Scarborough Says 'There Will Be Blood' If Romney Wins Iowa and New Hampshire

Former Republican Florida congressman and current MSNBC host Joe Scarborough has been vocal in his opinions about the 2012 Republican presidential primary and its candidates.

Two weeks ago the Morning Joe host said with the surge of Texas Rep. Ron Paul in national polls, that "there is always a strain of anit-Semitism" among some of his supporters at events. Scarborough did not raise those concerns a little more than a week prior to the Anti-Semitism statement, when he said if then front-runner former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was able to secure the Republican nomination, he would take "a long look" at voting for Ron Paul on a third-party ticket.  In November, Scarborough shot defiant "told you so" type words at conservative bloggers as the presidential campaign of Texas Gov. Rick Perry looked to be collapsing, lambasting those who doubted his prediction that the success of both Bachmann and Perry campaigns would not last. And truth be told, both Perry and Bachmann have long been favorite targets of MSNBC's anointed conservative commentator.

Scarborough's latest observation: "There will be blood" among conservatives if Mitt Romney seems to be easily securing the nomination after Iowa and New Hampshire wins:

Newsbusters transcript of Scarborough's juicier remarks:

"JOE SCARBOROUGH: I will tell you this.  I know this sounds crazy, but if I'm just looking at the field right now: keep your head down, don't blow yourself up in Iowa, because there's going to be a lot of teeth gnashing and weeping after the guy that's got a 24% ceiling wins Iowa and the conservatives split. Cause everybody's going to start looking and saying OK, who is the conservative? We are not going to allow a guy that has the 24% of the moderates in the Republican party voting for him, while this conservative party pushes another, let's say, Gerald Ford to the finish line. By the way, I need to explain this.  This isn't necessarily what I feel. I need to explain this. I'm telling you, as I predicted, crazy never wins in the Republican party, and it doesn't.

But the Republican party, just like I said when Newt Gingrich was at 38, 39% wasn't going to stand for that, they're not going to stand for the guy who has a 24% ceiling walking away with their nomination. Anybody who thinks it's going to be over after Iowa and New Hampshire, if Romney wins, does not understand the conservative base.  There will be blood if Mitt Romney seems like the guy who's going to walk away with it . . . So, Mark Halperin, do you think it's over if Mitt Romney wins out?

MARK HALPERIN: I think it is, Joe. I know you think it won't.  And I do think there will be this spasm of conservative angst, of saying it can't over, he's not the right person.

SCARBOROUGH: They should have thought of this before!

HALPERIN: They should have thought of it before. I mean, if he wins Iowa I think he will roll out of New Hampshire and I think he'll be in a strong position in South Carolina.  Willie and I were talking, as we like to say, off air, about the notion of people dropping out. I don't think anybody's going to drop out.  I think even Michell Bachmann will go, try to fight on in South Carolina. It's perfect for Mitt Romney to have a crowded field in South Carolina"

Take a look at Scarborough and the rest of the Morning Joe panel live from Iowa take on the Romney campaign: