Posted on 11/30/2011 6:59:15 AM PST by Notwithstanding
Newt Gingrich is the current favorite in Florida’s Jan. 31 Republican presidential primary, picking up supporters who fled Herman Cain to claim 41 percent in a poll conducted Tuesday night for the Florida Times-Union.
Gingrich has as much support as the next four candidates combined in the telephone survey of 513 registered voters who say they’re likely to cast ballots in the primary. The poll, conducted by InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research, has a margin of error of 4 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at jacksonville.com ...
I would totally back Newt over Romney or Perry.
Good, let the Nobel Peace Prize winner, former Editor of the Harvard Law Review, graduate of Harvard Law and Columbia and the greatest orator of our time avoid debating a law professor from West Georgia.
It will go over very well with independents and whites, the very people he needs to win back in order to get re-elected.
Newt’s rallying cry: ‘Food stamps with Obama versus paychecks with Gingrich’
Sure.... the media will be forced to cover. Obama will be forced to accept. Can you imagine.... Newt Gingrich showing up 4 hours later at every Obama campaign stop to dissect his speech and challenge him to accept the debates? THAT WILL BE the story. It will get embarrassing very quickly for Obama until he does accept.
....and with the ability to do webcasts, the possible use of CSPAN (like the Newt/Cain) debate.... you bet the media will cover it. What media outlet would miss out on those advertising revenues?
The attacks on Newt will commence now.
Gingrich will never step on a political landmine with his tongue. In fact, it is almost impossible to imagine Gingrich’s candidacy imploding in the general election. Has Newt ever spent weeks walking back a hugely damaging statement? No, never.
And there’s no way that Obama will be able to cherry pick from Newt’s problematic past and thereby define him early in the minds of voters. For instance, the average voter won’t be disturbed when it is emphasized that Newt Gingrich was the only Speaker of the House to have EVER been sanctioned for Ethics Violations for which he was fined hundreds of thousands of dollars. That will never be an issue used to define Newt. No one seems to remember that Newt Gingrich proved almost impossible to demonize in the minds of the American public. - Bill Clinton remembers what a fools errand that was.
And it is simply not true that we are throwing away a massive strategic advantage by nominating our most divisive candidate to run against one of the most divisive presidents in history. The American people won’t be forced to choose between two divisive figures where one is more charismatic than the other and has better name recognition. Yeah, there’s no way this going to become a close, competitive election. It’s going to be cakewalk no matter who nominate.
And thankfully Newt is not a man in love with his own intellect so much so that he is wont to place his innovative, too-clever-by-half, outside-the-box thinking above conservative principles. He’s never done that, and he never will.
Moreover, at least Gingrich is no flip flopper. He has never reversed or vacillated his positions on: Global Warming; Cap & Trade; Illegal Immigration; Individual Health Care Mandate; etc. And he’s always been unambiguously on the side of fiscal conservatives like Paul Ryan seeking to reform Entitlement Programs. Gingrich would never call Ryan’s plan “conservative social engineering”. Yeah, so at least he’s not a smooth talking flip flopper.
And there is simply no way we will be scratching our heads in January 2012 when Obama is sworn in for another four years. - Or at least I won’t be.
Newt is hugely flawed, as a human being and candidate. But he’s smart, and knows how the system works. If Romney’s the nominee we’re screwed. With Newt we might be pleasantly surprised, especially if the base holds his feet to the fire.
All but time to declare him dead. Very little time before NH.
Sad.
What do they have on Newt that will be so damaging? Newt’s dirty laundry has been out there for a very long time. Everyone knows about his skeletons.
With Cain, you can’t help but wonder how many more women have yet to surface. If there are more women, you can be sure the far-left will find them and expose them all summer long.
That’s fair enough. I’ll support our candidate in the end - anybody but Obama in my book. I’m optimistic that Perry will be the last one standing.
Great idea. I also think Gingrich/Cain would be charming, and maybe a little disarming for obimbo.
Bingo.
Thank you for the analysis!
I hope you’re right about Milt.
Let’s not exaggerate the importance of the Presidency. We need to hold Congress for a generation or two.
No surprise. Newt bashers are never too strong on the facts.
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