Dick Morris: How Mitt Romney suckered Gingrich in Florida

The Hill ^ | 01/31/12 06:32 PM ET | Dick Morris

[newgeezer]

For students of American politics, following the way the Romney campaign played Newt Gingrich in Florida is a lesson to learn and to keep. Romney’s people must have realized that Newt does best when he is positive. His bold ideas, clear vision, revolutionary insights and extraordinary perspectives resonate with voters and win him millions of supporters.

Romney, less compelling but more consistent, doesn’t need stellar debate performances or bold vision to win. The case for the former Massachusetts governor is more circumstantial: He can reach out to independents by virtue of his past apostasies on healthcare and abortion. He looks, talks and acts like a president. His record of job creation is exemplary.

But Newt needs the bold sally, the breathtaking moment of rhetorical clarity, to prevail.

So Romney’s people set out to mire Newt in negatives so he couldn’t and wouldn’t get out the positive message he needed to project to prevail. They tormented him with negative ads in Iowa. While the ads were generally accurate — the allegation about backing China’s forced-abortion policy aside — they presented only one side of the story and were stinging in their impact. Without funds, Gingrich couldn’t answer the negative ads. He fumed but watched, in impotence, as his vote share fell away.

In Spanish bullfights, the picadors torment the bull by sticking darts into his shoulders. Enraged, bleeding, frustrated and in pain, he lowers his head, snorts, paws the ground and charges straight at the matador, oblivious to the sword awaiting him behind the red cape. That’s about what Romney did to Gingrich in the January primaries.

Enter Sheldon Adelson, a Vegas billionaire who loves Newt. His affection runs so deep that he gave Gingrich the funds to destroy himself. With Adelson’s reported contribution of $5 million-plus, Newt had the weapons to fight back with his own negative ads. In a rage, he put them on TV and devoted his time in the debates to throwing accusations. RomneyCare. Abortion. Gay rights. The taxes Romney paid and the ones he advocated. Massachusetts moderate. No, make that Massachusetts liberal. They tripped off his tongue and his super-PAC put them on the air. Sheldon paid the bill. But Newt paid the price.

[pogo101]

I believe in a balanced Supreme Court. 2 Scalias, 2 Thomases, 2 Alitos and 3 Robertses. :P

[Zeppelin]

I think Newt suckered Romney. Romney spent 20 million, and drove his negatives through the roof. Time will tell.

That's $400,000 per delegate. If we can force him to spend at that rate, he'll need to blow $450 million to clench the nomination.

[LibLieSlayer]

Eeeuuuuuuuw... dick used the word “suckered”... and all I can see his his face and a fungal infected foot.

LLS

[LibLieSlayer]

Here is what happened. Florida is filled with retirees from up north that are “mostly” liberal. These are the last of the fdr dims. You have the jeb bush, charlie crist school of republican machinery... you have seniors voting for more medicare and they want their meds... operations and hospital stays to be paid for by Uncle Sugar. You have young liberal Cubans and other immigrant groups that want free stuff... you have liberal women that swoon over romney and despise the pudgy adulterer because they have one scratching himself on the couch next to them... and then you have Conservatives. All of the above groups but Conservatives voted for romney... the rest voted for newt or santorum.

LLS

[Irish Eyes]

I believe in a balanced Supreme Court. 2 Scalias, 2 Thomases, 2 Alitos and 3 Robertses. :P

Sounds like a very well balanced court to me.

:)

[Sola Veritas]

“His “niceness” is an act.. but he does have Presidential Hair.. The women in Florida are evidentially ditzes..”

He reminds me of a teleevangelist like Oral Roberts.

[Impy]

Morris seems to be a conservative Republican these days, but one friendly to the establishment. Strange the Clinton toe sucking guy ended up on our side.

Newt gave a pretty good concession speech. If he sounded like that in the debates he would have won.

It’s amazing how these stupid debates have totally driven this contest.

The next one isn’t for 3 weeks.

[GOPsterinMA]

Sounds like a prototypical earth pimp.

[steve8714]

Try this. He looks talks and acts like (Republican party national elites and Wall Street bankers’)their idea of a President.
I don’t like Newt, but I detest Romney and the process which dumps him on us.

[exit82]

Dick, Dubs needs a walk.

And go write another goofy kids book.

Then promote it shamelessly every chance you get, even when it is not germane to the subject being discussed.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

“Suckered” brings to mind Morris’ toe-sucking sex scandal with a prostitute.

[Kenny Bunk]

Morris is a weasel. If he told me it was light outside at noon, I'd go outside and look just to be sure.

Just because this toe-sucking SOB has been in the pay of George Soros through the Clinton Foundation for years ... and helped Obama campaign for the murderous Communist Jihadist Thug in Kenya, the Sharia Law candidate Odinga, who massacred thousands of Christians by burning them in their own churches when he lost the election, is certainly no reason to distrust Hillary's man. After all, Sean Hannity likes him!

Here's the plan of which Dick Morris is a key part: Obama is going to drop out of this race and he will be replaced by Hillary. (Originally the PLAN was to have The Mombasa MF serve two terms ... but that is out) The excuse will be (a) ill health (b) American Racism (c)He will return as Head of the UN. Obama's role was to do the heavy lifting ... draw fire ... then withdraw so that a smarter Marxist can step in and consolidate the Socialist Revolution.

Other than that, there is no reason to distrust Dick Morris ... except that he is a truly despicable human being.

[Kenny Bunk]

Romney DOES “look like a president” in the central casting sense.

Your relatives need glasses. He looks like a dweeb. A Ken doll with no Barbie. And unless I miss my guess, that's hair dye and plastic surgery. Fake teeth. And those faux-folksy campaign outfits! What? He had a 1950's JC Penney store re-opened?

It is also well to remember that the Ken doll is smooth and cute, but has no male equipment.

[Kenny Bunk]

So you can buy a state, but at that rate, he cannot buy a country.

O yes you can! The Mombasa MF is a-fixin' to spend well in excess of $1 BILLION ... on top of MSM dominance, PAC Money, Union Money, and "Stimulus" support laundered back to him.

Hell, with enough money, you could buy the US AND Canada in this or any other election. The MSM will provide at least $5Billion worth of FREE advertising and editorializing. Romney is definitely into the fake nice-guy bullshiite about criticizing a "black" man, too.

[Kenny Bunk]

Morris is a weasel. If he told me it was light outside at noon, I'd go outside and look just to be sure.

Just because this toe-sucking SOB has been in the pay of George Soros through the Clinton Foundation for years ... and helped Obama campaign for the murderous Communist Jihadist Thug in Kenya, the Sharia Law candidate Odinga who massacred thousands of Christians by burning them in their own churches when he lost the election, is certainly no reason to distrust Hillary's man. After all, Sean Hannity likes him!

Here's the plan of which ... IMNSVHO.... Dick Morris is a key part: Obama is going to drop out of this race and he will be replaced by Hillary. (Originally the PLAN was to have The Mombasa MF serve two terms ... but that is out) The excuse will be (a) ill health (b) American Racism (c)He will return as Head of the UN. Obama's role was to do the heavy lifting ... draw fire ... then withdraw so that a smarter Marxist can step in and consolidate the Socialist Revolution.

Other than that, there is no reason to distrust Dick Morris ... except that he is a truly despicable human being.

[AFPhys]

Thank you for your heads up. I just read your AmThinker article: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/newt_struck_gold_promptly_abandoned_mine.html Excellent. It is likely I would not have seen it if I had not just read this post of yours here.

You are right: the gold is still there for someone to mine, including Mr.Newt.

[C. Edmund Wright]

Thanks. BTW, here is the FR thread on that same article. Some folks, not thinking straight, disagree with you and I on this:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2841508/posts