Santorum Rising

Tonight the Iowa caucuses decision, which has no binding on the Iowa Republican Convention delegates, continued the ongoing effort to position a "true" conservative against the plodding Willard Mitt Romney. Into that role surged Rick Santorum, whose polls in Iowa until very recently were in the single digits. As far as the former Senator from Pennsylvania is concerned, he is among the most radical of the Tea Party irregulars on the issue of life-at-conception anti-abortion rights. He would be comfortable with such a law as that tried in Mississippi which stated that life begins at conception, that miscarriages would be investigated and would outlaw common types of artificial birth control. In his "victory" speech last night, he took pains to mention one of their children who has a birth defect who has survived 2 years past the usual life span of children with such problems. With "Bella", he has six other children "who love me unconditionally." I thought that to be a weird remark.

There is trouble in Republican primary land. Rick Perry, the Texas Governor who proved quite a dismal failure in the Republican Primary debates, is going home to Texas to lick his wounds and eventually to withdraw or put his campaign in neutral. In which other camp his supporters  will end up is the salient question. More indelicate to wonder is to which candidate all that Super PAC money which had been willing to spend money on his behalf is going.

Michelle Bachmann, Congresswoman from Minnesota, has not said she would step out, but for all realistic purposes she has. Again, where do her supporters turn? Ron Paul, considered by many to have had the Iowa caucuses sewn up, is alive and to some degree well. He has the dubious possibility to be the spoiler for Romney, since his voters are not generally seen as "values" voters.

So, onto New Hampshire most of them go. There Huntsman, former Governor of Utah, who is on the ballot there will have his one night stand. Romney, has spent much time there. His contiguous nominal home state of Massachusetts makes this supposedly an easy and a must win.  Santorum has been there 30 times since the summer. I figure Romney will win New Hampshire.

The state where Romney will have an uphill battle is the one which up until now anyway, has polled heavily in favor of the former House Speaker Neut Gingrich: South Carolina This state is also fertile ground for the likes of Rick Santorum; less so for Ron Paul. Romney has not done well there so far.