How to vote
Michigan’s presidential primary is Tuesday. Polls open statewide at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Because this is a “closed primary,” voters will be required at the polling site to indicate which party’s primary they wish to vote in, and they then will receive that party’s ballot. Voters do not need to be a registered member of a political party to cast a ballot. Voters who wish to vote only on local ballot questions, and there are a handful of local issues on the ballot, may request a ballot that does not include presidential candidates. Those who wish to obtain a sample ballot, find their polling site or determine whether they are registered to vote can visit www.Michigan.gov/vote or www.Michigan.gov/elections for more information. Source: Michigan Secretary of State
That is quoted from the
Lansing State Journal. Thus, my Michigander friends, you are now T-minus approximately 44 hours before you get a chance to vote and extend the Republican nominating process. You know what you have to do!
Here in South Carolina, where Republicans are crazier but not nearly as rich as Michigan GOPers, I did every legal thing that I could to extend the Republican nominating process. It worked! My guy -- while holding my nose -- was Newt Gingrich. (You can blame me, in part, for the ads on this site showing his chubby mug with the words, "South Carolina Elects Presidents. Donate."). You're welcome.
Think back, way back before the South Carolina Primary. I want you to travel back 47 days to the night that Mitt Romney celebrated his glorious win in New Hampshire. He had just destroyed his main rivals, while Ron Paul finished a distant second, followed by Jon Hunstman. Did you forget that? Huntsman was apparently a candidate way back then. The day after his New Hampshire victory, the New York Times was reporting that Romney had a solid 32-24-20 lead over Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum in South Carolina, and the Times predicted that Romney would get a "modest bump."
Of coures, then South Carolina happened. Newt won, and the Romney march to the nomination was halted at Fort Sumter. But what would've happened if Romney had won in South Carolina? He would've strung together an apparent victory in Iowa, with a win in New Hampshire, and then wins in South Carolina and Florida. In my opinion, he would be the nominee by now.
And, if that were the case, we would never have seen Romney's negatives skyrocket, and he would not have had to spend tens of millions of dollars to neuter Newt and additional millions to sanitize Santorum. Hold your nose:
Several news reports have said the Romney campaign and the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future have spent approximately $15.4 million on TV and radio ads in Florida based on data from Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group.
CMAG would not answer our specific questions about their data since PolitiFact is not one of their clients. We could not find a total dollar figure for how much Romney spent through Jan. 31 on negative ads.
However, the president of CMAG, Kenneth Goldstein, told the Daily Beast that the 2012 primary was "the most negative election ad atmosphere I've ever seen."
"I have absolutely never seen television advertising so negative in a Republican presidential primary," he added.
The Daily Beast reported that 92 percent of spending on behalf of Romney was negative.
The above block quote is from the Tampa Bay Herald/Miami Times as they collaborate with PolitiFact Florida. (Yes, I have to hold my nose to use this as well, but you know, if anything, they're
minimizing Romney's expenditures in Florida. And yet, Mitt Romney and his PAC had to spend tens of millions of dollars, and by going negative, Romney's dropped his
unfavorability numbers massively.).
Additionally, besides the money spent, there's the opportunity costs to Romney. He's trying to attack President Obama, but his attacks are a sideshow that barely spark the spectators' interest in the three-ring circus that is the Republican nominating process. Moreover, there's also the fact that the Democratic Party, OFA and others have not had to spend money on the General Election yet. They're chomping on the bit and offering some pointed ads here and there, but they haven't had to spend the money that Romney (and his donors) have had to spend. There is a large reservoir for donations among the banksters and energy companies, but it is not endless, and the longer the process takes, the sooner we find that limit.
If Mitt Romney wins in Michigan and Arizona, he'll probably still face some setbacks in the South during Super Tuesday -- I think. On the other hand, if Santorum wins Michigan, we have Thunderdome. I vote for Thunderdome.