When I found out a politician speaking in Iowa only had one person show up, I felt bad. It tugged on my heart-strings. I even shed a tear.
When I found out it was Rick Santorum, I literally fell out of my chair laughing.
At a campaign stop in Hamlin, Iowa on Monday, Rick Santorum addressed not the masses, but a single insurance agent named Peggy Toft. She also chair’s Audubon County’s Republican Party.
Santorum and Toft spoke one-on-one for the better part of ten minutes, discussing his views on the Affordable Care Act, family values, and his brand of conservatism. Even after all of that, insurance agent Toft isn’t sold just yet. From Politico:
“But even she would not endorse Santorum outright.
The Audubon County Republican chair said that she is ‘leaning’ toward supporting Santorum but has not yet made a decision about whom she would support in the caucus.
‘I feel like I have to get all of the facts,’ she said.”
Keep in mind, Rick Santorum won the Iowa caucus in 2012.
Santorum told the press that the low turnout was “all part of the plan.” From the New York Daily News:
“Santorum was happy with the event and called it a success.
‘People don’t understand. One guy in there said, ‘I’ll speak for you at the caucus,’ Santorum said. ‘That’s maybe eight votes that you wouldn’t otherwise get. Eight votes can make a big difference, as I know.’
Santorum knows all about slim margins. His 2012 Iowa win was only by 34 votes. Placing second was the eventual party nominee, Mitt Romney.
While Santorum waited for his breaded tenderloin and onion rings (since apparently that’s newsworthy?information), three other Iowans showed up, bringing the total to four, down six from his previous stop in Panora. One of the newcomers engaged Santorum in some good ol’ fashioned Midwestern Q&A. From The Des Moines Register:
“One newcomer, Glen Meyers, a minister from nearby Exira, asked Santorum for his thoughts on same-sex marriage. Santorum called it a threat not just to family but religious liberty
‘This is where the left is saying, ‘Here is what your belief system should be, and anyone who does not toe the line, you’re a hater, you’re a bigot, you’re intolerant and you will not be tolerated,’ Santorum said.
The pastor seemed pleased with the response: ‘That was pretty good.'”
Is this really Rick Santorum’s master plan? I mean, Santorum can meet with every insurance agent, minister, and part-time waitress in every dirt Iowa town–
Wait! There’s a joke there!
An insurance agent, a minister, Rick Santorum, and a breaded tenderloin walk into a diner…
