• To nominate Mitt Romney;
• To effectively end the Republican nominating process as soon as possible.
• To effectively end the Republican nominating process as soon as possible.
Last night's results from Iowa lower the odds they will get either.
In fact, what we saw in Iowa last night was the Republican base gagging on the presidential candidate the Republican establishment is trying desperately to cram down their throats.
Romney -- and Republican Super PACs -- spent millions of dollars trying to convince Republican caucus-goers that Romney should carry the Republican banner next fall. But in the end, 75% said no. MSNBC's Chis Matthews went so far as to argue that Romney is being rejected by the Republican electorate the way a body rejects foreign tissue.
In fact, most rank and file Republicans are so repulsed by Romney that they have test-driven virtually every possible alternative in the show room. Rick Santorum's turn came just at the right time to catapult him into the position of the "anti-Romney" -- giving him the right to carry the anybody-but-Romney banner in the battle ahead.
[I]t doesn't help -- even with rank and file Republicans -- that Romney is, in fact, the candidate of the Republican establishment -- which, let us remember, is basically Wall Street and the CEO class. Romney is the poster boy for the 1%. He is the cold, calculating guy who made his fortune dismantling companies and laying off workers. He is a guy whose painted-on smile is set in concrete as he hands you your pink slip. Mitt Romney is about as empathetic as a rock."Read more: Iowa Results Bad News For GOP Robert Creamer
