Romney Wins Florida Primary by Double Digits - Time for the GOP Mudfest to Stop!?! Plus Florida Showdown ‘Watchers Council’ Nomination Edition

The major double digit blowout in the Sunshine State’s Primary with Mitt Romney crushing Newt Gingrich 46.4% to 31.9%, with Rick Santorum taking 13.4% and Ron Paul bringing up the rear with 7% reflects a basic underlying fear that voters have of nominating former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Rick Santorum or Ron Paul) and a realization that no matter what else, ROMNEY'S EDGE IS ELECTABILITY

Many agree that Newt is brilliant, has creative ideas (although some will argue too many and often not realistic), as well as his way with words and ability to debate are all positives and alluring but in the end they worry that he will come across as too vociferous to voters and will cost the Republican Party the presidency and more importantly the opportunity to make Barack Obama a one-term president as well as our only opportunity to over-turn ObamaCare, which is too much of a gamble.

Women, in particular, worry that Gingrich’s personal baggage may impair his ability to defeat Barack Obama in November.  Instead, both genders are coming to feel that it is better not to take a chance and to vote for Mitt Romney, the more electable of the two.  Women overall abandoned Gingrich for Romney by a 22 point spread, and married women dumped Newt by an almost two-to-one margin in Florida, Gingrich 28% to Romney's 51%. 

Among Hispanics, Romney crushed Gingrich, taking 54% of that vote to Gingriches' 14%.

When asked which candidate had the best chance to defeat President Obama, according to the exit poll data Romney got 58%. Only 33 percent of those voters said they supported Gingrich.

Newt Gingrich barely managed to hold on to Evangelicals, 39% to Romney's 36%.

It is becoming increasing evident that voters are right in judging that Romney would have a better chance to defeat Obama than Newt would.  But they are probably wrong in thinking that Newt couldn't win.  Either man - or even Santorum for that matter - could and would defeat Obama in November (see Gallup poll below).  The basic Party shift (minus 8 for Dems and plus 3 for Republicans) pre-ordains Obama's defeat. (Some polls even show Ron Paul beating Obama.)  Voters should not hesitate to support the nominee they want for fear that Obama might win.  However once the primaries are over, it is essential that everyone comes together and votes for the GOP nominee.  Not voting or voting for 3rd party candidates will guarantee 4-more years of Obama and the end of the hope to have ObamaCare overturned.

The Romney nomination would, however, make the general election a much easier road for the GOP, for clearly, Romney would have the better shot at the presidency.  His record and what right-wing conservatives consider flip-flops encourage independents, moderates and disenfranchised Democrats that he can and might reach across the aisle and that he knows how to compromise and bring people together; the lack of which being what they see as what is wrong with Congress and politics in general.

Politicians and pundits in both parties divide between those who feel the best way to win is to rev up the base, which is what Sarah Palin has been doing by telling voters to vote for Newt to keep the race going, and those who want to maximize their appeal to swing voters.  Dick Morris recently discussed this from his experience in the Clinton White House, where he faced just such battles with the liberals -- like Leon Panetta, George Stephanopoulos, and Harold Ickes -- who insisted that ideological purity and fervor were the ways to come back after the Democratic defeat of 1994.

Morris, like most campaign advisors and operatives, disagrees with the purity argument and feels the swing voter is almost always the key to victory.  He says Obama's election in 2008 was not a product of ideological extremism.  On the contrary, it was marked by a decided ‘cover-up’ of ideology and a showcasing of a phony sense of moderation and bi-partisanship which were the last things on Obama's mind.

Romney will repeal Obamacare and will appoint pro-life judges.  But his past moderation gives independent voters the feeling that he understands their points of view and will moderate his pursuit of both objectives.

Of course, that is precisely Newt Gingrich's point, and on that Newt is right.  If a voter wants to be absolutely, one hundred percent sure that a new Republican president will walk the tea party line, he or she would do better to vote for Gingrich or Santorum.  But could either get elected?  Many voters obviously wonder.

The safer vote is for Romney.  He has the best chance of beating Obama and of wiping out his policies.  The ideologically pure vote is for Santorum.  The candidate who can best energize the base and wage an aggressive head-on campaign is Gingrich. And the candidate of change in this election is Ron Paul, not Obama.  Obama will now just take us further down the Progressive rabbit hole to European style socialism… or worse.

So now the question is, if Romney wins in Nevada, Arizona and Michigan as expected and perhaps a few others, will the GOP start to coalesce around a single candidate or continue the food-fight, draining everyone’s coffers needed to fight Obama and damaging the ability of the party to heal.  So will Newt do what is best for the party… as he has previously asked Perry and Santorum to do?

If the speeches after yesterday’s primary are an example, it is questionable:

Newt Gingrich's reaction was to promise a scorched earth campaign no matter what the cost, and to continue to have the nerve to call for the other candidates to get out of the race so that "Newt Gingrich, the conservative alternative can defeat the Massachusetts moderate." (Course earlier he was calling Romney a Massachusetts liberal… so I guess that was Newt’s concession.) And yes, he's talking about himself in the third person now... at least for that bit of grandiosity. (I hope Rick Santorum, a far better man takes over Gingrich's number two spot fairly soon.)

Governor Romney, on the other hand, attempted to repair some of that damage in his victory speech, focusing on President Obama, calling for unity in the battle ahead and graciously giving a shout out to his rivals. (Gingrich never even congratulated Romney in his concession speech and from what we have heard never called him after his victory in Iowa, Florida, or New Hampshire.)

Santorum mad a short but positive speech at his headquarters in Nevada telling supporters that his young daughter, Bella, is doing better and thanking everyone for their good wishes. He then went on to reiterate that he will not be entering the candidate food fight, although several observers said he might have to stay in the race.  For after all, campaigns run negative ads because they work.

Ron Paul, as always, was very positive about the change his movement is making and the effect his followers were having.  For Paul, although he’d love to win, it is the message and the movement that matters.  Paul hopes to help the country move back to the Constitution and limited government. He barely participated in Florida so didn’t expect to do any better.

Both Ron Paul and Mitt Romney have had a presence in Nevada since the 2008 Election so there is a possibility that Romney could win with Paul coming in at #2 and Rick Santorum just picked up an endorsement from Dr. Dobson, which should help him!

The craziness from the leftist media and Newt Gingrich has already started again…

Mitt Romney is again being hit by a sound bite taken out of context and a replay of Newt’s Florida ads:

Newt is still playing his ad about the Kosher Food: HERE

And in a interview earlier today Romney said, “I am not concerned with the very poor because we have a safety net for them.  And I am not concerned with the very rich because they are doing fine.  I am concerned with the very heart of America, the 90 to 95% in the middle.  But if there are holes in the safety net for the poor, I will repair them!”

Of course the leftist media and Newt are playing and repeating Mitt’s statement leaving out the last line:  “But if there are holes in the safety net for the poor, I will repair them.”.  (This is a man who gave over 4 million dollars to charity and his church last year… he cares about the poor!).

**My husband I have just gone through a year of Hell trying to get a new business off the ground.  Many of the issues were caused by problems in the system and never ending new government regulations.  We have invested all we had to make this business go, and there were a couple times this past year that we almost ended up on the street.  Mitt is right… there is a safety net for the very poor but there really is no safety net for middle class people without small children temporarily in need.

After losing in Florida yesterday, sore loser Newt now has filed a memo with the RNC to go back and change Florida from a winner take all primary to a proportional (delegate split) primary.  (More whining and crying from old Newt… the debate audience was too quiet, the debate audience was too loud and now after the fact… Florida should have been a proportional primary, blah blah blah, wah wah wah!)  I was a Sarah Palin supporter when this entire process began and I have not endorsed anyone since she decided not to run… but after the past few days, although I do feel that anyone is better than Obama, Newt is now my last choice!

Take your pick.  Despite the negative mud-slinging, the GOP has four very, very good men that provide voters a definite choice between each other and Barack Obama.

Charles Krauthammer said as part of the Florida primary wrap-up on Hannity for Fox, “Ann is Mitt’s Greatest Asset!”

Ask Marion~

Watcher's Council Nominations - Florida Showdown Edition

Ah, primary season is in full swing…

Welcome to the Watcher's Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the 'sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday.

This week's contest is dedicated to Isabella Santorum and little Elli - get well soon, we're pulling for you sweethearts.

Council News:
This week, Ask Marion, The Independent Sentinel and Capitalist Preservation took advantage of my generous offer of linkage and earned honorable mention status.  You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

Simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address ( which won't be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category, and return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week.

It's a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members. while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?
So, let's see what we have this week....

Council Submissions

• The Colossus of Rhodey – If you didn't know this was coming by now, you're living in a cave
• Joshuapundit-The New Egypt - Bankrupt And Sinking Fast
• The Noisy Room – Tantrum on the Tarmac
• Simply Jews – Wayne Madsen drops another... bombshell: Barack Obama outed as CIA creation
• New Zeal – Russia Today Hires WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange- Will the Kremlin Be Pleased?
• The Political Commentator – In a debate would John King ask Obama about this...? (Video)
• VA Right - Senator Janet Howell ‘Rectal Avenger’
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – The Saudi Persian War
• The Mellow Jihadi – Parading Vets: St Louis Vs. New York
• Bookworm Room – ObamaCare, the Catholic Church, and mandatory abortion payments
• The Razor – The Twisted Memory of Newt Gingrich
• Rhymes With Right – Presidents Are Not Kings; Americans No Obliged To Appear When He Beckons
• Right Truth – What's In A Name?
• The Right Planet – GOP: On Whose Side?
• The Glittering Eye -The History of Spaghetti and Marinara

Honorable Mentions

• The Independent Sentinel - Obama Signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty & Ceded Our Internet Rights to the UN
• Ask Marion - Hillary Leaving as Obama’s Eligibility Trial(s) Move Forward… Coincidence?
• Capitalist Preservation - A hiss is just a hiss, a lie is just a lie...

Non-Council Submissions

• Smithsonian.com – Revisiting the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Alisina.org – What Is My Identity? submitted by Joshuapundit
• Michelle Malkin –For Santorum submitted by The Noisy Room
• Terry Glavin – It's Not Funny Anymore submitted by Simply Jews
• American Thinker – The Civilized Man vs. the MTA Savages submitted by New Zeal
• Caroline Glick -The Zionist Imperative submitted by The Political Commentator
• Investor.com – Media Act As Though Only Republicans Misbehave submitted by VA Right
• The Reserve Officer – New Defense Strategy submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• The Kitchen Dispatch –Aloha, Sarge Charlie. Until We Meet Again submitted by The Mellow Jihadi
• Bill Whittle-The Vote Pumpsubmitted by Bookworm Room
• Via Meadia –Beyond Blue Part One: The Crisis of the American Dream submitted by The Razor
• Frontloading HQ – I'll see your white knight and raise you a filing deadline. Why It's Too Late for Entry in the Republican Nomination Racesubmitted by Rhymes with Right
• Blogbat -The Moon Is Made of Cheese, You Know submitted by Right Truth
• Bob Owens/PJ Media – New Emails Suggest Eric Holder Perjured Himself submitted by The Glittering Eye
• American Thinker – Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis submitted by The Right Planet
• Gates of Vienna – Breivik: Al Qaeda’s Man in Oslo? submitted by The Watcher

Also See: Gallop State Approval Numbers Predict an Obama Loss