Rasmussen: Gingrich 38%, Romney 17% [all others single digits]

Rasmussen Reports ^ | 12/1/2011 | staff

[Notwithstanding]

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has surged to the largest national lead held by any candidate so far in the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Republican Primary Voters finds Gingrich on top with 38% of the vote. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is a distant second at 17%. No other candidate reaches double-digits.

The national survey of 1,000 Likely Republican Primary Voters was conducted on November 30, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

[Psalm 144]

“Obama will be an easy beat if someone actually runs against him, which has never happened in his career.”

There are issues with Newt. Very serious issues. But I would be willing not merely to vote for him but also to support him. One of the reasons I would be willing to support him is that I have every confidence that he would take the whole “Hope and Change, Yes We Can, We Are the Ones We Have Beeen Waiting For” vapid inanity of the “Lightworker” . . .

. . . and rip its face off, throat out, guts out, and limb from limb.

He is not a reliable conservative, but he is reliably intellectually arrogant, and he just could not resist the utter and absolute rending of the sham magical thinking that owns the left.

Yeah, I could bring myself to vote for Newt.

[Psalm 144]

“Absurdity is no stranger to the the Democrat party.”

Hell’s bells, Absurdity is usually their candidate!

[Ancesthntr]

My vote doesn’t matter anyway here in Tennessee. If Newt is winning the primary by this sort of margin by the time we vote in the primary, my vote for someone else will not matter in the degree of his win. When the general election occurs, the lack of my vote will not matter in the degree of his loss.

My vote here in Texas won't matter much, either. Maybe I can finally cast my vote for Fred Thompson, having voted for the Hildebeast as part of Operation Chaos. :>)

[GLDNGUN]

Gloating is so beneath you......... ummm no it's not. It feels GOOD!

LOL. I'm really not trying to gloat. I am tired though of the ridiculous over-the-top vitriol against Newt. He has said some things that I detest. He was not my 1st choice. I was all in for Sarah, but she left me at the altar. It took me awhile to get over that because I REALLY thought she was running. My bad. I'm over it and I've had to move on.

Among those in the battle I believe Newt is the best choice. He's far from perfect but I think he would be the most formidable opponent to Obama in the general election AND I believe he would be the best President of those running. Even those that loathe him don't doubt his intelligence or debating skills. Those are tools that will serve him well in a campaign against Obama and the MSM. And make no mistake about it, any GOP candidate will have to beat BOTH next year to win the election. It's always been that way, but now more so than ever. While most of the other GOP candidates have played along with debate moderators questions, Newt has often refused to even accept the premise of their questions. He gets it, while the others naively play along. Again, that will serve him well in a general election.

Are there other more conservative candidates running? I suppose you could make that argument, but every single one of them has had a RINO moment or 2 that can be pointed out. Here's where a lot of conservatives get mixed up - they automatically assume that the most conservative candidate would be the best choice. That's not always the case. My next door neighbor is more conservative than any of them...but he wouldn't be my 1st choice if he were running. POTUS is a HUGE job and I want someone QUALIFIED to be President, not just good at repeating conservative talking points. I want someone with a RECORD of consequential conservative accomplishments to look at, not just a list of promises. I want someone with a conservative vision of where they want to take us AND the ability to bring that plan to fruition. Cain's whole campaign is based on his 9-9-9 plan. I don't like the plan and he has NO CHANCE of getting it passed. His supporters actually have tried to use that as a selling point - "Don't like the 9-9-9 plan? Don't worry about, it has no chance of becoming law!" So why would I want to vote for someone who's whole campaign is based on a plan I don't like? Even if I did like it, why would I want to vote for him since it has no chance of becoming law? If he can't get the central part of his plan to help America turned around, what's next? That would leave him very weak and ineffectual.

Newt on the other hand, has a realistic plan for everything with his latest Contract. Have you noticed how his conservative detractors aren't here bashing the Contract? Why is that? Is it because it reads like a conservative manifesto? Is is because it reminds them how effective he was with the original Contract with America? Yes, and yes.

The other candidates have their plans as well, but I like Newt's the most. AND I have the most confidence in his plan getting acted on. Why? Because he has done it before in Congress. The hardest part any President faces of getting his agenda into place is getting the various parts of it passed through Congress. Which candidate has the best chance of getting their agenda passed? That is clearly Newt Gingrich. As SOH, he got things done. Meanwhile, you have Bachmann whining about Newt, but what is her legislative record? Let's assume for the moment that she is indeed more conservative than Newt. Fine. What's her vision for America? Where are all of those bills she wrote that reflect her vision? Oh, there aren't any. What important pieces of legislation did she push through that demonstrates she could get things done in DC as President? Can't think of any. Because of this and the way she has run her campaign, I have NO confidence in her as our nominee or being an effective President. Santorum might be slightly better than she, but so what? Rick Perry certainly has a better record than either of them as far as accomplishing things, but some of those things shouldn't have been accomplished, and he doesn't seem to able to articulate his plans very well. What entire government departments do you want to abolish? Oh, give me a minute and it'll come to me. That is not going to cut it.

Having said that, I would take ANY of them in a heartbeat over the disaster currently in the White House, but getting Obama OUT is only the start. We have to take quick action from the WH AND Congress with a new President. We can't waste that moment of opportunity with on-the-job training. We need someone with a conservative vision who can get that plan into action ASAP. Love him or hate him, that person is Newt Gingrich.

Newt is a politician. He's great at speaking, maybe too good. Sometimes I think he likes to hear himself speak. Maybe that is why he has said some things in the past that makes conservatives cringe. He's such a good debater he can take either side of a debate and win. ALL politicians are famous for saying what they think the people they need to vote for them want to hear. If you think that's what Newt is doing, fine. Let's ignore EVERYTHING EVERY ONE OF THEM is SAYING, and look ONLY at what they have actually DONE when they had power at some level. Then ask yourself, WHO has the most effective and conservative RECORD of accomplishments? Not talking points, plans, or statements, but actual legislative and/or governance RECORD. I believe that is Newt followed by Perry. Then, you Newt haters, ask yourself this - if Newt were President and simply did a legislative repeat of what he did as the Speaker of the House - the last time he had a great deal of power - is that something you can live with? Maybe it's not perfect, but it WAS the Republican Revolution that was VERY conservative and that FORCED a sitting democrat President to do an about face on his whole agenda. If Newt could accomplish that as SOH with a Clinton as President, imagine what could be done with Newt as POTUS, a GOP Senate, and a very conservative GOP House.

If you hated what Newt accomplished as SOH, then fine, don't vote for him. It would be silly and naive for you to expect something much different from him as POTUS. If you liked what he did (all or most) then he is probably your man, because you are very likely to see much more of the same - a man with a plan and a strategy to get it turned into action.

[Psalm 144]

“We haven’t nominated an actual conservative since Reagan. Gingrich would be certainly more conservative than any President since Reagan, though not as conservative as Ronaldus Magnus himself. George W. Bush, like his father, had a vendetta against the conservative wing of the party, while cynically casting himself as a conservative to win our support. I think Newt is a move in the right direction for us, because it might help get the Bush’s fingers off the GOP establishment.”

ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY!!! The conservative movement that led to the Reagan years was utterly dissipated and subverted by the kinder, gentler, compassionate big government Bush machine during the past 23 years. We are almost back where we were in in 1980. The only bit of headway we had after “New World Order” Bush was briefly in Congress - under Newt.

Newt is imperfect, but he is certainly an improvement. And, dear God, what kind of woodshedding will golf caddy Boehner get from Newt on how the job -should- be done?

[Ancesthntr]

I’m not sure I understand the logic of this latest expression of anti-Romneyism.

Do you know of a realistic alternative to Newt, one who actually has a snowball's chance in Hell of winning in 11 months? I don't see one. Romney isn't it - why do you think that there haven't been any real attacks on Romney by the media? Because they're saving it for the General, same as was done to McLame. Besides, Romney is the establishment's favorite, and Gingrich one of their least favorite. So on top of being able to eviscerate Obama in the debates, his winning the nomination will stick a telephone pole in the eye of the Republicrat establishment (the old Rockefeller Republicans), something that hasn't happened since the '80s.

Gingrich will not only win next November and be a damned fine President, but he'll be the Schaedenfreud candidate to an even greater extent than Reagan. I soooooo look forward to taunting lieberals and Commies for the next 8 years, and seeing Obambi grow a beard and get fat like Algore.

[samtheman]

And, to think only a few months back he had several key players leave his campaign.

They went to Perry and they gave Perry blazingly bad advice ("go after Mitt's gardener"). Newt should count his lucky stars they are gone.

[Hildy]

It was ONE player who left to join Perry’s team. Who’s laughing now?

[GlockThe Vote]

A B O

I would vote for Mumia Abu Jamal / Kimbo Slice over Obama at this point.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

That was quite a volume, but a good read. Not much room left to speculate on where you stand either.

Let’s hope the rest of the Forum is up to adjusting to the trend. Newt has been the author of everything we now see in the polls. That is for sure. There was no media help, which is how Cain and Perry gained their short lived fame.

[GlockThe Vote]

Mitt collapsed on Baire yesterday. no way he can beat obama.

[Notwithstanding]

Newt was successful even when he went up against the slickest politician (with the press on 100% his team) of all time, slick Willie.

Impeaching the perjuror,
passing welfare reform,
shutting down the government in a budget fight, and
the Contract With America

were all classic Tea Party issues and tactics before the Tea Party even existed.

Newt is a true conservative who has proven his ability and willingness to accomplish big things.

[samtheman]

Simply do not believe it, a poll so far out, is normally wrong.

You go, girl!

Keep the faith, baby!

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

[Newt should count his lucky stars they are gone.]

I think Newt can read a good adviser when he sees one. They left for a reason. Even though Newt did not want to embarrass them or ruin their reputations, they were more than likely asked to leave by Newt himself. He knows he had plenty of time to replace them and retool his campaign.

He is showing more and more brilliance with every passing day.

[Ancesthntr]

So you're the guy writing Newt's speeches? :>) Damned effective argument, but Newt's had me as an admirer since the early days of C-Span when he'd give hour-long history lessons to an empty chamber. The man knows his stuff, has a strategy for all of our big problems, loves his country and can actually argue his way out of a paper bag (actually, he could probably argue his way out of Fort Knox and past the armored division guarding it).

"President Newt Gingrich"...almost as catchy as "President Ronald Reagan," and just as sure to produce acres of Schaedenfreud for me. GO NEWT!

[Notwithstanding]

bttt

[Rennes Templar]

So which nominee can win the general?

[samtheman]

This verifies a couple of things. First, many Newt-haters here were saying Newt's numbers would dive after the most recent debate due to his comments on illegal immigration, just like Perry's numbers nose-dived. WRONG. Those of you who thought and wished it would happen have been exposed. The vast majority of GOP voters are intelligent enough to understand what he was saying, while you were dishonestly trying to portray his stand as open-borders amnesty, have been exposed as liars and/or simpletons unable to decipher black from white.

Secondly, Cain's support has collapse. Man Cain supporters running around here stomping their feet insisting that his supporters would NOT go to Newt. WRONG again. That is obviously why Newt's support has shot up while Cain's has dropped.

Now then, are you Newt-haters ready to grow up and join the adults in the conversation? Your choices are Newt or Romney. Or of course you can write in someone who doesn't have a chance, or you can pretend there's not an election by not voting for anyone and risk getting 4 more years of Obama.

Bravo! Well said!

[Art in Idaho]

The same will go for any MSM creep who tries to mislead or lie about him. Newt will shred them like linguine in the coming months. And if anyone knows how to go about it, it is this crafty old MSM veteran who knows their game far better than they do.

Still assessing and waiting but almost ready to give Newt the nod just because of this reason - and the Presidential debates + He's an American + really, he probably would be a good President - by that I mean the day to day job of President not to mention I hope he cuts taxes, regulations and follows through with basic conservative principles. . + the cabinet will be very interesting. . Will be good to have American adults back. They'll have a big job ahead of them. .

What a total contrast with Obama and the czars. Refreshing to hear someone talk off the cuff, have an intelligent conversation. . a real discussion. It's been awhile.

I still like Michele - what she says and what she writes. Good basic core conservative values plus she's really committed to getting rid of Obamacare. Not quite sure why the media has been so unfair to her and really written her off. VP nod with Newt?

It's difficult to forget about you know who. . .