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politics and politicians Title: Santorum Clings To 37%-34% Lead Over Romney In Michigan, New Detroit Free Press/WXYZ Poll Shows A week of personal appearances, newspaper op-eds, robocalls and television ads has brought Mitt Romney back within striking distance of national frontrunner Rick Santorum in Michigan’s Republican presidential primary, but with six days to go Santorum’s upstart campaign remains on the verge of what could be a defining victory in Romney’s birth state, a Detroit Free Press-WXYZ-TV poll shows. After jumping out to an improbable lead in Michigan a week ago following a sweep in three western states, Santorum still holds a 37% to 34% lead over Romney, who until recently had been considered all but certain to win a state where he was born and grew up. It's also a state where his father, George Romney, was a nationally known auto executive and a popular three-term Republican governor. Mitt Romney, who left Michigan decades ago as a young man to pursue a business career in Massachusetts (where he later became governor), has made inroads into what some polls showed as a sizeable Santorum advantage following wins two weeks ago in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. In metro Detroit, he leads Santorum, the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, 41%-26%. The race remains a volatile one, perhaps right up to the end. Nearly half of the poll’s respondents – 45% — said they would consider changing their minds about who to vote for before Tuesday, and 12% of respondents said they were still undecided who to vote for on Tuesday. But Santorum continues to show strength, as the conservative base rallies around him: Among self-described conservatives, he leads Romney 46% to 27% (Romney leads among the much-smaller bloc of moderate voters 51% to 17%.) Men favor Santorum 41% to 29% for Romney, and Santorum has built up double-digit leads over Romney in the western and central parts of the state. Dennis Sokol, 41, of Lansing is a high-rise window cleaner who considers himself independent of any political party – but he plans to vote in the Republican primary, and he plans to vote for Santorum at this point. “I’ve kind of liked him all along but I also liked Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann at the beginning,” he said. “I’m pretty much anybody but Romney.” His reasoning mirrors that put out by the Santorum campaign: Romney, to him, adopted policies as governor of Massachusetts, especially in the area of health care reform, that are too similar to the Democrats and President Barack Obama to make him a viable alternative in the November general election. On the other hand, Shelby Township teacher Sheila Majask said she’s leaning toward Romney – if she even votes. She said as an independent, she’d rather not have to declare as a Republican, a requirement to vote. But as a moderate on social issues, Majask said she’d lean toward supporting Romney, who she considers less conservative than some of the others. Santorum, in particular, has a long history of advocating for socially conservative causes and has made his anti-abortion stance a centerpiece of his political career. In recent days, his campaign appearances have invoked matters of faith and spirtuality as well. “I think Romney will end up winning the primary,” said Majask. “He’s the consistent one in all the race.” EPIC-MRA of Lansing conducted the poll for the Free Press and WXYZ-TV, contacted 400 likely Republican primary voters between Saturday and Tuesday. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. Santorum and Romney will appear tonight at a CNN-sponsored debate in Arizona, which also holds its primary on Tuesday. At least one poll Wednesday showed Romney holding onto a wide lead in Arizona — which will award 29 delegates on a winner-take-all basis — while others show it closing. In Michigan – which awards 30 delegates on a proportional basis, 28 of them based on the winner in each new congressional district – the polling has been much more volatile. Dean Graboske, 72, of Black River south of Alpena, is leaning toward Santorum, who he says “seems to have not as much baggage as some of the others.” But he likes Romney’s background in business – Graboske’s more of a fiscal conservative – so he could change his mind. “I’m not sure what I’m waiting to hear,” he said. “I’m just waiting to hear what they all say.”
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#2. To: Brian S, *Extended Clip Progressives* (#0)
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Mitts seems to have the ignorant slut baby killer vote locked up, but they'll switch to Obama in the general election.
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