I have to admit I was shocked to hear that Rick Santorum was suspending his Presidential campaign before the Pennsylvania primary; I figured it would be afterwards.
Yes, I know last summer I called for an early exit by Santorum before he even hit his first campaign stop. But by September I was the only one outsider calling for him to contend and have Romney running for the Cayman bank account. Many called me crazy, but that blog caught the eye of many as Santorum kept rising.
If there was one thing about Santorum’s campaign, it was consistency, something the other campaigns lacked, well except for Pawlenty’s consistently boring short lived campaign.
Yes, the lack of money hurt Santorum, but he proved you can run a consistent campaign for the better part of 9 months with little funds and still draw crowds. But what hurt Santorum the most in the past 6 weeks was the lack of debate and the Media’s slice/dice reporting.
Santorum was consistent in his debates but once the debates stopped and the Media focused more on Social Issues such as Contraception & Abortion, they ended Santorum’s campaign by only focusing on topics that were about 1/8 of his stump, the stuff about Economy, Jobs, and Foreign Policy were left on the cutting room floor and drooled for his “Social Issues Warrior” moniker to arise.
Political theatre and the Media’s thirst for blood to lead the stories dealt Santorum’s campaign body shot after body shot. But he persevered each time, kept his chin up and stayed in the fight.
Hours after Santorum’s concession speech, many Pundits on the Right have complained that his exit was disgraceful because Santorum never mentioned Willard Romney nor GOP Party politics; he only talked about himself, his devoted family and his shoe string funded campaign.
How dare Santorum not tip his cap towards Willard Romney and his over bloated Wall Street-backed campaign!
Why should Santorum give any credence to Romney on a day that should be about the underdog pushing the “presumed” champion to the brink?
Why should Santorum tip his hat for pushing the GOP faithful into truly thinking about whom should represent the party’s ideals against Barrack Obama in November 2012?
Why should Santorum kowtow to Party politics and kneel before a candidate whose policies he has no faith in?
Santorum did the right thing today in how he presented his concession to Party constituents. He did not grovel for acceptance from Romney, something the likes of Pawlenty and Huntsman had done previously.
No, Santorum’s concession speech was correct in being about him, his family and his hard fought campaign. His speech was correct in how his family helped him carry through when he felt he should’ve been at home with young Bella
You can see the emotional strain in Santorum when he talks of his young daughter. You can tell that she is his everything, as any child should be to a parent whether or not there is a disability of any sort. And as a father myself, I wish all the best for the Santorum’s and for their daughter Bella. Stay strong Bella, you’re no underdog when you have a strong family supporting you.
Even though he may have failed to complete this campaign, Santorum proved he still has a place in American politics even after pundits and political hacks wrote him off in 2006. He has found his voice again and should remain relevant in the future in one form or another.
I raise a Guinness to Rick Santorum, his family, and campaign for their political perserence and making Willard Romney sweat his 6 year, multi-million dollar presidential campaign because we all know it would’ve been fun to see Willard lose after campaigning for so long.
Slap the Tap, Raise a Guinness, Fill the Peanut bowl and pay your Political tab.
This one’s for Spazzie Santorum
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