Republicans: 'The Mighty Mitt is Falling'
After his spectacular loss to Rick Santorum in the Minnesota, Missouri, and Colorado caucuses, some Republicans have questioned their faith in Mitt Romney, the man many call "the eventual nominee."
Romney, who spent a considerable amount of campaign finances winning states like New Hampshire, Florida, and Nevada, could have cemented his nomination with last night's caucuses, but instead, it has put fresh doubt into many Republicans' minds.
"The Romney bandwagon just went in a ditch," tweeted David Gergen, a former advisor to Presidents Nixon and Reagan, and a political analyst for CNN.
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"God Bless Santorum. Conviction beats electability," agreed Erick Erickson, a conservative contributor to RedState.com.
GOP reactions to Romney's stunning demonstrate the potential for Santorum to do serious damage to the frontrunner's campaign. However, the former Pennsylvania senator still might not get the media attention and financial boost that a win of this magnitude should garner.
"There are no delegates won tonight; but there is a new winner. Just watch the boost the press gives Santo- for a day or two," wrote Ari Fleischer, former White House Secretary for President George W. Bush.
Although Santorum may have solidly won Missouri and Minnesota and edged by Romney in Colorado, critics view Tuesday's events less as a victory for Santorum, and more as a failure on Romney's part- especially when the former CEO spent $30 million more than his opponents.
"Rick Santorum has now won more states than Romney has and spent 30 million less doing it," tweeted Craig Robinson, known as IowaGOPer.
"To be clear, I still thinks (sic) Romney will win the nomination. But, if he can lose Colorado, he can lose almost anywhere," concurred Philip A. Klein of The Washington Examiner via his Twitter account.
Romney technically didn't lose anything last night, though. The caucuses of the three states were nonbinding, meaning delegates will actually be chosen later. Still, the significance of the events should not be taken lightly: Romney won Colorado with 60 percent of the vote in 2008, but this time he lost.
The uncertainty surrounding Republican support behind any one candidate is a cause for concern, especially in the face of Romney's campaign, who has pushed the idea of Mitt being the only "electable" choice to defeat President Obama in a head-to-head.
Tuesday's contest could be perceived as a sign of weakness, though, with the chance for Santorum, Newt Gingrich, or even Ron Paul to clinch victory.
Perhaps R.C. Hammond, Gingrich's press secretary, summed it up best.
"The mighty Mitt is falling," he tweeted.
