Florida Preview: Lots of Sunshine, Lots of Suburbs, Lots of Clout
I think it is a two-man race at this point and either Mitt or Newt could take Florida.
Ironically, some of the most socially conservative people I know, living in North Florida, are still registered Democrat. So while they support Santorum, they can’t vote. Floridians, at least those of us with a memory, have a good reason never to vote for Santorum anyway. Those who remember that due to campaign cash from Acuweather, Santorum would have made it illegal for the hurricane center and weather service to update us on approaching hurricanes on TV. For those who may have forgotten this bit of stupidity, just Google it. We should always have as much access as possible to all scientific data paid for with our taxes. Seems pretty basic to me.
One thing about Florida, our population is constantly changing so it is difficult to define the Florida voter. In general the most liberal areas are located right around the universities. Other than that we tend to be more conservative. Check the voting patterns of 2004 and 2008 and you will see that Republicans lost Florida in 2008, not because of a great surge for Obama, but because many in the smaller, more conservative interior counties chose not to vote. I do not believe this will happen this time around, whether the candidate is Newt or Mitt. These counties, still mostly agricultural, have seen how tyrannical federal regulations can be.
I voted for Paul this time around because I believe we need his views on the size and scope of government, if we have any hope of turning back the damage inflicted by the Obama administration. I do not believe that left to their own instincts Mitt or Newt or Santorum would fight to overturn these past few years of federal tyranny with the determination that is needed.
If Paul does go third party, which I seriously doubt, I will never forgive him. It will be a betrayal of everything he claims to believe because it will almost certainly guarantee a second term for Obama. He can do so much more good by being the conscious of the opposition. He does not have to win to play a much-needed role.
