Free Republic

With Perry out of the race, we are stuck between Newt and Romney. There is no way I would ever be able to support Newt given so many of his personality flaws, his past stabbing of conservative champions and his support for national level statist solutions. And, we all know about Romney and Romneycare. Until now, Newt bashing had a purpose in support of Perry. So, a sabbatical from FR's GOP politics seems like the right thing. When Georgia primary does take place, I will be voting for Santorum (if he is still on the ballot) or write Perry in.

So reports Peter Hamby of CNN via Twitter: Rick Perry will drop out of the Republican presidential race today, two sources tell CNN. Updates: Perry just scheduled an 11 a.m. press conference. Via HotAir, Perry will endorse Newt.

If you haven’t heard already, Drudge is reporting that Newt’s ex-wife has unloaded on him in a 2 hour interview with ABC News. Suddenly, ABC News went into a civil war over when to air the video because of the South Carolina Primary this weekend. Here are the details from Drudge: Marianne Gingrich has said she could end her ex-husband’s career with a single interview. Earlier this week, she sat before ABCNEWS cameras, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. She spoke to ABCNEWS reporter Brian Ross for two hours, and her explosive revelations are set to rock the trail.... ...Levin covered...

Marianne Gingrich is about to make news—simply by having gone in front of a television camera. A knowledgeable insider says that Newt Gingrich’s second wife does not say anything in the taped interview with ABC News that she hasn’t said in previous print interviews. But to repeat her account of how their marriage failed—because the then-House speaker was having an affair—in a form that can be endlessly replayed on television could prove a serious distraction for the presidential candidate two days before the South Carolina primary. The insider says ABC is weighing how to handle the Marianne interview with Brian...

Video here: http://www.breitbart.tv/newt-sarah-palin-will-play-major-role-in-my-administration/

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- On June 3, 2010, a phone rang at the campaign headquarters of Iowa gubernatorial candidate Terry Branstad. Leo Hough, a receptionist, picked up and was greeted by a familiar voice. It was Sarah Palin, calling to let the campaign know that she was about to endorse Branstad on Facebook and Twitter. There had been no previous discussions between the former Alaska governor and the candidate, who was as pleasantly surprised as everyone else when told the news. That episode is typical of how Palin has made endorsements: suddenly, independently and without fanfare. After leaving an indelible mark...

You’ve got to admire Sarah Palin’s cunning — even if your eardrums can’t take her squeal. If Newt Gingrich wins Saturday in South Carolina, she can claim total credit. She just endorsed him — sort of. If he even gets close — and he’s closer to Mitt Romney in two new polls — she can point to her last-minute vote of confidence. “If I had to vote in South Carolina,” she told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday, “in order to keep things going, I would vote for Newt.” If things don’t go well, hey, she’s got lots of wiggle...

In a new Korean-esque political ad, pro-Newt Gingrich Super PAC Winning Our Future illustrates what a debate between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama might look like in a general election. It’s pretty brutal in labeling Romney a flip-flopper on abortion rights, gun control and health care policy. “I agreed with Gov. Romney on many things,” the Obama character says, “but this presidential candidate Romney, I don’t even know the guy. Then again, he doesn’t seem to know himself.” The fake Romney responds, “Oh, come on!” before hanging his head as the audience laughs. Watch:

The Gingrich campaign launched a preemptive strike as news spread that ABC plans to broadcast a potentially damaging interview with Newt Gingrich’s second ex-wife on Thursday – just two days before Saturday’s crucial South Carolina primary. Gingrich’s daughters (from his first marriage) Kathy Lubbers and Jackie Cushman came to their father’s defense in a letter released by his presidential campaign. “The failure of a marriage is a terrible and emotional experience for everyone involved. Anyone who has had that experience understands it is a personal tragedy filled with regrets, and sometimes differing memories of events,” the daughters said in the...

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Have the tea partiers found their man to challenge President Obama? The leader of South Carolina’s chapter of the Tea Party Patriots says they have — and it’s Newt Gingrich. In an interview on Wednesday with The Daily Caller, Joe Dugan, who is also the chairman of the local Myrtle Beach Tea Party, said he sees increasing signs that conservative activists in the Palmetto State are beginning to coalesce around the former Speaker of the House. “My sense is there is a growing coalition behind Newt Gingrich,” said Dugan, who organized a state tea party convention last...

Reporting from Spartanburg, S.C. — With attention turning toward Newt Gingrich as the conservative Republican with the best chance of catching front-runner Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum cranked up his assault on the former speaker of the House, questioning his steadiness and convictions. "We've had good solid policy proposals as opposed to some of the irresponsible ones that Newt has thrown out there and irresponsible statements," Santorum said in an early morning interview on Fox News. If voters choose the former speaker, he said, they may "wake up in the morning and look at the newspaper and say, "Oh, my gosh,...

An InsiderAdvantage poll conducted Wednesday night has former House Speaker Newt Gingrich now leading the Republican primary race in South Carolina. The poll of likely Republican primary voters has Gingrich with 32 percent, ahead of Mitt Romney who trailed close behind at 29 percent. The results are a significant reversal for Romney, who had led polls before Tuesday's Fox News debate. A poll conducted by InsiderAdvantage last Sunday showed Romney with a double-digit lead over Gingrich. The InsiderAdvantage poll is the first major South Carolina survey after the debate. Gingrich has been crediting with winning the debate. The poll found...

CHARLESTON, S.C. – A new furor rocked politically active Christians today as news leaked that the founder of Focus on the Family, Dr. James Dobson, may have cast aspersions on Callista Gingrich, wife of GOP contender Newt Gingrich, at a key moment before evangelicals voted in Texas to support Sen. Rick Santorum in the GOP presidential primary race. The effect of the disclosure on the race, especially on uncommitted Christian voters, is still unclear. The comment happened at last Saturday’s meeting of influential evangelical leaders who had gathered at the Texas ranch of Judge Paul Pressler to discuss the GOP...

From Drudge: "Marianne Gingrich has said she could end her ex-husband’s career with a single interview. Earlier this week, she sat before ABCNEWS cameras, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. She spoke to ABCNEWS reporter Brian Ross for two hours, and her explosive revelations are set to rock the trail. But now a “civil war” has erupted inside of the network, an insider claims, on exactly when the confession will air! ABCNEWS suits determined it would be “unethical” to run the Marianne Gingrich interview so close to the South Carolina Primary, a curious decision, one insider argued, since the network has...

Mitt Romney waged a new onslaught against Newt Gingrich on Wednesday amid signs that the former House speaker was gaining traction in his drive to emerge as the sole viable alternative for the Republican presidential nomination. In a rare departure from his usual practice of ignoring GOP rivals and engaging President Obama instead, Romney ridiculed Gingrich for taking credit for millions of jobs created when he served in Congress. "Congressmen taking responsibility or taking credit for helping create jobs is like [former Vice President] Al Gore taking credit for the Internet," Romney told supporters at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C....

Bob Walker, a senior Gingrich adviser, says the campaign will fight back. “It is pretty nasty to use personal tragedy for political exploitation,” he says. “That was a very bitter divorce, and you’re talking about somebody who is still, probably, very bitter.” Below, Gingrich’s daughters issue a memo to ABC News: To: ABC News Leadership From: Kathy Lubbers, Jackie Cushman Date: January 18, 2012 The failure of a marriage is a terrible and emotional experience for everyone involved. Anyone who has had that experience understands it is a personal tragedy filled with regrets, and sometimes differing memories of events. We...

Jackie Gingrich Cushman and Kathy Gingrich Lubbers, the daughters of Republican 2012 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, spoke at a barbeque in Bluffon, South Carolina. In their remarks they said their father's performance at the January 16, 2012, candidates debate reinvigorated his campaign.

MARIANNE GINGRICH HAS SOMETHING TO SAY.... Disgraced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has a special kind of appreciation for marriage. Gingrich, for example, haggled over the terms of his divorce from his first wife while she was in the hospital, recovering from uterine cancer surgery. He had already proposed to his second wife before he was divorced from his first. In the '90s, this happened again. Gingrich had an affair with a 33-year-old congressional aide -- while spearheading the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton -- and asked his third wife to marry him before he was divorced from his...

You know who this benefits? Marianne Gingrich has said she could end her ex-husband’s career with a single interview. Earlier this week, she sat before ABCNEWS cameras, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. She spoke to ABCNEWS reporter Brian Ross for two hours. Her explosive revelations are set to rock the campaign. But now a “civil war” has erupted inside of the network, an insider claims, on exactly when the confession will air! Just a little more late intrigue for a race that’s already in flux from Newt’s post-debate surge, Palin’s quasi-endorsement, Santorum’s possible victory in Iowa (the official results will...

........But his greatest presidential stumbling block may be right under his nose. At home, Newt's second wife, Marianne Ginther Gingrich, tells me she doesn't see herself in the First Lady's job. "Watching Hillary has just been a horrible experience," commiserates Marianne. "Hillary sticking her neck out is not working." What happens if Newt runs?, I ask. "He can't do it without me," she replies. "I told him if I'm not in agreement, fine, it's easy" --she giggles at her naughtiness. "I just go on the air the next day, and I undermine everything...I don't want him to be president and...