Once again, I heard over the weekend about how a sizable number of powerful Democrats in Washington have really started to hope that Rick Santorum will win the Republican nomination. The thinking among these Dems is, of course, that good ol’ Satan-hating Santorum would be a lot easier to beat in the general election than Mitt the Mild. But I think those folks should quit putting that vibe out in the universe. Not that they’re not right about Santorum being easier to beat. Santorum would lose under almost any circumstances. But — and I hate to even say this — not under all circumstances. And there’s the rub.

Let’s do a thought experiment. First, let’s walk through the imaginary scenario that some Dems in Washington are hoping for: Mitt Romney makes one too many gaffes, and Crazy Ricky somehow pulls off an upset win. In that scenario, more and more attention turns to Santorum, and he keeps saying more and more of the kind of things he has already said. Things like all that stuff about Satan, that separation of church and state makes him want to throw-up, that public education is anachronistic, that the pursuit of happiness is harming America, that birth control is harmful to our society, and so on. There’s always a camera and a microphone to catch it, and people really begin to realize that this guy is full-on, bat-flapping nutty. Under this scenario, the domestic news continues the positive trend we’ve seen of late. The economy continues to add jobs at a good clip, the unemployment rate continues its downward trend, the housing market finally has stabilized, inflation is tamed, interest rates are low,the Dow is up, the GDP grows, and the deficit shrinks. People start feeling good again. Landslide. Nice. Continue reading “What Would Happen If Rick Santorum Beats Mitt Romney?” »