Democrats' 'Operation Hilarity' Working For Santorum

[RonPaulFanInGA]

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/27/democratic-mischief-in-michigan/

Leftist blogs are telling their flocks to vote Santorum, and now both democratic strategists and the Santorum campaign itself are robo-calling democrats for Santorum.

It's working (https://twitter.com/#!/guypbenson/statuses/174652374613360644):


CNN exit poll: 10 percent of MI Republican primary voters were Democrats -- Santorum won this group by 35 points.

[matt0611]

I'm torn on this. I really dislike Santorm but if Romney wins it gives him more momentum to clinch the nomination.

[Fermli]

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/live-coverage-the-michigan-and-arizona-primaries/?src=twt&twt=fivethirtyeight#crossover-appeal

According to early-wave exit polls, 59 percent of voters in Michigan's primary today identified as Republican, versus 41 percent who said they were independents or Democrats.

The 41 percent figure is somewhat higher than most recent polls anticipated. Surveys from Public Policy Polling and Rasmussen Reports pegged crossover turnout at 36 percent, American Research Group at 37 percent and a Mitchell Research poll at 19 percent.

Crossover turnout was 32 percent in Michigan's primary in 2008, according to exit polls, when 7 percent of Michigan's voters said they were Democrats and 25 percent said they were independents.

- Nate Silver

[sailingaway]

Yeah, Ron usually wins Dems, such as there are, but there are fewer, and voting for civil liberties and against war. Neither come with the Santorum package.

[alucard13mmfmj]

Democrats voting for Santorum so their Lord Obama can stay in office... Talk about sacrificing principle and allegiance to the country. Ron Paul has a much better civil liberties record than Obama.

Those democrats are digging their own graves and unfortunately digging ours as well.

[sailingaway]

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/live-coverage-the-michigan-and-arizona-primaries/?src=twt&twt=fivethirtyeight#crossover-appeal

Independents and Dems came out in NH, but they were Ron's certainly not Santas, so I'd say if he gets them it is a joke, all right.

[DerailingDaTrain]

People actually spent time doing this? That is low. Voting for a war supporter to make him lose to a Democrat war supporter.

[RDM]

What's funny is I posted about this over a week ago and everybody blew it off as nonsense.

[GraniteHills]

It must really suck having so little integrity that one would sacrifice his principles to "help the team."

[Oddone]

Oh it is funny indeed. How they hate that man with a passion.

[Ranger29860]

The worst part of all this is if Santorum wins Michigan due to democratic vote all we will here for the next few weeks is how Santorum is able to pull democrats away from Obama.... I swear if Santorum gets the nomination its going to be the biggest landslide in an election ever.

[mosquitobite]

Why are we so confident of this recent Santorum surge?

As it looks right now, it's the same thing that ended up giving McCain the nomination?

Right now Santorum has risen as the "anti-Romney"...that is NOT good for us!

[RonPaulFanInGA]

I swear if Santorum gets the nomination its going to be the biggest landslide in an election ever.

Nah. It won't be 1972 or 1984, but it'll be pretty bad for the GOP.

[Warmon]

Democrats voting for Santorum so their Lord Obama can stay in office... Talk about sacrificing principle and allegiance to the country. Ron Paul has a much better civil liberties record than Obama. Those democrats are digging their own graves and unfortunately digging ours as well.

This is got to be the weirdest election ever. Santorum openly courting this? Romney is right, this is a new low in politics. I hope this infuriates the GOP establishment so much that even they will throw him under the bus...and a run over him a couple of times. Rick must be proud that he sucks so bad that the opposition wants you just so they can rip you to shreds. I predict a very short future for Mr. Santorum from this day forward.

[pipewerKz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEEBCb89bgQ

[nobody's_hero]

Well, you can count on republicans to close their open primaries/caucuses after this election.

Probably not good for future prospects at building a liberty-consensus across party lines.

[Warmon]

Right now Santorum has risen as the "anti-Romney"...that is NOT good for us!

He's not the anti-romney. He's horse shit in a sweater vest.

[deputydon]

That's hilarious indeed. Especially considering everyone anti Paul likes to say they think dems are just voting for Paul because the dems think he can't win in the general.

[mosquitobite]

That's hilarious indeed. Especially considering everyone anti Paul likes to say they think dems are just voting for Paul because the dems think he can't win in the general.

Indeed, at least people can't bash Dr Paul for getting 'those nasty dem votes'...

[rpwi]

Meh...I'm ok with this. Romney is going to do a lot better when the winner-take-all states are allowed to vote without penalty on April...I'm much more worried about Mitt running away then with this than Rick.

Besides...Ron would do much better as a third party candidate vs Santorum/Obama than Romney/Obama.

[maxoutco]

What I don't get is that santorum is so successful with the robocall to get the dems out, why are we not doing it to get the dems out to defeat the GOP establishment.

I'm confused...

[Oddone]

What I don't get is that santorum is so successful with the robocall to get the dems out, why are we not doing it to get the dems out to defeat the GOP establishment.

I'm confused...

Democrates HATE Santorum. They are voting for him because they know Obama would beat him by a landslide. Santorum has NO Dem crossover or Indie appeal. There is a bunch of blogs and GOTV from the Dems trying to get Santorum the nomination, so he can flop in the General Election.

[RDM]

What I don't get is that santorum is so successful with the robocall to get the dems out, why are we not doing it to get the dems out to defeat the GOP establishment.

I'm confused...

He is only getting solid Obama supporters to vote for him and they are doing it as a joke to help Obama. Nothing more.

[abruzz0]

Fuck politics. Seriously.

[nobody's_hero]

Do we have confirmation that Santorum's campaign actually robo'called democrats?

I agree with RDM, I think this was something cooked up from within the Democratic party.

And, man, I'm really straining to feel sorry for the republican party but . . . oh, I can't.

The GOP has had 4 f**king years to rally behind Ron Paul after what *should have been* a wake-up call in 2008, and they've managed to split themselves up between 3 idiots and a doctor. If they actually cared one bit about conservatism, Ron Paul would've been the only contender left at this point in the nomination process and they wouldn't be at the mercy of the democrats right now.

[WD-NY]

Santorum is done after tonight.

Those CNN clips of DEMs talking about how Santorum = "weakest" are going to be turned into commercials and Santorum is going to sink like a rock.

The question becomes, will Ron be able to fill in the vacuum.

[Emperius]

The worst part of all this is if Santorum wins Michigan due to democratic vote all we will here for the next few weeks is how Santorum is able to pull democrats away from Obama.... I swear if Santorum gets the nomination its going to be the biggest landslide in an election ever.

I seriously doubt even the establishment allowing Frothy to get the nomination. No matter how much money they pour behind him, he would probably win 8> states in the general, and the establishment knows that.

I think we want Santorum to win this one though, but I'm torn. Mittens needs to lose to really make people further doubt him, which would help us in VA...but with Frothy winning he re-gains some of that momentum you would've imagined he lost from the debate, and may push him over in WA? Regardless, obviously we would love for Ron to win, but eventually Mitt will regain and permanately keep front runner status and imo, we need as many delegates to go to grinch and froth as we can until then (in the states we can't win, or are winner take all).

[mosquitobite]

Santorum is done after tonight.

Those CNN clips of DEMs talking about how Santorum = "weakest" are going to be turned into commercials and Santorum is going to sink like a rock.

The question becomes, will Ron be able to fill in the vacuum.

Someone get confirmation of the fact that he was robo-calling Dems and add it to that ^ and he will NEVER hold political office as a republican again.

[mosquitobite]

I seriously doubt even the establishment allowing Frothy to get the nomination. No matter how much money they pour behind him, he would probably win 8> states in the general, and the establishment knows that.

I think we want Santorum to win this one though, but I'm torn. Mittens needs to lose to really make people further doubt him, which would help us in VA...but with Frothy winning he re-gains some of that momentum you would've imagined he lost from the debate, and may push him over in WA? Regardless, obviously we would love for Ron to win, but eventually Mitt will regain and permanately keep front runner status and imo, we need as many delegates to go to grinch and froth as we can until then (in the states we can't win, or are winner take all).

The establishment doesn't care if Obama wins.

Do the power players within the republican party? Sure.

But they're not the king makers. That's Goldman Sachs - and they.don't.care.

[Emperius]

Also, why the hell isn't Ron getting the evangelical vote? He's a protestant, and the evangelical vote goes to Catholics(grinch/froth)? Thought these guys vote for their own, no matter how bad the candidate?

[mosquitobite]

Also, why the hell isn't Ron getting the evangelical vote? He's a protestant, and the evangelical vote goes to Catholics(grinch/froth)? Thought these guys vote for their own, no matter how bad the candidate?

James Dobson (Focus on the Family) has supported Santorum. A bunch follow him.

[Emperius]

The establishment doesn't care if Obama wins.

Do the power players within the republican party? Sure.

But they're not the king makers. That's Goldman Sachs - and they.don't.care.'

True that, I should've said the GOP establishment. I know the true elites really don't give a fck who wins because they will get their way anyways, but for the GOP, I'm sure they know it will be a disaster for the future of the party.

[alucard13mmfmj]

CNN said that Romney is in big big trouble if he doesnt win Michigan. lolz. I wonder if that'll be true.

[devil21]

Someone get confirmation of the fact that he was robo-calling Dems and add it to that ^ and he will NEVER hold political office as a republican again.

CNN played the robocall on the air a few times and it ends with "Paid for by Rick Santorum for President". Seems legit though I don't know if that's a PAC or Santorum's actual campaign.

[wgadget]

Romney just took the lead with 19% in. 41-38

[Agorism]

The math based on the exit polls:

Romney: 40%
Santorum: 37%

Could be MITT...

[JJ2]

We needed Romney to CRUSH Santorum. Stupid dem voters made it close. :(

[MozoVote]

Santorum is spreading :rolleyes: all over the Michigan maps though. Looks like he will get some delegates from the congressional districts even if Romney wins the popular vote.

[Agorism]

exits

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/exits-show-dems-gave-small-boost-santorum-mi/399941

[Matthanuf06]

The establishment doesn't care if Obama wins.

Do the power players within the republican party? Sure.

But they're not the king makers. That's Goldman Sachs - and they.don't.care.

You give Goldman way too much credit. Sure they try to buy influence, but so does nearly every major player out there. The issue is truly that our political system is set up to be bought and our politicians want to be bought. Blaming the corporations for doing what they need to do to survive is ridiculous.

[abruzz0]

Looks like we're at a solid 11%...Santorum beating Romney cuz of them dems. Oh well, whatever. This is such a ridiculous dog and pony show.

Encouraging note: Saw a guy holding up a Ron Paul sign at the busy intersection in my town today. Honked and yelled YEEEEAH RON PAUL at him.

[mosquitobite]

I posted the article from the OP on my facebook and a registered democrat friend confirmed Santorum's campaign called her TWICE.

[QWDC]

If this ends up working for Santorum, I wonder if we will see more of this in primary elections in 2016 going forward

[JorgeStevenson]

It must have really hit home with them that Rick Santorum puts party over principle.

[alucard13mmfmj]

I wonder if they will do this in other states.. if so... man oh man this is bad. I think we are all awed at why people vote for Santorum.... We can understand Romney and maybe Newt, but not Santorum -.-.

[Jingles]

Every Democrat I have talked to during this election wants Ron Paul to be the nominee for they always tell me that they would rather have Paul as president than any of the other Republicans. Even if they don't vote for him in the end, they would prefer him if he were to win the presidency than the others. We did some tabling on campus today and I found every democrat to be like this. Virginia Tech in general is very pro-Paul. I'm on a college campus and I have yet to debate a single marxist, communist, socialist, social democrat, or whatever. Any leftist I have encountered just want to support Ron Paul.

Although a friend and I ended having to debate a Rick Santorum supporter (I was amazed that such person existed on a college campus) for over an hour. It was a terrible experience, well more extremely frustrating. His points were:

-I actually believe Rick Santorum regarding economic issues even though he plan does nothing to reduce the debt (and was absolutely convinced it did)
-Voting record doesn't matter.
-We should never have taken any troops out of Iraq because we went in to kill the al-queda that didn't exist there until after the invasion.
-Eliminate like all domestic spending, but instead of addressing the debt at all use that money to BOMB ALL THE COUNTRIES
-Was convinced we actually declared war on Iraq
-Bombing abortion clinics and murdering people isn't a crime
-All muslims hate America and just can't wait to blow themselves up
-Iran can somehow blow up the entire planet with 1 single nuclear weapon
-Did not even denounce fascism when we brought up corporate/government partnerships that Santorum advocates. In fact when we brought up the term he was rather more supportive of fascism (seriously)
-We need to impose Christianity on all Americans via the force of law.
-Believed the debt is a problem, but somehow it is possible to spend unlimited trillions of dollars bombing the globe. Suddenly, economics does not apply to government here.
-Thought blaming government policies was blaming America.
-Somehow thought Obama was anti-war

My god this list can go on forever. I just wanted to bash my head into a wall. It wasn't like he was a soft supporter or whatever. It was bad. He was a true believer and I've never met a single person on a college campus like him. He also had a massive unibrow (maybe that is why he was so angry).

[digitaldean]

For some reason 3,000 people voted for Rick Perry in Hillsdale County.

http://www.google.com/elections/ed/us/results/2012/gop-primary/mi

It is on the north middle bottom area.

[James Madison]

http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/primaries/epolls/mi

Some gems:

Rick Santorum captured 53% of self-identified democrats (10% of the electorate), 46% of those who strongly support the Tea Party Movement, and 45% of those who strongly oppose the Tea Party Movement (12% of the total electorate).

In a state like Michigan, getting a 6% bump from dems equates up to 50,000-votes....more than enough to have put Ron above the needed 15% threshold. Fuck you, Michael Moore.

[digitaldean]

For some reason 3,000 people voted for Rick Perry in Hillsdale County.

http://www.google.com/elections/ed/us/results/2012/gop-primary/mi

It is on the north middle bottom area.

Did anyone else see this when I posted it? It now says Paul has 309 votes when before it had Paul at 4rd and Perry at 3rd with around 3,400....odd.

[FriedChicken]

I'm looking forward to rubbing this in Santorums face as a shame. I'm sure the media will as well.
Dems really screwed this one for us I believe, but there are still scenarios where it could work to our advantage that are realistic.

This makes Santorum into the biggest joke so far IMO.

[Vanilluxe]

Despite the Democrat turnover, Romney is winning by 30,000 votes, pretty hard to turn over...

[MozoVote]

Vote for GOP Nominee in November?

...................................Gingrich...Paul ...Romney..Santorum
Definitely ........................ 8% ....... 5% .... 50% ..... 36%
Probably .......................... 10% ...... 20% ... 26% ..... 41%
Only if My Candidate Wins ......... 3% .......40% .....28% ..... 26%

[angelatc]

Yeah, Ron usually wins Dems, such as there are, but there are fewer, and voting for civil liberties and against war. Neither come with the Santorum package.

Can you imagine the outrage the Republicans would express if the Ron Paul campaign was robocalling Dems to GOTV?

[Agorism]

@DanRiehl: romney 9 delegates to 7 for Santo with 83% in

[BrandonF]

I'm tired of this Santorum Surge. And these Dems aren't helping one bit.