How Newt will structure his campaign

Newt's campaign will not re-hire the same kind of expensive consultants who, on top of their own salary, spent the campaign into debt. Instead, they will get a boost from what Jason Clayworth calls "professional volunteer[s]." Former U.S. Representative Greg Ganske of Iowa is the latest example. He will serve as the Iowa finance chair of Newt 2012.

A few quotes from Clayworth's article:

"Reviews are being made and it’s possible that paid Iowa campaign staff will be hired but the center of the team will focus largely upon volunteers, Hammond said."

"As a campaign we have a lot of confidence in people who voluntarily come forward," said spokesman R.C. Hammond. "It's empowering and tough to question the dedication of a volunteer who is coming forward and saying, 'I want to help you.'"

"In addition to multiple ground-level supporters, several well-known Iowa political types have also stepped forward including Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton as Gingrich’s Iowa senior policy adviser and House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner, the campaign’s Iowa campaign chairwoman."

Gingrich has a proven track record as a fundraiser: He raised more than $250,000 for Iowa GOP candidates in the last election cycle, Ganske noted.

Ganske said he believes Gingrich can revamp his campaign and become a major player in the Iowa caucuses by focusing on small events and gatherings that will cost the campaign little money but build his support.

R.C. Hammond also said that Newt will be in Iowa for 16 of the next 45 days.

Newt's transcript today at National Catholic Prayer Breakfast; FOX News segment on him

Transcript of Newt's speech today.

Bret Baier updated his 12 in 2012 segment with Newt today:

Gingrich's proposed executive orders

Four executive order proposals from Newt would, in the words of the Des Moines Register columnist Tom Beaumont, "send a signal to conservatives how quickly a Republican president could set the nation on a different path." Two of the proposals "are aimed squarely at appealing to social conservatives, who form a core constituency of Republican activists in Iowa, expected to host the leadoff nominating caucuses next year."

The four proposed ideas, described below by Beaumont, were released before the Faith and Freedom Forum Monday:

-- "prohibiting funding to international family planning groups that provide abortions"

-- "reinstating a George W. Bush administration rule that doctors and nurses have the right not to participate in abortions"

-- "ridding the White House of a series of so-called czars -- high-level officials who oversee a particular policy who in some cases have received Senate confirmation"

-- "relocating the U.S. embassy in Israel to the capital of Jerusalem, a policy backed by national security conservatives and evangelical Christians" (Israel is the only country that we do not allow to pick where our embassy will be located.)

Newt on Hannity.

Hey Folks,

About an hour ago Newt Gingrich was speaking to Sean Hannity (Fox News, 9pm ET.)

About to go 2seg's w/ @newtgingrich does he have an announcement? & Giuliani on the Freedom agenda

posted by @seanhannity from Twitter for BlackBerry 1 hour 33 mins ago

Unfortunately no video as of this very moment, but hopefully it'll become available soon. As for what was spoken of, there was some exciting news! I'm not a word-for-word type of guy, but I can give you the points:

•  Failures of Obama
• Youth and inexperience quote from Ronald Reagan came up (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoPu1UIBkBc) 
• What he'd do as president for Israel.
• Information about Soviet Russia and the comparison to Iran.
• Defeating Iran.
• Exploratory committee should last at least six weeks, then we'll know. Get out and like him, dammit!

Newt the favorite among Iowa Republicans in a focus group (video)

Last week, Frank Luntz had a focus group of 26 Iowa Republicans who voted in the 2008 Presidential caucus. Some of the reactions can be seen in the above video.

The rules, according to U.S. News and World Report: "Like the television show Survivor, the 26 would discuss the candidates after Luntz showed videos of each. Then one would be voted out of the 2012 Iowa Caucus."

The results unfolded like this, writes Paul Bedard:

Some went fast. Daniels was 'boring,' Barbour’s southern accent was 'a turnoff,' and Santorum was 'yesterday’s news.' Romney went down next, labeled 'another Obama.' Next was Thune, though the Iowans say he has potential. Christie, who doesn’t want to run, went next. The reason, says one panelist to Luntz, author of the hit Words That Work and the upcoming Win: “He doesn’t want the job, so why should we give it to him?”

The Iowans then argued for their favorites, like Pawlenty, whose 'blue collar conservatism' and victories in Democratic-dominated Minnesota were a hit. When he was next to go, some of his supporters vowed that he’d make the cut down the road.

That left four: Huckabee, Gingrich, Palin, and Bachmann, who then bested Palin because Bachmann was 'less polarizing.' But because Bachmann was seen by the group as the least presidential of the remaining three, she was dumped, followed by Huckabee, making Gingrich the surprise winner.

They liked a video of Gingrich effectively blasting the national debt and the radical fixes proposed by Obama’s debt commission, like ending the home mortgage deduction. One panel member says, 'We want to see him dismantle Obama in the debates, and he can do it.' Luntz’s own conclusion is, 'Principles matter more than pragmatism to these voters, and principles with solid debating skills matter most.'

This focus group squares with another Luntz group, back in 2005:

Gingrich continues to enjoy a gut connection with Republican voters. Back in 2005, consultant Frank Luntz held focus groups in Iowa and New Hampshire on the Republican candidates. In a report published afterward, Luntz wrote, 'We were genuinely surprised by the strongly favorable reaction' to Gingrich's 'speeches and interviews.' According to Luntz, voters ignored, or in some cases forgot, the controversial nature of Gingrich's speakership. 'The words he spoke were like nothing they had heard from anyone else,' Luntz went on. 'While he didn't start either session with any measurable support, he ended both Iowa and New Hampshire sessions with the most new converts.' Out of office, Gingrich has remained largely insulated from the scandals and debacles of the Bush Republicans. In fact, the 2006 midterm election results could be viewed as confirmation of what Gingrich has been saying for some time: that the Republican party and broader conservative movement have lost their way, and the time has come for a rebirth of the reform impulse that in 1994 brought the GOP to congressional majority status for the first time in 40 years.

If Gingrich jumps in, he needs to continue with the same message -- not dampen it down like so many candidates do -- and he needs to keep being willing to talk about it anywhere he goes.

If he does that, and if Luntz's focus groups are any indication, he could make up the small deficit he has in the current polls -- in a hurry.

More details from Newt's trip to Iowa this week

It had already been reported that Newt had met with Iowa Republican leaders, but today we learn that he met with some in the grassroots.

From a story by Thomas Beaumont for the Des Moines Register:

Gingrich also met for an hour with 15 tea party and grass-roots conservative activists, a newly active segment of the Republican caucus electorate heading into the 2012 campaign.

Gingrich asked the group about the recently formed Iowa Grassroots Coalition, a loosely affiliated group of 46 tea party and conservative groups.

Gingrich, who last fall had urged Iowa conservatives to block the retention of three Iowa Supreme Court justices, asked what they expected to happen with the remaining four judges.

Gingrich nodded at their stories about how the groups are organizing, educating their base and getting involved in the legislative process....

Ryan Rhodes, founder and chairman of the Iowa Tea Party, told Gingrich he would have to answer for participating with then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a 2008 advertisement raising awareness about global warming.

Gingrich responded that leaders cannot beat their adversaries without engaging them. "I'm going to try to convince you to debate them," he said. "I've had a fairly good track record of slugging it out."

I think those on the right who criticize Gingrich for that commercial needs to realize that he was not endorsing Pelosi's big government schemes. Just talking with someone on the opposing side does not mean Gingrich is a squish.

Of the announcements by Iowa Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer and Georgia Govenor Nathan Deal that they would support a Gingrich Presidential campaign, the former Speaker said, "I thought that was about as good a day as I'm going to get."

Newt's 12 in 2012 segment

The interview happened a week ago, but here are some of the highlights of Newt on Fox News' 12 in 2012 special:

• Will only run if there is a good chance to win. “If I just wanted to make noise, I could make noise without being a candidate. It's a lot less expensive.”
• The House Republican majority "have to" attempt to repeal Obamacare, take up spending cuts, and stopping the tax hikes.
• “Confronting” President Clinton so earnestly over spending, even factoring in the government shutdowns, was crucial to proving to the GOP base they were serious.
• When asked by host Bret Baier if he sometimes went too far, Newt responded: “Sure. Every once and awhile, I have to say, 'Well, that one wasn't all that clever, was it?' I think as a candidate, you'd have to be more disciplined, more careful, more methodical.”
• On his personal baggage possibly dragging down his candidacy, “If you think we need to go back to first principles, in terms of the Constitution, people may say, 'You know, Newt's been around a long time. He's the guy who can actually fix it.”
• Mara Liasson: “I think Newt Gingrich would love to run for President -- if only to be on stage with everyone else, driving the debate and coming up with more ideas than anybody else could.”
• When prompted for real spending cuts: Discretionary spending levels of 2008 would save a trillion over the next decade; “fundamentally rethink unemployment compensation,” thinks “it ought to become a training program; “would overhaul” the Pentagon procurement process as it is “absurd to take 15 or 20 years to get a weapons system.”

In a blog post on FoxNews.com, Chris Stirewalt wrote, Gingrich "also has a political action group American Solutions for Winning the Future that boasts a wide donor base and big fundraising. His mailing lists would be the envy of most of the 2012 field.”