Rick Santorum Becomes Relevant

Fueled by a message of being the true conservative alternative to Barack Obama and a champion for religious freedoms, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum’s campaign gained enormous momentum.

With the votes still being counted Tuesday evening (February 7, 2012), the AP has declared Santorum the victor of the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses as well as the primary in Missouri. Comfortably, he will trump Romney in these states and, subsequently, gain tremendous support as Super Tuesday (March 6) suddenly gets interesting.

Calling himself the conservative alternative to President Obama has truly resonated with conservatives, the Tea Party, and Evangelicals. Leveraging the current administration’s public relations nightmare with the Catholic Church, Santorum reiterated freedom of religion and the crises our nation faces in the wake of government intervention. He went on to scold President Obama’s mandate forcing religious institutions to comply with birth control and sterilization services.

While the Romney camp may regard the losses in these states as inconsequential, it does provide a monumental lift for Santorum. As Charles Krauthammer noted on FOX News, Santorum became the singular candidate not only to trump the president’s fiscal policies but also his social agenda.

All this adds up to an enormous victory for Santorum and the far right. It’s a stunning turn of events for Romney and a blow to the hopes of Newt Gingrich.

However, it is also a sign that the issues still matter. With consistent debate performances and pointed attempts to define himself, Santorum has resonated with his anti-TARP, anti-Obamacare, and anti-big government intervention arguments.

With four weeks to go until super Tuesday where ten states and a host of delegates will be at stake, the Republican race is far from over. Two candidates, with two distinct positions will answer the bell.

“Tonight was a victory for the voices of our party,” exclaimed Santorum as he celebrated his triumph with supporters. Indeed, it was a big night for the far right.

As for Mitt Romney, he will lick his wounds and wonder what went wrong.

One thing is for certain – things just got a lot more interesting in the Republican race.

Sources:
Yahoo! news
foxnews.com

Robert Watkins is former investment professional and partner. He lives with his family in Glen Mills, Pa., and is a frequent contributor to Yahoo! News


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