'Inevitability' gets deep fried in Alabama, Mississippi

[ProSense]

'Inevitability' gets deep fried in Alabama, Mississippi

By Steve Benen

Mitt Romney had vowed to win Alabama, expected to put up a strong showing in Mississippi, and invested heavily to excel in yesterday's Deep South primaries. In effect, the former governor placed an expensive bet, assuming that victories here would end the nominating race altogether.

As the dust settled, it became clear that Romney lost that bet.

The night belonged to Rick Santorum, who eked out narrow wins in both Alabama and Mississippi, despite being outspent, and despite lacking meaningful campaign organizations. Looking ahead, the former senator can now plausibly make the case that the race for the Republican nomination is a two-person contest -- and given the GOP base's discomfort with and distrust of Romney, that's not a bad position to be in.

Newt Gingrich, meanwhile, staked his entire campaign on succeeding as a "son of the South" yesterday, and just last week, his spokesperson conceded these primaries were "must-win" contests. The former Speaker kept it close, but obviously came up short, effectively ending his campaign. Whether Gingrich formally drops out quickly remains to be seen, but as a practical matter, his ability to present himself as a credible contender disappeared last night.

And then there's Romney, the ostensible frontrunner. The night wasn't a total loss for the former governor -- he won Hawaii and the American Samoa caucuses, and picked up a fair number of delegates -- but after an aggressive effort in Alabama and Mississippi, he came in third in both.

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http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/14/10683187-inevitability-gets-deep-fried-in-alabama-mississippi

Rmoney FAIL!

[izquierdista]

1. It's a good thing the sun never sets on the American Empire

With all the support from those far-flung places, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, Diego Garcia, and Antarctica, Romney is sure to capture the nomination!

[ProSense]

3. Romney

need 1144 delegates to win the nomination. He has 489.

That's pathetic.

[Erose999]

2. It was running on Joey Scabs this morning that GinGrinch said he'd be in it til the convention...

of course it was also reported that his millionaire backer, Sheldon Adelson (sp?) was being sued for $375 million dollars over breech of contract involving some island casino somewhere.

[PassingFair]

4. Religion.

Mormon can't win down there...

They'll vote for him over a black man, however, in the election.

[Aerows]

5. No one that knows anything

about these two states EVER believed his candidacy would fly here. It's not going to fly in Louisiana, either, and he's going to have serious problems in Texas - which has a massive amount of delegates.

Baptists and Evangelical Christians will not go for him because he's Mormon, and they view them as cult members (which they are - sorry, I've lived in the South all of my life, and that's how I view them, too). He stuck is foot in it with many Southerners over the whole "cheesey grits, ya'll" routine because it just emphasizes how phony he is.

I honestly think it's going to drag out until the end. And the longer it drags out, the better. The lack of enthusiasm for Romney is going to hurt Republicans at the polls because many of them just won't vote. That's good for local and state seats, too.

[baldguy]

6. There was a "GOP strategist" guy on Bill Press this morning.

Saying that he was surprised that GOP primary voters wouldn't vote for their "strategic best interests".

It stuck me: If, at any point, they decided to vote in their own best interests THEY WOULDN'T BE VOTING REPUBLICAN!!

[Aerows]

7. They aren't "reason" voters

They are emotional voters.

[ladywnch]

8. it very simple: GOP voters have NO IDEA

what:

1. strategy even is
2. what their best interests are
3. or how to go about achieving them



If their fantasy literature doesn't tell them what to do they're lost.