Posted on 03/16/2012 9:52:44 PM PDT by Steelfish
Gingrich Forges Ahead As A Spoiler
By Daniel Malloy and Katie Leslie The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CHICAGO -- Newt Gingrich has unabashedly taken on the role of spoiler in the Republican presidential nomination contest, as a pair of losses in Tuesday’s Deep South primaries cemented his position on the margins of the race.
(snip)
Appearing on a radio show Wednesday morning in Chicago, Gingrich talked about the results in Alabama and Mississippi -- where he came in second to former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania -- as if he and Santorum were a kind of conservative tag team.
“Between the two of us last night we got two-thirds of the delegates that were available,” Gingrich said. “Romney I think had his front-runner status deeply weakened when he could only get about one-third of the delegates that were available. And I think that there’s a fairly good likelihood that we’re going to end the nominating process in June with no one having an absolute majority, and that will be one of the most interesting 60-day discussions we’ve ever had.”
Gingrich said he believed such an outcome would lead to a wild brokered convention.
“It really could be a very open, very creative convention,” he said.
That is not the way Team Santorum sees it. Tuesday night on CNN, Santorum spokeswoman Alice Stewart said Gingrich should “absolutely” drop out to allow for a two-man race between her candidate and Romney.
Georgia-based conservative talk radio host Erick Erickson joined the dropout chorus Wednesday morning, writing on the RedState blog: “It is time for Newt Gingrich to exit.”
“Gingrich’s final act could be king maker by getting out and endorsing," Erickson wrote, "but pride cometh before the fall.”
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
Therein lies the problem RS, it speaks to “national GOP preferences” that is quite different from actual state-by-state exit polling data where primary voters have cast their ballots.
Ain't self government a bitch? All those folks like me that will ignore your superior wisdom and vote our own minds?
Messy business.
/johnny
Newt had a disadvantage in MS Al with the cross over dems voting for Rick. Exit polls showed Rick in 3rd place-explain that. The D Kos and Move on are still asking dems to cross over in Illinois for Rick. Rick's base is not completely solid. How can you take a huge chance of that base holding up..This is common sense folks. This isn't hate.
Ricky needs Newt’s leadership. :-)
**************
Hey Red, happy St. Pat’s!!! With this article, look’s like friend Steelfish started celebrating the occasion at the stroke of midnight.
“Steelfish, you are acting like a hack.... please..stop it..”
A hack does what a hack does. His panties are in a bunch over Newt and he can’t stop throwing a temper tantrum about it.
New York Times blogger Nate Silver analyzed data from Public Policy Polling to predict that Santorum would get 57 percent of Gingrich supporters and Romney would get 27 percent. Silver estimated that had Gingrich not been in the race, Santorum would have won four states that he lost, but Romney would still be ahead of Santorum in delegates.
Under Silver’s analysis, this would still have made for a dramatic turn in the direction of this race. You can hopefully understand why we who support Santorum are livid with Gingrich playing the spoiler role. Don’t take it personally.
Come on Steel— let’s have the antecedent to that quote:
“Over the long span of his career, no one – save Ronald Reagan – did more while in public office to advance the conservative cause than did Newt Gingrich.” Viquerie
That’s why I find this fellow’s logic specious. He doesn’t say Rick did more than anyone for conservatism while in office— Newt did. Why then does he support Rick?
Elementary my dear Watson, the results on the ground speak for themselves. Newt spoke about his “southern strategy” and at one point his campaign manager said that AL and MS were must wins for him staying in the race.That strategy is now reduced to rubble.
Then someone needs to pinch fishy with or without wearing green.
You seem desperate in which you are now taking the words of these
leftists (don't take it personally)
So when did Red State’s Erick Erickson become a “liberal”? That would be news to him.
Maybe it is impossible now. And maybe by the time we reach the convention it is not.
But I can say this with conviction. There’s only one candidate worth pulling a lever for in this group of three.
And also I agree completely that Newt leaving the race and allowing Romney and Santorum to duke it out will result almost certainly in a Romney win. Santorum is too weak personally to survive that kind of assault.
I’d rather see Newt stick it out until the convention, and then either hand over the delegates to someone other than Romney, OR push to take the nomination himself if the room can’t come to an agreement over the current two leaders.
Either way, it’s safer for the country because we have:
1) A better chance of getting someone other than Romney.
2) A still slim glimmer of a chance of getting Newt in a brokered convention.
I’m not going to help either Santorum or Romney get elected. One is a liberal and the other is hopeless. This country won’t survive either of them, just like we won’t survive with Obama... each is just a vote for a different flavor of doom. None is a solution.
That may sound harsh or defeatist, but it’s the truth. And truth can be hard.
This is NOT a normal election. The next few years are going to be anything but normal.
Eric plays all sides for Eric-don’t you know that.
Just listen to him over time.
I’m surprised Erickson would do this. He endorsed Newt and called for Perry to drop out and back Newt. He fought hard for Newt in that religious leaders meeting.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/18/erick-erickson-rick-perry-should-drop-out-and-endorse-newt/
So monkey Eric has seen the light.
That the same poll that was wrong last week?
Personally, I am glad the Newt is staying in mainly because I think he is by far our best chance of having a real leader as president, but also I’m finding out more and more things about Santorum the longer this goes on. For instance I didn’t realize that Santorum was such a union man until recently. We absolutely do NOT need a president who is in the tank for unions.
To you, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, is who we that are to the right of Santorum and Romney, should follow, that FR should follow as experts on conservatism?
If Santorum is strong let him show it over Newt. No one should hand this to him. He must prove he won’t be knee-capped the second Newt exits.
The MSM, the GOP-e, the pundits — all those who are asking Newt to “get out” need to focus on Mitt’s lackluster (though vicious and burning through $100 Million) campaign and tout Rick, if they are so inclined.
If Newt is such a non-entity, why all the fuss?
I’ll tell you why. He’s the best candidate in the race. He’s the best man for the job and his supporters want him to stay in the fight. He WILL shake things up in D.C. and the Establishment can’t have that!
GO Newt!
Santorum had better be careful what he wishes for. If Gingrich drops out Team Romney doubles-down on the slash and burn tactics because they will only have one obstacle left to the nomination. Rick does not have the organization, coordination nor money to withstand a re-energized Team Romney, a newly motivated GOP establishment and a fired up mainstream media one step closer to their dream date of Romney-Obama.
In a one-on-one Rick will take the bait and bite hard on a controversial social issue he should avoid and Romney and the media will shred him for it.
God bless Newt. His staying in and keeping Romney aiming at two targets is the single best hope conservatives have in preventing a Romney nomination before the convention.
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