Posted on 12/01/2011 1:15:20 PM PST by TBBT
ew GOP presidential front-runner Newt Gingrich, anticipating an attack from fellow contender Mitt Romney, has instructed his campaign staff and advisers not to respond in kind to the former Massachusetts governor, RCP has learned.
According to Gingrich campaign spokesman R.C. Hammond, “In response to the dynamics over the last 24 hours about the attacks coming our way, his instructions to us were to not say anything bad about Mitt Romney.”
Hammond explained that the campaign has received inquiries about how it will respond to attacks on Gingrich, given the searing Web ad Ron Paul’s operation has released and a reading of the “tea leaves” regarding Romney. And so, in the course of the campaign’s regular morning conference call Thursday, Gingrich told his staff and advisers to keep the focus on a forward-looking campaign and President Obama.
In essence, that means Gingrich will be stealing from longtime putative front-runner Romney’s own playbook: Act like the nominee for the general election; don’t engage intraparty rivals; and prepare to be seen as the next president.
As one informal adviser familiar with the call put it, “Newt instructed his team . . . to remain focused on what obviously has resonated: Voters want a nominee who can go toe to toe with President Obama on issues and substance. So Newt will continue to talk about how lower taxes, less regulation and pro-growth policies that will permit Americans to create real jobs. Negative attacks on fellow Republicans will not create a single new job or help rebuild America.”...
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
It’s just a taste of how he would handle Obama’s smear machine. He won’t fight back, period.
Reminds me of this old farmer down in Louisiana who admonished a bunch of kids with, “Don’t make fun of Bobby, you kids might turn out that way!”
Ron Paul - who knows he doesn’t have a chance. Seems Mitt is paying Ron Paul because he ‘thinks’ he has a chance.
You’ve indirectly brought up a point I’ve been making for some time now. Who will have the greatest coattails? who can unite the party to not only win the presidency, but congress as well? It’s hard to unite when you’re pissing off potential & future supporters.
It’s just a taste of how he would handle Obama’s smear machine.
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I think he’d fight you.
Look, the video is not about Ron Paul and I’m not a Ron Paul supporter.
The video and the article are about Newt and his “strange” decisions.
Newt has been following a very smart strategy of uniting the GOP since the beginning of the campaign. He is doing so with class and wisdom. He understands we need a strongly united party and together we take on the real opponent. This was very evident in his interview with Hannity last night. Newt is smarter than the rest of them and I think he can beat Obama, but only with a unified front.
Perry attacked Romney. How did that work out for him?
That’s what is seems like to me.
I think that you're dead wrong. Newt recognizes that Romney is a mere temporary opponent who will later need to be brought on as an ally. The latter is difficult to do if you burn bridges behind you by flaming a guy every chance you get. Besides, Newt clearly recognizes that Obama is the enemy, and spoke about his strategy to defeat Obama last night on Hannity's show. He called Obama a radical Alinsky follower, hardly the stuff of "...won't fight back."
Why would a candidate up in the polls hit a lesser candidate? This seems like a no brainer to me to stay above the fray.
Your point is valid. Newt is ignoring the attacks and is smothering the rest of the GOP field with love. Even in explaining his poor attack on Paul Ryan’s plan, he made sense that you have to explain and present changes in a way that they will accept. He acknowledged that the Medicare choice should be offered right away, but other parts of the plan take time.
I just see that he has shown a lot of signs of having gotten wiser with age. His campaigning in the last 2 months has been as good or better by far than any of the others.
Your point is valid. Newt is ignoring the attacks and is smothering the rest of the GOP field with love. Even in explaining his poor attack on Paul Ryan’s plan, he made sense that you have to explain and present changes in a way that they will accept. He acknowledged that the Medicare choice should be offered right away, but other parts of the plan take time.
I just see that he has shown a lot of signs of having gotten wiser with age. His campaigning in the last 2 months has been as good or better by far than any of the others.
Gingrich says one thing and does another. I don't trust a single word he utters. Newt is a political opportunist of the worst kind.
Of course when Cain and Bachmann declined to attack Romney, a bunch of freepers (mostly Perry supporters) began sneering that they were "auditioning to be Romney's V.P."
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