Posted on 12/08/2011 9:30:15 AM PST by Servant of the Cross
These polls dropped last evening. Most concerning to Team Romney? The numbers from the one early state in which Newt isn't ahead:
Newt Gingrich has opened up a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney in three early states and significantly narrowed the gap in New Hampshire, the state that has been the firewall for the former Massachusetts governor’s campaign, according to a set of new polls by CNN and Time magazine. In Florida, a state where Romney’s campaign has put early emphasis, Gingrich is leading Romney by a 2-to-1 margin, according to the poll by CNN/Time/ORC Internatonal. If the election were held today, 48 percent of likely Republican voters in Florida said they would support Gingrich, compared with 25 percent for Romney. The former House speaker also has a 2-to-1 lead in South Carolina, with 43 percent saying they would support Gingrich and 20 percent saying they would support Romney.
Less than half of the voters in each state said they had made up their mind, illustrating the volatility of the race. But with voters starting to make their choices in less than four weeks, Gingrich’s numbers surpass those for Romney’s other would-be challengers, who briefly rose and then fell again. In New Hampshire, the state where Romney has put the greatest emphasis, Gingrich is behind by only 9 points in the CNN poll. Gingrich recently won the endorsement from the Union Leader in Manchester – a paper that doesn’t hesitate to put harshly-worded editorials on the front page -- which could be a factor in the final weeks of the campaign. A number of recent polls have also showed Gingrich opening up a lead here in Iowa, where caucus-goers will jumpstart the nominating process on Jan. 3. In the CNN poll, 33 percent of those polled said they would support Gingrich, compared with 20 percent for Romney.
These numbers are pretty overwhelming. If Newt wins three of four, or runs the table, he could sew this thing up...maybe. The silver lining for Romney, and everyone else chasing Gingrich, is the huge number of undecided voters. Many GOP voters aren't committed, and there's still time for Newt fast fade -- but as I've written previously, a Cain-style implosion is unlikely for a number of reasons. Concerned Romney backers have been urging the campaign to go on offense to blunt or beat back Newtmentum. It looks like they'll get their wish. In addition to Chris Christie's jab last week, two key Romney surrogates are conducting a conference as we speak. The topic? An examination of Gingrich's record. Oh, I'm sure it'll be glowing. From a campaign email sent late last night:
On Thursday, former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu and former Missouri Senator Jim Talent will hold a press conference call to discuss Speaker Newt Gingrich’s record. Details are as follows: Thursday, December 8, 2011. Event: Gov. John Sununu and Sen. Jim Talent to hold a press conference call.
Meanwhile, Newt's killing Mitt with kindness, and tossing out irresistible appeals to the base. Are you ready for Secretary of State John Bolton? If this stuff can't dampen Newtmania among grassroots conservatives, can anything slow him down before January?
Good Newts for Newt is bad Newts for Rino Romney.
Rino Romney called out his accolytes Christie, Peter King of LonGGGGG Island and Capon Coeburn of Oklahoma yesterday
to attack Newt. Looks like it isn’t working.
Well, if Newt gets elected President, he can make Christie, King and Coeburn ambassadors to Upper Volta.
It is revealing that Romney is quicker to attack Newt than he is Obama.
When is the Tea Party and Grassroots Conservatives going to wake up? Clearly, the votes are there to stop Romney, so why are we not rallying behind the more conservative candidates in the race without the baggage (Bachmann, Santorum)? 24 days to right the ship.
In 2008, if John McCain had disowned McCain-Feingold or referred to his work on Education/Cap and Trade with Ted Kennedy as “the worst mistake of my career”, people would have rightfully called him out for being full of crap and pandering. But Newt comes out and does/says the same thing on climate change and TARP and all is forgiven? I’m sorry, not buying it.
Mitt is going to attack?
Does he not know that all of the Newt, and undecided, are not deciding between Newt and Romney?
As Newt said in the beginning, he’s going to run on ideas and what mud he’s thrown, he’s thrown at Obama.
Now I know it’s a contest but I think we’re about to see Romney (with his willing handmaidens in the press, the repbublican and democratic parties) get very nasty against Newt.
We all know inside that Romney was behind the takedown of Cain. Newt is now in Romney’s way. However, Newt is formidable and conservatives are coalescing around him.
Romney deserves to be at the back of the pack and I for one, can’t wait for him to get there.
Newt was very smart in one detail - he took his attacks to Obama instead of to the other GOP candidates. Romney just looks like a pinhead pulling this crap now.
I think Romney's strategy was for all of the anti-Romneys to falter and he would be left as the only remaining choice. We'll see if Newt falters, but so far he has been able to withstand a couple of missteps and still keep climbing in the polls. And he is taking support away from Romney as well as picking up former Cain supporters at a faster clip than the other candidates.
Compare McCain's gentle treatment of Obama in 2008 versus his savage treatment of a more-conservative candidate for his senate seat in 2010.
We would see a repeat of that in 2012 if Romney wins.
Indeed we would.
“And he is taking support away from Romney as well as picking up former Cain supporters at a faster clip than the other candidates.”
Gingrich is a compromise candidate for conservatives.
Romney would be a capitulation.
Being both a Newt and Perry fan, for now more toward Newt, but I have not seen Perry folks attacking. Don’t just claim, show me please.
“It isn’t just the Romney camp attacking Newt. The Perry contingent on FR is busy doing the same.”
Bachmann is also attacking Newt. Rather odd..Bachmann very seldom says anything negative regarding Romney.
CNN and TIME magazine agree! With no actual votes cast yet, NEWT has opened up an almost insurmountable lead!
Lots of Newt-bashing between those two, and those are the lead Perry posters on FR.
parksstp wrote:
“... so why are we not rallying behind the more conservative candidates in the race without the baggage (Bachmann, Santorum)?”
First, what makes you think that Bachmann and Santorum have no baggage? And, please, don’t try to turn my words into saying that Newt has none. Of course he has baggage. But so does every Republican candidate. The knives haven’t come out against Bachmann or Santorum because they weren’t going anywhere. People do not see in either one a fighter who will be able to go all ten rounds with Obama and his Orc army.
Second, and corollary to the first, people see in Newt a flawed candidate, but one who is basically a conservative and who has enough backbone to fight. And we conservatives are looking for a fight with those we perceive as trying directly to tear down this nation. They are personified in the faces of Obama, Hillary, Dingy Harry, Nazi Pelosi etc. etc.
Third, there are enough people out there with life experience who know that sometimes - sometimes - age and adversity actually brings more wisdom and tempers youthful excess, of which Newt had plenty. And they also know that “idea people” and those who’ve gone off the reservation in the past, and this certainly would be applicable to Newt, need to be surrounded by strong-willed advisors who will hold to account the “idea people” and reservation-wanderers. Newt does get this. Thus he has signaled where he will be in terms of foreign policy: John Bolton. He is busy sending other signals as well. Open your eyes and look.
Fourth, Newt is 68. He is the present. But he is not the future. The bigger question after Obamanomics and all the other destructive claptrap that goes with it have been stopped, then what? Who will continue the rollback? Pressure needs to be put on Newt to choose a good VP. Among the great choices, and there are probably more, would be: Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan. In this way, and conservatives must insist on such a choice, Newt would tell conservatives that the future is theirs. He must anoint a successor from the right, not the left of the party. Ronald Reagan, God bless his memory, anointed George H. W., and that is why so much of what he accomplished was undone, and the way was paved for Bill “It’s-all-about-me” Clinton, and then worse.
Know em both, if anything is extremely soft compared to the nastiness from NeinNeinNein Cain camp or HatePerry camps.
We hear that from every faction.
I think many of us don’t hold out much hope that Newt will change government much, but we despise Obama so much we just want him gone no matter. The MSM better get their long knives out now for Newt, because Romney isn’t going to get the nomination by default.
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