Video: Santorum receives an unexpectedly unfriendly welcome from protesters in OK

It wasn’t exactly what you’d expect to happen in the reddest state in the country. This weekend, liberal demonstrators loudly interrupted Rick Santorum as he delivered his standard stump speech on the steps of the Oklahoma Capitol building:

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About 20 liberal demonstrators tried to shout down Rick Santorum while he delivered his stump speech on the steps of the state capitol building here Sunday, yelling “racist” and “fascist” at the Republican presidential candidate.

The anti-Santorum faction began chanting “Get your hate out of our state” when the candidate started his address. Standing before a microphone at the top of the steps, Santorum ignored them and continued speaking. The demonstration lasted about 15 minutes.

Santorum supporters standing near the front of the crowd tried to come to his aid by holding signs in front of the demonstrators and shouting, “We pick Rick! We pick Rick!” Some of the anti-Santorum demonstrators ripped the signs out of supporters’ hands.

That unfriendly experience aside, though, Oklahoma will probably treat Rick Santorum well: The latest ARG poll shows that the former Pennsylvania senator retains a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney in the Sooner State. It’s not as important a Super Tuesday state as Ohio in terms of delegates — just 43 delegates up for grabs in the winner-take-all-by-state-and-district contest — but Santorum still needs to win it to reinforce the impression that he does well in America’s heartland. In other words, it would be a statement win, especially given that former Oklahoma governor Frank Keating and the most conservative senator in the country, Tom Coburn, have both expressed support for Mitt Romney. By a convincing win in Oklahoma, Santorum would again prove his popularity with grassroots conservatives.

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Still, my predictions for Super Tuesday come down to nothing very exciting: Mitt Romney will probably win Ohio and, in the process, kill Santorum’s chances for a comeback. It’s not what I want to see happen, but it’s what I think will.

Last Friday, I joined PJTV’s Allen Barton to discuss this and more:

What do y’all expect to go down tomorrow?

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