Iowhat?!

They were separated by 8 votes. EiGHT! Isn't that more of a victory for Santorum?

C'mon people- we can't let another sleazy Republican take away our chances at pro-life victory!

Vote Santorum. Look at who doesn't mind Romney: the pro-choice establishment. Because they know he won't threaten them. They all breathed a sigh of relief when they could declare Iowa a Romney victory. But the real winner is Santorum, who soldiers on, very calmly, very much in command of his moral integrity. He will bring that integrity to the fight with Obama, whose supporters will vitriolically declare their contempt for babies, and then we will see their true colors out loud. A vote for Obama will become a vote for abortion.

The American Papist agrees with my vote:

Santorum is in a very good place at this point because the main thing holding him back was the perception that he was unelectable. As more people support him, he begins to appear more electable, which in turn earns him more support, and so on.


Back in June of 2011 I wrote “The Catholic Case for Rick Santorum” in which I said:

“I think there is reason to believe Santorum may go farther than we’d expect this time around. [...and] If a Rick run catches fire, there is plenty of underbrush ready to catch flame.”

That prediction seems to be coming true now. Or at least, we’ll see how true it turned out to be after the results from today’s caucuses are known.

On a somewhat related note, I’ve been asked by readers to talk about Ron Paul and why I don’t more vocally support him. The fact is I don’t support him. I was interested in him during the 2008 campaign but what I’ve learned about his views since then, and frankly, what his supporters have made his campaign about this time around is a deal-breaker for me.

If Rick Santorum wins today — or places in the top three — it will be a very significant development. Why? Because Santorum has unabashedly led on the social issues throughout his campaign (Deacon Keith Fournier at CatholicOnline, a friend of Santorum’s, has eloquently been singing his praises for some time and in particular this week.). Rick has vigorously campaigned as a pro-life and pro-family candidate and his victory would show that GOP primary voters want to elect such a candidate, which I think would be a very good sign.