Gingrich Gains Ground After Rocky Campaign Start

After his presidential campaign got off to a bumpy start, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says the campaign's on solid footing, and it appears to be showing in the polls.

Just days after his May entry into the race, Gingrich took heat for referring to Rep. Paul Ryan's Medicare overhaul plan as "right-wing social engineering." Then there were the questions about at least one six-figure credit line at Tiffany's.

In early June, most of Gingrich's staff resigned. At the time, sources said staffers disagreed with Gingrich's strategy of maximizing social media and debate performances instead of traditional campaigning. Of those who departed, Gingrich now says, "They were wrong, making assumptions that just were not right."

Fox News polling may vindicate the plan. In July, when potential GOP primary voters were asked who they'd like to see as the nominee, 9 percent picked Gingrich. He has steadily crept to 12 percent in polling released just days ago. "Every week we do a little better," Gingrich says.

During the same time period, AP-GfK polling measuring the candidates' favorability has been shifting to Gingrich's advantage as well. Since July, the number of people who view him favorably has moved from 26 percent to 35 percent, while his unfavorable rating has dropped from 59 to 51 percent.

Despite progress for the campaign, the candidate still faces significant hurdles. GOP strategist Karen Hanretty says the first is financial.

"It takes a lot of money to get your message on the air, to reach as many voters as possible," she said.

It's a challenge Gingrich acknowledged while campaigning in South Carolina over the weekend. "I need your help," Gingrich said, adding, "I don't have the kind of money my major competitors have."

Newt is easily the smartest candidate and also has solid ideas for the total transformation of destructive elements in the government we hate the most (State Department, Department of Education, IRS, etc). He is easily the most articulate and a talented instructor. If this nation is going to tackle these enormous problems the President must be able to communicate and teach. This is no time for another Texas Governor with communication difficulties (and I liked GW for the most part)and it is no time for a milquetoast nominee whose “leadership” compass points whichever way the wind blows. I have serious doubts about Romney’s ability to win, much less lead competently.

Watch The Real Newt Gingrich: Progressive Newt? Narrated by John McManus, President of the John Birch Society. http://a12iggymom.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/the-real-newt-gingrich-progressive-newt-3/

Newt Campaigned for Rockefeller,
Voted to create the Department of Education,
Voted for MFN status of China,
Voted for Amnesty,
Voted for funding the NIA,
Voted for a presidential line item veto,
Voted against cutting $32B of foreign aid by 1%,
Was named Man of the Year by Time Magazine

NEWT ON THE CONSTITUTION:

Newt asked congressmen to read 8 documents including the Federalist Papers and Declaration of independence. The Constitution was not on the list but “The Third Wave” By Alvin Tofler (a long time friend) was. It urged a “radical change” away from constitutional principles promoted by the founding fathers. It called The Constitution “obsolete” and urged the “death and replacement of the American Constitutional system”.

Newts Book “To Renew America” mentions the Constitution only once, and then just that it exists.

In 1990 he joined the CFR, and organization that according to Richard Gardner, one of its heavyweights, promotes an “end run around national sovereignty, eroding it piece by piece“. He promoted us joining GATT which gave unprecedented authority to an international organizations and created the WTO and IMF (I think).

Newt joined Clinton in 1995 and told the audience that he was. “a big fan of Franklyn Roosevelt” and “a big fan of Woodrow Wilson“. Warren Christopher was asked to lable Newt in one word and chose “internationalist“. The NYT claimed that Newt’s foreign policy mentor was Henry Kissinger.

Newt organized House opposition to Ron Paul’s fun for Congress. In 1995 Newt gave a speech in which he said, “The American Challenge in leading the world is compounded by our Constitution”. He said that we would have to “rethink our constitution”. He said, “I believe in a very strong central government. You can have a very strong but limited federal government.” WTF?

Watch The Real Newt Gingrich: Progressive Newt? Narrated by John McManus, President of the John Birch Society. http://a12iggymom.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/the-real-newt-gingrich-progressive-newt-3/

NEWT ON THE CONSTITUTION:

Newts Book “To Renew America” mentions the Constitution only once, and then just that it exists.

Yes, but if you source the Birch Society or anything vaguely libertarian around here people automatically discount what you post, regardless of the facts. That's why I went to source data and avoided the articles you pulled from.

Most of the people that don't like Newt remember the Nancy and the couch incident or campaigning for health care reform with Hillary or his train wreck of a personal life. They need to to go back and learn who Newt was (and is) and stop remembering the Clinton / Gingrich years and some kind of good old days. I've had FReepers telling me that because Rush Limbaugh supported NAFTA it's a good thing. Delusional.

Oh, and watch out for that quote you put up about rethinking the constitution; there's a lot of context around it. As far as I know the transcript of that speech is not available anywhere on the Internet. I got a copy from someone who bought it.

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