Saturday, November 26, 2011

Bachmann and Santorum both voiced support for the same policy they are using against Newt

Michelle Bachmann and Rick Santorum have been two of the most vocal opponents of Newt's immigration policy.

But back on the September 7 debate, they both took very similar positions to Newt. Bachmann said that before deporting any illegal immigrants, "it depends upon where they live, how long they have been here, if they have a criminal record. All of those things have to be taken into place."

Link to video.



Santorum came out and said: "Well, my solution is very similar to Newt Gingrich's."

Michael Reagan: My dad would support Newt's immigration policy

Link.

A tea party group in California felt Newt won Tuesday's debate

If the presidential election was held today and Redlands could swing the vote, Newt Gingrich might well want to start packing for the White House.

It was the former Speaker of the House who came out on top in the eyes of those who attended the Redlands Tea Party Patriots debate viewing and live radio broadcast Tuesday.
Here's the full story.

Around 1000 people hear Newt speak in Naples, Florida

On Friday, Newt held a town hall in Naples, Florida that nearly 1000 -- if not 1000 people -- attended.

From an article about the event:
Recent polls have shown the former house speaker at or near the top of the Republican presidential field, along with Mitt Romney. During a televised debate Tuesday, some Republicans and pundits thought Gingrich may have risked that status when he said he favored pathways to legal status for illegal immigrants who have lived peaceful, law-abiding, taxpaying lives in the United States for many years.

Other Republican candidates were quick to condemn his remarks. But his ideas didn't seem to alienate the folks in Naples — the crowd was enthusiastic with his appearance and wildly applauded many of his remarks, including his outline on how to handle illegal immigration in the U.S.

"It's an extremely difficult question," said Patrick Moody, a 57-year-old Baptist minister from West Palm Beach who said he will likely vote for him in the important Florida primary. "He's got a measured, realistic view of the situation. His views make sense."
From another:
Is Newt Gingrich the latest flavor of the month among the candidates pursuing the Republican nomination for president? Or is he a real candidate who can beat early favorite Mitt Romney?

If the reaction from his appearance Friday in Naples is even the slightest indication, then the former Speaker of the House will indeed challenge Romney for a spot on the ticket to face President Barack Obama next November.
As the first story makes clear, and as Newt has made clear, nothing happens until the border is secure.

Iowa poll: Newt 27, Romney 20, Paul 16

The poll, done by American Research Group, shows Newt winning 42% of the tea party vote.

When the voter based is narrowed down to just "definite" voters, Newt gets 32% of the vote, Ron Paul 17, and Mitt Romney 15%.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Peter Ferrara on Newt's judicial reform plan

An excerpt from Peter Ferrara:
And if those judges refuse to apply the law objectively as written, and instead engage in judicial activism making up their own law based on their own liberal/left values, then they are applauded by the liberal/left media and academia. The rest of us can go pound sand.

At least that is the view of the New York Times, the Washington Post, the bar association, and the law schools. They are the ultimate authority and rulers in America under this doctrine of judicial supremacy. Any other view is dangerous to our most fundamental liberties, they tell us (at least while the judges reflect their liberal/left views).

But not according to Newt Gingrich, the Founding Fathers, and American history. To these authorities, it is judicial supremacy that is dangerous to our most fundamental liberties.
And another:
Gingrich recalls the actual checks and balances on the judiciary established by our Founding Fathers, who recognized the dangers of judicial supremacy. Jefferson wrote in challenging such judicial supremacy in 1820, "You seem to consider the judges the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions; a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy." Jefferson further wrote later that year, "The judiciary of the United States is the subtle corps of sappers and miners constantly working underground to undermine our Constitution from a co-ordinate of a general and special government to a general supreme one alone. This will lay all things at their feet."
Please read the full thing here.

And here is Newt's position paper on judicial reform.

(Video) Newt's meeting with the editorial board of the New Hampshire Union Leader

Link to video.

HotAir.com: "Videos: Newt’s latest greatest hits"

These two clips are from Saturday's Thanksgiving Family Forum in Iowa:

"Newt Schools Ron Paul on Founding Fathers: 'I Don't Think 'Liberty' Means Libertine' ":



"Newt's Tearful Testimony On Faith, Failures, Life, & Being President":

The Missouri Primary/Caucus

Much of the liberal media had a good chuckle for a while on Tuesday as the news came out that Newt 2012 had missed the filing deadline for the Missouri Primary in February.

Then the truth came out:

The primary will not award any delegates, so the campaign was not going to waste money on a primary that even the Huffington Post says is "meaningless."

Newt instead will focus on the Missouri Caucus, which takes place in March and which will be award binding delegates to the Republican convention.

Newt's press secretary, R.C. Hammond, had a good line:
Asked why Gingrich was the only major Republican candidate to opt out of the Missouri's non-binding primary [Hammond] said: "Their lawyers bill them by the hour."

Romney is for illegal immigrants to become citizens

Newt is calling for illegal immigrants -- should they be good citizens and have roots in the community -- to be legalized. But not become citizens.

Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is for making illegal immigrants citizens.

Of course, he is trying to cover that up now -- as he is with his previous pro-abortion and anti-gun views (along with a host of other liberal views).

For more on Newt's immigration proposal: http://www.newt.org/answers#DREAM

"Gingrich’s views on immigration are not all that far out of step with those of Republican voters."

Nate Silver of the New York Times has a good piece out about Newt's immigration policy.

In it, he writes:
[M]y view is that the markets probably overreacted in this case and that Mr. Gingrich’s answer will not be all that harmful to him.

One reason is simply that Mr. Gingrich’s views on immigration are not all that far out of step with those of Republican voters. Although I can’t find a survey that catalogs Republican responses to Mr. Gingrich’s proposal exactly, a New York Times/CBS News poll from May 2010 on a broad range of immigration-related issues provides some evidence about an analogous proposal.

...

Among Republican respondents to the survey, 42 percent said the immigrants should be required to leave. But 31 percent said they should be able to stay and apply for citizenship. An additional 23 percent picked the middle option: the immigrants should be allowed to stay, but as guest workers rather than citizens.
And:
I suspect that commentators take too literal-minded an approach when predicting how a candidate’s position on the issues will play with primary voters. Yes, there are a few issues like abortion that are threshold tests in a Republican primary, but others like immigration are more complex. Voters may tolerate a fairly wide range of responses provided that the candidate’s head and heart seem to be in the right place. Alternatively, issues that do not seem all that salient may become much more so if the candidate cannot explain them adequately or if his position seems insincere.

One thing that Mr. Gingrich has going for him is that conservatives feel that both his head and his heart are indeed in the right place. The heart part is easy: after the time he spent as speaker of the House feuding with President Clinton on the welfare state and most everything else, there are few doubts about his conservative team spirit. By contrast, many influential Republican commentators say point-blank that Mitt Romney is not a real conservative at heart and is instead a Northeastern (i.e. moderate) Republican. One significant piece of evidence for this, of course, is that Mr. Romney’s only elected office was the governor of Massachusetts, and that he took generally moderate positions there.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

South Carolina poll: Newt leads Cain, 31-17%

Link to a story about the poll.

The poll, combined with the fact that Newt has the biggest campaign operation in the Palmetto State, would seem to back up the idea that South Carolina is Newt's firewall.

Quinnipiac University national poll: Newt 26, Romney 22, Cain 14

Newt leads among military households, 30-22 over Romney.

Newt leads among households making less than 30K (by five points), 30-50K (by five points again), 50-100 (by six points), and is tied with Romney in those making 100K or more.

Newt would win a one-on-one matchup with Mitt Romney, 49-39.

Newt leads President Obama among military households, 46-42.

Overall, Newt has improved six points since early November in a matchup with Obama. Obama is down three points in the hypothetical matchup, with Newt picking up three points.

Women Republican/Republican leaners say Newt would handle the economy the best.

Overall, 46% Republican/Republican leaners say Newt would do the best on foreign policy. Romney, at 16%, comes in second.

Newt also comes out on top on the illegal immigration issue, with 21% of Republicans and those leaning toward the GOP giving his name.

48% say Newt has "the knowledge and experience necessary to be a good president." Romney, at 22%, is second.

On who is a atrong leader: Newt 34%, Romney 24, Cain 14.

Arizona poll: Newt 28, Romney 23, Cain 17

Another Public Policy Polling survey.

Newt's favorability: 66-25%. Among men, it's 70-24; among women, 61-25%.

Newt gets the support of 30% of women and 27% of men. That darn gender gap again!

Once again, Newt is the top second choice -- meaning he still has plenty of room to grow in the polls.

Newt gets 24% support from tea party voters. Cain gets 19% and Romney 15%.

Newt also leads among non-tea party voters, getting the support of 19%. Romney is next with 16%, and Cain gets 11%.

Favorability among age groups:
18-45: 60-29
46-65: 70-23
66 and older: 68-23

Newt leads 32-15 over Romney in Pennsylvania

So says Public Policy Polling.

Newt's favorability is 63/24%, which might explain why he is still the top second choice. Among men, his favorability is 67-24; among women, 58-24%.

He gets 32% support from both men and women.

Among tea party voters, Newt gets 40% of the vote. Cain gets 20%, Romney 8%. But Newt also gets 28% of the non-tea party voters. Cain is at 14 and Romney gets 13%.

Newt's favorability among different age groups:
18-45: 56-25
46-65: 64-26
Older than 65: 73-20

Newt leads the GOP field in "Positivie Intensity Score"

The score from Gallup is "computed as the percentage of Republicans/Republican leaners with a strongly favorable opinion of a candidate minus the percentage with a strongly unfavorable opinion."
Newt: 20
Cain: 14
Romney: 11
Santorum: 6
Perry: 2
Paul: 2
Bachmann: 1
Huntsman: -2

Monday, November 21, 2011

Newt 2012 video: Newt Was Right On The 'Super Committee'

Link to video.

Newt calls for Personal Retirement Accounts in New Hampshire

Boston.com writes of the plan, which would be voluntary:
Currently, employees and employers pay into the Social Security system through the payroll tax. Under Gingrich’s proposal, the employer-funded portion would go toward keeping the current Social Security system sustainable. But part of the employee-funded portion could be invested in a personal savings account. People would be given the option of putting money into a range of investments administered by private companies, similar to a 401-k plan. The person would own his account, which would be passed on to his estate when the person dies.

Gingrich said in addition to giving people more ownership over their retirement benefits, it would help the economy by spurring investment through the private savings accounts. “The amount of savings builds up rapidly and creates a level of capital which accelerates economic growth,” Gingrich said.

Gingrich adviser Peter Ferrara, a conservative lawyer who served in the administrations of President Reagan and President George H.W. Bush, said Gingrich has not yet determined what portion of a person’s payroll tax they could contribute, or for what ages the program would be phased in. But Gingrich said current beneficiaries would not be impacted.

To pay for the transition period, Gingrich would take 185 federal programs that help the poor and give the money – including Medicaid money - as block grants to the states. Gingrich said that would eliminate federal bureaucracy and let states come up with training programs to get people off social programs. “We want to challenge the states not to figure out how you can take this federal block grant to subsidize the poor being poor, we want them to take this amount and use it to figure out how you can help the poor learn to be non-poor,” Gingrich said.

In a report posted on Gingrich’s website, Ferrara estimated that switching to block grants could save the federal government $3.25 trillion over 10 years and the states $1.4 trillion.
The plan can be found on Newt.org here.

CNN Poll: Newt 24%, Romney 20.

From the story:
"The number of Republicans who would be pleased or enthusiastic if he won the party's nomination has grown from 51% in May to 70% now - not the kind of numbers you would expect if voters were 'settling' for Gingrich."
In fact, a plurarity say they are most enthusiastic about Newt being the nominee.

29% say Newt is the strongest leader. 26% say the same of Romney.

He comes in first when asked which "is most likely to agree with you on the issues that matter most to you?"

Newt also wins the question of who is most qualified to be commander-in-chief, with 36% saying so. Romney, at 20%, is second.

He comes on top when asked which candidate is able to understand complex issues. 43% say so. Romney, at 18%, again comes in second.

30% say Newt would do the best at representing the United States to the world. Romney: 26%.

Newt gets 24% support from both men and women.

Newt gets 31% support of tea party voters. Cain gets 21%, with Romney at 19%. Newt just trails Romney among those who are "tea party neutral," 19-17%.

"Gingrich Passes the Social Conservative Test"

Byron York wrote the article. An excerpt:
Saturday evening's Family Leader forum in Des Moines was widely viewed as a key test for Republican presidential candidates trying to win the support of still-undecided Iowa social conservatives. And after an extraordinary and sometimes soul-baring discussion between six candidates gathered at First Federated Church, there are signs Newt Gingrich has come out ahead in the race to become the candidate behind whom social conservatives unite behind in their drive to stop Mitt Romney.

Discussions with some social conservative leaders after the forum brought praise for all of the participants, particularly Gingrich and Rick Santorum. But it turns out that pollster/strategist Frank Luntz, who conducted the forum, also ran a focus group after the session, and it appears Gingrich scored very well with the group. "I think the focus group that Luntz did afterward would bear out that Newt Gingrich came a long way Saturday night," says Family Leader president Bob vander Plaats. "I think it would bear out that Gingrich won the forum."

"When you watch it, you'll say, 'Wow,'" vander Plaats continued. "It also looked very good for Santorum, but primarily for Gingrich." The focus group was taped for later showing on Fox News.
York concludes:
What is happening now is that social conservatives are working their way through his liabilities, particularly his three marriages, and trying to decide if they can support the Gingrich of today -- not the Gingrich of 15 or 20 years ago -- without compromising social conservative principles. In the Family Leader forum Saturday, it appears that all involved made a big step toward doing that.

A Letter to the Editor about Newt Gingrich

The Charleston Tea Party published this letter on their website.

An excerpt:
They will do whatever it takes to destroy Newt Gingrich because Barack Obama can't stand up to Mr. Gingrich's "Vision for America" or his brain. But for me personally, Mr. Gingrich recognizes Israel's importance as America's greatest ally in a region where most people there just don't like us. As an added benefit, we won't have to worry about the NLRB or any more apologies coming from our President.

USA Today poll: Newt 22%, Romney 21.

A new Gallup national poll out today puts the race at Newt 22% and Romney 21%. Cain is at 16.

New Hamphisre poll: Newt at 22%, highest anyone but Romney has gotten from the polling firm ARG

I'm sorry -- that's Newt Hampshire.

The poll was done by American Research Group.

This is the highest support any candidate other than Romney has had in any of their polls this year.

Among tea party votes, Newt leads Romney, 33-26%.

Last week, a poll, from another firm, of the Granite State showed Romney with 29% support and Newt with 27%.

A good article about the infamous hospital visit

Here's another good article to counter the malicious lies liberals (and Republicans and conservatives who want to tear Newt down) continue to peddle.

An excerpt:
Daughter Jackie Cushman told UnionLeader.com that while she could not specifically recall what her mother said in that story, her mother has told her often, and as recently as last week, “‘My words have been misconstrued,' and she feels that she was so misquoted that the reason she will never talk to the media again is that she was done such a disservice.

Video of Frank Luntz' focus group from a couple of debates ago

This is older, but for those who haven't seen it, it's a nice video.

Link to video.

Five minute video of Newt on immigratioin

Link to video.

Dorothy Rabinowitz and Steve Moore talk about Newt

Link to video.

You'll notice how level-headed Moore and Rabinowitz -- neither of whom are in the bag for Newt but simply see that he has great ideas and is catching on -- and how childish the critic of Newt sounds.

The Weekly Standard: The Iowa Frontrunner

From Michael Warren's piece:
Those oddities aside, Gingrich is likely catching on in Iowa because he’s usually one of the most eloquent Republican critics of Obama-style liberalism—within both government and the media. The audience in Jefferson groans in angry disbelief when he relates a familiar story about a dentist in New York defrauding Medicaid by filing 991 procedures a day. “[This] dental office in Brooklyn,” Gingrich says, “had somebody who stood out front and said, ‘If you loan us your Medicaid card, we’ll give you a free DVD player.’ ”

Voters across the largely agricultural state cheer when Gingrich takes on the regulatory regime of the Environmental Protection Agency, particularly a recent, widely reported proposed rule on dust. Gingrich says he guesses the regulation was written by “some person who lived in a high-rise air-conditioned apartment, who went down to ride in an air-conditioned subway to go to a high-rise air-conditioned office building [and who] sat in his windowless office and imagined dust.” In a part of the country where farming the dry prairie is a way of life and everyone regularly stirs up a cloud of dust while driving down a dirt road, that’s steak-tartare-quality red meat.
Warren quotes Newt:
“The real pedigree of this campaign is Goldwater in ’62 to ’64, and then Reagan from ’75 to ’80 in that they were idea-generated movements which evolved into a campaign,” he tells me. “They weren’t campaigns in the traditional Republican meaning of the word. And I think that’s essentially what we’re trying to do.”

Fred Barnes, who noticed McCain's surge at about this time in 2007, writes about Newt

Fred Barnes writes in the Weekly Standard:
Before you dismiss Newt Gingrich for having too much “baggage” to win the Republican presidential nomination, much less the presidency, consider this:

In 1980, when Ronald Reagan emerged as the likely Republican presidential nominee, President Carter’s advisers were thrilled. They’d done extensive opposition research. By pointing to what Reagan had said in speeches, radio commentaries, newspaper columns, and conversations, they assumed it would be easy to characterize him as a right-wing extremist. And enough voters would reject him and reelect Carter.

They were wrong. It wasn’t that voters ignored Reagan’s offbeat comments. They just didn’t think eccentric statements he’d made over the years were important. Bigger things were at stake, like Soviet aggression and a stagnant economy. And Reagan had better answers than Carter.
Jonathan Martin of Politico tweeted: "Btw, it was about this time 4 yrs ago that Barnes put his finger on McCain surge."

Newt vs Romney -- 1994 edition

The blog Legal Insurrection posted these two videos from 1994 (link and link):





Of course, with his talk of "picking teams," Romney doesn't mention that of the 202 House Democrats, 101 voted for welfare reform and 101 against. Which team were they on?

Newt and the House GOP wanted to do the right thing. Their concern was not dividing Republicans and Democrats.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Reuters national poll: Newt 24%, Romney 22, Cain 13.

Another poll shows Newt as the frontrunner, and given that Romney has dropped xix points from the last Reuters poll, Newt seems to be -- unlike Bachmann, Perry, or Cain -- drawing support from Romney voters as well as the tea party and conservative wing of the party.
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