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Exclusive: Newt Gingrich Talks to RedState

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  February 29th, 2012 at 06:31 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

This morning I had the privilege of conducting the first interview with Newt Gingrich in Atlanta, Ga. following the primary elections in Arizona and Michigan. The former speaker seemed resigned to the results and matter-of-fact about Tuesday night’s results, emotionless about facts he can now do nothing about. He spoke quietly and calmly with intensity, if not energy.

I started our interview asking him about his path to victory, given he is now behind Rick Santorum in delegates. He pointed out how few primaries we have had compared to prior years and how many delegates are up for grabs still.

Calling Rick Santorum a “big labor Republican”, Gingrich made clear he thought neither Santorum nor Romney would play well in deeply red states, as we saw in South Carolina — states that are about to be up for grabs on Super Tuesday and shortly thereafter. He views Mitt Romney as someone who cannot sell himself to the voters because Romney does not know himself who he is.

In the interview, more to be aired tomorrow, Gingrich also responded to Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) claiming Gingrich, Santorum, and Romney are at war with Islam. We delved into Operation Fast and Furious, energy prices, and Gingrich’s plan to save upwards of $500 billion a year by transforming the federal government with Lean Six Sigma.

There was one question, though, with an answer that really stood out. I asked Speaker Gingrich if the economy does improve and the Republican rationale this campaign season has been that they will fix the economy, on what turf do Republicans try to win the 2012 election if suddenly the voters think the economy has turned the corner.

You can hear that answer and more in my exclusive interview with Newt Gingrich.

Tomorrow we’ll run the full interview.

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COMMENTS

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  • http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

    He is about suited to be president as my old eccentric uncle who simultaneously believed that the mafia killed JFK, aliens landed in Roswell, and the Communists were behind Fluoride in the water.

  • Crash71234

    Newt said if Romney didn’t win his home state of MI, he must quit the race.

    Now, if Newt doesn’t win his home state of VA (he’s lived in McLean VA for 34 years) he must quit the race.

  • texasref

    Thank you for giving Gingrich your awesome platform to communicate his message. Short of a successfully brokered convention, he is the last hope of us conservatives.

  • mikelindell2

    Time to rally behind the most conservative (highest ACU rating), most articulate, most experienced and intelligent candidate. The only one with proven conservative accomplishments (balanced budget, entitlement reform, tax cuts). The only one proposing a flat tax (15%), a zeroing out of the capital gains tax, and the one willing to cut the corporate rate down to 12.5%. The one who is a social, fiscal, and foreign policy conservative. Santorum is only conservative on social issues (certainly not fiscal), and Romney has never been conservative on anything. Romney and Santorum are so gaffe-prone they could never win a general election and each seem like Democrat caricatures of what they want Republicans to be (rich guy and fringe social issue guy). Newt frames each issue best to allow conservatives to be successful.

  • texasref

    Even though I think you are dead serious.

  • mikelindell2

    Maybe you are not factually informed but Speaker Gingrich represented the state of Georgia. According to your logic, Santorum’s home state isn’t Pennsylvania. Please go away now.

  • mikelindell2

    And presided over the most successful conservative era in the last 25 years. Now he’s back with even better plans and he’s the only one you know will follow through on them.

  • demsaresatanic

    and boorishness. If you are going to bash Newt, at least do it spectacularly. Good job.

  • Common_Cents

    It rolls off his tongue like nothin, and nobody knows what the heck it is. Gingrich needs to put those types of things in terms of ave Joe household.

    He is good about tying in local issues on the road but he needs to explain these type of things.

    I’m still ticked that the spineless candidates talked to each other and agreed to skip the GA CNN debate. Cowards.

  • annie54

    so he can do some real retail politickin. He can’t do it all behind a michrophone.

  • Creedo

    It would be good to get an answer to why he’s dropped so many states to a candidate who serves as a living Mendoza line.

  • Scope

    You are about on the same plane as Seth Ellis, by pimping your Newtbotism about the same as Seth Ellis pimped Romney. I’m waiting for your next post to ask EE to ask Santorum to get out of the race to make room for the Newtie, for about the hundredth time.

  • texasref

    Mike may be a bit of a Newtbot, and I try to be nuanced and fair in my support so as not to be too much of one, either. But to lump Mike in with Seth is so unfair of you.

    And he was right, Gingrich WAS 2nd in line to the presidency. There is only one person ahead of the Speaker of the House in line to the presidency, and that is the Vice President, who is obviously FIRST in line to the presidency. The President is not in line to the presidency as he is already in that office.

  • Scope

    We have a post on the front page today saying that Lugar hasn’t had a residence for many years in IN, yet he supposedly still represents IN in the Senate. It is absolutely a fact that Newt has lived in VA for many years, as it is a close trip to DC where he never left after his time in the House. Excellent point, Newt wants to claim GA as his own, because he was first elected to the House from there, and was a college professor there. No doubt he has been away from GA as long as Willard was away from MI. The Newt doesn’t even talk like Georgians anymore. He has been Washingtonized.

  • Crash71234

    “Speaker Gingrich represented the state of Georgia.”

    No. Newt was not the governor or even a senator.

    Newt was a representative of Georgia’s 6th congressional district. Just a bunch of rednecks, from Sandy Springs and Dunwoody, just like you.

  • APA Guy

    …over an Eastern liberal and Rick Santorum any day.

    Tell me this: Of the four viable candidates who could get elected (I leave Ron Paul out of this)…Gingrich, Obama, Santorum and Romney…who has the best capacity to lead this country out of the darkness it now finds itself in?

    I dare ANYONE to give me one SOLID reason (none of this wife and ex-wife crap) why any of the other three are more suited to lead than Newt…just ONE.

  • Scope

    n/t

  • WillWong

    You don’t count the President. He is already the President and not in line to be one.

  • APA Guy

    …in that snide, derogatory tone?

    If you didn’t intend it to read as snotty as it did, now is the time to clarify. Otherwise, you can shove your condescending tone where the sun doesn’t shine.

  • Crash71234

    78% in GA-6th on public funds.

    Parasites.

  • mikelindell2

    But thank you for revealing yourself to be a clown. And I’m sorry to inform you of this but Newt was elected to represent the state of Georgia. So, you don’t know what a representative is, and you call someone from New York a redneck. Nice job, you are very intelligent.

  • mikelindell2

    You have to go to Washington. That’s kind of part of the job. I noticed you did not mention Rick Santorum even though Rick lost his last election by 18 points partially because of the fact that he was NEVER in PA.

  • APA Guy

    I don’t know about public assistance guidelines where you live, but here in North Central Indiana, you don’t get public assistance making almost $80,000/year.

    Source for your figure, Crash?

  • Scope

    If Newt overtakes Santorum in delegates on Super Tuesday then we all get behind Newt. If Santorum wins the delegate race, then the Newt supporters really need to get behind Santorum. If the various supporters here have any serious goal of removing Romney, I don’t think that is a bad or unfair proposition. No?

  • APA Guy

    The 6th Congressional District of Georgia occupies a large portion of this suburban area north of Atlanta, including the eastern slice of Cobb County, much of northern Fulton, the northwest tip of DeKalb, and all of Cherokee County. It contains affluent Alpharetta, fast-growing Canton, and historic Roswell.

    http://www.nationaljournal.com/almanac/2010/area/ga/06

    Yes…those suburban “parasites” on public assistance…such a burden to the national economy…and BTW, their median home value is nearly $280,000.

    Try again…

  • clowngirl

    I think you are correct that the VP is second in line – meaning the first person to take over if something should happen to the President – and that the Speaker of the House being the 2nd back up is referred to as being 3rd in line.

    But it’s an easy mistake – it would, IMO, make more sense to say second in line for the Speaker and first “in line” for the VP.

    It’s certainly no reason for name calling. Mike’s overall point was clear and I agree with him.

  • mikelindell2

    Shame for not knowing that VP is first in line to the presidency?

  • APA Guy

    I actually live here in North Central Indiana…and no one is beating Lugar with all the pipe dreams about residency in the world. The man wins here as long as he runs…period.

  • mikelindell2

    Don’t want a candidate who wants government picking winners and losers by manipulating the tax code to favor certain industries. Don’t want someone who has been relentlessly Big Labor. Neither do I want someone who has never met a spending bill or earmark he didn’t love. Santorum picks fights over contraception, college, and separation of church and state. Santorum is way too liberal on fiscal issues and is totally unelectable and will damage the party. Romney is way too liberal on almost every issue and is most likely unelectable.

    This is why I am strongly w/ Newt.

  • clowngirl

    1. Newt’s Southern State strategy extends beyond Super Tuesday. Why arbitrarily cut off then?

    2. Would we be counting only bound delegates? ( I think, right now, Santorum and Gingrich are tied in that respect. Or Newt might even be ahead…)

    3. I’m curious, why this call for unity against Romney now? Why weren’t you calling for unity after Florida or South Carolina?

  • Scope

    You have to go to Washington to conduct the people’s business, but, you don’t have to remain there when you have left the halls of Congress. How ever would Newt have been accessiable to Freddie if he were not in close proximity. My personal biggest problem is with his support for low-income push for mortgages. He said in a debate, he thinks every citizen in this country should own a home. Can you deny that mikelindel?

  • clowngirl

    Wise decision on the Speaker’s part as well, IMHO.

    Excellent featured question and answer and I look forward to seeing the whole interview tomorrow!

  • Crash71234

    Oooops. There you go again!

    Newt was a Representative of GA-6th. Just a bunch of rednecks buses to the polls from the projects every two years.

    All the while, Newt lived in McLean VA, with all his wives.

    Newt has lived in the richest town in America for 34 years.

    In Newt’s own words, if he doesn’t win his home state of VA, Newt must quit.

  • APA Guy

    9% of the population are veterans…are they parasites too? I guess they haven’t earned their public funds….they only fought to protect punks like you.

    I mean seriously, did you even research before you wrote libel about an entire district of Georgians?

  • Scope

    You just made the best argument for incumbents are cool, no matter how they vote. Isn’t that the argument the conservatives have been trying to have for ever? while the innards keep voting for the worst in Washington, you keep propping them up. Then it is samething different day.

  • Crash71234

    Santorum loses Catholics and women. Not a winning combination.

  • mikelindell2

    As seen by the fact that I’m supporting the objectively most conservative candidate (highest ACU rating). You can get caught up as to where a person chooses to live as a private citizen, I care more about what that person’s record is and what their plans are.

    Also, as to Freddie-As a private citizen, he ran a consulting firm that did work with IBM, Microsoft, Chamber of Commerce, etc. Yes, Freddie was also a client that paid him a small fee, however he is only on record as telling Congress not to give them $. Rick Lazio &JC Watts have corroborated that.

  • APA Guy

    You assert that 78% of Georgians in Newt’s former district are on the dole. I’d like you to reconcile that baseless “stat” with the fact that the median household income is almost $80,000/year…that nearly 80% of those employed are working white-collar jobs…and that 85% of them work in the private sector.

  • APA Guy

    …and you can kindly show me where I “propped up” Lugar. I stated a fact I will back with money…Murdoch and the eventual Dem sacrificial lamb stand ZERO chance of beating Richard Lugar in this state. Lugar is to IN what Kennedy was to MA electorally.

  • retrocon87

    “he lived there with all his wives”… you make him sound like the king of saudi arabia or something

  • clowngirl

    There was a long discussion on RS about it at the time.

  • clowngirl

    Though I never thought it made any sense to say it that way…

  • Common_Cents

    to put pressure on him to quit. How many southern states are even in super tuesday? 2?

  • demsaresatanic

    comic relief at least.

  • Scope

    that it doesn’t matter what you do in Washington, as long as you have a cult like following, yourself included. I believe that many would see you as part of the problem rather than part of the solution. It’s really sad when anyone supports someone because they have to circle the wagons around their own, rather than looking at the bigger picture. That’s too bad.

  • clintonformccain

    Either way, he’ll have about the same impact on the race from here on out. Negligible.

  • Creedo

    I’d like to know how Newt plans on winning the nomination, not to mention the national election when he can’t beat the Mendoza candidate.

  • libertus

    Even if you can’t embrace him fully, endorse him as a strategy to stop Romney in the States he has a chance.

  • dajeeps

    There’s nothing wrong with it as long as the rules don’t get screwed around so much that we get the kind of lending behavior we had. There’s no evidence Gingrich had any involvement in that. He never had any control over the regulatory apparatus, in or out of office.

    There are so many other committees that had proportional involvement the problem, and I don’t see anyone actually going after them. One example might be the financial services committee that should have been aware of the competitive arbitrage the GSEs had with monetary policy, and insensitive assets, like T-bonds, got crowded out of the shadow banking system with large portions of it being taken over by MBS that were used in daily clearing. The result was a huge nominal shock when the MBS market collapsed. And of course none of the regulatory actions that allowed this to happen came about until Gingrich was long gone.

    It’s really sad that some who wish to lead just simply avoid the truth as long as it works in their own interest, and by doing that they are serving no positive benefit when thought leadership and doing the right things because they are the right things is sorely needed. There is plenty that divides us, but I think it’s quite reasonable to question whether, when this election means so much in material terms, it is a healthy strategy to exploit those divisions for personal gain or whether is better to provide the leadership that will bring us all together on common ground.

    I am always willing to listen to whatever the Romney camp at large has to say about their candidate that can convince me he is the right guy for the job with some specifics attached so I can follow the golden thread of logic to the same conclusion. So far, though, all I’ve heard is why the others are defective, and that doesn’t help me make an informed choice about what kind of world we might end up living in with Romney in the oval office. I’ve even tried to sort through the convoluted and conditional economic plan he has posted on his website, and I went away with more questions than answers.

  • acat

    You can keep repeating this schtick, Creedo ..but repetition doesn’t make it any more meaningful.

    Mew

  • texasref

    Take your arrogant better than everybody else condescending bitter clinger attitude and shove it where the sun shineth NOT.

  • lapert

    Not that I think they are some great method for picking a candidate – but what caucus did Paul win?

  • acat

    A couple responses, nobody went PG-13 let alone R, and while it needs to have its’ mouth sutured closed to prevent future toxic spills, there’s really no need to clean it up.

    Mew

  • texasref

    until Gingrich can show some real staying power by winning where he needs to win on Tuesday. Erickson’s endorsement will mean more going forward after Tuesday, once he is convinced that Gingrich represents our best chance to come together as a party, if Gingrich can convince him.

    He has already made the case against Romney and Paul, and to a lesser extent Santorum. He has not been all peaches and cream to Gingrich, but it’s clear that Erickson views him as the least of the four evils, maybe even the only authentically visionary conservative in the race.

  • http://jeffemanuel.net Jeff Emanuel

    Have you ever been to Georgia?

  • WillWong

    clowngirl, Mikelindell, APAGuy, demsaresatanic, texasref, c-c, Rudy, Viet71, lineholder, JSob, jamesm, tnguy, tngal, tomrt, finrod, Vegas_Rick, Jeff, Trickamsterdam, circlegranch, wcp, ava, ntrepid, and many others!

    I am from California and most of the people I talked to are for Newt so I am quite optimistic despite all the negativism of folks like creedo, kyle8, scope, and others!

    No one can deny that Newt has articulated the most comprehensive plan to roll back the Federal govt, implement the most sound energy plan, create more jobs, and shake up DC bureaucracies.

  • 10ab

    Is it just my take or does he seem out of steam physically? He sounds good but has gained a lot of weight and looks exhausted and seems a little muted. Its a concern because he is a long way from Tampa. I wish him well.

  • texasref

    This race won’t be over until Perry delivers his delegates to Gingrich, and then the other 3 can bow out.

  • Repair_Man_Jack

    It’s right near a fairly respectable Korean Town.

  • WillWong

    but hope to see him again when Cal hold its primary.

  • sberger

    Eh, why are you making us wait?

  • WillWong

    than golfing, predicting final fours, etc

  • clowngirl

    There was no call for Santorum to quit when he came in a distant 3rd in South Carolina (after coming in with momentum), a distant 3rd in Florida (when Newt was the one under attack) and then a distant 4th in Nevada.

    Now that he’s had what some of the press call “the biggest surge yet” he’s already slipping from the top spot in national polls and showed in the last debate that he doesn’t hold up well under front runner pressure.

    Newt’s answer is right on the money. We don’t know Santorum’s staying power.

    (incidentally what a way to ask/answer a tough question – both Erick and Newt look good in this slice of the interview)

  • Scope

    If Newt wins Georgia on Super Tuesday, and nothing else, how does that advance Newt in any other state, southern or otherwise, to advance his position, or momentum, when Romney and possibly Santorum will gain even more delegates on super Tuesday?

    Newt is not leading Santorum in the delagate count. How is Newt ahead of Santorum in the delagate count? Please provide some link or something to prove that Gingrich is ahead in the delegate count, especially after last night.

    I wasn’t calling for unity after SC or Fla. because the race was still very much in flux. Newt won SC, and went into Fla. with a huge advantage. I really was leaning toward Newt at that point, but, Newt did exactly what I was afraid he would do. He was high on his win, and went straight into what I consider the undisciplined Newt. Moon colonies was destructive. Newt seemed to be on a roll in attacking Romney with everything he had. Was Romney disgusting, yes absolutely. If I am not mistaken Newt was riding high in polling because he hadn’t gone attack, and he was loved because of his above the fray posture at that time. Romney didn’t suffer the negative attacks, Newt did because he promised earlier to not go negative. Newt actually seemed like he was on a demon roll against Romney. All Newt had to do was stay positive, on message, and he would have been the leader now.

    After Fla. Newt gave an interview where he said that he learned that he does much better when he stays on message, and talks about his solutions, and avoids going on the attack.

    Now today I read that Newt is going on the attack again against both Romney and Santorum. He got an infusion of cash, which by the way, he did in fact have Addelson money even before SC, while he said that he learned that going on the attack was destructive to his campaign.

    Can you please tell me what the heck Newt is doing? It again reminds that Newt can only keep an idea for a day or so. It takes me back to the claim that Newt had set the schedule in the morning, and his soldiers went about their work. By the end of the day, if not by lunch, he had a whole new set of ideas.

    Newt would be a wonderful scientist testing new ideas constantly. Newt is a bad politician as you really need to stay focused on at least a few ideas before moving onto the next. That seems to be a problem with his campaign. He can’t stay focused.

  • clowngirl

    And thank you again for all the effort you put into writing pro-newt diaries WW!

  • lineholder

    I’m a Republican, a SoCon at that, and a poor person (making 12K a year qualifies as being poor). I’ve been blessed with a family that got sick and tired of my living out of my car and insisted that I accept a room in their home. I work. I don’t accept a dime of government funding except for a Pell grant that helps me get a chance for a second career. I even buy my own health insurance out of what I make.

    When I look at poor people, I don’t see “parasites”…I think “But for the grace of God….”!!

    The kind of talk you’ve spouted above is what convinces people who are poor that they can never, EVER trust Republicans. When I read or hear these kinds of comments, I can’t blame them in the least. Not at all.

    Just take your self-righteous indignation elsewhere, please.

  • Creedo

    Of course it’s meaningful. And yes, I will repeat it until it sinks in. I don’t want to see a loser get the nomination. Not that I think Romney is a huge winner by any stretch, but he’s much less toxic than the guy who has lost to Paul in over half of the elections held to date. Newt is a loser and his nomination would make us all losers.

  • lineholder

    I’m totally fascinated by the idea of using Lean Six-Sigma as a way of reducing our debt. This methodology has been proven to be an effective statistical analysis tool in many different types of situations.

  • Scope

    whether Newt was second or tenth in line for the presidency. His own fellow Republicans made dang sure that he was pushed out as the Speaker, for his shall we say weirdness, to be kind. He then was not in line for the presidency at all.

  • WillWong

    Newt stayed positive all through December in Iowa mostly because he had no money to respond to Romney’s and Paul’s negative ads and saw his front runner status taken down within weeks. He was able to respond in SC by comparing himself as a Reagan conservative against the Massachusetts Moderate. Unilateral disarmament against Romney was suicidal!

  • mikelindell2

    once he was gone. Goodbye balanced budgets, goodbye entitlement reform, goodbye conservatism.

  • mikelindell2

    it was people like Lindsey Graham that wanted him out. Bob Dole always had problems with Newt as well. I’ll stay on Newt’s side on this one.

  • mikelindell2

    I never realized that “rednecks” lived in the “projects.” I can tell you are a person who is full of life experiences and knowledge. I am beginning to suspect that you are one of the “rednecks” that you seem to be so obsessed with. Your facts are ridiculously ignorant as well. As someone else pointed out, 80% of occupations are white collar and the median income is over $71,000. It’s better to take the medication before you decide to post.

    Newt said he has to win GEORGIA but I assume you know that.
    Thanks for not being able to forgive Newt for *gasp* being divorced. If someone like you supported him, it would give me reservations about his candidacy..

  • lineholder

    a statistical analysis tool that is used for the purpose of keeping processes “in control”. (If you know all this already, then I’d love to hear you opinion of it)

    I’m only familiar with it in the manufacturing context. I can tell you how we used it. We would take measurements from product samples, total the measurements, and then divide this by the number of samples to derive a mean (or average) measurement. We usually had some sort of goal to shoot for (such as the dimensions shown on a print). Then we used a formula to derive a standard deviation (called sigma). Six sigma (usually) means that you have three standard deviations above the mean and three standard deviations below the means. These serve as the upper and lower control limits.

    By collecting in-process measurements, we could tell if and/or when a process was getting “out of control” and implement corrective action to bring the process back within the control limits.

    An out-of-control process was often referred to as being “fat”. What you wanted was Lean, because this allowed for increased efficiency. Efficiency can have a direct impact on costing analysis and budgetary planning.

    The manufacturing industry has been using it for a good while. The health care industry is just beginning to use it. I’ve never been exposed to any situation where it is used in an accounting or financial context, but I suppose there is a way that it could be done.

    I’m really curious to hear what Newt has to say about this. The way our government spends money is definitely “out of control”. If a statistical tool like six-sigma can be used to change that, then I’m definitely interested.

  • greyeagle

    I agree with you. Newt has the best ideas and certainly the best energy and job plan of any of the candidates.

  • greyeagle

    Actually, he resigned because of the losses in the House when it flipped from Republican to Democrat. He took responsibility for those losses.

  • greyeagle

    Actually Newt won quite a few delegates in Florida, but then the RNC broke their own rules and awarded them all to Romney. Not surprised because the GOP establishment has been pushing Romney all along.

  • Patrish

    very typical of the aforementioned author.

  • Tbone

    at least he is a real person. I am pretty sure that Newt will die in the next 4 years from being old and fat. Santorum is just bizarre and Mitt Romney is a creep. These 3 almost makes me miss the ButtPincher Cain.

  • WillWong

    It is quite another to revise someone’s record. Newt is anything but not focussed! You can’t be unfocussed and still be in the race when you are outspent, and have to claw your way back one debate at a time. You can be unfocussed and still win the House for the first time in 40 years! You can’t be unfocussed and still get the House majority reelected for the first time in 68 years! You have to be focussed to get the 10 platforms of the CWA put to a vote within the first 100 days of congress!

  • Patrish

    for Rick Perry, but you failed to mention if you were referring to the primary/caucus or the general election in November.

  • mikelindell2

    They just didn’t pick up seats the way they had wanted to.

  • sulmak

    nt

  • sulmak

    n t

  • honoraryintern

    … The right guy for the job.

    Newt burned off his support, angry, at the voters for choosing someone else. He was getting close to the same tone here. He is 20 points behind Rick or Mitt in support from women. He has no path to the nomination, Ron will cede his deligates to Mitt before the first roll call, blocking any moves at the convention.

    Rick has over 120,000 contributors in the month of Feb. The difference between their positions, despite the ‘big labor Repub’ title Newt used, is marginal. The way super-Tuesday is shaping up, Newt will win GA and hand the nomination to Mitt as he cleans up the all or nothing states. The conservative vote will be split and Mitt will win the nomination with less than 50% of the vote.

    Can Newt or his supporters (6% in MI) put personal preference on the shelf and ‘take one for the team’, conservative value voters?

  • honoraryintern

    Most states are ‘all or nothing’. Conservative votes split between Rick and Newt, yield all deligates ending up on Mitt’s plate..

  • clowngirl

    I will answer one of yours though. You ask how Newt is leading Santorum in “the delegate count” I didn’t say the delegate count. I said Gingrich may be losing Santorum in BOUND delegates.

    As I understand it, all the states Santorum won were non-binding caucuses.

    South Carolina was a winner take all, binding primary.

    I’ll look for a link when I get a chance.

  • demsaresatanic

    Thanks for your analysis.

  • clowngirl

    It’s very encouraging to see so much continued enthusiasm for Newt at RS!

    We’ve got a week to do our part to help Newt get the best possible results on Super Tuesday!

  • Common_Cents

    :) Gingrich needs to find a way to explain it simply in a few sentences for campaign purposes if he continues to use it. I haven’t heard him reference it in awhile but I guess he still is. People won’t take the time to look it up if he doesnt explain it so its wasted verbage. And he needs to explain the benefits of it, and not the process. People want results, not necessarily process.

    But do appreciate your experience w/ it!

  • Common_Cents

    FL got penalized 1/2 delegates for moving up.

    Then they ignored the proportional rule saying it would be double penalizing FL. WTF???
    How does taking the same amount of delegates and making them proportional vs. winner take all constitute punishment to the state? Nobody ever really asked that or answered. It was a total scam to rip off Gingrich.

  • clowngirl

    If they’d been awarded proportionately Newt would’ve been ahead of Romney in the delegate count after Florida (if I’m remembering correctly)

    He’ll fight for those delegates.

    Some in this thread don’t seem aware that Santorum’s wins all came in states that held either a beauty contest (MO) or a non-binding caucus (IA, CO, and MN) meaning the delegates from those states (apparently) aren’t required to vote for him.

    (for e.g., I am a county and state delegate for Newt in Colorado even though Santorum won in our group. There wasn’t a Santorum supporter willing to go to the state convention. The options were me and a Romney supporter and people voted for me. When we vote for delegates to go on to the national GOP convention, I’ll be voting for someone who represents Newt – and – if chosen – that delegate will be able to vote for Newt at the National Convention)

    (not posting this for your benefit greyeagle — but because a number of comments posted give the impression that a lot of people even on RS don’t realize the distinction between bound and unbound delegates)

  • clowngirl

    Newt did not “go into Florida with a huge advantage”

    150,000 people or so had already voted before Newt’s second surge given Romney a huge cushion. And then he had Romney and friends running 65 ads for every one of his and his PACs. And he had the media engaging in coordinated, not to mention less than honest attacks.

    Incidentally a pet peeve I had during Newt’s first surge. If being “the front runner” is defined (before anyone has time to really build up delegates) as being ahead in national polls — Newt was the front runner for much longer than you would’ve thought from his mentions in the media.

    And — God willing — he will be again soon! :)

  • John6078

    If you are obese and show desire to change, you have no dicipline. Yes this includes Christie as well.

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    I have bona fide redneck roots from 3 southern states. I grew up in TN, and we didn’t even have indoor plumbing until my mom & dad built the fine brick home where we moved when I was 9 and where my dad lived until he died recently and my mom lives to this day. You understand I’m talking outhouse, don’t you? Did I mention that despite having lost an arm in a hunting accident when he was in his 20′s (that probably qualifies as extra redneck), my dad never applied for nor did he ever receive any disability? He worked his entire life and provided for his family without any government assistance.

    After I got married, my husband and I moved to Dunwoody where we bought our first home. Did I mention that we both had put ourselves through college without government assistance, i.e., via scholarships and hard work? My husband worked for Northside Realty, the real estate firm where Senator Johnny Isakson worked before he ran for Senate. The one located in Sandy Springs. You can’t imagine how many rednecks Johnny hired. That place was overrun with ‘em.

    Our second home was just off the square in Marietta. Definitely a fixer upper (built in 1908), and there were some projects close by, so no doubt it qualified as redneck. Take a quick look here and let me know what you think. Be sure to click on the street view so you get a good look. Of course, we bought it in 1993 at considerably less than the current value, but considering the redneck influence and the projects just around the corner, I admit I’m a little surprised at the appreciation in value.

    Shall I go on or do you you get the point yet? I’m not sure what your definition of redneck is, but if it’s geography or hard work or growing up blue collar or getting your hands dirty or voting for Newt (which I did when I lived in GA) or any combination thereof, then I definitely qualify. I’ll take being a redneck any day of the week and twice on Sundays over being an arrogant jerk like you. And for the record, I intend to vote for Newt in the Alabama primary on March 13.

  • clowngirl

    why not put equal emphasis on Santorum’s fourth place – not quite 10% finish in Nevada? (where Santorum actually campaigned some and even spent money on ads)

    I don’t think that Santorum can beat Mitt Romney or Barack Obama.

    I honestly don’t.

    He dropped 11 points in the latest national poll and is saying increasingly ill considered things that would, IMO kill him in a general election.

    I agree with what Newt says. Santorum hasn’t demonstrated staying power. He hasn’t even won a primary yet.

    We’re still a week away from Super Tuesday and in the latest Gallup national poll Newt’s numbers are coming up, Santorum are nose diving.

    If that turns out to be a trend and it continues, Super Tuesday will turn out to look a lot different than the polls right now.

    (Do you happen to remember Newt’s poll numbers a week before the vote in SC?)

  • lineholder

    We’ll know tomorrow ( or maybe I should say later today, LOL)

  • annie54

    He’s lazy. Watch him on the campaign trail. He moves around aimlessly and slowly. One thing that was mentioned by a past wife was that he resents people telling him about his weight, also. What’s the hope of making changes?

  • annie54

    n/t

  • WillWong

    Youthful energy!

    In all other areas of experience, vision, conservative record, political smartness, strategy, and staying power, Newt is by far the better one. So pray tell me why should Newt drop out for Santorum?

    If Santorum should humble himself and continue learning at the master’s feet, in time he may be ready!

    Instead, he chose, after two terms as a congressman to seek the relative safety of a senate seat and not have to campaign every two years.

  • Creedo

    You got to hand it to Santorum for not consistently getting his ass handed to him by the Mendoza line candidate. Newt Gingrich has lost to Paul in 6 of 11 states. How’s that for unelectability.

    Newt would lose to Obama by double digits.

  • honoraryintern

    ..Clown girl an outstanding display of support for Newt.

    Newt has lost the bully pulpit. How many people, not infected with Newtonium, watched the gas vid? Only one I know is me. When o’ was quoted about the proposal the MisMedia didn’t even mention Newt’s name in the reports. Newt has to eat crow with women about Callista to change things.

    Your deligate counts ignore uncommitted deligates like me. My caucus selected 10 deligates. 1 paul, 1 Romney, 1 Gingrich; 7 Santorum. Check RCP delegate count and poll averages.

    Newt’s campaign is running on millionaire funds. 9 million from130,000 contributors, for Rick, sounds like broad support that Newt no longer has. Rick has picked his fights in spite of the MisMedia waiting to report his first win days before Newt’s Carolina win. Rick just keep’s on keeping on.

    Are you stuck in wouda, shoulda, coulda, land? Folks infected with Newtonium have a decision. Is any conservative better than a RINO, Bob Dole knocking off? Half of Newts supporters in MI said no.

    What group says no? The he’s smartest, he’s the fighter, he was speaker crowds.

    Some of Newt’s emotional appeal comes from his defence of his actions, personally. Some people that don’t want to be condemned by what they see as judgement from Rick. Everyone wants to be a hero in their own life story, Newt provides feet for them. Great therapy, terrible political strategy.

    Vote for Rick, or continue supporting Newt and let Mitt slide in? Those are the only real choices left…

  • snappy101

    But Newt always has ideas because that’s what he is, an ideas guy. All of his job (consultant, congressman, news analyst, author, professor, documentarian) choices in life show he is a man of ideas but not the guy to carry them out. He’d make a heck of a Presidential advisor but there is nothing in his resume to make me think he’d make a good President or executive of any kind or he would have chosen that do-er route in his past. He always takes a position where he hands off the football (his ideas) to someone (governor, CEO) who takes the ball and runs with it and who has to deal with any resultant problems . That goes for Santorum, too. I don’t think the White House should be training camp for executives. Look who is there now.

  • http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

    …is indicated, for the stridency of these comments ignores what many Newt-supporters have attempted to counter overnight.

    *

    “Newt burned off his support, angry, at the voters for choosing someone else.”

    He focused his anger post-Iowa on Mitt; hyperlink needed that “blames” voters.

    “He was getting close to the same tone here.”

    If reference is made to the video-clip, quotation needed that reflects this putative “tone.”

    “He is 20 points behind Rick or Mitt in support from women.”

    Noting that Rick has also been viewed as anathema to women [which Rush disputes], hyperlink needed to show that The Newt has such a gaping “support” difference.

    “He has no path to the nomination.”

    Noting that Santorum has dropped after the last debate [and that another will occur on FNC with The Huckster in two days, cannot a set of stumbles [on "jobs"] subsequently occur…allowing The Newt to pick-up the True Conservatives/Evangelicals/TPM-activists?

    “Ron will cede his deligates to Mitt before the first roll call, blocking any moves at the convention.”

    Presumably this is a prediction, although a quality-reference would be desirable.

    “Rick has over 120,000 contributors in the month of Feb.”

    Doesn’t seem to be a groundswell.

    “The difference between their positions, despite the ?big labor Repub? title Newt used, is marginal.”

    I refer you to my diary, where I listed multiple problems [and hyperlinked to the exhaustive distillation on Guzzardi's "The Liberty Blog"]; for example, he supports income distribution [financed by the IRS]…as per “It Takes a Family” [bill cosponsored with Lieberman yielding matching-funds when poor deposit $].

    “The way super-Tuesday is shaping up, Newt will win GA and hand the nomination to Mitt as he cleans up the all or nothing states.”

    Trying to push out The Newt within a week ignores the fact that, the following week, two southern states are voting.

    “The conservative vote will be split and Mitt will win the nomination with less than 50% of the vote.”

    This has been a constant dynamic; another is that the true-conservative can unite the anti-Mitt vote [even as he STILL ignores the three aforementioned constituencies].

    “Can Newt or his supporters (6% in MI) put personal preference on the shelf and ?take one for the team?, conservative value voters?

    This is a disingenuous coda, for it’s widely-appreciated that The Newt purposefully “took one for the team” when he eschewed campaigning in Michigan…to help Santorum.

    *

    THEREFORE, if this is the best you can do, supporters of The Newt should take heart.

  • http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

    …but your more recent postings are unnecessarily off-putting.

  • jlsankot

    but do you think Newt would be a better president than the one who is in there now? Or are you willing to put up with the present president for an eternity.

  • jlsankot

    Good Luck to you! I know there are a lot of people like you who haven’t given up and continue to work hard for your goals. Unfortunately, we never hear about you or them. We just hear about the “parasites” and how the rest of us have an obligation to them to feed their parasitic ways.

    And what really puzzles me is how the Dems can twist that information around to make us “feel guilty”. Now, I do what I can on a local basis to help out folks who are going through a rough time, but I refuse to “feel guilty” because some millionare has HIS hand out to, supposedly, give to others, when we know he is using it as campaign money. Yes, I’m talking about 0.

  • The_Gadfly

    Newt has one significant accomplishment on that list that none of his rivals have. It sounds like you too young to remember it, how difficult it was, or how significant it was at the time. Mostly because the Republican establishment and the MSM keep re-writing history to take it away from him.

    HE TOOK BACK THE HOUSE FROM THE DEMOCRATS.

    Some 30 years ago when I was in middle school there were few people still alive who could remember a time when Republicans ran the House. Newt did it over the objections of the party establishment who didn’t like his tactics. They’ve hated him ever since. They seem to prefer getting scraps from their masters in the Democrat party to actually governing and letting people get real meals for themselves. It was a long hard slog that took discipline to accomplish. A few years later, the establishment Republicans threw it away again.

    No, I don’t like the man’s morals. And I don’t like that he shot down our best hope for spending reform (Jack Ryan’s plan). But I DO object to not giving the man credit for those things which he has objectively accomplished.

  • Change Jar Conservative

    I’m not sure if I should be offended at being called a redneck or I should just laugh and shake my head at your ignorance.

    The area that Gingrich represented is essentially a lot of engineers and professionals mixed in with a smattering of good ol’ boys.

    It does encompass some parts of the city of Marietta which is poorer in nature, but the vast majority of Newt’s old district is conservative, middle classers.

  • APA Guy

    I never said I wouldn’t prefer another senator…you inferred that within your own twisted logic. I simply stated a fact based on a lifetime of residence and activity within Indiana politics.

  • APA Guy

    nt

  • APA Guy

    Only a lefty calls people rednecks per negative connotation…as though being a gun-toting, God-fearing, hard-working American somehow is a bad thing. His/her assertions have been shredded to pieces throughout this thread.

    I, for one, an proud of how you and hubby picked yourselves up. You are a great American…and I’m proud to have such a “redneck” fighting with us :)

  • filobeddoe

    WSJ reported Romney spent $56 mill. through January. Willard spent over $4 million in Feb. just for Michigan. I dont know how much he spent in Arizona.

    Apart from trying to buy the election, Willard’s doing it in a wasteful fashion. $60 million for 149 delegates is about $358,000.00 PER delegate. Romney has only bought a litte more than 10% of the delegates he’s needed.. At this rate, Romney needs to spend about $600 million to clinch the nomination.

    And we are told to vote for Romney because he is a businessman?

  • APA Guy

    That having been said, if I can have the smartest guy in the room, and he is conservative enough, I’ll take him over the dunce every time.

  • APA Guy

    I’ll give you a hint: Not Marvin the Martian

  • tomrt

    Dude, you’re trolling on and on with this.

    Santorum also lost to Paul in 3 states.

    Santorum lost his senate seat in a miserable 17.3% rout, and the same Bush and crusader baggage he carries is the reason why he will likely never win the general election.

    Santorum succeeded politically when he followed Newt’s leadership as a ‘disciple’:

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/55495807/Understanding-Newt-Gingrich

    ??this is what Gingrich did. Though his C-SPAN speeches and his GOPAC training tapes, he helped teach a generation of activists how to think and talk about political strategy. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), elected to the House in 1990 and the Senate in 1994, said: ?I listened to the tapes all the time driving around in the car. They taught tactics you should use, basic philosophy, how to discuss the issues. I was a disciple.? And according to Paul Weyrich: ?Many members have told me, ?Until I heard Newt explain this, I never understood the context of my beliefs.’

    h/t Archer@RS

    but he crashed when he followed GWB’s footsteps and tried to push an agenda that a majority of the people of his own state and the country don’t approve of.

    Give your trolling a rest.

  • tomrt

    Since PA is a bell-weather state, that tells us why Santorum simply cannot win the general election for the presidency.

    Romney lost by 18% in his 1994 MA senate race, even though it was one of the best years for the GOP in history, thanks to the 1994 “Gingrich revolution” that was architected by Newt. Without Newt’s (the leader) GOPAC training and the contract with America, Santorum (the follower) wouldn’t have won any election of note, and would’ve even have been a footnote in political history.

  • tomrt

    Since PA is a bell-weather state, that tells us why Santorum simply cannot win the general election for the presidency.

  • tomrt

    Since PA is a bell-weather state, that tells us that Santorum is simply unelectable.

  • tomrt

    Romney lost by 17.1%, not 18% as I said above, and that gives us nice new slogan!

  • tomrt

    than Casey is biologically wired of being, how much would Santorum lose to Obama by? 20%? 25%?

  • xymbaline

    Actually, it is
    http://conservatives4newt.blogspot.com/

    There, you can see what Newt is doing every day.

    He’s got the pedal to the metal now as respect to retail politics.

  • phillyconservative

    but so was Nancy Pelosi.

  • Repair_Man_Jack

    Do you get paid to post this repetitive tripe w/ Newt’s Fannie Mae $$ or with his gambling bucks?

  • Repair_Man_Jack

    It’s the next step after Demming. In other words, it just means that Newt, like the rest of America, remains only 20 years behind Japan in the science of production engineering.

  • mirac777

    Lets see if the POTUS dies while in office, the first in line to replace him is…. the POTUS? Come on! 1st is VP, 2nd in line is Speaker period. Talk about neanderthalic spin!

  • gsatt

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the gov. shut down because he would not take no for an answer back in the clinton era? Doesn’t the GOP dislike the guy because they cant control him? ISN’T THIS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN CRYING FOR INSTEAD OF THE LIMP NOODLES OUR PARTY HAS BECOME???????????

    And idea creation, Isnt that the job of the leader? to come up with strategies and use his team/employees/ tools to implement those ideas/strategies? I would agreee that its more of a longshot since he hasn’t actually governed a state, but that’s the beauty of our country, its called checks and balances. Hes been in the game enough to know how a president should act (if he paid any attention). Reagan called his space program STAR WARS and took down the USSR. What do you think people would do today if they heard that idea being tossed around like a football?????? HAAAAAAAA

  • mirac777

    Newt isn’t a “doer.” Thats why he reformed welfare and balanced the budget 4 straights years right? That is sure a whole lot of “doing” for someone you say ins’t a doer!

    And I thought RedState was one of the few places where common sense and actual truth-telling ruled the day. Look at these comments. Who let the media matters misfits in here?

  • xymbaline

    The enthusiam here behind Newt is wonderful to behold.

  • mirac777

    who looks like it takes a big effort to walk up to the stage and give his taxpayer-funded pep rallies posing as policy speeches too. That didnt stop him from being elected did it? Insiders say Obama is the laziest person who ever stepped foot into the White House.

    Actual accomplishments should be the only qualification to be President. Newt has them, Santorum doesn’t and neither does Mittens, unless you call Obamneycare a conservative accomplishment.

  • mirac777

    in Delegate votes. OOPS so much for the Paul victory speech there.

  • phillyconservative

    I am quite certain you realize that was Romney’s first run at public office against a Kennedy who continued to be reelected despite obvious involvementin the death of a woman who was not his wife. That was 1969, the Senate race was ’94 and if the GOP took back 200 seats, it wouldnt matter in Massachusetts. But Santorum lost his last statewide race in a purple state by 18, Romney won his in a deep blue state. Check it out, in Reagan and Nixons reelection landslides one state consistently went to the challenger, Massachusetts. Newt is done and his staying in the race does nothing but damage. Lets see if Santorum can go against Romney. I doubt he can especially after that robocall stunt. Romney will be the nominee, he is the most consevative up there now, all the attacks on him are from the ’94 campaign and have to be taken out of context in order to have an impact. Like when he was reading what the current law was in Mass about judge giving permission to kids to have abortions. He was saying what it was not endorsing it but that and things like it like attacking Bain sank Newt, hes finished. When you put what Romney says about Newt and Rick, it stands up but Newts attacks eventually fall flat and he ends up critisizing Romney for his debate coach choice. Is that man mentally stable to be president? Yes he is smart, I use his texts to teach my kids, Newt is a genious in his chosen field… but so was the guy in A Beautiful Mind.

  • edintexas

    It is the English language which, apparently, many of those who managed to survive 12 years of school in the last 3 or 4 decades failed to learn.

  • mirac777

    Santorum loses LIBERAL women and Catholics, of which there aren’t many conservatives left in the rathole that used to be my homestate of Michigan.He did however win my home county of Marquette.

    16 trillion in debt and some folks want to elect a President on religious beliefs or who has the best hair, therefore he is deemed the most “electable.” Tell me this country isn’t screwed.

  • paco12348

    Newt is the only one that beat Obama and the US would have realized this sooner if the GOP Leadership and other Congress grudge holders had left the selection process alone. They want Romney, we want Newt. He’s the only one seeing the big picture of economics, energy, education, foreign policy, immigration and plain internal problems caused by the Unions and Democrats. We have Federal Judges using Sharia Law inside the US. Newt will stop that. That is as great a danger to America as illegal immigration. We have and continue to bring in people that refuse to assimilate and drag their country’s laws with them. No longer do people have to give up allegience to their home country to become a citizen of the US. We are filled to the brim with Atheists and America haters. Newt sees all that and we need someone that shake the trees and let the nuts fall from BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES . THAT is why the GOP does not want Newt and THAT is why I do.

  • phillyconservative

    I think would be perfect for the party. Newt as Romney’s Chief of Staff. Well no one said that but that Newt should be an advisor to a president. Right now, there should be a cease fire on all fronts and Mitt should start reaching out and putting out feelers. Of course Santorum already thinks Ron Paul is teaming up with Romney which doesnt make political sense unless you bring Rand Paul into the mix which he hasnt shown. Ron Paul did not attack one other person, Herman Cain but relentlessly attacked Bachman a little, Perry alot, and Gingrich a lot. He only attacks Romney when he says he is the same status quo candidate as everyone else but him. Ron Paul respects private sector experienced public service. Although Ron Paul has been in a awhile, he is not your normal career pol. He respects Romneys background as he did with Herman Cain, not orchestrating a conspiracy. Santorum is starting to sound like Newt after a loss. What happened to those delegates in Florida? Nothing. What will happen when Rick claims he won because he got the same delegates as Mitt in a state he was born in but hadnt lived in in 40 years? Home state yes, but then Newt’s home state is Pennsylvania.

  • phillyconservative

    are Mitt’s backyard, according to Gingrich and Santorum. Florida is transplanted Northeasterners, so thats how Mitt won FLA, but Newt won the panhandle counties. Nevada and Arizona are Mormon influenced states, this from Gingrich as well. Mitt’s excuse for losing to Gingrich in South Carolina? “Our (keyword- our), had a setback, it does us no good making easy excuses as to why it’s not our fault we came in second but the truth is we were recently up in S.C. and should have won it but we have Florida soon to recalibrate things and redeem us.” ~ Romney Shortly after South Carolina Primary onu ABCNews.
    I think Newt and Santorum have written the updated edition on campaign loss exuses. Last night Rick Santorum actually attempted to mock the Virginia Primary and Romney’s expected win because “he’s the only one on the ballot.” Yes, because only campaigns with excellent organizations qualified by following direction. Rick failed to see the irony in that his campaign could not him on the ballot of a key swing state that went to Obama in 2008 but has been seeing red ever since. And both Newt and Rick claim they are being outspent.Why? Because more Republicans give money to Romney, but they imply its because Romney is rich. No, his campaign is better than theirs, pure and simple. After three years of “blame Bush” and “blame the House GOP,” Newt and Santorum are giving us the Republican Primary version blaming Bush, but its now “blame geography,” “blame his religion,” “blame his campaign’s wealth,” and finally “blame Romney for getting on the VA ballot.”

  • finkelwitz

    Es fallen perlen fin zayn moyl arup…”Pearls fall from his mouth” The more I hear from this brilliant and HIGHLY QUALIFIED visionary the more I realize that he’s trailing because the average Republican voter (third from the left on the evolutionary chart) isn’t ready for the total turn around of this country that Newt would accomplish if elected. Yeah, Romney will be an improvement, but only Gingrich is the complete antithesis of the marxist monster from Maui. Wake up Americans. Vote Newt.

  • Finrod

    I live in Marietta and I voted for Newt Gingrich in his last House race in 1998.

    You can take your snark and stick it where the sun don’t shine.

  • Finrod

    I’m mildly surprised you aren’t repeating the Romney libel that he ‘resigned in disgrace’. Whereas, the truth actually is:

    Whatever else, and I say this as both an ally and a tormentor of Speaker Gingrich, he did not resign in disgrace. His leadership was key in getting us to the majority. His inspiration helped keep us there: twice. But after the 1998 midterm election, with a presidential campaign approaching and Governor George W. Bush emerging as our likely leader with a real chance to regain the presidency, we needed a speaker who could manage the House not an idea leader. So like a business changing direction, we changed leadership.

    There are plenty of reasons to oppose Newt Gingrich. I happen to support Rick Santorum. But the speaker has been unfairly maligned by Mitt Romney, and the full story needs to be told.

  • Tbone

    What part of my post put you off?

  • Tbone

    at POTUS level. This is why California shouldn’t even be granted a Republican POTUS primary.

  • Common_Cents

    People get sucked into the trap of the media setting the agenda and story. People are still worried about the pelosi couch thing, meanwhile since Gingrich left the Speakership the Republicans have had a terrible, terrible, terrible record of any attempt of conservatism.

    Look at McConnell and Boehner always talking tough but bending over grabbing their ankles at every turn.

    America has been sold down the river by our leadership.

  • Finrod

    Here in North Atlanta, almost all the political signs I’ve seen so far are for Newt. There are a few Ron Paul stickers classlessly stuck to the back of highway signs, but otherwise it’s all Newt here.

  • lapert

    There were as many balanced budgets after he left the House as there were under his speakership.And the party did win back the White House and retain the House majority for another 8 years.

    Don’t think they missed him too much.

  • clowngirl

    What are you suggesting? That Newt should drop out before Super Tuesday?

    Thank you for the compliment, btw, but I hope you don’t think I’m somehow blinded by my preference for Newt.

    Putting yourself in the position of a Newt supporter:

    What arguments do you think would convince you to switch?

    Do you think you would abandon your candidate just because he’s behind at the moment?

    Because another candidate has had a few weeks of momentum ( and already seems to be coming down )

    What if you don’t think that other candidate is capable of ultimately winning the primary and has no chance whatsoever in the general election?

    (you apparently read what I wrote but it doesn’t seem to have registered)

    Would it endear you to an alternative candidate if that candidate – in coordination with others- dropped out of a debate in your candidates home state? Or would it confirm you in the view that that candidate is a much weaker choice and is benefitting from unfair and disgraceful attacks on yours?

    What if that candidate attacks yours untruthfully here on RedState.

    But I must confess, this is academic. I’ve supported Newt since the beginning and I think he’s a vastly better choice than either Romney or Santorum. (though I thought that Governor Perry would also make a good President – very good with Newt as VP)

    There’s nothing you’re likely to be able to say that would convince me that Rick Santorum is remotely as good a choice.

    Newt has vowed to fight on to the convention, I’d be deeply disappointed if he didn’t and I’ll do what I can to help him.

    I don’t think you’re likely to change the minds of those who have been Newt supporters all along– but I still marvel at some of that tactics Santorum has employed – which can only increase the conviction of those who think Newt should be President.

  • phillyconservative

    a GSE paid a consulting firm over a million dollars to be consulted by a consulting firm whose leader was contemporanously “consulting” or telling Congress not to give the company, that was chartered by Congress, any federal money? One reason why Newt is finished in 2012 is because his answer to the charge centered on the denial that Newt himself got the money, which was true – the Gingrich Group did, however Newt claiming he warned Freddie Mac about pending finacial doom was never substantiated. That, along with attacks on Romney about Bain that were baseless and WTFuture’s were quotes from people saying things with a narrator telling the audience the context. Rookie stuff that failed miserably with even the interviewee’s coming out and criticizing the documentary. Newt is done, its time to move on.

  • Common_Cents

    Newt Gingrich is the candidate most like Andrew Breitbart. Gingrich is tired of the BS and isn’t going to take it anymore, just as Breitbart announced at CPAC.

    Gingrich was the only one to consistently take on the media in national debates. The other candidates remained cowards. Did they back up Gingrich? No. Instead the other candidates talked to each other to avoid the GA CNN debate. Cowards.

    America needs a bold leader who will call out the left and the biased media. We don’t need any more cowards.

  • acat

    he’s credited with trying to use the Dem strategy of paying off certain constituencies to maintain a majority in the House, y’know… he’s also from a district near me… and I had a small celebration the day he retired.

    The coach’s big- spending make him as much a father of the Tea Party as Obama… and clearly provide much ammunition to the “Throw ‘em all out!” crowd.

    Facts are stubborn things, lapert. It’s quite possible that the trough-feeding hogs of the gutless D.C. wing of the GOP didn’t miss Gingrich, but We The People should know better.

    Mew

  • clowngirl

    It didn’t make him a loser.

    This “Newt lost to Paul 6 times” argument is obvious just to taunt Newt supporters here at RS. 1 of the states you reference is MO – where Newt choose not to be on the ballot. In MN, Newt barely campaigned and Paul also finished ahead of Romney who expended onsiderably more effort an supposedly had the momentum. Newt didn’t compete at all in Maine ( where Paul also came in ahead of Santorum.

    Ron Paul spent years building his organization in IA ( where he came close to winning) and NH ( home of the Free State Project which relocated thousands – perhaps tens of thousands of libertarian activists to NH) but Newt still looked likely to win by a landslide in IA and possibly win NH before he endured 10 million dollars worth of attacks and a scorched earth effort by much of the media (who had nothing but love for Paul)

    So, there’s your response. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to be bated – but there you have it.

  • honoraryintern

    .. to ignore the point. Newt can’t gain a majority in his own caucus. Use the deligate calculator at RCP there is no way for him to win. Newt will be the cheapest “smart guy”, Mitt has ever hired.

    Rick Perry was able to admit he was doing more harm than good. The old Newt would never admit he was doing harm. Is there really a new Newt?

  • lapert

    Which must be why you avoid them.. Same number of balanced budget and the two biggest surpluses came after Newt – not that I credit Hastert for them, but I don’t credit Newt either.

    I certainly didn’t miss Newt, he was (and remains) a lousy leader. If I need someone to come up with a dozen new half-baked ideas I might turn to him, but for actual leadership ‘ll pass.

  • lapert

    Because under his leadership instead of solidifying their majority they squandered it. he was a horrid caucus leader and the caucus wasn’t functional under him – he was going to lost the leadership position and his ego couldn’t take sticking around if he wasn’t in command so he resigned from the House (take note of that anyone who thinks he will be a VP pick).

  • avagreen

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession#Current_order
    This is a list of the current presidential line of succession,[1] as specified by the United States Constitution and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947[2] as subsequently amended to include newly created cabinet offices.
    # Office Current officer
    1 Vice President of the United States Joe Biden (D)
    2 Speaker of the House John Boehner (R)

  • http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

    “I am pretty sure that Newt will die in the next 4 years from being old and fat.”

  • acat

    You’re right, Gingrich didn’t get a BBA signed .. but he came a lot closer than Hastert because he actually tried.

    Your argument lacks a certain element … truth.

    Mew

  • avagreen

    Newt is the best choice in my books. The fact that he’s being run into the ground to support someone like Santorium supports my support of him.

    Plus, the fact that my man, Perry, supports him.
    What gives with the ship changers?

  • acat

    as it’s the only measure that means anything.

    By that definition, Ron Paul’s won many caucuses despite vote totals showing otherwise… because his supporters are better trained.

    Mew

  • acat

    he’s lost for office after office after office.

    I also notice you display the typical Romney-supporter tendency to bash others rather than, you know, actually *defending* Willard.

    Get some new material.

    Mew

  • lapert

    You like ‘facts’ which aren’t really facts but opinions.

    Gingirch tried to get the BBA passed once to be sure, but he didn’t try after that. In fact, he basically accepted Clinton’s framework of it being unnecessary to balance the budget. In the process, he got his assed kicked politically by Clinton and probably contributed to his reelection (see, that isn’t a fact since it isn’t really provable though the evidence suggests it is likely true).

    Which is all immaterial to the facts of the budgets under Gingrich and Hastert during the Clinton administration. Each had two years of surplus, each did without decreasing spending during periods of economic growth with rising tax receipts. Once Bush won the Presidency (something the GOP thought less likely with a continued Newt leadership in the House) spending accelerated and taxes were lowered. To assert that had Newt been Speaker he would have pushed back on Bush is not provable – but quite doubtful.

    So lets recap – the only real facts are the budget was balanced twice under Gingrich and twice under Hastert. The truth here is that neither of them reduced spending, neither of them passed a BBA (I don’t think that is a bad thing by the way), neither of them created any sustainable systemic change that could maintain balanced budgets going forward. And neither of them are or will be remembered among the greatest leaders the House has seen.

  • acat

    Seriously, you make me laugh with your nonsense like this.

    Mew

  • lapert

    What state are you talking about because I don’t see any caucus listed in 2012 or 2008 that shows Paul getting a majority of, let alone all, the delegates.

  • acat

    To say that Gingrich “wouldn’t have pushed back against Bush”, appears quite contrary to Gingrich’s history of pushing back against ineffective leadership.

    I’ll note – again – that Hastert’s GOP caucus were the first GOP caucus to outspend the Dems .. and were directly responsible for losing the GOP their “fiscal conservative” reputation.

    Mew

  • funwithknives

    several manufacturing journals, you cannot approach L-S-S half-assed. If you are in ,it’s all or nothing.
    Closest to an attempt, believe it or not, is the U S Navy nibbling around the edges.
    Could the U S, in our current Silos of Arrogance, possibly pull this off? With the emphasis on Fair, The 99%, and so on ….weelll just call me doubtful. LSS is such a shock to a “system” like ours, could it be just fantasy? Hope springs eternal but first you have to ‘splain it to Americans in general .Then the fun begins…..
    {You WILL find out just how insufficient, public education really is}

  • annie54

    Santorum has energy! Have you ever followed him on his events schedule? He has discipline (100 push ups every morning) and energy. . . period.

    Newt has great accomplishments. He’s the smartest man in the room. But he’s not leading.

    It’s time for him to fall out and support Santorum for the sake of the GOP and before Super Tuesday.

    United we stand….Divided we fall..into the pits of Socialism.

  • lapert

    No seriously, what history do you speak of? What ineffective leadership did he push back against?

    And I will repeat again – since you like to sidestep actual facts for your chosen ‘facts’- Hastert had as many surplus years as Gingrich, neither reduced spending. I would say it was Bush who is most directly responsible for what you credit Hastert with and I would propose that Newt wouldn’t have had any different outcomes under Bush (heck, the biggest new spending was something Newt very actively supported).

  • WillWong

    to the pits of socialism. Newt is the 180 turn!

  • acat

    As for Gingrich, you *are* aware he was in congress for some time before 1994, right?

    Mew

  • acat
  • cbartlett

    From another Newt supporter in Texas. I started out with Newt, then moved to Perry when he jumped in and ended up back where I started when Perry decided to bow out. Sure hope Newt is still in the picture by the time we actually get to vote (looks like it will be May 29th now….)

  • lapert

    To both things. Actually, to be precise, I blame Bush for not prioritizing spending reduction in his budgets while pushing several big spending projects through. I blame single party control for it being so easy for everyone’s spending priorities to be met with no real incentive to trim fat anywhere else.

    As for Newt, he was in Congress for a long time – so where is that history of pushing back. The only time I can think of was with Bush’s tax increase – and he lost that battle so I’m not sure why you think he would have had more success the second time around.

  • tomrt

    ‘Romney won his in a deep blue state’

    MA is blue for presidential elections, but it has a tradition of electing Republican governors at frequent intervals. With the wind of his Olympics stint (I think he did a good job there, but he also seems to have done too much self-promotion while at it) on his back, Romney pulled off a win in 2002, but after just one term he left with very high disapproval ratings:

    Survey USA

    Do you approve or disapprove of the job Mitt Romney is doing as Governor?
    Nov. 2006: 34% approve, 65% disapprove
    Dec. 2006: 39% approve, 59% disapprove

    A 17% loser in 1994, and a failed governor by 2006. Great going!

    ‘like attacking Bain sank Newt’

    Why exactly is Romney’s Bain career, which he presents as his main qualification for running the country, beyond scrutiny and critical questioning? If Romney were to apply for a job at you company and tell you that Bain was his main accomplishment you’d certainly ask him a range of questions about that work and the results. The same applies to Romney’s application for the job of the president. He maybe able to hide behind the “Look mommy, that bad boy Newtie is attacking all of free enterprise!” line in the GOP primary, but he definitely will not get a pass on it in the general, especially in an election year where most middle class folks are struggling and issues such as jobs, employment security and income inquality are on everyone’s mind. Since the primary is a vetting process, it becomes important to critically examine his Bain record without pre-judgement and with a view on how it may playout in the general.

    ‘When you put what Romney says about Newt and Rick, it stands up’

    Well, if someone spends $25 million and attacks you with 15,000 attack spots, it would “stand up” against you too. That Romney is able to get away with such thuggery shows the sadly compromised state of the Republican party.

    Fundamentally, Romney lacks the basic integrity to be President, and Obama’s $1 billion and his apparatus (MSNBC, LWNM, etc) will ensure that everyone knows about it in gory detail by election day, thus ensuring a second term for Obama (a disaster for the country) if the GOP makes the mistake of nominating Romney.

  • avagreen

    You mentioned “clinicals” in another post…….are you trying for a nursing degree?

  • carczarconsulting

    Here’s two homegrown (Beavercreek, Oregon) and disruptive gas price solutions for Newt’s and your consideration:

    1. We seek $2.5 (US) next round funding from interested investors and/or potential production and/or distribution partners for multi-national, patent protected Vapor Fuel Technology – www.mpgleader.com. This solution helps US (and other consumers) and fleet managers achieve a 30.1% fuel savings and also helps automotive and commercial vehicle OEM’s and their franchised dealers solve the 54.5mpg (US) CAFE requirement.

    Aftermarket and after-sales consumer and fleet vehicle US retrofits (gas or CNG) alone are initially estimated at over 3-5m (N. America alone).

    2. Separately, we seek $600K (US) next round funding for our new Absolute Safety Tire patented design solution – http://www.tirestud.com – as extends and retract studs to enhance winter traction, produce compressed air to maintain correct pressure within the tires and provide a visual and audible indication of tire wear beyond the recommended limit. This tire industry game-changer also features an estimated 3.3 mpg percent advantage over conventional tires.

    Contact:

    Andrew Gross
    Managing Member of Business & Marketing
    Absolute Business Solutions, LLC
    Clackamas, Oregon (US)
    503-891-8985
    agross6325@aol.com

    Raymond Bushnell
    Managing Member of Technology
    Absolute Business Solutions, LLC
    Clackamas, Oregon (US)
    503-351-2401
    bushnell@teleport.com

  • lapert

    Good, so you just meant a few tiny counties. Great, who cares? Your indictment of caucuses is that Paul won the delegates in a few counties without winning a plurality of the few dozen votes? There are many systems that don’t align plurality with winning necessarily (our electoral college comes to mind).

    Is it an indictment of primaries that he won delegates in NH? Or is both cases simply an indictment of our easily misled youth?

  • WillWong

    Santorum’s supporters will see the light after Super Tuesday that Newt is our (America’s and not only conservatives’) only hope to turn the country around!

  • annie54

    done by J.C. Watts for Newt Gingrich. Granted, he’s trying one giant step for mankind right now; however, if Romney wins Ohio, the eastern states, et al – Romney will be our candidate.

    I refrained from stressing this last night due to the nature of the call; however, I’ve been kicking myself eversince.

  • WillWong

    and not cede Global Warming (not AGW) to the LEFT. We made a few mistakes in the past….leaving tertiary education and mass communication to the LEFT and are still paying the price.

    A market based approach to environmental stewardship is what Newt always advocated. He admitted that sitting on the couch with Pelosi was the most stupid thing he had done. I think he is talking about the visual part.

  • tomrt

    to creedo spamming the same thing over and over.

  • lineholder

    Crash was very unjustly painting all poor people with a broad brush of being “parasites”, as if no poor person would choose otherwise. We do have some that have “what they are entitled to” ingrained into their way of thinking, and I’m not denying that. But that isn’t the whole truth for every person in our country who is facing being in the category of “poor” right now.

    The Dems do play on guilt. If it was because they genuinely wanted to help the poor, I might give them the benefit of the doubt. But it’s just a political ploy on their part to expand the size, scope and power of government. They don’t really want to help the poor build a better life for themselves. Anyone who is familiar with how our welfare programs are constructed knows that much. They want the poor utterly and completely dependent on government, as a means of controlling our society. That’s how it really is.

    Thank you for helping in what ways you can. It matters more than you might know.

  • lineholder

    Health Information Management. If all goes as planned, I graduate in May.

    Thank you for the words of encouragement!

  • WillWong

    Even the seismic red tide of 2010 couldn’t overcome the Rockies!

  • streiff

    any more spamming comments with the same message will result in banning.

  • Scope

    “But after the 1998 midterm election, with a presidential campaign approaching and Governor George W. Bush emerging as our likely leader with a real chance to regain the presidency, we needed a speaker who could manage the House not an idea leader. So like a business changing direction, we changed leadership.”

    In particular please note- “we need a Speaker who could manage the House not an idea leader. So like a business changing direction, we changed leadership.” Duh!

    Gingrich was facing a challenge for his speaker’s role after the loss of 5 Republican House seats, from several other House Republicans. There were definitely at least 7 House members that were prepared to vote against Gingrich, and possibly up to 30-40. Gingrich obviously fought it at first, but when he tried to muster the Republicans to stand by him, he had a lot of unanswered phone calls. Gingrich had just won re-election to the House days before his resignation, but obviously he wasn’t willing to stay in the House in a demoted position, so he resigned from the Congress completely. In this article Livingstone who was looking to replace Gingrich as Speaker, complimented Gingrich’s ability to regain the R majority in the House, but he lacked the ability to run the day to day activities as Speaker. That is precisely the same language in your quote “We need a Speaker who could manage the House not an idea leader.”

    This year you’ve heard from some House members that served under Gingrich as the Speaker who have said things like “Gingrich would set the agenda in the morning, and by the end of the day, if not by lunch time, Gingrich had already changed his mind and wanted to go in another direction.” Someone said that there was a filing cabinet filled with folders with Gingrich’s ideas, and it was full. The problem was that the workable and realistic ideas took only one bottom drawer.” Back in 2000 Gingrich talked about Lunar landings. I’ve heard some saying that the House was in utter chaos under Gingrich’s role as Speaker. Probably one of the biggest Gingrich faults was in his inability to stay disciplined. As to discipline, someone also said that Newt was never more than 5 minutes away from the self-destruct button.

    I never said, implied, or agreed with the Romney attacks on Gingrich, particular when he said he resigned in disgrace. Rather, Gingrich resigned because his position as Speaker was challenged, and he knew he couldn’t hang in and win the battle, no matter what the reasons. As to Romney, if he does become the nominee, I fear more than 5 Republican seat losses in 2012.

  • lineholder

    L6S has been around long enough to be proven effective. And depending on how Newt is applying the principles, I would think we might have enough people in our society who are familiar with how it works to not only support it but also to spread the word.

    Anything that increases efficiency in government, particularly as it is related to spending, would be to our benefit right now. We’re very badly in need of it!! The newer tools might be better in some ways, but L6S would be a decent start.

  • tomrt

    shortly before your warning. I had been wrestling w/ creedo’s spam for the past few days, trying to make him more responsible a poster, but I woke up this morning on the wrong side of the bed, saw his spam all over, and just lost it, and turned irresponsible myself. I have since realized the importance of maintaining he decorum of the site notwithstanding provocation of some commenters.

    Therefore, I sincerely apologize to all readers and the site maintainers for my loss of form. I will do my best henceforth to keep my participation on the site clean and responsible. Thank you.

  • Tbone

    you would advise him to do what? Is he not obese?

    The guy is going to be 69 years old in June. Even if he makes it through the next 4 years, he would have to run for a second term at 73. I know a lot of 69-73 year old guys. I wouldn’t trust their mental or physical capabilities for the next 4 years.

    If you read he dropped dead of a heart attack or that he was in for emergency bypass would you be surprised?

    I think not.

  • tomrt

    and I sincerely hope that the readers will not allow my loss of form in this instance to reflect poorly on Newt, given that he had nothing to do with it.

  • WillWong

    Newt is fortunate to have you as a supporter and I am blessed to have you in the foxhole! Keep up the good work!

  • clowngirl

    39 states plus Guam and Puerto Rico?

    Plenty of time to catch up. And Newt, at the height of his first surge surged in a wide variety of states. He’s shown the potential for a very high ceiling.

    Not to mention that:

    1. Unbound delegates can still change their mind up until their state convention can’t they.

    And they won’t necessarily fit the results. I’m a Newt delegate from a district won by Santorum – I’ll go to the state convention and vote for a national delegate who supports Newt.

    2. Santorum can still drop out and give his delegates to Newt.

    Which calls into question what it is you’re worrying about. If Santorum is really such a strong candidate, Newt would alway be free to endorse him later.

    You seem to be arguing that Newt is this very weak candidate but, at the same time, that he’s a mortal threat to Santorum. The 2 don’t go together.

    Besides, I seem to remember Santorum saying he didn’t want Newt to drop out, and that he would beat Romney “straight up”

  • streiff

    thanks for the clarification.

  • clowngirl

    Depending on which prior poll you look at.

    Both Gallup and Rasmussen currently have Santorum at 24 nationally, and Newt just 8 points behind.

    That’s hardly evidence that Santorum’s the guy who can beat Romney, and it’s definitely not a commanding lead over Newt -especially when you consider that Newt is about to compete in favorable states and that his Super PAC will run a significant number of ads (in 7 states) for the first time since Florida.

    So, while I can imagine how you might see it as beneficial to Santorum to have a candidate of Newt’s stature remove himself from contention, I find the notion that Newt should drop out for the good of the country extremely unpersuasive.

  • Scope

    are going with Romney, not Newt. How is that helpful to anyone, except the Romney team?

  • clowngirl

    And I expect they will rise more.

    But my point is that Santorum hasn’t demonstrated staying power or earned a 2 man race.

  • acat

    1978 – Gingrich elected to congress
    1983 – Gingrich sets up Military Reform Caucus
    – Leads call for expulsion of reps in house page sex scandal *despite leadership duck-and-cover*
    – Sets up Conservative Opportunity Society – ideas from COS picked up by Reagan for re-election run

    1988 – worked to dump Dem majority leader Wright on ethics charges
    1989 – raised objections to turning Panama canal over to Noriega
    1990 – “Language, a key mechanism of control” …

    Your assertion that this resume is comparable to Coach Hastert’s is laughable on its’ face, lapert, and is historically untrue.

    I will further note that you’ve ignored – repeatedly – the problems in the post-Newt GOP that led to the Dems returning to power.

    Mew

  • acat

    counties went to Paul due to his better trained followers. You’re welcome to go on looking at the published delegate counts from some of those “not yet awarded” States .. but I would not take them too seriously…. they’re estimates based on vote and caucus totals, not actual delegates awarded.

    As for NH, party rules apply. (and also have problems, but that’s yet another distraction ..) Early States must be proportional this iteration.

    To sum up, you’ve not defended caucuses, instead you’ve thrown distractions and minimized. Does that work well in your debate club?

    Mew

  • Patrish

    Dodging the question is a specialty of yours I see. If you vote for anyone other than the Republican nominee —- you are (in essence) casting a vote for Obama. And staying home (not voting at all) is also a form of giving your vote to Obama. Tbone, you are really FOR Obama. Don’t deny it.

  • clowngirl

    I typed up what I initially thought was a snappy comeback to this same line from creedo and then – only after reflecting that less offensive Santorum supporters probably wouldn’t appreciate it – came to my senses and deleted it.

  • Aaron Gardner

    I guess you missed this one:

    4. It is forbidden to single out a user for abuse or harassment for any reason, including being new to the site, being suspected of breaking site rules, or for supporting a particular candidate for office.

  • lapert

    In fact, my first post specifically said that. I just asked you what Caucus Paul won and your answer is some spattering of counties. Which really, isn’t all that interesting to me and I don’t really see how that reflects poorly on Caucuses. If you want to attack them for their low participation rate, with participants demographics seemingly disconnected from party interest per se that is one thing – but because Paul could manage the process in a few counties, eh.

  • demsaresatanic

    good work.

  • tnguy

    Many Romney supporters seem to have problems with basic math.

  • lapert

    So you have three examples in there of standing up to leadership – two were standing up to the opposing Party’s leadership and I really don’t know much about the conversation handing over the canal so can’t speak to that.

    I guess that is substantial.

    Oh, and as usual you put an argument in mouth I never made. I never said that his resume is comparable to Hastert’s. I merely pointed out that they both oversaw the same number of budget surpluses as leader.On that metric, their resumes are identical.

    As for the post-Newt GOP’s problems. To assert that the problems that led to them losing controls 8 years after he left the House would not have happened if he stuck around is kind of silly. It is a counter-factual that is nothing but mere speculation. However, given how little he did out of office to oppose the Bush administration (not that is surprising to me) and in his strong backing of some of the big spending issues like Medicare Part D, I really don’t see what you think he would have prevented from happening.

    If you look at the more immediate impact, well in 2000 they won the Presidency, and in 2002 they had the rare feat of expanding their house majority while holding the presidency in a mid-year election.

  • clowngirl

    Speaker Gingrich led Senator Santorum by as much as 19 points in national polls.

    He was headed into all or nothing Florida and the narrative was that if Romney won there he’d have a clear path to the nomination.

    Santorum not only didn’t drop out but he said not a peep when Newt was being smeared and he happily piled on attacking Newt in the 2 debates.

    Had he dropped out, endorsed Newt, went out as a surrogate and defended him against attacks, Newt may well have won Florida, come out with HUGE m omentum and plenty of donations, won several states in February, had the resources to compete in every state and would probably be the front runner right now – and be looking forward to easily winning Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ohio, and maybe picking up a couple extra states as a bonus.

    He might’ve even won Michigan.

    My point is that Senator Santorum did not make blocking Romney from the nomination a priority at all. His sole concern was the survival of his own candidacy.

    in the past 3 1/2 months Newt was in first place or tied for first place for a combined total of nearly 6 weeks. Santorum managed it for 10 days.

    Now he’s behind Romney by 11 to 15 points depending on what poll you look at.

    My personal preferences aside — Newt looks like the more resilient candidate — and that not even getting into the differing levels of difficulty he and Santorum have faced.

    Intelligent people can have differing point of views.

    You can post ( a number of times in slightly different ways ) about the need to unite behind your candidate to defeat Romney — but you should also respect the fact that others don’t believe Senator Santorum should be our nominee or is the candidate we should unite behind against Romney even though he’s currently ahead (albeit only by single digits nationally)

    That doesn’t make us stubborn, selfish or brainwashed. We just have a different view of what is best.

  • rightland1111

    I think that is another reason why people are picking Santorum over Gingrich. He’s at an age that his doctor should be telling him to drop at least 50 pounds .. if not more. Maybe Breitbart might be his wake up call. Heart attacks can happen at any age.

  • rightland1111

    I know how you feel…being where you live…but..if Romney wins the nomination…you might find a many more people willing to vote for him rather than Obama. We have to get Obama OUT. BTW…I do not like Romney…I am like you…a Perry supporter.

  • texashistorian

    It might not be such a hard sell, Newt has the ability to simplify it conceptually where it can resonate. It really isn’t all that complex to understand. The real issue, as I think you might be getting at, is condensing the process into a 2 or 3 phrase statement that is memorable and to the point. More so than woeful ignorance (though who can blame the average American for not knowing about manufacturing theory like six sigma, or lean) is the short attention span.

  • brojohn2

    New York City, proud member of the NYS Conservative Party, but now claim Texas as home since I have been living here since 1982. So why would I want to vote for either Santorum, Paul or even Romney in the primaries? I cannot think of any good reason. For all y’all who talk down about Gingrich, you really seem to have forgotten that he was and is a brilliant man, who did LEAD the Republican Party in victory and in balancing the budget over Clinton and the Democrats.

    Romney has outspent both Santorum and Gingrich, is that because big time Republicans have financed him or is it because he has spent a bunch of his own money? Yes there are some who are bankrolling the Super Pac, but there are also those who are bankrolling the Super Pac backing Santorum and the one backing Gingrich.

    The one guy I really believe would be able to beat Obama hands down is Newt, only because Perry is not running. There seems to be a hate Newt group, who want to print and say a lot of lies about him. As far as divorce and remarry, he aint the only one, so what else is negative about the man? He has a wonderful program that is on his website. Check it out and see what he is saying as against what the other two are not saying.

  • thecommander

    Newt is looking backward to glory days under Reagan when the GOP was shining strong. Today Newt’s ideas simply will not work because this is a different country. Our society has changed so much that Newt’s ideas no mattter how good they may be will not work. The country could not survive the shock Newt would bring and the nation would divide over just how conservative does a conservative need to be to be called a conservative.

    We had folks in South Carolina that wanted everyone else to back out and just name Newt as the candidate to challenge Obama since South Carolina always picks the nominee.

    Newt needs to think about the future of the nation and the long term effects of the policies he would like to enact. A divided GOP gaurentees an Obama victory and the a divided nation. Newt is not the one to unite the party for his baggage damages his message.

  • acat

    Gingrich proposed and pushed not just a balanced budget, but a BBA and a much tighter, more efficient government.

    Hastert went the opposite direction, using pork to “buy” votes.

    Your assertion that Gingrich would have done the same thing is laughably false, thus your entire argument fails.

    Mew

  • acat

    See, sounds to me like Ron Paul’s minions line up well with your “low participation rate, with participants demographics seemingly disconnected from party interest “.

    Further, as it remains to be seen how delegation allocation from some of the early States actually goes, even if you’re right and it’s “a few counties” – which I dispute – it’s still a skew that’s only possible due to caucuses.

    Mew

  • lapert

    I don’t think I am saying they are mainstream – upthread I think I called them easily misled youth. I do agree that a the low participation nature of caucuses makes it easier for someone with a strong but small following to outperform someone with a broader but more disinterested following – though some may see that as a feature not a bug as one should be rewarded for the level of engagement of their minions (I am not among them, but i also don’t think broad primaries are the answer – I prefer smoke filled rooms where I sit at the head of the table).

  • lapert

    He once passed a BBA out of the house. He never tried again. So what? I don’t agree that a BBA is the best way to restrain the size of government in the first place and after his BBA failed he proved it unnecessary (as Clinton had said) to balance the budget. As for him pushing a tighter, more efficient government – well I don’t know what facts you think support that but the size of the government didn’t go down, I consulted with various government agencies at that time (and do today) and while I never run out of opportunities to make them more efficient I don’t really see any evidence that the government was particularly efficient in the late 90′s relative to the period before Newt or the period since (though a mandate to employ Lean Six Sigma would be a goldmine for me, I also don’t think it will have that big an impact – the only thing that will work is reducing the size of the mission).

  • acat

    While I agree that shrinking the mission is the goal, there’s nobody left in the race with that as an agenda item.

    Of the remaining candidates, only Gingrich has ever done anything close to shrinking the mission, and he’s also increased efficiency of the system filling the mission.

    I’ll take that over the rest of the bunch.

    I note that you’ve stopped pushing Coach Hastert as any kind of fiscal hawk. Good choice.

    Mew

  • Tbone

    You see, living in California means that whether I vote for Romney OR Obama is immaterial. I do not have a vote for POTUS any more than I have a vote for the President of France.

    Further, had you more than two IQ points to rub together you would have been able to “discern”(look it up), that I (in essence),( to borrow a lame affectation) eliminated the general election, so I must have been referring to the primary.

    Having demonstrated that your have absolutely no ability to reason, would certainly qualify you as a Romney supporter if not a senior campaign aid.

    BTW, is it true that the Romney “Jobs for Americans” program is to teach people to say “Do you want fries with that?” in Chinese?

  • Tbone

    Santorum would have suffocated a long time ago. While Newt might keel over from a heart attack, I have just as much concern that Santorum may stick his tongue in a light socket if he isn’t watched closely.

  • Patrish

    I understand all that about the electoral college, etc. Get real. Quit typing silliness like the following:

    “I do not have a vote for POTUS any more than I have a vote for the President of France.”

    Tbone, think of the principles involved. You are just angry, frustrated, whatever. You will feel differently in November. Try to be more of a patriot and less of traitor, please.

  • lineholder

    1

  • lapert

    Gingrich also pushed to expand the mission in an array of pointless areas (and let’s not even get into a discussion on mining the moon). I agree, nobody left in the race is really running to shrink the mission – and I am not about to pretend that any of them are.

    And I never pushed Hastert as some kind of fiscal hawk – balancing the budget doesn’t require a fiscal hawk when you have tax receipts at their highest level ever. But that same note applies to Newt.

  • lineholder

    Don’t start calling people “traitors”. It will come back to bite you in the backside!

  • APA Guy

    If you wish to be taken seriously, honoraryintern, you need to demonstrate, at minimum, a rudimentary grasp of the English language. If you can’t exercise expertise equaling that of an 8th grader (YOUR comparison), you have no business lecturing us on the virtue (or lack thereof) of having the smartest guy in the room make policy decisions.

    Just one man’s opinion…

  • lastgopinillinois

    Yes, that what I would like to see. A huge shock, that would be so bold as to make the liberals irrelevant.

    It would be great for the future of our nation and the long term effects of his policies would put us back on the right path again.

    The GOP is already divided. Conservatives need to finish the job we started in 2010 and completely take over in Washington.

  • Tbone

    But, I would do it in love.

  • streiff

    you’re gone.

  • streiff

    but you know better than to title a comment like that.

  • WillWong

    Did you read his post? I didn’t see any malice between Pat and Tbone. Pat was simply trying to encourage Tbone to vote! :(

  • streiff

    calling someone a traitor is not encouragement and isn’t going to be tolerated. In his 21 days, 6 hours on the site he’s insulted Erick, he’s insulted anyone who doesn’t like Romney, and now he’s gone after a poster personally. His room temperature IQ will not be missed.

    I’m looking to see where I asked for your opinion on this. I can’t find it. Want to help me out?

  • westcoastpatriette

    but she’s been strutting around here insulting people for days now so from me you get a big thank you.

  • WillWong

    N.T.

  • streiff

    is there any particular reason you wanted to get involved in this?

  • Tbone

    Besides I didn’t know it was a girl. If I did, I would have told my wife would kick her teeth…,. left footed.

    My wife is a lot tougher than I am.

  • WillWong

    I thought Pat is a good contributor by and large. A wrong choice of word perhaps!

    She said, “be more of a patriot and less of a traitor” is quite different from saying,”you are a traitor”.

    I was just trying to be a peacemaker but please excuse me if I am stepping out of bound.

    Several people spoke up for me when someone asked for me to be banned so I am doing for others what I want them to do to me, I guess.

    This is the end of my involvement.

  • littletboca

    Newt not only has the right vision – he knows how to get our Country back on it’s once strong foundation. Anxious to hear the rest of the inerview; you’re great in your interviews – don’t mind asking the tough questions, but you do it in a most professional manner.

    Thanks for another good blog.

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    Patrish basically called me a liar yesterday.here.

    We were on the same page re Lizzie’s defense of Margaret Sanger a while back, but it seemed like Patrish went into attack mode re certain comments about Romney. I actually thought mine was pretty mild considering others I’ve seen, so I was surprised. However, I offered my proof. Too bad I won’t get a response now, but I’m not surprised at the ban either.

  • Ann2012

    http://www.pennfoster.edu/programs_alpha.html
    http://www.pennfoster.edu/history.html

    lineholder, just wanted to wish you well in your endeavors. It sounds like you?re doing what needs to be done to get to a better place in life. I saw an ad on TV for this online school and sent this link to one of my family members recently. The school has been around since 1890 and is the largest accredited school online.

    I was impressed with them because their tuition seems to be much lower than other schools. So if you need additional training I just wanted to pass this along in case it may be of help someday. : )

  • JSobieski

    maybe we should talk about post-graduation?

  • celador2

    We need more focus on reorganizing the government including its devolution. Reorganizing the federal government along business lines is right up there with energy independence as an accomplishment worthy of voting for Newt Gingrich.

    To unleash the power of merit, well the sky is the limit.

  • celador2

    Gingriich makes a case for his having staying power compared to Santorum. He cites Santorum’s huge defeat for Senate in 2006 as a shortcoming. In contrast he points to his balanced budget as Speaker and his ideas for energy and Soc Sec. Being a visionary and a debater who can defeat Obama are short term reasons a voter might decide on Newt Gingrich over Santorum and Romney.

    —His boldness on gas prices at 2.50 , his history on energy proposals and plans to reorganize federal government have big time appeal to me too.

    Newt can sock it to ‘em, and he says he san stay the course.

  • WillWong

    Did I miss it?

  • tomrt

    Streiff, WillWong and clowngirl.

  • WillWong

    You gave us your word that you will! Please keep your word!

    Thanks!