How the Iowa GOP continues to help Romney

Any doubt that the fix was in should have vanished when the Iowa GOP which had previously declared a 'victory' for Romney changed its mind yesterday and called a 'split decision' when the count turned up more votes for Santorum. The Santorum camp is not accepting that of course, and has now forced the GOP chair to recognize Santorum as the winner.

Santorum might well have done better in New Hampshire if he had been recognized as the winner in Iowa. The 'mistake' by the state party cost him momentum. The delay in acknowledging the actual count, long after the discrepancy was discovered, allowed Romney to spend the past week collecting contributions on the basis that he is the 'inevitable' nominee being the first GOP candidate to win both Iowa and New Hampshire.

The actual result is still in doubt as the votes from eight precincts have disappeared altogether. That could prove very significant later in the year. Whether or not a fraud is proven, the irregularities are suspicious enough to provide Paul with a pretext for bolting the GOP.