ever balanced a Federal budget.  Just because you’re not falling in line with the current media narrative doesn’t mean you aren’t being led around by it.

    Adjoran is right.  There is no perfect candidate, and there likely never will be.  The outcomes of the down ticket races will decide the ultimate fate of our country, as critical as it is that we oust Obama now.  But amongst Romney, Gingrich, and Santorum, there is no doubt in my mind that Santorum would be the WEAKEST candidate against Obama, and even if he won, I wince at the idea of him in the White House. 

  18. Joe
    December 9th, 2011 @ 3:09 pm

    It is all he’s got right now Adjoran. 

    That said, I wish Rick Santorum the best in Iowa. 

  19. Zilla of the Resistance
    December 9th, 2011 @ 3:10 pm

    I bet my having to ask,, “Who the heck is Duncan Hunter?” kind of proves the point you are trying to make, huh. But seriously, who the heck is Duncan Hunter?

    I think Rick Santorum is going to do a lot better than  so-called smart people are predicting, and when people finally tire of Obama’s “islam first” policies, Rick Santorum will gain even more support, provided people go read my post (and even better, link to it) and see why he is the strongest candidate against islamic supremacism, jihad, and sharia.

  20. Joe
    December 9th, 2011 @ 3:17 pm

    You really loved those polls when they were showing Cain surging. 

  21. Joe
    December 9th, 2011 @ 3:20 pm

    Win, Place, or Show in Iowa!  Rick needs that or his campaign is going to be (likely) over. 

    But you never know, the power of Stacy McCain to turn things around is potent.  Cain rose on Stacy’s mojo and fell just around the time idiots like J.D. Gordon were dissing Stacy.  Coincidence?  There are no coincidences. 

    Even Tabitha Hale only disses Stacy because she can’t stand the heat of his aura.  She needs to stay safely away from it. 

  22. Joe
    December 9th, 2011 @ 3:22 pm

    Duncan Hunter?  Yeah, Duncan was friggin awesome when he ran in 2008…unfortunately he went no where.   

    Seriously guys, time to realize we are probably stuck with Newt or Mitt.  Not a great choice, not something I am happy with, but that is where we are. 

  23. ThePaganTemple
    December 9th, 2011 @ 4:02 pm

    My point about Duncan Hunter was he was a perfect example of a bona fide conservative candidate who got nowhere because he couldn’t get support from the establishment GOP. The reality is the establishment always supports moderate squish candidates because they think that’s the only way to win the general election. And they think that because they’re squishes themselves. The reality is the only squish who won in recent memory is George H W Bush who won chiefly on the strength of being Reagan’s VP. All others-Ford, Dole, and McCain-were miserable failures. And Romney, who the establishment now wants, is following the very same game plan all of them played by.

    Meanwhile Newt Gingrich, the ultimate insider, is being savaged by the establishment GOP. I find that very curious, and so should everybody else. I’ll give you a hint, the reason they’re doing that isn’t to give a helping hand to Santorum, Bachmann, or Perry.

  24. Zilla of the Resistance
    December 9th, 2011 @ 4:08 pm

    I am anti-jihad, Obama is an “islam first no matter who has to suffer because of it” president. In my post, which Stacy linked above, I clearly explain why Rick Santorum is the best candidate to stand up and fight back against the islamic supremacists, sharia and jihad which threatens to destroy all that we hold dear. I also explain why it is so critically important that we have a president who will do that. We cannot afford to keep pretending that there isn’t a clear and present danger. I did my research, Rick Santorum is best on this issue and on foreign policy issues in general, Newt is second.

  25. Orrin
    December 9th, 2011 @ 4:24 pm

    I read your post.  I’m also anti-jihadist.  That wasn’t my point. 

    I have no doubt that Gingrich (or Romney or Bachmann or really anyone but Ron Paul) is also anti-jihadist.  But Gingrich is much, much more likely to win, and also more likely to balance a budget.  Newt is hardly a perfect conservative, but philosophically and intellectually, he’s more conservative than Santorum.  So if both of them are adequately serious about the Jihadists, and I believe that’s the case, why would I vote for Big Government in the Name of Jesus when I have an alternative?  And why would I vote for a guy who, due in no small part to an off-putting personality, is weaker against Obama in the general?

  26. Anonymous
    December 9th, 2011 @ 4:28 pm

    Linked – http://teresamerica.blogspot.com/2011/12/official-endorsement-i-endorse-rick.html

    These endorsements are great news for Santorum.  I have this feeling that he is going to do well in Iowa. 

  27. Zilla of the Resistance
    December 9th, 2011 @ 4:45 pm

    I like Rick Santorum, I am endorsing him, but if Newt wins the primaries, I will happily vote for him despite his baggage. He and Rick Santorum are the only two in the current GOP field that I would not have to hold my nose to vote for. I think either one of them would mop the floor with Obama in a debate, but I will concede that RS could use a bit of coaching for TV audiences. Primaries are for voting your conscience, the general election is for voting against Obama which means GOP no matter who. Newt is personable on TV, but there’s that whole flip-floppy history to contend with, I am not aware of Rick Santorum contradicting himself or trying to be anybody other than who he is, whereas now we see Newt “rebranding”.

  28. Zilla of the Resistance
    December 9th, 2011 @ 4:49 pm

    Thanks, Stacy! The link in the sidebar is still busted, though, it needs to have the  / removed from the end in order to work, I don’t know why.
    (I think the internet hates me)

  29. Orrin
    December 9th, 2011 @ 5:00 pm

    I’m a Nevadan.  People voting their conscience in a primary without regard to electability got us Sharron Angle, who got us Harry Reid. 

    And I’m still hoping just one person will attempt to answer the question of just what makes them think Santorum is a Conservative?  (Hawkishness does not equal conservatism my default, nor does religiosity.)

  30. Anonymous
    December 9th, 2011 @ 6:28 pm

    I would like Santorum as a candidate if he had some charisma and hadn’t had his ass kicked by 20pts last time he ran for office- his platform is lovely

    He also comes across like Todd and Wendy Whiner. 

    Obama would beat him and go-on to deep-six this country… that would be my chief concern with a Santorum nomination

  31. ThePaganTemple
    December 9th, 2011 @ 6:56 pm

    He wants to eliminate taxes on manufacturers, which would create an employment and economic boom, he wants to cut taxes across the board and slash regulations, and he’ll appoint conservative judges and protect the 2nd Amendment. And yes, he’ll look out for the First Amendment rights of Christians, as he should. I agree with you in that he might be a bit too much of a big government conservative in some areas, for example he might be a bit too Neoconish. But he’s certainly more conservative than Mitt, by a wide margin.

  32. Tennwriter
    December 9th, 2011 @ 9:50 pm

    Hawkishness is part of being conservative.  And Christianity is one of the markers that makes a person much more likely to be a conservative.  Also, being pro-life is conservative.

    Just what is your defintion of conservative? 

    The notion that Newt ‘Global warming’ Gingrich is a solid conservatives runs right into Palin’s statement that he is the most consistent ideologically.

  33. Tennwriter
    December 9th, 2011 @ 9:58 pm

    He’s not a big gov’t conservative, and he respects the 10th Amendment greatly.  What these attacks tend to mean is ‘hey, he’s not the Extreme Left Gay Marriage NOW!’ guy some want.  Instead, he’s using Originalism  on the Constitution which is what is supposed to be done.  Thomas Jefferson, most liberal of the Founding Fathers, was for castrating sodomites.  So, Rick Santorum’s idea that the Constitution would overrule a state law is completely reasonable. 

    But folk don’t want to come out and say ‘I’m against Rick because I want gay marriage’ because they know a majority of Americans are against it (and not just a majority of Republicans.)

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