Free Republic

Newt Gingrich likely became the first candidate to say he would not vote for Ron Paul if the Texas Congressman were the nominee on Tuesday when he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that “the choice of Ron Paul or Barack Obama would be a very bad choice for America.” Gingrich was critical of Ron Paul’s foreign policy and the recently surfaced newsletters printed under Paul’s name, which had racist remarks on them. Gingrich also said in Columbia, S.C. that Paul should explain “how he could have had a decade of newsletters that had his name on it that he apparently wasn’t...

DES MOINES — Alarmed by Newt Gingrich’s decline in the polls in the face of a fusillade of negative advertisements, some senior aides and grass-roots supporters have suggested that he reverse course and fight fire with fire, fearing for the future of his candidacy if he does not. Mr. Gingrich’s vow to stay positive draws applause at every stop of his winding Iowa bus tour, but polls raise questions about that strategy as attack ads against him from his opponents’ campaigns and independent groups have seeped into voters’ minds. New polls of Iowa Republicans this week suggest that Mr. Gingrich...