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Tampa Tempest :Newt Gingrich Plots Convention Chaos
National Review ^ | March 16, 2012 | Robert Costa

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 ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: adelson4romney; bigego; bigideas; bigloser; bigsolutions; getoutnewt; goawaynewt; kenyanbornmuzzie; lazyorganization; mittromney; newt4newt; newt4romney; newt4teaparty; newtbots; newtgetout; newtgingrich; newtglobalwarming; newthaters; newtnot4teaparty; newtsplittingthevote; notonballots; ricksantorum; romney4newt; romneyantiteaparty; santorum4romney; spoilernewt; teaparty; teaparty4newt; teapartynot4newt
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To: PSYCHO-FREEP
Newt must be doing something right!

Yes, he is. :-)

81 posted on 03/16/2012 6:13:12 PM PDT by Red Steel
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To: Lucky9teen
Imagine...they actually have to use their smear machine against not just one guy, but 3. That takes a lot more time, money and resources, than just going after ONE.

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.

82 posted on 03/16/2012 6:14:08 PM PDT by newzjunkey (Santorum: 18-point loss, voted for Sotomayor, proposed $550M on top of $900M Amtrak budget...)
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To: BlueStateBlues

BlueStateBlues, when I read the “keep Romney busy with shiny objects”, I actually spit my ice tea I laughed so hard.


83 posted on 03/16/2012 6:19:18 PM PDT by Cindy of Nashville (What has the Democrat party become???)
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To: citizen
Newt needs to grow up and stop trying to impress wife #3.

You make a snipe like that, and state it's Newt who needs to grow up? Good grief.

84 posted on 03/16/2012 6:19:26 PM PDT by KJC1
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To: BarnacleCenturion
He had his chance and blew it.

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.

85 posted on 03/16/2012 6:22:37 PM PDT by KJC1
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To: PSYCHO-FREEP; Steelfish

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.


86 posted on 03/16/2012 6:23:58 PM PDT by bondserv (Regarding Mitt Romney: I could not warm up to this guy if we were cremated together.)
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To: Steelfish
"Oh yeah? Tell that to the Democrats in 1968"

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.

87 posted on 03/16/2012 6:25:50 PM PDT by mlo
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To: j.argese
HANG TOUGH NEWT!

88 posted on 03/16/2012 6:29:15 PM PDT by katiedidit1 ("This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever." the Irish)
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To: Red Steel

Santorum was already aided and abetted in one election..swept into office during the gop revolution and Newt’s leadership:)


89 posted on 03/16/2012 6:31:13 PM PDT by katiedidit1 ("This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever." the Irish)
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To: Steelfish; All

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 “


90 posted on 03/16/2012 6:34:53 PM PDT by TheRobb7 (OBAMA 2012: NO TAX LEFT BEHIND)
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To: Flintlock

Good post.


91 posted on 03/16/2012 6:38:58 PM PDT by TheZMan (Obama is without a doubt the worst President ever elected to these United States)
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To: GeronL
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”.

Wandering well into Paultard territory. Gingrich has all but admitted that he has no chance of winning the nomination and doesn't appear to even be trying anywhere. He doesn't appear to be polling any better than 3rd anywhere that I can see.
92 posted on 03/16/2012 6:41:22 PM PDT by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: Steelfish

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.


93 posted on 03/16/2012 6:41:36 PM PDT by manc (Marriage is between one man and one woman,It's not a conservative view but a true American view)
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To: Steelfish

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.


94 posted on 03/16/2012 6:51:30 PM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: Steelfish
Enough of this ego. It’s going to come back to bite him in the back.

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.

95 posted on 03/16/2012 6:54:06 PM PDT by Theodore R. (Mathematically, it's all over, says Mittens. I'm pretty sure the people will again let us down.)
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To: Texas Fossil; Steelfish
"Blood on the floor during the convention?"

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.

96 posted on 03/16/2012 6:56:17 PM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: Theodore R.
This 37-31-14 in IL just about sums up the whole race. I think it will stay that way form now on.

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.

97 posted on 03/16/2012 6:57:20 PM PDT by JediJones (The Divided States of Obama's Declaration of Dependence: Death, Taxes and the Pursuit of Crappiness)
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To: TomGuy
You're a sponge for Democrat Media propaganda.

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....

98 posted on 03/16/2012 7:01:09 PM PDT by FreeReign
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To: j.argese
I wouldn’t vote for either Romney or Santorum. Neither is worth a bucket of tepid goat phlegm.

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.

99 posted on 03/16/2012 7:01:30 PM PDT by JediJones (The Divided States of Obama's Declaration of Dependence: Death, Taxes and the Pursuit of Crappiness)
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To: Steelfish
In the full glare of the modern media age, the bloodied arena will leave the emerging candidate with wounds so crippling, that he becomes a mere pushover for his opponent who will be appearing fresh and strong, above the fray, looking presidential, and covered in wallops of fawning media coverage. And you don’t think this is a recipe for Republican disaster!

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.

100 posted on 03/16/2012 7:28:50 PM PDT by HKMk23 (Those who are perishing refused to receive the love of the Truth.)
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