Trunkline 2012: Friday’s Campaign Trail News Wrap-Up from White House 2012 – 12/2/11

  On this day, Trunkline 2012 delivers to you a dose of suspense involving Herman Cain’s campaign and his personal life, Palin’s wink and nod to Rick Santorum, the case for Newt, questions about Ron Paul and antisemitism, a poll question, the final calendar dates for the Republican presidential primaries and caucuses, and much more.

• Wife’s verdict awaits Cain as he admits ‘friend’ was a secret
• Sarah Palin predicts Rick Santorum’s rise in Iowa
• Rare day in Iowa with no candidates campaigning
• Newt needs Cain to stay in the race
• PerryScope: Governor heading to New Hampshire this week
•  Donald Trump to moderate GOP debate
• Huntsman to skip Iowa debate
• The case for Newt Gingrich
• Is Ron Paul an anti-Semite
• Conservative opinionmakers rally around Romney
• The Republican presidential primary and caucus calendar
• Which Republican presidential candidate is most capable of beating President Obama in the presidential debates?

 

Sarah Palin Gives Rick Santorum Hope in Iowa

  Yesterday, White House 2012 was preparing a post about how in Iowa, Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann may throw a monkey wrench in to the plans of any perceived frontrunners. The piece will still soon be posted but before we had the chance to do that, Sarah Palin coincidentally broached the same topic.

Yesterday during an interview with Sean Hannity, Governor Palin pointed to Pennsylvania Rick Santorum as the type of consistent conservative who consistently delivers a conservative message that people will start considering in the next 32 days [see the video below this post] .

Not long after Palin’s remarks, Santorum used her comments as a fundraising tool in an email supporters .

Santorum’s email starts of with a quote about him from Palin during last night’s  interview:

“If voters start shifting gears and deciding they want ideological consistency, then they’re going to start paying attention to say, Rick Santorum.”

The letter goes on to say;

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said that last night on Fox News about me, and I wanted to make sure you heard about it as well.

I am grateful for those kind words from a strong conservative like Governor Palin.  And it’s becoming more clear that other conservatives are starting to rally around our message of passionate conservatism.

Later today, influential Iowa evangelical leader Pastor Cary Gordon will announce his support for me via text message to 788,000 registered voters in Iowa.  Pastor Gordon, a strong supporter of traditional marriage, is pastor of Sioux City, Iowa’s Cornerstone Church and president of PeaceMakers Institute.  This influential endorsement comes on the heels of the endorsement by leading New Hampshire conservative, Karen Testerman.

With just one month to go until the Iowa caucuses, conservatives are coming to the same conclusion:  We need to find a conservative alternative to the current frontrunners, and I have the record and passion to be that alternative. 

Palin’s positive assessment of him is probably one of the greatest breaks that his campaign has received.  In fact it is probably the only break his campaign has been given.  And as such, he would be wise to milk it for all its worth, and in many ways, it’s worth a lot.

With statements about Santorum such as, “He’s been consistent in wanting to protect the most vulnerable and the sanctity of life, he’s been consistent in saying we need to slash the federal income tax,” Sarah Palin, the queen of the TEA movement, just gave a wink and a nod to her supporters that indicated their support for Santorum has her stamp of approval.

Meanwhile, the person probably hurt by Palin’s tapping of Santorum, is Michele Bachmann.

If Palin is the queen of the TEA movement, Bachmann is the heiress to the throne and by overlooking her and pointing to Santorum, Palin essentially shifted the TEA Party’s attention away from Bachmann and put it on Rick.