Though he came in a very close 2nd place last night to Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum surprised everyone by rocketing to the front of the GOP pack in Iowa. Upon reflection, the only question I have for GOP voters is, really?
Since the summer when the race really kicked off the GOP has been up and down on who was the hot pick or flavor of the month. They started with Michele Bachmann, then jumped to Rick Perry. After Rick Perry, there was Herman Cain’s stint at the top, followed by Newt Gingrich. Now that Iowa has come and gone, we are left with the mainstream candidate, Mitt Romney, the libertarian candidate, Ron Paul, and the values candidate, Rick Santorum. But why Santorum?
Ever since Iowa became the first in line in the primary battles, when it came to Republicans, Iowa has chosen the values candidate. Remember Mike Huckabee? He won in 2008 in Iowa, mainly because he was the values man. He won in other contests as well because he was an avid supporter of the FairTax, but that wasn’t good enough to beat out John McCain and the rest is history. Is history repeating itself?
I for one hope so. If Santorum somehow gets the rest of the conservative voters to his side quickly and starts to beat out Romney, pushing himself to the top and winning the GOP nomination, Obama will be reelected. Should Romney win out, Obama may lose, but a Santorum vs Obama 2012 race would be a no brainer for independents. Independents, especially Millennial independents, will not support Rick Santorum for President of the United States. Ain’t gonna happen. Sorry…
What do you think? Were you surprised by the surge of Rick Santorum in Iowa? What does this mean for the GOP race going forward?
