Newt’s Big Night

January 23, 2012 By 32 Comments

Gingrich says that a victory for him in Florida would be a “knockout punch” to Romney. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush says he will not endorse a candidate. On the other hand, there is speculation about endorsements for Gingrich from Congressman Allen West, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Senator Marco Rubio. None of the three have confirmed that they will endorse someone.

Gingrich hopes that a strong showing in Florida will push Rick Santorum to drop out, which would make him the frontrunner. The latest Gallup poll shows Romney leading nationally with 30%. Gingrich is at 25%, Ron Paul is at 13% and Santorum is at 12%. If Santorum were to withdraw and his supporters go to Gingrich as expected, then Gingrich would be ahead of Romney nationally by 7%.

Romney and Santorum took a much stronger line against Gingrich in interviews on Sunday. Romney is now mentioning the ethics investigation of Gingrich when he was speaker of the House. Santorum describes Gingrich as a “very high-risk candidate.”  Santorum is bringing up how House Republicans turned on Gingrich within three years and says he is undisciplined. “We have to have someone who makes Obama the issue in this race, not the Republican nominee,” Santorum said.

Santorum dismisses calls to drop out so that there can be one viable challenger to the right of Romney. He points out that he defeated Romney in Iowa and Gingrich won in South Carolina with a divided field. Santorum is likely counting on Romney and his supporters to use their huge financial advantages to air attack ads in Florida and cripple Gingrich’s lead. When that happened in Iowa, Santorum quickly rose.

Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul need to win 1,144 delegates to officially take the Republican nomination. So far, only 76 have been awarded. Romney leads with 33, followed by Gingrich with 25. Santorum is in third with 14 delegates and Paul has 4.

This race is going to extent a long time, and Romney, Gingrich and Santorum each have realistic paths to victory. The die has been cast for another fiery debate Monday night — now with more at stake than ever.

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About

Ryan Mauro is a fellow with the Clarionproject.org, the founder of WorldThreats.com and a frequent national security analyst for Fox News Channel. He can be contacted at [email protected]

  • mlcblog

    I was all high and mighty about Newt until I rethought my position. The open marriage request (if true) was years ago. Since then, he has apparently had a change of heart, hence might be more open to godly correction/wisdom, and has engaged in a Catholic marriage, of which I believe the priests still require sexual fidelity.

    I have done some terrible things and have had a change brought about by God, so I must extend the same courtesy to Newt that I would like extended to me, that is, a release from my old ways that I am not doing any more!!!

    I am going to give him a break on the infidelity count with the idea that he has managed to correct that behavior.

    • teq

      Here's the difference between Newt and between liberals like Andrew Sullivan. Newt has received forgiveness from God because he has obeyed Christ's order to "go your way and sin no more." Sullivan uses Christ's forgiveness as a pass to go on sinning. Christ didn't say, "keep on sinning and I will forgive you." He said "Go your way and sin no more." There's a big difference.
      I used to be high and mighty about Newt too, but last Thursday he won my heart. My husband and I were LOL-ing and applauding throughout the debate. The way he mashed up that CNN moderator was priceless! the worst thing about Mitt Romney is that he's just a RINO version of Obama. He's got "loser" written all over him, just like McCain and Dole and the rest of the weak RINOs.

  • http://apollospaeks.blogtownhall.com/ ApolloSpeaks

    I LOVE ANN COULTER

    What Conservative doesn't? But Newt Gingrich has done more for the cause of Conservatism than 100 Ann Coulters and her wonderful wit, books, articles and interviews. Ann is wrong about Newt being unelectable. As Thomas Sowell says, Obama has way more baggage than Newt: THE BAGGAGE OF A DISASTROUS PRESIDENCY WITH A STAGGERING $15 TRILLION DEBT THAT'S GRECIFYING AMERICA AND IMPERILING OUR FUTURE.

    Click my name and read my popular, widely linked Townhall piece, Signs Of Newt Gingrich Defeating Obama. It's like nothing that's been written on the subject.

    • mlcblog

      I personally think Ann is a bit of a twit.

    • davarino

      Apollo, I totally agree. Newt speaks the way I want a candidate to speak, from the heart and isnt afraid to tell it like it is. I refuse to vote safe and wind up with some mamby pamby president that is only going to give us four more years of the same crap we've been dealing with since after Reagan. We need some one that will start turning this nation around and not kick the can down the road so we have an even larger problem to deal with. Ok, Newts not perfect, I get that. But to me hes a hell of a lot better than any of the others running. He is articulate, witty, speaks off the cuff without a teleprompter, and can explain his positions like none other. If he is nominated I will almost feel sorry for Obama, because the press wont be able to save him with this one, and he'll be torn to shreads.

      • Jim_C

        Sorry Davarino. Newt will wind up doing what he does best: offending too many people with his attitude and putting his foot in it. Trying to wrap himself in Reagan's mantle, pretend to be religious, and proclaim himself a "Washington outsider" when he has spent most of his adult life as the consumate insider, enriching himself by selling access to Capitol Hill–it won't even play in Peoria. Obama will sit back and let Newt destroy himself.

        Book it!

    • teq

      Ann's objection to Newt is only that she believed him to be unelectable, as did I. But if he shows himself to be electable by winning Florida I'm sure she will change her mind and support him, as will I.

      • Jim_C

        If winning Florida is as easy as winning South Carolina by having a prepped answer for a question ANYONE would have asked, it should be a cakewalk. Newt won't be so lucky to have that softball served up but he's a clever fellow and will capitalize on his newfound prominence.

  • crackerjack

    Newst's a cheat. He cheated his wife, he cheated Fanny Mae, he will cheat the electorate. Newt is also a hypocrite. He led the moral crusade against Clinton in the Lewinsky affaire, now he blows his top when asked about his extramarital adventures. What a joke.

    Every party gets the candidate it deserves.

    • http://apollospaeks.blogtownhall.com/ ApolloSpeaks

      Newt is a flawed man and not above criticism. But the campaign he led against Clinton had less to do with his adulterous affair with Lewinski then it did with him lying under oath to a Federal judge about the affair and committing perjury-which is a felony.

    • davarino

      The impeachment was not about infidelity, it was about pergury, but thanks for the info. I'm glad your so concerned about our candidate, you should be : )

  • Paul H.

    The notion that if a man cheats on his wife he will then cheat on the citizens doesn't seem to be a proven to me.As far as we know, Barack Husein Obama has never cheated on Michelle but every minute of every day he lies to us and betrays the constitution. I'll take Newt.

  • NotaBene

    Newt is, as someone else has said, a stupid person's idea of a clever person. He has snappy one-liners which makes absolutely no sense if you think about them for five seconds and his ignorance on American history (which he never studied; his graduate thesis was about the Belgian Congo) is matched only by his inflated ego.

    That his impeachment of Clinton was about perjury is a lot of hooey. It was about adultery pure and simple. If a democrat had done one-tenth of what Gingrich has you'd be calling him a threat to Western morality.

    • fiddler

      I challenge you to read the book by DEMOCRAT David Schippers: "Sellout". Clinton misbehaved WHILE IN OFFICE, and in the OVAL OFFICE. You had Chinagate, Travelgate and others. Read "Red Dragon Rising"! So lying under oath before a grand jury is no problem to you? WOW! Clinton made a CAREER of infidelity, and nothing changed while IN the White House (after 12 years with Jennifer Flowers). I don't think you can really compare the two! Gee shouldn't all of us be interested in the current presidents college records and admissions records? What is HE hiding?

      • NotaBene

        Nice logical elision there. If lying under oath and subverting the Constitution means anything to YOU, what do you have to say about Bush and his entire Administration? I might point out, by the way, that Clinton was acquitted of lying under oath by a Republican senate.

        That Clinton had affairs is his problem and his family's problem. Powerful men have ALWAYS used their authority in that way. What's Clinton doesn't have is Gingrich's titanic capacity for moral hypocrisy.

  • ObamaYoMoma

    Leave it to South Carolina to again vote for the most liberal candidate in the race. It did in 1996 with Bob Dole, in 2000 with GWB, and in 2008 with John McCain. It just did it again in 2012, as Ann Coulter is right Newt Gingrich is easily the least conservative candidate left in the race.

    Newt is also really the establishment Republican Party candidate in the race despite what the media says, as he is the only candidate left in the race that is pro-amnesty, and the RINO establishment Republican Party will not support a candidate unless that candidate supports amnesty. As the RINO establishment Republican Party has been all about throwing conservatives and conservative values and principles under the bus for years in favor of pandering to liberal Hispanics voters because Hispanics are projected to become the largest demographic in the future. Hence, they want to use amnesty to attempt to attract liberal Hispanic voters.

    Not only that, but Fox News is the Official RINO Establishment Republican Party News Network, and if you watched them last week like I did, they went on the attack against Mitt Romney the entire week creating an issue out of nothing on income taxes of all things for the purpose of a class warfare attack and because Newt made it an issue. Thus, because Romney for logical reasons remained non-committal on releasing his tax returns in the middle of January no less when like most people he hadn't even received everything necessary to file his taxes yet, Fox News and Newt launched ceaseless class warfare attacks against Mitt for a week. Meanwhile, at the same time Rick Santorum also remained non-committal on releasing his tax returns and Ron Paul indicated that he even wouldn't release his tax returns, but somehow it was only an issue for Mitt and not for Santorum and Paul. Give me a break. How gullible, stupid, and easily manipulated can dumb South Carolinians be?

    In addition, Newt conceded a well publicized debate to John Kerry on global warming, then a couple of months later video taped a PSA with Nancy Pelosi urging Congress to act on global warming, he also advocated an individual mandate on a federal level until May of this year, wrote op-eds 100 percent endorsing the individual mandate contained in Massachusetts' so-called Romneycare for which like a hypocrite he attacks Mitt today, supported George Soro's hand picked candidate De de Scozzafava, claims Rep. Paul Ryan's medicare reform is right-wing social engineering, collected $1.6 million dollars in bribes from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, claims he is a Reagan conservative, while abandoning his pledge to adhere to Reagan's 11th commandment so fast it made your head spin, Not to mention that he also claims that FDR and not Reagan is the all time greatest US president, either paid the participants of his anti-Capitalist and class warfare attack ad or deliberately misquoted them out of context and without their consent or knowledge, as revealed in a Megyn Kelly interview with two of the participants of that anti-Capitalist attack ad that claim they were deliberately quoted completely out of context and without their consent or knowledge by Gingrich operatives, but then Fox News deep sixth the interview and made sure no one else ever saw it other than that first time.

    Indeed, Newt is a professional career politician, a long time loyal establishment Republican operative, and a 41 year behind the Beltway Washington insider. Hence, since Washington is broken, unless you want business as usual, Newt Gingrich is the last person that should be sent to Washington to fix it. In fact, like Obama, Newt has never worked a day in the private sector in his life, and thus he isn't qualified to fix the economy either. In fact, he wouldn't be making grandiose credit claims for all the jobs that were created in the country when he was in Congress as government doesn't create jobs. Not to mention that he was only 1 of 535 members of Congress. In addition, 88 percent of Republicans in Congress in 1998 voted to force Newt out of office and the ones still remaining in Congress today claim they won't support that disgrace under any circumstances whatsoever.

    In other words, Newt is a lowlife sleazebag and he will do anything and everything he can: lie, cheat, and even steal to win. Fox News picked career politician John McCain in 2008 and it looks like they will pick career politician Newt Gingrich this time in 2012, and the result will be the same, four more years of Obama.

    In any event, there is no way I'm holding my nose and voting like a sheeple for a sleazebag like Newt Gingrich that not only supports amnesty, which if implemented will be the final nail in the coffin for conservatism, but also resorts to launching Saul Alinsky like anti-Capitalist and class warfare attacks, which before the Republican Party was hijacked was blasphemy. The American people deserve what they are getting. Indeed, the Republican Party and the Dhimmicrat Party are virtually identical today and in fact are really two sides of the same totally incompetent leftwing coin because the American people are sheeple.

    • 1mrsdash

      " How gullible, stupid, and easily manipulated can dumb South Carolinians be?"

      Very, but it's more devious than that.

      Greed and bloodlust drive the political "masters" here. Greed and fear control the masses of very shallow thinkers. This is SC — and they likely just decided your next president. The Dem party bosses here are running the show behind the scenes. And most of the elder male Republicans are dressed up Democrats, even former Dixiecrats. Most.corrupt.state.in.the.union.

      Don't try to stop them or they may just find you expendable. I predict a similar battering ram primary in Florida. Many "worker bees" have migrated there from South Carolina and Mississippi over the past few years. Newt's army has been planning this for some time.

      >>>Save yourselves<<<

      • ObamaYoMoma

        I agree…the Republican Party and the Dhimmicrat Party are today virtually identical and for all intents and purposes two sides of the same extremely incompetent leftwing coin. It appears the USA's best days may be over.

  • Stephen_Brady

    Interesting comments, in this thread. One person mentioned Fox News and it's "attachment" to Newt Gingrich. There must be two FoxNews networks. I rather thought the entire FoxNews Sunday show, yesterday, was an attempt to give the liberal candidate … Mitt Romney … some advice on handling Mr. Newt. Part of the GOP establishment, the network has been the champion of the establishment's candidate, Romney, from the beginning.

    I prefer to think for myself and vote for the candidate I prefer. If that puts me at odds with Fox, then so be it.

    • ObamaYoMoma

      Yeah right Stephen…you have demonstrated repeatedly over and over again ad nauseum, per your numerous posts, that you are an emoting addicted PC multicultural blinded RINO so many times it isn't funny. Which is also why you don't have the first clue about Islam except for the stupidity GWB blew up your backside. Hence, the notion that you would support the most conservative candidate in the race is utterly hilarious. Apparently, you are another one of those liberals suffering from a severe identity crisis, which is something that I have been witness to for more years than I care to remember.

  • mrbean

    Basically we have three choices for President at present. With Mitt Romney you will definitely get the weak conservative who may end up acting as just another RINO "accomodator" who will bend to Democrats pressure as McCain does in the Senate; with Newt Gingrich you get a proven smart fiscal conservative, but someone with alot of personal baggage, someone that the democrats and media revile, but he has a set of cajones when it comes to confrontation and will eat the democrats and the media's lunch when it comes to confrontation, and a Republican Congress with a strong president will not tend to fold as easily under the democrat's demands and pressures, With Barack Obama you get a clanestine Muslim anti semite Alinksyite and his leftist czars that operate outside the Constitution to change America into a European style socialist state saddled with debt and a destroyed economy, Choose wisely.

  • LindaRivera

    Mr. Gingrich must be asked if he will kill the indefinite detention provision of the NDAA. Where American citizens will be held indefinitely without charge and without legal representation. Decent American citizens will start to disappear off the streets or taken out of their homes never to be seen ever again.

    The end of America as we know it! Our human rights and freedom are at stake!

    EVERY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MUST BE ASKED what they intend to do about the highly dangerous NDAA.

    Publish the list of every representative that voted for this shocking attack on the American people!

    Google: Concentration camps in America

    There are many and they are NOT intended for Muslim terrorists.

  • 080

    Mitt Romney had better stop talking about how great he is. The people want to hear what he can do for them. He should carry a Paul Ryan message into Florida. Then he should get very specific about what he would do as president. Don't fly off in generalities like support of "capitalism". Tell people that at present the consuimer decides the direction of the American economy and that they would be crazy to cede that direction to the federal government.

  • crypticguise

    Newt is not stupid. His nonsense on AGW is simply his lack of scientific acumen or understanding of the HOAX of AGW. He's changing his understanding and point of view about many issues.

    Politicians are not perfect; Newt learns fast and is better at expressing Conservative and Constitutional Values than any other candidate. He is going to beat Romne in FL; he is already leady despite the numbers in this story.

  • Isahiah62

    to defeat OBAMA GOP must attract decent numbers of "independent" voters ie NOT EXTREME CONSERVATIVES and former OBAMA voters- yes liberals! or sorta liberal- these people are deadly afraidof global err oops climate change, think GOP is not concerned or worse will cut trees kill bambi etc- smae are deadly afraiod of what someof you label real conservative- theythink Santorum will outlaw abortion, make sure gay is a crime and turn US to a theocracy- so if you want OBAMA OUT you sorry NEED THOSE middle of the roaders who want better economy but will never abandon their tree hugger leanings. So in that case NEWT or ROmney are the least scary and offensive to that group- I will say again YOU NEED THEM to get rid of OBAMA. That Newtis at least open to someo9f their ideas,m that unlike OBAMA has proved he is truly capableor working "across the aisle" makes him more not less electable. If BUSH WAS BAD and RACIST card was not so powerful a concept to that group last election Mc Cain would have won

    • Jim_C

      No. Obama just ran a really good campaign. I know that's still hard for people to accept but it's true.

      You're right about how elections are won, though. But I think Newt is scary to middle-of-the-roaders, runs at the mouth despite himself, and is an off-putting person, in general. I could be wrong.

  • BLJ

    I think Newt will go after Obama's piss poor record and hard. I am not sure about Romney. The GOP needs a candidate who isn't afraid of being called a racist if they dare attack the Chosen One.

    Newt has baggage, but who doesn't. The Chosen One has quite a bit himself, but he has the lackeys in the MSM running cover for him. What he cannot do is hide from the fact that he is a horrible President.

    I think Newt can take him to task in a more effective way than Romney. Getting this fraud out of the White House is the objective. America cannot survive another 4 years of this crap.

    • Jim_C

      You're right about Gingrich's approach. I'm impressed with his campaign. His strategy, up to now, has been by far the best of any in the field, and he'll get more conservatives on board than Romney. Don't know about rank-and-file Republicans, though; there seems to be a heavy "establishment" push for Mitt. A boatload of money riding on Romney.

      Mind you, if Newt keeps associating food stamps with African-Americans, he won't need any help with that racism card; he'll be doing just fine, blowing the dog whistle for all the yokels out there (many of whom are food stamps recipients themselves). I don't think he is racist, but he's sure not above the good ol' "Southern Strategy."

      I actually hope Newt is the candidate because while common sense says President Obama gets 4 more years, at least Newt will make the campaign interesting, and even informative. Is anyone even close to excited about having to hear Romney stammer explanations for his flip flops for nine more months?

  • Anamah

    I didn't like at all, Newt attacking on Romney's "greed" and Bain Capital. We are now accustomed to accusations of fat cats or wealthy as a pejorative condition. This kind of attack come front the Left and their results are ruining the capability of adding wealth to the world. His attack allow us to be suspicious about his position on Capitalism and the free market. I would like to know what he is going to do to regain our fiscal balance, how he are going to down our debt and lower our unnecessary spending. How is going to dismantle the net of regulations, which impeach our development and is drowning American freedom. We the people need to recover the power our system had lost so much, we need to regain the freedom to create and make grow our exceptional country. Obama is a divider and Newt seems to go in the same direction and this is terrifying. Newt Gingrich must be very clarify all those points. We are tired of wolves in sheep's clothing. If individuals are going to be ashamed for the ability to earn money and make a fortune we are going to kill our goose that lays golden eggs. And this would be a irreparable loss. After America there are not more countries as this one. We came from the end of the world with our last shove to this extraordinary country where everyone has opportunities to improve their own and children lives.

    • Jim_C

      See this is politics, and it always amazes me that people who follow politics don't get politics. If Newt doesn't go after Romney for posing as self-made when it was really his father who was self-made, he doesn't get a chance. The primaries are the cut-throat part of the process; you pick at every weakness, many of which are manufactured, because you know that if something comes out in the general election, your party is sunk.

      Romney is a capitalist in the proper sense of the word: he makes money from money. Capitalism does not necessarily mean "free market," and it certainly does not mean "hard working, money-earning people." To call either Newt or Obama anti-capitalism in ANY sense is patently absurd, and it's kind of sickening that some people talk about capitalism as a sacred cow the way the Soviets talked about communism, where even a hint that it might be "problematic" (as all human systems are) makes you subject to reflexive scrutiny and suspicion. Not saying you are, necessarily, but come on. You really think Newt is gonna play class warrior?

  • Aloysiusmiller

    Nelson and Happy standing and receiving their belated applause for betrayal and infidelity. Oops no its Newt with third mistress. Newt is just the guy for people that think Jimmy Swaggart was sincere, that pro wrestlers are athletes and that porn is real sex. itching ears anxious to be scratched. Israel bend over for four more years of Obama.

  • Jim_C

    The thing Romney still has going for him is his war chest and his support from the guys who pull the strings, at least the ones in the GOP. That's no small thing. He's got enough dough that if he gets the nomination, come October, people will start seeing "the second coming of Ronald Reagan." Not especially smart people, but they will, because that's what the money is spent to do: massage the guy's image to get people seeing what they want in him.

    Don't discount that. Because people pretty much know Newt already. And they pretty much don't like the guy. They'll like him enough if they think he can beat Obama, but Newt ain't picking up those middle of the roaders like Romney can.