Posted on 03/14/2012 11:46:21 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Bear in mind that this comes from the same cable channel last seen making jokes about three-ways and Rick Santorum earlier in the evening, but that’s not the fault of CNBC’s John Harwood. Harwood told Rachel Maddow last night that the main funder of Newt Gingrich’s super-PAC, casino owner Sheldon Adelson, has written his last check for Gingrich in this race:
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Greg Sargent spoke with the head of the super-PAC, Rick Tyler, who acknowledged that he’s in for some rough days ahead:
The key question is whether the pro-Newt super PAC will be able to continue operating. The super PACs operations have been largely funded by billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, whose money has effectively kept Gingrichs candidacy afloat.
John Harwood of the New York Times last night quoted a friend of Adelson saying that he had written his last check.
I just checked in with Rick Tyler, the head of the pro-Newt super PAC . Asked if he could continue operating without Adelsons money, Tyler conceded: Fundraising will be challenging.
But Tyler vowed that the PAC would continue operating as best it could as long as Gingrich stayed in the race. Asked why Gingrich should continue after two losses that seem to render the cause hopeless, Tyler said the pro-Gingrich forces were betting on a contested convention, and would take it all the way to August.
The campaign itself probably can’t do much better at fundraising after the losses yesterday. Conservative activists have been demanding consolidation behind Rick Santorum for several weeks, and their argument got a lot stronger after last night. If Adelson cuts off the super-PAC, Gingrich won’t have many resources to run a competitive campaign.
The question will be whether Adelson himself acknowledges that. He’s already been rumored to have pledged to support Romney if Gingrich didn’t win the nomination. He might just decide to move his very large fundraising capability to Team Romney now and focus on defeating Santorum in the primaries. That would make more sense than keeping Gingrich on life support at this point in the nomination process, especially since the primaries will be shifting away from states where social issues carry as much sway as they do in the Deep South, at least after Louisiana. If Adelson really does decide to move onto the next phase, then Gingrich’s campaign will become moribund whether he suspends it or not.
At this point, it would be throwing good money after bad...
Guess it depends on if Adelson is ready to give up for Romney and his buddy Trump to rollover Santorum without Newt to distract his attacks between the two of them and to block Romney from 1144.
Well, that’ll be the end of conservatism for this cycle (and many more to come), since we’ll be stuck with two establishment schlubs who are simply variants of the RINO strain.
Here’s hoping Newt runs third party.
“well be stuck with two establishment schlubs”
Romney and Ron Paul.
Newsies were speculating before the results from last evening that, if Gingrich did not win at least one, he would be forced out, even with his vowing to continue on.
This is part of that pressure.
Behind the scenes, probably other pressure is being asserted various persons, groups, and organizations.
Having only 2 wins out of 25 states, it is over for Gingrich, whether he wants to admit it or not. If he can’t win more than that in primaries, chances are he couldn’t win much more than that in the general, if he did get the nomination.
A contested convention, this way comes.
** President Newt Gingrich-”Our beloved republic deserves nothing less.”
Well, you’re half right.
if Romney is the nominee there WILL be a third-party candidate
Adelson makes me sick. He must be a truly vile human being if he thinks he can control the election with his money.
He forgets about something called THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
Beckel just said on The Five that he knew “for a fact that ‘they’ went to Adelson and asked him to stop giving Newt any more money”.
Gettin’ dirty in the drive to eliminate Newt, folks. He scares the status quo way too much.
He’d be great for the republic.
Who is “they”?? Romney?
That’s my guess. I remember these same rumors floating around after Nevada primary...one, that Adelson would give no more money to Newt’s PAC and, two, that Adelson was talking to Romney about giving him money instead. Both rumors were quoting an “anonymous” insider in Newt’s campaign and an “anonymous” friend of Adelson’s. Both rumors turned out to be false Romney tactics then, and they’re probably false Romney tactics now too. Romney needs some new material.
“Who is they?? Romney?”
That’s the thing - Beckel didn’t say who “they” were. Probably the GOP elites/operatives.
A guess, anyone?
I do not see electing the BEST candidate as throwing good money after bad! If Adelson is the FRIEND he claims he is AND he believs that Newt will do what he says he will do then WHY is he playing dangerous games with the money?? He has said he could give him 100 million! Then give him WHAT he needs to WIN!! This is a 68 year old man that has been working literally 14-15 hour days at this campaign! He cannot do it without competing with Romneys money! Adelson MUST know this...so why withhold the money at crucial times that causes LOSSES?? IF it becomes CLEAR that Romney is not going to win...the Republicans WILL get behind him...they will have NO CHOICE now.. it is too late for a third candidate! But it is NOT too late for NEWT to win..if he started winning every state and he could with the millions Adelson could give him!!
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