Posted on 01/03/2012 8:48:34 PM PST by Lazlo in PA
Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) – Newt Gingrich will hit GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney as a "timid Massachusetts moderate" in a New Hampshire newspaper ad on Wednesday.
The full-page ad, set to run in the influential Union Leader, comes less than one week before the state's first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 10.
The Gingrich campaign intends to release television ads in the same vein this week. On Tuesday, Gingrich also said he will run ads in the early primary voting states of South Carolina and Florida, which hold their contests later this month.
Calling himself a "bold Ronald Reagan conservative," Gingrich compared his campaign with Romney's on a number of issues in the newspaper ad. Among other claims, Gingrich argued that Romney raised taxes and expanded abortion services as governor.
Meanwhile, Gingrich highlighted his own 98.6% pro-life rating from the National Right to Life Committee and his efforts fighting tax hikes in the House of Representatives.
The ad also reminds readers that the Union Leader's editorial board endorsed Gingrich, a nod that came in late November when Gingrich had surged to the top of several polls.
(Excerpt) Read more at politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com ...
I think that Newt has to outperform Santorum in NH. Newt will be on fire in Saturday’s debate and there won’t be three weeks of carpet bombing of negative ads against him to further knock him down.
Huntsman has been solely in NH for some time now. It is make or break for him there. He also has to go after Romney for the moderate, establishment vote.
Not saying Newt or Santorum has a real chance to win NH. But, if they are strong and Huntsman gets some as does Paul, the perception of Romney stuck at 25% in spite of all that money, starts to weaken Romney.
I’m backing Santorum all the way to the White House.
I think that’s a pretty could analysis you have there. My impression is that Rick and Newt like each other, and they’ll act as a team to destroy Romney’s pretense as a conservative.
As between Rick and Newt, ultimately I think Newt will come out on top, wt Rick as a potential VP ( he might be able tto bring over PA).
When push comes to shove, Newt is simple more competent— and I think the country wants that now— they want someone to take charge.
But, certainly, if it’s Rick- that would be fine with me.
I agree that I think Newt can outperform Santorum. The establishment and the Left no question would like to go against Rick over Newt. I think the Left would rather go against Santorum than Romney (which I think would be a mistaken thought by the Left).
I just listened to Pat Caddell, one democrat I find worth listening to. He said something interesting. Apparently Newt has received about $9M in donations recently. Caddell thinks Newt will be inclined to go nuclear against Romney in NH and Romney responds in kind and the whole selection process will come to a head much sooner than thought. My thought is that if Newt rolls the dice and goes for the jugular against Romney and Paul now, does this really help him in SC, or sacrifice himself to Santorum’s benefit? The talking heads all think Santorum is the clear anti-Romney, but I don’t see that yet.
Bottom line to me is that the only chance the GOP has to stop Romney is Newt. Now whether he has to sacrifice himself for that to happen is the real question. The more I think of it, I am going to send Newt some money because he is the best we’ve got to beat Obama. We will see...
That Vander Plaatz guy was on Cavuto saying everyone including Newt should drop out and throw their support behind Santorum.
Based on what? Has this cornfield kingmaker looked at a national poll?
Rick Santorum barely registers outside of Iowa.
Gingrich is the only one that can knock off Romney.
Why was Romney so thrilled tonight with Santorum's numbers.
Cause he knows Newt Gingrich is his main threat.
The minute Gingrich is no longer a threat to Romney he will loose the hounds of Hell on Rick Santorum, who up to now has had a free pass.
Totally agree with you. Santorum won because Newt took all the heat. I see the establishment fixing this all so nicely.
With Perry reassessing his run and Bachmann just about out of it, this is the time to implore them both to swallow some pride and show that they really believe in social issues. We all know that Santorum has an uphill battle, but he does have a hefty base in PA and has a very good record defending manufacturing jobs. Some call it pork, but whether it’s PA steel, coal, helicopters, or any number of jobs, at least Americans are doing those jobs rather than foreign nationals. As a northeasterner I’ll go out on a limb and point out that a lot of people here are wary of evangelicals, but it’s going to bs darn near impossible to paint him as a right-wing extremist when even Biden also claims to be z devout Catholic—you don’t disparage Catholics in this neck of the woods and survive long (I was baptized Greek Orthodox and even I attended Catholic school from first grade through college — that’s just the way it is here—I admit I haven’t gone to Church in a long time, but it seems that hardly a week goes by where I don’t find myself reconsidering that—but I digress). The short of it is that the fact that Santorum is a devout Catholic will in my opinion insulate him from the Left rather than serve as a liability, if he’s careful about how he presents himself,
if I had the means I’d get on my knees a d literally beg Perry to throw his support behind Santorum and urge his superPAC to do the same. The same for Bachmann—there is a real opportunity to counteract the secular establishment if we have the courage and the wisdom to do so.
part of our problem has been our fault—a small portion of my family is Jewish, and in the past our discipline has slipped to a degree—I’m always hearing how they always fear efforts to convert then to Christianity. I don’t consider myself devout by any measure, but I’m always reminded by the Gospel of John — God is Love, and he loves us all unconditionally—even though we are all sinners, and even if we aren’t Christians. He loves us no matter what, and the way to worship Him is to treat all of his creations with the same love that He would grant us. Its not about converting Jews to Christians or of converting Catholics to Protestants or vice-versa—its about spreading the message that IMHO is common to all religions—we were given the gifts of life and free will to spread good will to all men.
I’ve rambled a lot, but the point I’m trying to make is that this is the twilight for Perry and Bachmann, then if they truly serve a higher message than themselves, there is an opportunity before them to make a real difference, but time is very short.
And if the roles were reversed, I would ask no less of Santorum to consider the greater good, for that is why we are here to begin with.
(P.S. I love my HP touchpad, but this was a real bear to type...)
You mean, “...implemented without a vote from Massachusetts voters.”
Yes, I mean that too! Hope Newt’s team broadcasts that
it should be if Romeny can’t muster 50% of the vote since he’s a resident of NH.
I respect your view. I am Catholic, too. I do like Santorum’s honesty and dignity. I am Catholic, too and can relate to his family values, especially his devotion to his wife and children.
Thinking from a purely political perspective, my gut still tells me that Gingrich is the best candidate. The next couple of weeks will show if that gut feel will play out. If, in the course of time, the conservatives coalesce around Santorum I will happily join them. For now I will support Newt and wish Rick well.
Conflicto gato (cat fight).
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