Well the 2012 Republican primaries have officially begun. Of course they have unofficially been going on since President Obama defeated John McCain in 2008 but now there is no hiding from the coming circus. The winnowing fork has come out and begun to separate the wheat from the chaff. Here are the results from Iowa
1. Mitt Romney (24.62%)
2. Rick Santorum (24.61%)
3. Ron Paul (21.51%)
4. Newt Gingrich (13.33%)
5. Rick Perry (10.34%)
6. Michele Bachmann (4.98%)
Let's start with the bottom. Michele has officially stopped her bid, claiming that the voice of America has spoken. Though I think that more people vote in things like American Idol and America's Got Talent and thus, that's the true American voice, she has bowed out gracefully. We can only hope that our post did not give her the kiss of death in a Madden Curse type way.
Rick Perry looks to be in shambles. However, his response was not as gripping as Howard Dean's heroic demise. Perry may simply go quietly into that good night.
Newt Gingrich looks like he has an uphill battle to go. But, considering his political career was derailed in 1997 over ethics charges and cannibals in his own party he seems invulnerable even with piddling numbers. Plus, he's been a lobbyist for the past decade and those guys are more connected than the Corleone family.
Which leaves us to the top three. Ron Paul is a libertarian. He's the Republican version of Dennis Kucinich. His loyal and rabid following are impenetrable to Santorum or Romney but they simply aren't large enough to field a viable candidate in a general election.
So there are two choices, three including the undead Gingrich. Santorum seemingly has consolidated the Christian conservatives under his banner. The pragmatistic moderates will always go for Romney. The question then is whether the vitriolic rhetoric of the past few years in America is the majority murmuring or a minority shouting. It's going to be an exciting finish for the eventual runner-up.
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