Mitt Romney continues to catch one lucky break after another. It looks like all the anti-Romney voters of the GOP are poised to rally around the newest flavor of the month—Rick Santorum. At first blush, Rick Santorum actually seems more legitimate and credible than any of the previous 519 GOP frontrunners who emerged in 2011. Santorum served as a congressman and got himself elected twice statewide to the US Senate from the large, blue state of Pennsylvania.
But at second glance, Rick Santorum is an idiot who will not withstand the scrutiny of the media or the onslaught of sure-to-come negative ads form pro-Romney Super-PACs.
Here’s the big problem with the former Senator: Santorum is the kind of guy that if you show him an ink-blot test, his response to you is “get that picture of two fornicating homosexuals always from me.”
If you doubt me, look at the following Google search numbers when you pair “Rick Santorum” with other key words and phrases. This gives you a good idea of what the man thinks about, talks about, gives speeches about, and discusses in media interviews. It gives you an excellent sense of what his priorities would be as President.
“Rick Santorum” + “gay” 28,800,000 web pages
“Rick Santorum” + “homosexual” 42,200.000
“Rick Santorum” + “job creation” 243,000
“Rick Santorum” + “civil rights” 901,000
Rick Santorum” + “gay marriage” 1,380,000
Rick Santorum + “global warming” 886,000
Rick Santorum + “protect the environment” 18,100
Rick Santorum + “Equal rights” 5,320
Sure, you can make the case that the modern GOP is quite homophobic, but they prefer candidates who can be a little more subtle about things. There’s nothing subtle about Santorum; he seems like he’s crying out for help, (perhaps from some Marcus Bachmann therapy?)
The bottom line is that Santorum is going to be really easy for Team Romney to beat.
TJ Walker is the founder of AmericanLP.