Posted on 03/10/2012 9:18:17 AM PST by Steelfish
Gingrich Says He Will Stay in GOP Race Even If He Loses Mississippi, Alabama March 10, 2012
ELLISVILLE, Miss. – Spurning calls for him to get out, Newt Gingrich insisted Friday that he'll stay in the race for the Republican presidential nomination even if he loses two Southern primaries next week.
(snip)
Gingrich said he intended to campaign all the way to the Republican National Convention in August, regardless of whether he has won the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.
His comments contradicted assertions by a key aide that Gingrich must win both states to remain viable. Asked if he must win the pair, Gingrich replied: "No."
Gingrich, who represented Georgia in Congress for two decades, spent most of the week shuttling between Alabama and Mississippi, addressing hundreds at rallies across both states about his proposal to expand U.S. petroleum exploration and drive gas prices down to $2.50 a gallon. He won a home field primary in Georgia, his only victory among the 10 states that voted earlier this week, and canceled a scheduled trip to Kansas, which holds caucuses Saturday, to maintain his focus on the Deep South. His only other win of the season came in South Carolina in January. Gingrich has been under pressure from conservatives, including from allies and supporters of former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, to quit the race and allow Santorum to challenge front-runner Mitt Romney unencumbered by competition for the votes of the Republican right.
Earlier this week, chief Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said his candidate needed to win every state in the band stretching from South Carolina to Texas.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
In other news, Rick Santorum was seen helping an elderly blind man cross a busy street.
Count the delegates!
“Romney’s prayers have been answered. He could not have asked for better news. The three-man race has allowed Romney to squeak through wins in WA, AZ, MI, and OH.”
I voted for Newt here in Florida but I would say you are exactly right - if the headline is true.
If Newt were to lose Alabama and Miss AND still remain in the race - this would reveal that Newt is someone in collusion with Romney.
I DON’T believe any such things at this time and would like Newt to WIN AL & Miss — but— if he LOST those two states and remained, then REASON would leave me no other option but to deduce that something is going on...
“Romney’s prayers have been answered. He could not have asked for better news.”
Did you really think that either Gingrich or Santorum would drop out? There is more at play here than simply winning the primary.
What we need to do is start a serious ANTI-ROMNEY movement in the Party. A “scorched earth” mode that says we WILL NOT vote for Romney in a general election and the party MUST pick another candidate that is conservative. I dunno but maybe it is time to seriously consider starting a new party where “country club elite’s” are not welcome.
Gingrich is wanting to get just enough delegates to stop the others from getting the nomination outright.
That way, Gingrich gets to play king-maker.
It has become an ego trip for ole Newt.
Is Newt hiding in a Grassy Knoll waiting for the motorcade?
“If Newt were to lose Alabama and Miss AND still remain in the race - this would reveal that Newt is someone in collusion with Romney.”
I’m sorry but when I read posts saying either Gingrich or Santorum are in “collusion” with Romney...I have to tell you that thinking is delusional. IF there is any “self-serving” taking place with either Newt or Rick it is that by maintaining a high profile by staying the campaign, they can get higher speaking fees.
Folks, here is the the real key to focus on. We “assume” that if either Rick or Newt dropped that their voters would automatically go to the other. This just won’t happen. Romney will still get his sizeably share of them. Except in a “winner take all” contest, they both still keep Romney from getting enough votes to outright win the nomination.
Actually “something” has been going on for some time. How else did Romney win by a squeaker in AZ, WA, MI, and OH? If not wittingly, unwittingly Gingrich has become Romney’s foil in his quest for the nomination.
An “ego trip” that will give Romney the nomination.
Carl Cameron on FoxNews said on Super Tuesday that he heard the Romney camp was “happy” that Gingrich was still in the race.
I like it. Time to stop fighting each other and go after the real enemy. Rush's fluke proved we are still a powerful force in this country, time to use it.
>>Folks, here is the the real key to focus on. We “assume” that if either Rick or Newt dropped that their voters would automatically go to the other. This just won’t happen. Romney will still get his sizable share of them. Except in a “winner take all” contest, they both still keep Romney from getting enough votes to outright win the nomination.<<
You make a fair point. Certainly if Gingrich dropped out, some of his votes would go to Romney, but I doubt very much it would be half of them. For one thing, Santorum’s fundraising would pick up significantly if he became the only viable alternative to Romney which would allow him to fight back against the inevitable attack ads in more states. And in some states, Santorum’s win would be much more impressive, since he’s likely to get more than half of the votes now going to Gingrich. (The same would be true for Gingrich if Santorum dropped out, of course.)
Meanwhile, in winner-take-all contests, dividing the ABR vote allows Romney to pick up sizable chunks of delegates with 38-42% “wins.” I’d rather see him losing with 48% than winning with 38%.
Plus, while Santorum (or Gingrich) will no doubt have trouble picking up the delegates they need, so might Romney, and if Santorum has the clear momentum going into the convention, and even a small lead in delegates by that time, it would increase the odds that the convention dumps Romney.
There. Fixed it.
Anyways why would the guy in 2nd drop out so the guy in 3rd could supposedly have a better shot? What the hell kind of sense does that make? Shouldn't it be the other way?... the lower people drop out?
That might have sounded nice when you wrote it, but think for a minute about what "scorched earth" policies have actually meant in military history and what they left behind.
Once you've burned everything down you may not have anything left to rebuild with. Maybe "scorched earth mode" is a lot like "shooting yourself in the foot mode."
You are correct, trying to say the person with the highest negatives has the best chance is nuts. With a capitol N.
This entire idea of getting people to drop out must be rejected. The purpose of getting people to drop out is so that the nominee is decided before the convention, and the delegates do not get to decide who would be the best standard-bearer during the convention.
This is how the GOP-e retains control of the party.
Yep.
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