Some Conservatives Like Newt For President

CNSNews.com ^ | 03/01/2007 | Nathan Burchfiel

[CNS]

CNSNews.com) - In the first of at least two 2008 presidential straw polls scheduled for release this week, members of the conservative Citizens United have thrown their support behind non-candidate Newt Gingrich.

The unscientific poll of more than 2,500 of the group's members found that 31 percent would vote for the former House Speaker if the 2008 Republican presidential nomination were held today. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani ranked second with 25 percent of the vote.

As Cybercast News Service previously reported, Gingrich has been critical of politicians announcing their candidacy nearly two years before the general election. He has said he will announce his intentions in September, less than 6 months before the first presidential primaries.

"The conservative movement is thirsty for a leader with Ronald Reagan's vision, passion and unique ability to convey what is great about America," CU President David Bossie said in a release announcing the results. "We want someone who inspires us."

Bossie said the poll "suggests that if he were to enter the presidential race, Newt Gingrich could be the heir to President Reagan whom conservatives are looking for."

The straw poll results come while a similar poll is being conducted at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the annual gathering of conservative activists taking place in Washington, D.C. Results from that poll will be released Saturday evening.

Gingrich and Giuliani dominated the field of 13 candidates, together gathering more than half of all support. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came in third place with 10 percent of the votes. Arizona Sen. John McCain came in fourth with 8 percent.

[calex59]

Because of Newt's past record, my first choice is Duncan Hunter. I would love to see a Hunter/Newt Ticket. They are both true conservatives. I will NOT vote for Rudy, even if he wins the primary.

[westmichman]

Be nice to see Rudy run as the Democrat and Newt as the Republican. At least we would have a decent choice that way.

[The Pack Knight]

The MSM isn't going away, and it opposes much of what we hold dear. Anyone who doesn't think that they'll throw everything they have against Newt is kidding themselves. They'll do that because (in my opinion) they're afraid of him.

This might be wishful thinking on my part, but network news ratings and major newspaper readership ARE trending downward. I don't take it for granted that the MSM isn't going away. Their influence has certainly been reduced, as the 2004 election proved, if anything. I do think they'll throw everything they have against Newt, just as they'll do against any other Republican candidate, Rudy included. Refer back to the short-lived Rudy-Hillary senate race of 2000.

You may be right that some Republicans are charismatic enough to survive the negative press and some aren't, but I'm not willing to write ideas off just yet. Yes, Newt can sound like a professor, doesn't have a particularly heroic presence or background, and looks more like a senator than a president. But the fact remains that he's probably the most articulate speaker in the Republican party right now, and is better than anyone at explaining the basic tenets of the Republican platform, and why the conservative governing philosophy is better than the liberal.

It could just be that my support for Newt is just my own little personal rebellion against the Presidential beauty contest, reflecting a vain, subconscious hope that the average American voter still has half a brain, and that the electoral process can still produce rational decisions in the middle of the Entertainment Tonight generation. I'm probably wrong, but if I am, our country's headed down the corn chute anyway.

[filbert]

It would be fun to watch the heads explode over the Gingrich/Bolton ticket in your tag line . . .

[The Pack Knight]

Hah, yeah, wouldn't it? Also, we'll be one step closer to something this country hasn't had in almost a century, and has been all the poorer for. A President with a mustache!

Why, there hasn't been a mustache in the oval office since Taft! Well, unless you count Mon-.. ok, I won't go there.

Joking aside, I know that ticket isn't happening, but damn if it wouldn't force everyone to take sides. We might have the smallest poll numbers ever for "undecided voters".

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

Amen to that about Newt being head and shoulders above everyone else!

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

Amen to that about Newt being head and shoulders above everyone else!

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

Amen to that about Newt being head and shoulders above everyone else!

[Suzy Quzy]

And some of us want Dick Cheney to run.

[Sharkaroo]

Personal life

In 1962, Gingrich married, Jackie Battley, with whom he had two daughters. Anne Manning had an affair with Gingrich in 1977. She stated in a 1995 Vanity Fair article, "We had oral sex. He prefers that modus operandi because then he can say, 'I never slept with her.'"

He divorced Jackie Battley in 1980, serving her with divorce papers and forcing her to negotiate the terms of their divorce settlement while she was in the hospital after cancer surgery. He refused to pay alimony and child support. Gingrich married another woman Marianne Ginther in late 1981.[4] They divorced in 1999, said to be because of Marianne's dislike of Washington and Newt's time away from home. Marianne was quoted in a 1996 article in Vanity Fair, stating "I don't want him to be president and I don't think he should be." He divorced her while Newt later married Callista Bisek, a House aide 23 years his junior. Mr. Gingrich resides in Virginia with Callista, who is shown with him on the back cover of his book "Winning the Future"[5].
Wikipedia

Very smart and savvy, excellent political strategist, but kind of a messy personal life.

[2ndDivisionVet]

See my tagline....

[B Knotts]

FYI, these are Gallup polls:

How Reliable Are the Early Presidential Polls?

Feb. 1995:

Dole 51%
Clinton 45%
Don't Know 4%

March 1991:

Bush 78%
Cuomo 17%
Don't Know 5%

Feb. 1983:

Mondale 47%
Reagan 41%
Don't Know 12%

March 1979:

Carter 52%
Reagan 38%
Don't Know 10%

[beckysueb]

This conservative likes Newt for President very much. Despite all the media hype, I wish we could have GWB again. I guess I am the lone person who hasn't turned against him. I have seen what the libs and media have done to him.

[beckysueb]

Now if we could just convince him to toss his hat in the ring.

He will.