The calls today from conservatives across the country will be for Newt Gingrich to drop out. They’re right. His ship with the leaky hull officially sank yesterday by failing to win in the area of the country where he still had a chance. It’s time to move out of the way for the sake of the country.

What won’t be discussed is the impossible dream of Mitt Romney also reading the writing on the wall. For 3 decades, anyone Republican who was not able to run as a conservative has lost. Many will say that GWB was not a conservative, but he ran both campaigns as such and wasn’t questioned for it. Bob Dole was. John McCain was. Mitt Romney is viewed as more liberal than either of them. His credentials as a conservative will be questioned just as they were yesterday and his answers to those questions will fall short.

The aforementioned writing on the wall is that he has failed to position himself in the eyes of the voters as someone who will bring fiscally-conservative ideas to the table to fix the problems we’re facing. It’s extremely clear to those who understand such things that people vote based upon the effect it will have on their wallets which is why there is a constant ebb and flow in Washington between electing fiscal conservatives and liberal economic mindsets. When one side doesn’t work, the other is more appealing. It’s been happening that way since Jimmy Carter with Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton being the only presidents viewed  by the general population as having a positive effect on the economy.

The thinking from the Republican Establishment has always been sound on a surface level and ignorant once the layers are peeled back. They know that moderates and independents hold the keys to the White House, but they wrongfully believe that getting the moderate vote means putting up a moderate as their choice. It has constantly failed and they simply do not understand the mindset.

If things are going well in the economy, the incumbent always wins. If things are going poorly, the opposing party wins IF they put up a candidate who strikes people as heading in the exact opposite direction. People often forget that Bob Dole was going up against a Clinton term that was not doing so hot economically. It wasn’t until his second term that things got better. Dole had an opportunity to take the White House but was unable to offer a truly-conservative face that represented the fiscal responsibility people wanted. He failed and Clinton’s presidency, for all of its flaws, came out as an economic success.

Al Gore didn’t capitalize on this and people were starting to doubt whether the liberal bubble economy could be sustained. They were right and elected a man they believed had the conservative chops to pick up the pieces once it broke. Unfortunately, the conservatism that Bush exuded did not translate as such economically.

All of this brings us back to Mitt Romney. His inability to wrap up the Republican nomination despite spending much more than his opponents is a clear indicator that the people do not want him in office. He may be able to buy his way into the nomination, but it should not have been this hard. If people believed in him, the money that he has spent and the attacks he has pointed at his opponents should have locked him in by now. Instead, he is limping from state to state. This is a bad sign.

Mitt Romney cannot defeat Barack Obama. If he was unable to buy his way to a second-place finish in either southern state, he will be demolished once the full force of the Obama campaign rains down upon him.

Rick Santorum offers the contrast to Obama that is required to win the general election. He has neither the organization nor the cash to defeat Romney and should have been out of the picture long ago. Fortunately for him, his conservative message has kept him in the race and has him poised to pull off the upset if America is willing to wake up and see the reality of the situation.

There is no way to compare the policies, history, or personalities of Santorum and Obama without calling them opposites. Romney, on the other hand, can be compared more closely to Obama than to his conservative opponents in the party that he supposedly represents. The results in November would be a landslide if Romney wins because he does not resonate the fiscally-conservative principles that are required to defeat an incumbent.

If logic ruled over pride and desire, the losses Romney suffered yesterday would be clear indicators that the best chance for the Republican party to take the White House would be if Romney dropped out.

Since the debates prior to South Carolina, I’ve been supporting Newt Gingrich. Florida came as a huge blow and a wake up call that the Republican Establishment was simply unwilling to put someone with his history as their champion. They believe that the Dole/McCain moderate strategy is finally going to work. They’re wrong.

The challenge isn’t necessarily with Romney. He can be defeated. The challenge is, as every conservative in America is aware, with the splitting of the right wing vote between Rick Santorum and Gingrich. As much as I would love to see President Gingrich become a reality, it’s to the point that I would rather see Santorum in there instead of Romney and Gingrich may be getting in the way of allowing that to happen.

This is “do or die” time for the country and the Republican party. If Newt Gingrich can win, make the move now and get the support necessary. If it’s simply not possible, then the time has come to get out of the way.

Does Gingrich have a chance or is it time to “call it” and back Santorum?

While researching an article on how poorly Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have done on social media, one of the primary tools that I believe they haven’t used is the blogosphere. I referenced Red State as one of the few places that both candidates have addressed, but even then it’s clear that they are coming to this site too late. They should have been posting here and talking to Erick a couple of times a week at the very least and they should have been on every other major (and even minor) conservative blog out there.

Television is expensive. Blogging is free (and arguably more powerful when dealing with undecided voters).

The question I thought I answered in a blog post about Republican social media is whether or not Santorum and Gingrich have done enough through social media to earn them the votes. I now pose that question to Red State. Have they?

On the left, drilling is viewed as an abomination against mother nature, an unsafe and damaging road that will hurt the environment and put peoples’ lives at risk. On the right, it is viewed as the only way to keep gas prices low and reduce the country’s dependence on other countries to survive. Both sides are right and wrong from a certain perspective, but that’s not really that important.

Responsible drilling that takes the environment into account but does not allow it to overrule human needs should be the goal of both sides. Those on the left who believe that we shouldn’t be drilling here but who don’t mind filling up their tank with Canadian or Middle Eastern oil are incorrect in their thinking. Drilling will happen somewhere. The US has the potential to do it more responsibly.

The concept of drill anywhere and everywhere is not necessarily the way, either. We’re not talking about global warming or saving an endangered minnow. We’re talking about drilling in ways that can make us most productive, allow us to be exporters of oil, but still not force a vocal minority to take drastic measures to save the trees.

It’s not a compromise between the sides that is needed. It’s an agreement that makes complete sense to both sides. Nobody has to compromise. We can be environmentally-conscious and drill everything we need to drill at the same time. The choice has to be made by the right to drill where it makes the most sense. The understanding has to come from the left that drilling is going to happen no matter what and it might as well be controlled by responsible parties.

Here’s an infographic that should be shared. Gas prices have gone up and will continue to go up for a reason. They don’t have to.

Most Republicans (and some Democrats) were against past and future government stimulus package. Former GOP candidate Herman Cain is one of those who have been critical of the Bush and Obama stimulus packages, but his new website and first video from it may earn them a call from PETA, let alone others who might see it as “over the top.”

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The Republican Establishment is dead-set on Mitt Romney. They have the brainpower and the research investments to come to a proper conclusion in situations like these.

That’s at least what we’re told.

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For many conservatives who have supported “anybody but Romney or Paul” for the last several months, their most recent champion’s fall in Michigan will have them wondering if Republicans are better off voting for Mitt Romney. Rick Santorum put up a valiant fight that nearly led to the major upset, but in the end Romney’s money and the perception that he’s more electable prevailed.

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