Romney Slayer (Gage Skidmore)
I tried three headlines trying to avoid the obvious Santorum jokes and failed. They're impossible to avoid.
But who cares! Republican voters in the West and Midwest just told their party to shove their presumptive nominee up their ... goddam it. I swear, I'm not TRYING to make Santorum jokes! But yeah, I'm giddy.
With victories in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri, Santorum can now boast four states to Romney's three, as well as strength in that romanticized "heartland". Romney's victories suddenly look less impressive -- New Hampshire (home field-ish advantage), Nevada (Mormons), and Florida (that one was legit).
Now in a twist of bizarreness, no delegates were awarded tonight, so Santorum doesn't get to boast any. But, he has decisively laid claim to Not-Mitt-Romney status. Gingrich was a joke, getting zero percent of the vote in Missouri, 11 percent in Minnesota, and 13 percent in Colorado. He's finished.
Ron Paul was also a joke. His big strategy of focusing on the caucus states netted him nothing -- a pathetic showing in Nevada, 12 percent in Colorado, and just 27 percent in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Santorum's 55 percent in Missouri was bigger than any victory claimed by Romney thus far.
So what comes next? Expect the GOP establishment to rake Santorum over the coals with an 8-figure negative ad campaign in Arizona (2/28), Michigan (2/28), and the Super Tuesday states (a week later). The attack will have something to do with earmarks, which quite frankly, doesn't seem like the kind of thing these GOP voters care about right now. They want a culture war, not a budget one, and only one candidate is left that can wage it.
Michigan is, yet again, home field advantage for Romney. But Arizona ... remember, that's the state of Barry Goldwater, the last state to recognize the MLK holiday, the state of SB 1070. They're frakin' nuts, and they're going to love Santorum. He wins that state, he has a serious boost heading into Super Tuesday.
Now he still suffers the problems of cash (or lack thereof) and organization. A week ago Santorum was bragging about having raised $200,000, which was hilariously quaint and charming -- not enough for a House race, much less a White House bid. But the GOP base doesn't seem to care anymore. They want blood, and now united behind a single candidate, they're ready to deliver some serious pain to their party establishment.
Or maybe not. Who the hell knows anymore in this crazy GOP clownshow. But one thing is for sure -- Romney's woes just got a lot bigger.