http://spectator.org/articles/65051/santorum-could-trample-trumpWith just two major Republican debates remaining before the Iowa presidential caucuses, Donald Trump has been remarkably lucky. The only major candidate who could actually inflict lasting harm on the vulgar poster child for inherited wealth, and the only one who could readily attract and hold some of Trump’s blue collar constituency, is the only one banished — by the idiotic, poll-driven debate rules to which the feckless Republican National Committee acquiesced — from sharing a single stage with The Donald.
For reasons both stylistic and substantive, Pennsylvania’s former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum could eviscerate Trump in a direct encounter.
This is not necessarily to say that Santorum could vault from near-last to first the way he did for a while in 2012. It is, though, to say he could do enough damage to Trump that either he or another candidate could finally surpass Trump, lastingly, in the national polls.
Here’s why.
The first reason is gumption. Unlike Ted Cruz
97%
and Marco Rubio
79%
, who have studiously avoided (and in Cruz’ case, run away from) all opportunities to engage Trump in a direct and hostile exchange, and unlike Jeb Bush, who just doesn’t project strength, Santorum is feisty enough to stand firm while smart enough to keep the exchange from sounding like a cheap shot.
Think about all the debates Santorum has endured in the past two presidential cycles: Has anybody ever left him looking shaken or beaten? No. While Santorum does not have the knack for the one-liner that remains quotable several days after the event, he also doesn’t allow anyone to kneecap him. He makes his point in a way that always sounds sensible — thoroughly knowledgeable; sincere, not canned; without inconsistencies of internal logic from one argument or issue to the next; and uttered with the force of honest conviction.
Quin Hillyer should really put down the crack pipe.
