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In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Newt Gingrich described Sarah Palin's comments about how she would vote for him if she lived in South Carolina as an "endorsement," and said he'd ask her to join a Gingrich administration: "Governor Palin is somebody who I think was a very good reform governor. She was extraordinarily effective negotiating with big oil. She did a good job in the state of Alaska. I think she’s a very articulate leader of the Tea Party conservative movement. I was honored and delighted last night when she said if she were in South Carolina, she’d...

Exclusive... Developing... CIVIL WAR AT ABCNEWS; NETWORK HOLDS BOMBSHELL CAMPAIGN INTERVIEW

Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)‎ - 1 hour ago A just-released CNN poll of South Carolina voters shows that the former US House ... but Santorum as well – an indication that the weekend attempt to rally ...

The largest Muslim civil liberties group in the United States on Wednesday condemned Newt Gingrich for saying he would only hire Muslims to his administration if they renounced the use of Islam's Shariah law as a tool for U.S. government. Calling Gingrich "one of the nation's worst promoters of anti-Muslim bigotry," the Council of American Islamic Relations suggested the Republican presidential candidate is a segregationist.

The large lot at Bobby’s Bar-B-Q Buffet and Horse Creek Banquet Hall is full, so people have been forced to park on the side of Jefferson Davis Highway. There’s a long row of “Newt 2012” road signs. The spectators are pouring out of the front and back doors of the spacious hall, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of Gingrich. Inside, hundreds hang on to every word of Gingrich’s stump speech, laughing and clapping and nodding. Every so often, someone spontaneously shouts out, “Newt!” Gingrich trots out some of his more reliable one-liners, including a couple about his desire...

First, the new set of numbers out of the Palmetto State: With three days to go until the first-in-the south primary, Mitt Romney remains in the lead in the Palmetto State, but according to a new poll, his advantage over Newt Gingrich is rapidly shrinking. A CNN/Time/ORC International poll indicates that 33% of likely South Carolina Republican primary voters say they are backing Romney, with 23% supporting Gingrich. The former Massachusetts governor's 10 point advantage over the former House speaker is down from a 19 point lead two weeks ago. According to the survey, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania...

The largest Muslim civil liberties group in the United States on Wednesday condemned Newt Gingrich for saying he would only hire Muslims to his administration if they renounced the use of Islam's Shariah law as a tool for U.S. government. Calling Gingrich "one of the nation's worst promoters of anti-Muslim bigotry," the Council of American Islamic Relations suggested the Republican presidential candidate is a segregationist.

Sarah Palin isn’t running for President, but she may be trying to influence how people vote. According to ABC News, Palin said that if she lived in South Carolina, she would vote for Newt Gingrich. “Just one week after her husband Todd Palin “went rogue” and endorsed Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said tonight she would vote for Gingrich “if I were a South Carolinian” — the closest she has come to an endorsement in this race. Palin said tonight on “Sean Hannity” that she wants to see the race continue because “iron sharpens...

Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) - With three days to go until the first-in-the south primary, Mitt Romney remains in the lead in the Palmetto State, but according to a new poll, his advantage over Newt Gingrich is rapidly shrinking. A CNN/Time/ORC International poll indicates that 33% of likely South Carolina Republican primary voters say they are backing Romney, with 23% supporting Gingrich. The former Massachusetts governor's 10 point advantage over the former House speaker is down from a 19 point lead two weeks ago. According to the survey, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania is at 16%, Rep. Ron Paul...

CNN SOURCE: 'WE HAVE REPUBLICAN DEBATE OF YEAR TOMORROW NIGHT. WE ARE GOING TO LET THEM JUST GO AT IT'... DEVELOPING..

With members of the mainstream media now hurling charges of using racially coded language against GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, Big Government has uncovered a private memorandum written over three decades ago that offers a unique glimpse into Mr. Gingrich’s longstanding attitudes about race...

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Several prominent conservatives have called for Rick Perry to call his presidential bid quits, with one blogger urging the Texas governor to end his campaign and throw his backing toward Newt Gingrich. Erick Erickson, the founder of RedState.com, the website that hosted the event where Perry announced his presidential bid in August, penned an entry today calling Perry a potential “kingmaker” in the South Carolina primary if he drops out before the weekend. “Barring a miracle, this is Rick Perry’s final act in the 2012 elections. On Saturday, he will come in last in South Carolina,” Erickson...

Newt on sound money and going back to gold: “We need to get our house in order. And we need to vaccinate ourselves against foreign contagion. The correct answer to the Euro is not to spend more American money propping up the Germans who prop up Southern Europe. The correct answer is to figure how we seal our banks off; how we make sure we protect ourselves and then say to the Europeans: you have a problem and you need to solve it. “Part of our approach ought to be to reestablish something Ronald Reagan did in 1981 and that...

This Saturday will be the most important primary vote of the year. Either conservatives and Tea Party members unite to stop Mitt Romney or we see a repeat of 2008, with a liberal Republican going up against Barack Obama.The conservative movement is split between three candidates, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum.I am calling on conservatives and members of the Tea Party movement to unite behind Newt Gingrich in South Carolina so that we can stop Mitt Romney.If we are going to see a conservative agenda advanced, we need a conservative candidate to do it and the only remaining...

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Mitt Romney's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week is not the way any contender would hope to go into Saturday’s pivotal Republican primary here. But even as his rivals pile on over his tax rate, tax returns and out-of-touch persona, Romney is betting his business background will be a net positive in a right-to-work state that likes to send candidates on their way to the GOP nomination. Amid the furor, with Newt Gingrich rising in polls, Romney came to the belly of the beast Wednesday to a region that decisively rejected him in its 2008 presidential...

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that he will release his 2010 tax returns on Thursday and estimated that he pays an income tax rate of about 31 percent, in contrast to front-runner Mitt Romney's admission that he pays only about 15 percent on his income. "That's what I actually paid -- 31 percent of my income belonged to the government," Gingrich said when pressed by reporters on the second day of a burgeoning debate over the Republican candidates and their tax returns. "We do know, we've gone through this three times now to make sure we're, that, I...

This will probably be the biggest news of the morning. Millions have wondered who Governor Palin would actually support. She’s making it crystal clear now. On Fox News, Sarah Palin says if she lived in South Carolina she’d vote for Newt. The next big question is whether Governor Perry decides to depart the race before or after Saturday. And if he departs, will he endorse Newt Gingrich, who wrote the introduction to Governor Perry’s book Fed Up! With Palin’s endorsement, Rick Perry is now in a terribly awkward spot. If he departs before Saturday, he could be a hero for...

An inevitable play by the Gingrich campaign, hoping to keep Monday's debate triumph top-of-mind for South Carolina voters.  Behold, "the moment:"   The Gingrich campaign blasted out a quote from Frank Luntz yesterday, in which the pollster said he couldn't recall a standing ovation during a primary debate like the one Newt received on this week.  (I remember another one, actually).  Reminding the Republican electorate how good Newt can be at debating is a no-brainer for his campaign, but don't they already have the "I want the guy who can really take it to Obama in debates" vote locked up? ...

Gingrich is surging in the polls and brimming with confidence after receiving a strong boost from his performance in the Fox News debate. But can he catch up with Mitt Romney? Newt Gingrich is on a roll. After finishing fourth in Iowa and sharing the fourth-place spot with Rick Santorum in New Hampshire, Gingrich has hit the reset button in South Carolina, where he is now surging in the polls, getting rave reviews for his latest debate performance and visibly brimming with confidence as he storms across the state. The latest polls in South Carolina show a vastly different playing...