Crowley Political Report is hearing rumors that Rick Santorum will drop out of the presidential campaign if he does poorly in South Carolina. Santorum would have to have a pretty miserable night to give up that quickly and he seems like the type who will not quit unless he is completely convinced that the nomination is out of reach.
Meanwhile, Santorum is scheduled to appear Sunday at the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach which is led by the controversial Rev. O'Neal Dozier. The pastor has expressed some very strong views about threats from Muslims, gay marriage, and Mormon beliefs.
After Santorum's visit to the Worldwide Christian Center he is going to nearby Coral Springs for a stop at Wings Plus.
This week, Florida celebrated the 35th anniversary of a very snowy day that reached all the way down to South Florida. Which got Crowley Political Report wondering - does Rick Santorum have a snowball's chance of winning the Sunshine State Republican primary?
Santorum has become a bit of a hard luck candidate.
Imagine what the pundits would have been saying before New Hampshire if Iowa had been able to count the votes correctly.
He would have been the candidate of the hour. Yup, the talking heads would have made more of a 34-vote Santorum win than an 8-vote Romney win. Santorum winning would have been big news. Losing by 8 votes - not so much.
And, as much as Santorum has tried, he has simply been unable to catch the imagination of CNN, MSNBC, FOX and the others.
He is ponderous in debates and often comes across as a nerd with a temper. He has neither the faux-presidential demeanor of Mitt Romney nor the quick mind and acid tongue of Newt Gringrich.
The past 12 months have been an incredible time for professional commentators - they have got almost nothing right. So who knows what surprises are in store.
Voters are feeling uncertain and ornery. And now, perhaps a bit weary and depressed. None of the candidates has been particularly inspiring to their fellow Republicans.
After Thursday night's debate, Santorum got little attention. Most of the focus was on Gingrich for brushing back CNN's John King over questions about Gringrich's relationship with an ex-wife. Some commentators compared the moment to Ronald Reagan's famous outburst - "I am paying for this microphone Mr. Green" - at the 1980 Nashua Telegraph debate.
Crowley Political Report was at the Reagan debate with George H.W. Bush. Reagan was much better than Gingrich. Judge for yourself below.
But first, back to the question - does Santorum have a snowball's chance in Florida? Yes. But the snow didn't last on the ground for more than a few hours in 1977, and Santorum may have to push past either Gingrich or Mitt Romney in South Carolina if he doesn't want to melt here.
(Note: in the video Reagan says Mr. Green. The moderator's name was actually Jon Breen.)
Geezzzz. Just after Crowley Political Report tells you that Rick Santorum is getting serious about Florida, Mitt Romney's favorite Super PAC - Restore Our Future - launches a new 30-second ad featuring Santorum
With Newt Gingrich campaigning in Florida today and Rick Santorum announcing his Florida campaign team, it would appear that these folks are far from ready to concede the Republican nomination for president to Mitt Romney.
In a media release from his campaign, Santorum says, "I am thrilled to announce this great team of Floridians who have joined the fight for conservatism and a restoration of our founding principles.
Through Jesse and Michael's leadership, I have no doubt that this talent team will successfully get our hopeful and positive message of a better America out to all Floridians. I look forward to working with them as we build the operation for our team to win the Florida Primary."
You may be wondering - who are Jesse and Michael? That is explained in the rest release:
Florida Rick Santorum for President Chairman:
Jesse Biter will serves as Florida Chairman of the Rick Santorum for President campaign. Biter is the President/CEO of Biter Enterprises, LLC., a Florida-based management firm. From his Sarasota office, Biter oversees diverse assets in Information Technology, Real Estate, Marketing, and Transportation. The centerpiece of Biter's organization is Dealers United. Before starting Dealers United, he founded HomeNet Automotive and grew the company from zero employees and one dealer to over 135 employees and more than 18,000 dealers, before selling the company to AutoTrader in 2010. Jesse has been actively involved in Florida Republican politics and has assisted in the campaigns of Mike Huckabee for President, U.S. Congressman Vern Buchanan, Florida Governor Rick Scott. Jesse, his wife Katie and his two daughters reside in Sarasota Florida.
Maybe it's a Sid Dinerstein curse. Poor Sid had lined up Herman Cain to be his keynote speaker for the Jan. 28, Palm Beach County Lincoln Day Dinner.
Dinerstein had every reason to be thrilled. Cain was on a roll and the party could count on Cain bringing in lots of folks willing to pay $195 to hear him speak.
Cain implodes.
Dinerstein needs a new speaker. Now this shouldn't be hard. The dinner is just three days before the Florida presidential primary.
Not bad timing.
Dinerstein reeled in New Gingrich.
Looked great. Gingrich was hot. His poll numbers climbing.
Uh oh.
Gingrich was slaughtered in Iowa and now some wonder if he will still be a candidate by the time Florida's primary rolls around.
Crowley Political Report suspects Gingrich will still draw a crowd no matter what happens to his campaign.
But if Gingrich is out of the race, well, it just won't be the same for Sid.
