This was bound to happen eventually, but Rick Santorum might have hoped this news wouldn’t come before on the day of what is likely to be his last stand in the Wisconsin primary:
In a move that shows Republicans are coalescing around the party’s front-runner, Mitt Romney plans to begin raising money jointly with the Republican National Committee this week as both the candidate and the GOP brace for an expensive general-election fight against President Barack Obama.
The arrangement will allow top donors to write checks as large as $75,000 per person, by giving to party organizations in addition to the campaign. That’s far more than the $2,500 ceiling that applies to individual donations to a presidential candidate for the fall election.
If the slew of high-profile Romney endorsements for GOP figures this week didn’t already cement his standing as the inevitable nominee, then this news puts the official stamp on it. For the past couple of weeks, the question has been how long Rick Santorum will play out his losing hand. But party leaders are obviously getting anxious, with President Obama significantly outraising the Republican candidates.
This is a firm push for Santorum and others to step aside and let the general election commence.
