Newt Gingrich: Walking dead out of Alabama, Mississippi

The Washington Times ^ | March 14, 2012 | Jim Picht

[Cincinatus' Wife]

NATCHITOCHES, La., March 14, 2012—It was a good night for Rick Santorum. It was not a good night for Mitt Romney. Newt Gingrich is a zombie.

President Obama might want to celebrate tonight’s election results in the morning with a nice bowl of grits for breakfast.

Gingrich’s southern strategy is dead, and so is his campaign. The only southerner in the race, he’s said all along that the South would help him to the nomination. ... He came in a close second in both, results that would be respectable if he had more wins to his credit. But he doesn’t. There’s no way Gingrich can spin the night’s results into victory.

Nor can Romney, but his campaign remains very much alive. The mathematics of the delegate race didn’t demand that he win – if he and Santorum traded results, the effect would be a gain of only seven delegates for Romney – but a victory in either state would have been a definite boost. He won some delegates, and if he wins Hawaii and American Samoa, as is widely expected, his delegate lead will grow, but the losses still hurt, and they illustrate a serious weakness.

Romney could have won in Mississippi, and even Alabama wasn’t out of reach. He had sufficient support on paper to win, and the spread between him and Santorum was actually quite narrow. Between him and Gingrich the gap was even narrower, and second-place would have been just fine. But his supporters weren’t sufficiently supportive to actually go out and vote. He showed, if anyone needed showing, that his support is a mile wide and an inch deep. His supporters preferred to stay home and watch CSI, and so Romney came in third.

[CatherineofAragon]

"...but the stakes have never been higher and rational minds must win out."

Rational minds are in short supply, unfortunately. If there were more of them, people would have heard what Newt is saying and he'd be running away with this.

[Ozymandias Ghost]

“Why are so many people calling the candidates with (sic) their first names? Mitt, Rick, Newt...?”
_____________

Speaking only for myself, those nicknames are pretty much “authorized brevity codes” for the candidates; the media uses them quite often. I use them interchangeably w/their last names when I post simply because it takes so much longer to type “Gingrich,” “Santorum” or “Romney.”

If you really want to follow protocol and add honorifics (Former Speaker of the House, Former Senator, Former Governor of Massachusetts) it would be more correct; however, it would also be much more stilted, awkward and cumbersome.

(N.B.: Obviously, I am not on a first name basis w/any of the candidates and would address them appropriately if I ever met any one of them.)

[CatherineofAragon]

"Newt is the man the establishment fears which makes me wonder..do they really want to make huge changes and turn this country around or do they want to just go along to get along?"

The latter. Recently some GOP-e hack was on Fox, saying that Newt wasn't viable because he would change Washington too much. He terrifies them.

[Vigilanteman]

You are correct. Newt is worse than Romney on border control and not even close to Santorum. See my link below, item #4.

Seven reasons for Rick Santorum

1. Who has won the most states without the benefit of their own money, last election's organization or a billionaire casino sugar daddy?
   
2. Who is everybody's second choice when he isn't their first?
   
3. Who can get both the Romney people and the Gingrich people, who hate each other, to vote for him?
   
4. Who has the best record on immigration?
   
5. Who has the best plan for repealing ObamaCare? And is the only GOP candidate who didn't help write or approve legislation which helped spawn this fiasco?
   
6. Who has the best plan for expanding the American economy and strengthening American families?
   
7. Who is the closest thing we have to the "generic Republican" which polls show consistently beating Obama and is most likely to make the election about Obama's sorry record rather than about himself?

[CatherineofAragon]

"he’s not an old man and pot bellied to boot?... image is part of the game, sad but true... If he was interested in running for president, he should’ve lost 40 pounds two years ago... tell me I’m wrong. I’d vote for him if he were my grandpa, of course..."

Wow. That's AMAZINGLY shallow, to the point of sounding leftwing.

Let me guess----you're an "American Idol" fan, right?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

They’re seething that Newt would stand in the way of Mitt.

It’s something to watch.

Newt is calm and standing firm. Fox anchors and contributors are at a loss about how to alter the landscape. So Fox spins, lies, ridicules and will eventually move to a reporting blackout (but Newt won’t sit still for it).

[PreciousLiberty]

‘The “Buckley” admonition held sway when he said it but after years of following it we find ourselves with a stable filled with Big Government RINOs.

It’s is time to find a better “rule.” ‘

That’s great, I’m all ears. However, the Buckley rule is in fact unassailable, the only problem is with those determining the “who is electable” part.

With Newt, it’s not his conservatism that’s the problem. It’s the giant raft of negatives he brings along for the ride.

[CatherineofAragon]

He has their number, all right. They don’t know what to do with him.

Did you see him with Bret Baier last night? Baier was grinning ear to ear, trying his damndest to get Newt to compliment Romney and practically mocking him when he wouldn’t do it. It was unbelievable.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

# Who has the best record on immigration?

Really! ? You are still using Numbers USA as a source? Numbers USA is a green, zero population organization.

"Dr. Tanton founded local chapters of Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club and became the national president of Zero Population Growth. Unable to interest colleagues in fighting immigration, he formed FAIR in 1979, pledging in his proposal to make it “centrist/liberal in political orientation.” The first director, Roger Conner, had made his mark as a liberal environmental advocate. . . . Source

[wardaddy]

Newt was born in PA and lived all over as a military family kid.

He was at Ft Bennning at 8 onwards.

I think being raised in Dixie from 8 years on qualifies well enough.

His mom and dad were teen parents...his mom quite young.

he has come a long way from that...his mom ...unlike so many today...did the right things

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Did you see him with Bret Baier last night? Baier was grinning ear to ear, trying his damndest to get Newt to compliment Romney and practically mocking him when he wouldn’t do it. It was unbelievable.

I sure did. Bret asked him about Mitt as a nominee. Newt only would say he'd be better than Obama. I bet they could of heard a pin drop on the Fox set.

[wardaddy]

Majority of Newt's voters vote on economics

I disagree, I think Romney gets the not so conservative fiscal folks...the Wash Times sorts

Newt gets about what Rick gets...Rick gets a bit more kick on vocal social issues

[Vigilanteman]

Numbers USA is credible on immigration issues, despite their green agenda. I do not agree with them on their stated goal to reduce overall immigration because I think said goal would be a natural result of having a reasonably sane immigration policy. But their data on other immigration issues is balanced and credible.

Newt, like Rick Perry, have a lot of great ideas on growing our economy, but sour a lot of conservatives because they put the interests of the open borders lobby ahead of the interests of ordinary Americans.

Too many business interests, including Perry, Gingrich and the Chamber of Commerce, are too blind to see that their unbridled affection for cheap labor leads to massive importation of third worlders who will enthusiastically vote for socialism as a means to get more free stuff.

That's a far more dangerous mindset than one of Rick Santorum's occasional pro-union votes while representing a heavily unionized constituency.

Think of it as the difference between some northern conservatives and southern conservatives, if you like. Some southerners may like the benefits that illegal aliens and cheap labor brings to their economies, but many of us northerners resent the costs which they overwhelmingly impose on us with job losses (albeit some contributed by excess unionism), loss of congressional seats, rising crime and an increased number of feeders at the government trough.

Based on the results in Alabama and Mississippi last night, I'd have to say that a lot of our brothers and sisters in the south agree with us.

P.S. Just because Noam Chomsky is an American hating moonbat when it comes to politics doesn't mean he isn't a brilliant linguist.

[PreciousLiberty]

“The GOP-e, Romney and the MSM have been holding back on Santorum’s full vet. They need Newt out of their way to do it. Newt is the only thing standing between Rick and an incoming blitz of negative press. They know Newt is the stronger and they want Rick to be crowned the “anti-Mitt” before they cut him off at the knees and nominate Romney.”

CW, you were a big Rick Perry supporter, assuring all of us that Perry’s conservative credentials and wonderful attributes would eventually prevail and make him the frontrunner, and our next President.

Let’s just say I find your view of “reality” less than realistic. “Newt is the stronger”?!? LOL

[Albion Wilde]

I think he’s the best one to lead the fight.

I agree. He is our modern-day Benjamin Franklin -- the "wise man" who may not be the figurehead, but adds immeasurably to the determination of the issues and the possible solutions.

I learned in high school that it is always the popular or good-looking kids who get elected in popular voting. The student council president or the virgin girl who is already determined to find a cure for cancer get slammed into the lockers.

I wonder if our Founders' intent that only land-owners get to vote should still be the rule. This concept needs to be modified for today's society. It is disgusting that the dregs of society get to wield so much electoral power. Heaven help us if the Alinskreeps succeed in destroying the Electoral College.

[dps.inspect]

Oh com’on, lighten up a bit... have a little fun... I’m there voting for the ol coot if he should get the nomination... “buuu, ‘e don’ seem do-b gudding da mushtart”

[Albion Wilde]

So in other words you want Mitt to win. If Newt stays in that will happen and then Obama will win.

Avoid embarrassing yourself by learning the great difference between a primary election and the general election. Start with Jim Noble's post 10 (above).

[Albion Wilde]

The "Buckley" admonition held sway when he said it but after years of following it we find ourselves with a stable filled with Big Government RINOs.

Oh, please! We've had one Rockefeller-Republican-RINO after another! Please name one true conservative that the RNC-E has supported -- I'm eager to hear.

[Theodore R.]

Is 175,000 out of 110,000,000 voters a large contributor base? I know most never give anything.

[arasina]

Well stated!