Posted on 03/16/2012 3:46:57 PM PDT by Steelfish
MARCH 16, 2012 Tampa Tempest Newt Gingrich Plots Convention Chaos. By Robert Costa
As he waited for the returns on Tuesday, Newt Gingrich didn’t pay much attention to the soft flicker of Fox News. Instead, as he sat with his family and a few aides in a suite at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham, Ala., he was quietly glued to his BlackBerry, thumbing his way through e-mails. He was mostly cheerful, according to those in the room. He reminisced about campaigns past with his daughters. He reviewed his schedule; he bantered with his wife, Callista; he settled on a purple tie. As he sipped a Diet Coke, he casually prepared for his evening speech.
The takeaway from the relative calm was clear: This was just another night in another city. He’d make his extemporaneous remarks, his aides would pack their bags, and within a few hours, they’d board a plane and head to the next battleground.
“He never discussed dropping out, not even a whisper,” says one Gingrich staffer. “It was business as usual.” His youngest daughter, Jackie Cushman, concurs. “It was never tense,” she says. “People forget that he’s been running since 1974. He doesn’t get anxious.” Downstairs, the scene was more apprehensive. There was a dwindling crowd of Newt enthusiasts. After the networks declared Rick Santorum the winner of both Alabama and Mississippi, Beltway scribes began to write the campaign’s obituary. (snip)
Days later, that consensus remains. Gingrich is committed to staying in the race until the convention, according to his advisers. He believes that there will be chaos within the party come August, and that — with a bit of luck, a clever floor strategy, and a powerful speech — he could build a winning coalition.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
I personally think the best possible thing he could do is make a deal with Santorum. Between them, their delegates add up to less than 100 behind Romney and when we start hitting winner take all states, splitting the vote just hands those states to Romney.
Personally I’m hopeful that he’s already quietly working with the Santorum camp.
The Gallup poll says 40% of Newt’s votes would go to Romney and 39% would go to Santorum.
With all those WTA-CD & WTA primaries coming, why do you think Santorum benefits if Newt drops out. Unless of course if the Gallop poll is inaccurate then I will concur with you that Santorum benefits by Newt dropping out.
It will make him or break him.
What does he have to loose, he is 68 and it maybe his last shot at this, but...
This could be like the speech Reagan made in 76' and the body populous went oh $&!+ we nominated the wrong guy......
But in this instance they have the choice to get a "Mulligan"...
Let us hope for a Mulligan moment for the delegates..
“May Newt teach those fat bastards a thing or two about confrontation!!!”
ROFL, Newt will only embarrass himself if he thinks he can just show up at the convention, make a speech and get the nomination after getting his butt kicked by primary voters in 48 states. He is in denial and not thinking rationally. This will probably not end well for him. He had his chance and blew it. It’s time for him to go home.
I don’t care which one drops out. The point is they need to team up, because either at the convention or before it, neither has a statistical chance at the nomination unless one of them drops out and endorses/teams up with the other.
Agree. It is essential to derail Romney. Our nation cannot endure either another four years of Hussein nor a placeholder pubbie President.
This article is based on Santorum getting 56% of Newt’s vote and shows even in AL and MI if that happened, Santorum would have denied more delegates from Romney:
Is Newt Gingrich helping or hurting Mitt Romney?
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/graham/120315
I am suggesting that either Newt or Rick drops out and the other makes him his V.P., then they campaign together. Just like Cain and Perry are campaigning for Newt, but more intensely. They do need to get more than 40% of the other’s vote to make this work, and I think that joining up would do it. That is the suggestion I e-mailed Rick and Newt’s web sites.
Newt needs to grow up and stop trying to impress wife #3.
This is EXACTLY what absolutely needs to happen. Romney is a for sure loser. Santorum is a little too snooty to be President. Although, I'd take him over Romney any day.
Gingrich has his quirks, but show me a President or candidate without them? Newt is definitely the most qualified, intellectually savvy and knows the right steps to get the country back on track. Newt just doesn't connect with the average dumbass voter who sees "slick," and thinks that is what the country needs oblivious to reality.
Newt is right, most of the electorate do not know, nor can they understand where he is coming from because they do not understand, or know their history!
The situation you describe works perfectly for Newt!
Not a snowballs chance in hell of winning, but he sure as hell can take the Rinos and their lovers to the woodshed!
It truly embarasses me when someone of conservative values degrades a true conservative crusader like Newt.
Romney and Santorum are BOTH Rinos(and you).
AMEN to everything you said sirchtruth.
I wouldn’t vote for either Romney or Santorum. Neither is worth a bucket of tepid goat phlegm.
Newt knows exactly what he’s doing. Remember, Sarah Palin will have a speaking role due to her prominence in the party, and she is a Newt supporter. She’ll probably have the most watched speech at the convention. If she and Newt do what they are bound to do, lock the exits and keep Romney occupied with shiny objects.
If this becomes a brokered convention, every speech will become an opportunity for the speaker to stampede the convention.
The We-want-this-wrapped-up-in-five-primaries-so-we-can-have-a-neat-narrative National Review?
The obstacles are coming from the top.
When neither Newt, Santorum or Perry could qualify for ballot in VA it was an eye opener. Engineered to put Mitt in place. Sucks.
Voters are one thing. But the Washington crowd running the GOP will not succeed in forcing Mitt down our throat.
If they do, it will be the death knell for the GOP.
Exactly, and who more powerful a voice and speaking style than Sarah? She’s Newt’s not-so-secret weapon at the convention. That may be the most untalked about worry of the Romney camp.
Democratic propaganda?
Sorry, if the truth hurts, but I remember the tantrum the ‘former’ Speaker threw because Clinton had him set at the back of AF-1.
That isn’t Democratic propaganda. That is a fact.
Okay, then!
Which could be one reason Axelrod came out with that lame anti-Sarah ad. The GOPe may not see the implication of a Sarah/Newt team, but Obama does!
Palin is an exceptional speaker, but even Christie, Giuliani or Gingrich could make a speech that could set events flowing. All four are bare-knuckle brawlers in one way or another, and that’s what is necessary this year.
After the smoke clears and we nominate someone hopefully other than Williard that nominee will go out and beat the Kenyan in a landslide. People are sick of Barry and they are really going to be sick of the $4-$5 gas in Nov so let the bloodletting begin.
Giuliani? He’s so 2001. September, to be exact. When Sarah and Newt tag-team the opposition at the convention, and are joined by people like Pat Buchanan...these are the dreams the Romney people wake up from. Romney’s only chance is getting the majority of the delegates, and I think he knows that, so every delegate will be bought, paid for, and forced to drink his blood. Sarah, rev in up!
The problem is that many Newt “supporters” on FR seem only to be anti-Santorum. They focus more on attacking Santorum than Romney. It’s pretty strange activity for a “conservative”.
Newt has failed to make a convincing case for his candidacy and his “supporters” don’t even try any more. They simply spend their time trying to drag down Santorum - not Romney.
There is nothing in the article to support the “chaos” in the headline. Washing up after a failed Romney campaign is not chaos.
Talking bad about Ricky LoL. So is your bud Ricky who is planning GOP convention "chaos". Wikky is not going to get his 1144 delegates before "chaos".
Yes, he is. :-)
That theory has some evidence in how much more Obama's spent than unopposed W did in 2004.
Unfortunately Santorum's not gotten the vetting he deserves, nor do I expect it to come unless he appears on the ticket.
BlueStateBlues, when I read the “keep Romney busy with shiny objects”, I actually spit my ice tea I laughed so hard.
You make a snipe like that, and state it's Newt who needs to grow up? Good grief.
No he did not "blow it." He got creamed by a mega-million dollar smear campaign. The other non-Romneys have benefited from not being target #1.
The obvious fact is that Obama and his operatives are already campaigning against Newt. They have the dirt on everyone, and Newt’s baggage having already been vetted means, they predict Romney and Santorum will be hit with dirt that will bury them.
One, there were riots at the 68 convention. That's not what we are talking about here.
Two, you can't establish that Nixon won because of the Democratic convention.
You are leaping to unfounded conclusions.
I've said it before, I'll say it again. There is one thing that decides Presidential elections. The economy. Obama proves the point. The only way he could ever have won in 2008 is that the economy was perceived to be crashing, and McCain considered part of the incumbency.
If the economy is bad in November then anyone will beat Obama. All this hand-wringing about trivia is stupid.
Santorum was already aided and abetted in one election..swept into office during the gop revolution and Newt’s leadership:)
A floor fight at the convention might be just what the grassroots needs to get fired up about all this. The Dems already have their guns loaded. We need to come out of Tampa with “guns blazing “
Good post.
ER the GOP establishment have caused all of this by shoving their RINO on to us and still backing him.
Instead they could have backed and defended Sarah, got her ready for this year , set the ground work early and then bring Col Allen West in.
Now we have three still in the race and lets face it none of them look good after this and that is because of Romney and the establishment as well as FOX attacking Newt like I have never seen before.
As you know, I believe Gingrich and Romney are splitting the anti-Santorum vote and if Santorum wasn’t such a neophyte he would not be pleading Gingrich out of the race.
It may be too that Newton Gingrich regrets not fighting for Speaker at the end of 1998, and he never again wants to be seen as a "quitter." Only Republican primary voters henceforth have the power to tell him to go away, and I don't think they will. This 37-31-14 in IL just about sums up the whole race. I think it will stay that way form now on.
It's CERTAINLY not unprecedented in GOP politics. And I'm not speaking metaphorically.
At the '64 convention, where Goldwater won on the first ballot at the Cow Palace...there were fist fights in the aisles.
When Reagan lost on the second ballot in '76, the Mississippi delegates were involved in several "scuffles" in the back hallways.
This is a passionate sport.
Keep in mind if a district in IL votes that way, Mitt gets ALL the delegates. Most upcoming delegates are not proportionally distributed. There were rules against winner-take-all before a certain date by the RNC, but we're past that now. Also, the math going forward is favoring Romney enough that he pretty much HAS to lose IL to be denied 1,144 by June.
Democratic propaganda? Sorry, if the truth hurts, but I remember the tantrum the ‘former’ Speaker threw because Clinton had him set at the back of AF-1. That isn’t Democratic propaganda. That is a fact.
Newt wanted to talk to Clinton on the plane about the impending budget crisis.
Clinton refused to talk to Newt, avoiding Newt by keeping him in the back of the plane.
Newt came off the plane and told the world that Clinton didn't want to talk about the budget.
The Daily News then twisted the facts.
And you believe it.
As I said....
Even if Newt was V.P.? Newt has said he likes Rick. I'm a Newt supporter and trust his judgment. I like Rick and hate Romney, so I'm right in line with Newt's opinions.
THAT, Sir, is THE definitive description of how it will look if our convention picks Romney.
He'll walk out with his nuts sealed permanently inside the GOPe Lockbox, and promptly become The Bamster's personal nationwide floor mop. You wanna see a Presidential campaign scenario that headlines the wet dreams of DNC strategists, give Romney the nod at the GOP convention. The bloodbath at the polls in November will be apocalyptic in scale.
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