Tonight's turn of events reminds me of a Storm Surge. Once it begins building it gathers steam over the expanse of the ocean and finally washes across some beach front city with the intensity of a nuclear explosion changing the landscape, wind whipped waves on a high tide that's moving fast and washing away everything in it's way.
Tonight's win in all three states by Rick Santorum is like a storm surge, like a triple play in a late night game that helps the underdog team to take the lead.
It's big. Big for Santorum. Bigger for Romney as it signals a problem. And, a bigger event possibly for Newt who now is no longer relevant. Newt may be relevant again after Super Tuesday, but tonight it's all Rick Santorum.
Rick Santorum, the little engine that could rode a wave of populist power through small towns across the Heartland.
While his win in Missouri may not provide Santorum with delegates it will provide him with huge amounts of money by people who have been sitting on the sidelines wondering if he is "for real" as a candidate. Money talks. Especially in a race where there is an imbalance in money on the side of one candidate.
Everyone loves a winner. A lot of people out there like Rick Santorum, "but" they figure Romney is about to sweep up the nomination and why bother giving $20 or $1,000 if he's an "also ran" in the 2012 Presidential election.
Politics is indeed a lot like the weather. If you don't like it today, wait until tomorrow. It's fluid like the atmosphere.
Possible news stories that could come up and grab the media attention and affect the election.
#1... Natural Disasters. They always happen somewhere whether they are weather related or geological in nature.
#2... Syria is exploding, the question of possible American involvement could change things dramatically.
#3... Iran/Israel conflict and other regional problems in the Middle East.
#4... New numbers on the economy
#5... Newt could drop out or suspend his campaign, not likely but you never know.
#6... Gas hits $4 a gallon
#7... Weather affects Super Tuesday dramatically
#8... A scandal involving one of the candidates or Obama
#9... Castro bites the Cuban dust
#10.. New Mayan revelations making the election in November barely important?
Life is fluid in the fast lane and politics is the fast lane.
The list could go on and on.
I've heard it said that the voter turn out in Colorado was light today. It may or may not have been weather related. Weather was crummy from the perspective of a Miami girl (me) but it's not so harsh or dramatic for people used to the Colorado winter.
Note the summary comes out of Goodland, KS. Weather is regional, this is the regional report.
000
AWUS83 KGLD 072246
RWSGLD
COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-081130-
REGIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE HIGH PLAINS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
230 PM MST TUE FEB 7 2012
SKIES WERE MOSTLY CLOUDY ACROSS THE TRI STATE REGION EARLY THIS
AFTERNOON AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVED AWAY FROM THE AREA.
LIGHT SNOW AND FLURRIES CONTINUED MAINLY FOR LOCATIONS WEST OF
HIGHWAY 83 AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70. WINDS WERE GENERALLY OUT OF
THE NORTH AT AROUND 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 20 MPH.
TEMPERATURE EXTREMES RANGED FROM 24 DEGREES AT MCCOOK, NEBRASKA TO 30
DEGREES AT TRIBUNE, KANSAS.
OUTLOOK... SKIES WILL BECOME PARTLY CLOUDY OVERNIGHT...AND WITH
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE IN PLACE WITH LIGHT WINDS...TEMPERATURES WILL
DROP INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS FOR MOST LOCATIONS. MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES
WITH LIGHT SOUTHERLY WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE TRI STATE
AREA FOR WEDNESDAY AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE MOVES TO THE EAST OF THE
CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS. AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL ONLY CLIMB INTO
THE UPPER 20S ACROSS BOTH EASTERN AND FAR WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE TRI
STATE REGION...WHILE CENTRAL PARTS OF THE AREA WARM INTO THE UPPER
30S AND LOWER 40S WHERE LITTLE IF ANY SNOW COVER EXISTS. WEDNESDAY
NIGHT WILL CONTINUE TO BE DRY UNDER PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH LIGHT
SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS. OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES WEDNESDAY NIGHT WILL
NOT BE AS COOL...WITH READINGS GENERALLY IN THE TEENS.
$$
Bottom line... Romney failed to get his base out to support him tonight.
Ron Paul's people showed up, flurries or not.
Newt's people were barely there, did Donald's non-support hurt him?
Rick Santorum's supporters showed up.
That's it.
Tomorrow he will be on the news shows. He is scheduled to be in Texas tomorrow and Oklahoma on Thursday. He has his eye on the finish line and the finish line is not in Missouri or Minnesota.
Texas votes on April 3rd.
Oklahoma has their day in the sun on Super Tuesday.
Stay tuned, this is far from over. In fact, the real battle for the Republican Nomination might just have begun this evening as Rick Santorum, who is behind in the delegate count has won the most number of States so far.
Wild night in the heartland and Colorado is in ways also the heartland.
Besos Bobbi
