With the Iowa Caucuses 24 hours away, it is very clear that with all of the public opinion polls that have taken place in the past six months, that again, while they are interesting and good discussion pieces, it does not guarantee that what these polls claim are the views of the voters will actually work out in practice.
Who would have thought that former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, long regarded as insignificant and having no chance to win, is now in a position of possibly ending up winning the Iowa Caucuses? His surge the past week has come at precisely the right time with the actual vote about to occur!
But when one hears that possibly 41 percent of those who intend to vote are not settled on who to back, it proves once again the fickle and confused nature of many voters, possibly more so in a tough time economically as we are experiencing, due to the collapse of the economy in 2008 and since.
So a good looking, friendly, warm candidate who comes across as genuine and real, as Rick Santorum does, suddenly has a real shot at winning the GOP Presidential nomination.
This does not mean that progressives should be happy at Santorum being the possible winner in Iowa, and having a good chance to be the candidate of the Republican Party. He appeals to social conservatives, highly religious voters, due to his stand against gay rights in all forms and details; his total anti abortion stands from the beginning of his political career; and his decision to home school his seven children.
The point is that Santorum might come across on the surface as a “nice” guy who is accessible, does not dodge questions from voters, looks at people he is speaking to with a direct eye on them, and appears more sincere in his views than anyone, and far less of a “flip flopper” than possibly anyone in the race.
But not only Mitt Romney, the supposed GOP front runner, but also Barack Obama, needs to be aware that a Santorum candidacy is a threat to the mainstream of the nation and the Republican Party!
If he is nominated, he should, in theory, with his extreme right wing views, the most since Barry Goldwater in 1964, be easy for Barack Obama to defeat.
To believe, however, that Santorum would be easy to defeat, could be a fatal error on the part of the Democratic Party and President Obama!
Instead, a possible Rick Santorum Presidency MUST be seen as a “clear and present danger” to the achievements of the New Deal, the Great Society, and the reforms in the 20th century brought about by both Democratic and Republican Presidents!
Rick Santorum would be a danger to women, African Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, immigrants of all backgrounds, gays and lesbians, the environment, government regulation of business, a fair tax system, labor rights, a fair balance in the federal courts including the Supreme Court, and American foreign policy with the threat of more foreign wars in the name of fighting what Santorum would call “Islamofascism”!
So no one should take the possible candidacy of Rick Santorum for President as something to dismiss or ignore. That would be at the threat and danger to too many groups and issues!