Posted on 01/21/2012 6:38:57 PM PST by Steelfish
Newt Gingrich Wins South Carolina Primary
By Mark Z. Barabak January 21
Newt Gingrich surged to victory Saturday in the South Carolina primary, riding a pair of strong debate performances to overtake Mitt Romney and stop his seemingly relentless march to the GOP nomination.
(snip)
Former Massachusetts Gov. Romney appeared headed for second place, with former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas trailing well behind.
With a tight smile, Romney addressed supporters in Columbia about an hour after the polls closed and immediately displayed a more pugnacious style.
Without mentioning his rival by name, Romney contrasted his business background with his chief opponent’s long Washington resume and sought to turn back Gingrich's attacks on Romney's business success.
(snip)
The results were a fitting addition to a roller-coaster campaign, marking the first time that three different contestants have won the first three Republican contests.
More important, the outcome stripped Romney of the brief air of inevitablity he enjoyed after seemingly winning Iowa -- an outcome reversed this week in Santorum's favor -- and romping to victory in New Hampshire.
It promised, at the very least, a costly and heated fight ahead of the next primary, Jan. 31 in Florida, and possibly beyond -- to Nevada on Feb. 4 and into March when a rush of contests begins.
South Carolina, a state notorious for its unruly politics, lived up to its reputation, hosting one of the most raucous weeks of the tumultuous presidential campaign. (snip)
Interviews with voters leaving the polls Saturday showed why: Just over half made up their minds in the last few days, and nearly 90% said a big factor was the debates, ...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Liberal Media 0
That’s going to leave a mark.
Switch parties Mittens.
NEWT’S GOT CLASS. Listening to his victory speech. I’m getting excited about this campaign!
Willard is toast. He should drop out.
FL is the next challenge for the anti-Romney voter; Romney has a very good chance of winning there.
NV will go Romney without question because of the concentration of Mormons.
Ha, good one. According to this Reid Wilson fellow, not to worry, the race is still Romney’s.
http://nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/the-race-is-still-romney-s-20120120
I think Willard might as well drop out too.
This dill be Newts last stand. He is an angry sleepy man
“FL is the next challenge for the anti-Romney voter; Romney has a very good chance of winning there.”
A “very good chance”? I thought it was supposed to be a Florida cakewalk for Romney. (due to the well-known demographics in Florida, of course)
“”””Willard is toast. He should drop out.””””
Willard should run as a democrat where he belongs.
Correction will be Neets last stand. And sleezy
Correction will be Neets last stand. And sleezy
Correction will be Neets last stand. And sleezy
Liberal Media 0
Don't underestimate the liberal media.
They will be extremely unfair and dirty.
They will be unbelievably filthy.
They will start their attacks now -- probably tomorrow -- and the attacks will increase as it becomes more and more evident that Newt is the nominee. They will come up with hundreds of ways to portray Newt as mean and nasty -- from unflattering pictures, to skits on Saturday Night Live, to whiny remarks from celebrities, to unfair interpretations of everything he says and does.
Be prepared. Obama's billion dollar negative advertising war chest and the liberal media will be an overwhelming force.
Much more so than McCain, Romney and even Bush, Newt is susceptible to these attacks.
The level and nastiness of the attacks will be *far* beyond anything we've ever seen before. In nine months, the world that listens to and believes the MSM will think that Newt is the most evil man of our generation.
Be prepared to fight it. We have to fight it. We can't sit back and say that's just the way the liberal media is. We have to expose them like Newt did in the debate.
We have to fight the liberal media or Newt will get buried.
.
Drunk, eh?
Izzat you, Marianne?
I thought the Mormon concentration was in Utah.
It's like many of us on FR have been saying: except for a handful of states, Romney has a relatively small base of support that is constant at about 25 to 30 percent -- AND NO MORE.
It's surprising that there are people out there who don't understand this.
I'm not crazy about Newt, but he's better than Romney.
Many of us on FR have been hoping that 2012 would be a landmark year for economic conservatives, when we could finally convince most of the country that the Big Government policies of the past are ruining the country. With the Republican Establishment winning the primaries, I have my doubts that this will happen; but Newt, who is in many ways the ultimate insider, is now our best chance to carry that flag.
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