Newt Gingrich: Sarah Palin nod a 'signal' to conservatives

Politico ^ | 1-17-12 | Gibson

[VinL]

— Newt Gingrich says he thinks Sarah Palin’s remarks on Fox News that she would vote for him in Saturday’s primary if she lived in South Carolina may just be what puts him over the top.

That’s what he told Todd Palin, the former vice presidential nominee’s husband, who outright endorsed him ahead of the New Hampshire primary. Continue Reading Text Size

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“We’re thrilled — I just talked to Todd and we’re just thrilled,” he told POLITICO as he headed into his hotel here for the night. “It’s a signal to every conservative that the one conservative vote that’s effective is to Newt Gingrich and that’s very helpful.”

Gingrich’s campaign immediately cut a YouTube video of the Palin remarks and tweeted it out to supporters.

Palin, Gingrich said, is part of a rush of support he believes will power him to victory on Saturday — and from there, into the candidate who will beat Mitt Romney to the GOP nomiantion.

“Lots of different things are working together to help us,” Gingrich said.

But Chip Saltsman, former campaign manager to Mike Huckabee, cautioned that with the election in only a few days and the support likely stopping with her remarks on Hannity, the news may have come too late to make a difference.

“For it to make an impact she needs to come to support him,” Saltsman said. “Is it a game changer where it turns everything around? My thoughts are probably not.”

In an appearance on Fox News, Palin stopped short of endorsing Gingrich. But she didn’t leave any doubt where her preference was.

“I would vote for Newt and I would want it to continue,” she said of the campaign. “More debates, more vetting of candidates.”

Palin is a well-known figure in the conservative movement and her endorsement has been considered one of the biggest gets in this year’s campaign cycle. She used her support strategically in 2008, weighing in on midterm elections that in turn produced large fundraising prowess and surprise primary victories.

Gingrich has been traveling the Palmetto State trying to make the argument that despite disappointing finishes in New Hampshire and Iowa, he is the best candidate for conservatives to rally around.

Without a victory on Saturday, Gingrich could see his campaign come to an imminent end. He’s called the state a “must win” and said it would be “very hard” to keep going after another defeat.

Palin said she was among the many Republicans impressed by Gingrich’s debate performance Monday night.

“I do think that Newt is the one that won the debate if you will, because Newt came out like South Carolina’s own Smokin’ Joe Frazier,” she said on Hannity. “He came out there swinging, talking about work, talking about jobs and work ethic and how government needs to get out of the way in order for all Americans to have a sense of opportunity to work, and I think that’s what a lot of voters have been craving to hear.”

[dixiechick2000]

I love that woman!!!

[Bshaw]

I think you misread the thread. I’m saying Rush is NOT in the tank for Romney.

Nor am I for that matter.

I find Romney’s campaign wholly repulsive.