crimea sheba: Jamie Dupree's Washington Insider: Stopping Mitt Romney

By Jamie Dupree

A conservative group has issued a plea via email today for funds to help drum up support for Rick Santorum in Michigan, arguing that supporters of both Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich should help Santorum stop Romney's quest for the Republican nomination.

"We need to fund Rick Santorum's get-out-the vote operation and stop Mitt Romney dead in his tracks," the email from the Freedom Defense Fund says.

Here's the email:

?

Dear Conservative,

Let's get this straight: Mitt Romney is vulnerable - and if he loses his home state of Michigan on Tuesday, he might be toast.?
For months we've been told by the media and the moderate establishment that Mitt Romney will be our nominee. We've been told it's inevitable that Mitt Romney will win. Not anymore.
?Romney lost Iowa. He lost South Carolina. And he's on the verge of losing Michigan. This would be a crushing blow to Romney heading into Super Tuesday. Maybe you're for Newt Gingrich - he's no longer campaigning in Michigan. Maybe you're for Ron Paul. Either way,?no matter who your preferred candidate might be down the road, if you want to stop Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum needs to stop Romney in Michigan.?We're trying to make sure that happens.?Will you join us?
Rick Santorum is doing everything he can to fight Romney on TV right now. Unfortunately, that means he doesn't have much money left over for critical voter identification and get-out-the-vote phone calls that need to be made in the next 24-48 hours. That's where we come in.
??Our plan is to spend the next 72 hours calling Michigan voters, identifying Santorum supporters, and getting them out to vote on Election Day. In a close election, it could be the difference between defeating Mitt Romney and allowing him to be our GOP nominee.?We can't let that happen.

Here are the numbers I'm looking at.?*Goal:?Identify 60,000 households in key battleground areas (West Michigan, Macomb?County, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula)?
*Republican Households in Key Areas:?607,834
*Average Price of Phone Calls:?2.6 cents per call
*First dial:?$31,606.??Second dial:?$63,212.?
*Redial IDs Get-Out-The-Vote on Monday night:?$1560?
*?TOTAL:?$64,772

We need $31,606 immediately to get into the field and on the phones for Rick Santorum.??There is no time to waste. This election happens Tuesday.
Romney and his team of attack dogs are pumping tens of millions of dollars into Michigan right now. If we're going to stop Romney, we need to get these calls into the field ASAP.
?
This is the best chance conservatives are going to have to stop Mitt Romney. If he loses his home state of Michigan, he's in deep trouble heading into Super Tuesday.
?
We need to fund Rick Santorum's get-out-the-vote operation and stop Mitt Romney dead in his tracks. Not next week, not next month--RIGHT NOW.?Will you join us?
Sincerely,
?
Michael Centanni
?
Chairman, Freedom's Defense Fund
http://www.freedomsdefensefund.com/?