“If Romney cannot win Michigan, we need a new candidate...we’d get killed in the general election."

[Amerigo Vespucci]

With recent polls showing Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney either trailing or at best tied with Rick Santorum in the Michigan primary, some Republican leaders are starting to get nervous.

One “prominent Republican senator” told ABC News senior political correspondent Jonathan Karl on Friday that “if Romney cannot win Michigan, we need a new candidate,” because with such a weak nominee “we’d get killed” in the general election.

He insisted that he expects Romney to eventually prevail in Michigan, but stated that “if he can’t even win in Michigan, where his family is from, where he grew up … he’d be too damaged” to run a successful presidential campaign.

The unidentified source also expressed the opinion that neither Rick Santorum nor Newt Gingrich would be an acceptable choice, because they would “lose 35 states,” and named former Florida Governor Jeb Bush as his preferred alternative.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/17/prominent-republicans-getting-nervous-about-romneys-chances/

[BumRushDaShow]

1. "He insisted that he expects Romney to eventually prevail"

Yeah just like how he "prevailed" in Maine. Massive election fraud. They are going to fake him right into the nomination!

[elleng]

2. Guess what, 'prominent Repug senator,' you're gonna get KILLED whichever clown you send up!!!

[romantico]

3. I

I thought I heard the GOP Can't select a new nominee because of the delegates. So, aren't they stuck with either Gingrich, Romney, or Santorum?

[Gore1FL]

6. It's basically this:

The GOP requires the nominee to get a total of 1144 (50% + 1) delegates to win the nomination.

This usually happens. One person nabs the 1144 (and more) and the convention is pretty much a dog and pony show.

If, going to the convention, none of the candidates have 1144, things can get interesting.

After several votes and deal-making they'll arrive at a candidate. This candidate will either come out of the field of existing candidates, or they may select a dark horse who was not in the race previously.

A dark horse would have problems. 1> The existing candidates would be opposed. 2> The Dark Horse would have to build a candidacy from the ground up an in two months define a working message, define Obama, and get (positive) name recognition and raise money.

It'll be a deal between two existing candidates that gets it done in all likelihood. (IMO)

[customerserviceguy]

4. With the purported Senator not being named

we have no idea who launched this trial balloon, and what they hope to gain by it. Most GOP'ers find Jebbie way too permissive on illegal immigration for their tastes. It wouldn't surprise me that someone would put the idea out there so that it could be deliberately shot down, to help boost support around Romney. If the alternative to accepting Mitt is having Jeb Bush foist himself on the convention, maybe Robot doesn't look so bad by comparison.

I still think that there's a serious chance that Santorum could practically run the table on Super Tuesday, leaving Romney only with Massachusetts, Virginia, and possibly Georgia (where Ricky is content to let Mittens batter the crap out of Noot once and for all) in the victory column. With MA being a home state, and only Romney and Paul on the VA ballot, those would be rather hollow wins, and with Santorum keeping his hands out of GA, wins in Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Vermont, and especially Ohio would be especially sweet for him.

After that, I don't see where Mitt wins outside of the Northeast (and Utah, of course) with Gingrich mortally wounded, and Santorum being the sole anti-Romney.

[bluestateguy]

5. They just don't learn, do they?

Another Bush on the ticket. Because 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2004 were not enough.

[Motown_Johnny]

7. Rmoney and his Super PAC already have lots of attack ads up

and most of them are using a clip of Santorum talking about how proud he was of the earmarks he put into bills for PA.

I guess we will just need to watch the polls and see if this works as well on Frothy as it did on Newt in FL.

[B Calm]

8. I think Jeb would be great too!

After All the name Bush carries a lot of weight, hee hee. . .