(HT Drudge Report) Mitt Romney won the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) with 38% of the vote. Rick Santorum took second with 31%. Gingrich took third and Paul, fourth. Santorum dismissed by innuendo Romney’s win claiming that Romney like Paul in previous years “rigged the straw poll,” and “stacked the deck” by buying tickets for supporters (“Santorum: 'I Don't Try to Rig Straw Polls'”).
“For two years Ron Paul has won those [CPAC straw poll] because he just trucks in a lot of people, pays for their ticket, and they come in and vote and they leave. We didn’t do that. We don't do that. I don't try to rig straw polls.”
Santorum accused Romney of similar tactics at this year's conference. “You'll have to talk to the Romney campaign and [see] how many tickets they bought. We've heard all sorts of things.”
Santorum stopped short of accusing his rivals of dirty politics, saying that stacking the deck is “standard procedure for straw polls” and noting that, “there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“We just don’t think that’s a good use of our resources,” he said. “Governor Romney obviously may have a different idea.”
Even if the accusation is true, winning the straw poll is a legitimate victory for Romney. Packing the building with supporters is a function of the enthusiasm of supporters, and the ability to organize and to raise contributions to fund the ticket purchases. Yes, generating enthusiastic supporters is not considered a Romney strength, but management of a campaign is. Does anyone believe that Santorum would refrain from “stacking the deck” if he had the resources and campaign organization to do so?
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