02-15-2012, 05:22 PM
The other problem for Romney is fundraising, believe it or not. He has relied on a small handful of very wealthy donors who each give the maximum $2,500. He's running out of people to ask for money, and word is that wealthy people don't like being asked for money by somebody as individually wealthy as Mitt Romney. They also don't want to throw good money into something that starts to look uncertain, which will be the case if Romney somehow loses his "home state" of Michigan. There is super PAC money, but that money can't be spent directly by the campaign; Romney's fundraising numbers will be made public.
Sure he could self-fund, to some extent, but that looks really bad to most voters. Donations aren't just money, they are messages of voter confidence and support.
As Nate Silver mentions, Romney has focused less on retail politics and he's not as good at that as Rick Santorum. And Romney doesn't seem to have the electability issue on his side any longer now that his poll numbers have fallen against the President, that was about all he had going for him, that plus lots of money.
I do think the disdain Romney has shown both for union workers and for the auto industry in general is going to bite him; if Santorum can pivot away from the social issues stuff and focus on his connection with blue collar workers, he might pull if off.
Sure he could self-fund, to some extent, but that looks really bad to most voters. Donations aren't just money, they are messages of voter confidence and support.
As Nate Silver mentions, Romney has focused less on retail politics and he's not as good at that as Rick Santorum. And Romney doesn't seem to have the electability issue on his side any longer now that his poll numbers have fallen against the President, that was about all he had going for him, that plus lots of money.
I do think the disdain Romney has shown both for union workers and for the auto industry in general is going to bite him; if Santorum can pivot away from the social issues stuff and focus on his connection with blue collar workers, he might pull if off.