Jim DeMint thinks 2012 GOP front-runner "will change several times"

Robert Costa of National Review quotes U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), who helped organize today's Palmetto Freedom Forum:

"Some that don’t appear to be in the running right now were pretty good on stage today," he said. "I don't think this race is over. I think we’re going to see that front horse change several times, I think, over the last couple months."

Costa titled his post: "Newt? Cain? Paul?"

Here is the response to Newt's performance from today on Twitter

Matthew Hurtt:

@NewtGingrich does an excellent job relating to the audience early on. #DeMintForum

CharlestonPats (Charleston Tea Party):

Nobody does American exceptionalism better than @newtgingrich opening remarks #scpol #palmettoff

CharlestonPats:

@newtgingrich points out super committee doesn't represent all the people #palmettoff #scpol

Rich Lowry, editor of National Review:

newt absolutely nails it on dec of ind

Yvonne Wenger, reporter for The Post and Courier

Gingrich gets first response applause when he is talking about judicial encroachments

Chris Oviatt, South Carolina GOP Executive Committee Member:

Newt has gotten more applause in his first 10 mins than the previous candidates combined! #palmettoff #sctweets

Amanda Carpenter, communications adviser for Senator Jim DeMint:

GINGRICH: "Bad government has destroyed the city of Detroit."

Tony Lee, 2012 reporter for Human Events:

Newt on Melting Pot. Out of park! will be the color blind litmus test for GOP going forward this decade. Just watch. #CA1990s

David M. Reed:

@newtgingrich laid out THE BEST plan for a New America. The DeMint Forum has been incredible. #GOP #GOPDebate

Mark Eidel:

@newtgingrich did VERY well at @JimDeMint's Palmetto Freedom Forum.

Bill Bruner:

Newt best candidate tonight: on life issues, role of Creator in public life, jobs & energy policy, borders & judicial overreach! #palmettoff

The State, a paper in Columbia, South Carolina:

Gingrich is done. He got the most laughs/applause so far. #palmettoff

That was just a sample. For more that the campaign sent out here, click here.

U.S. News & World Report: Newt "Could Be the New 'Comeback Kid"

Paul Bedard of the magazine writes:

Either way, the big-thinking Republican, his supporters, and presidential political experts sense that Gingrich, left for dead by the political class weeks ago when his staff abruptly quit and stories surfaced about his big-dollar Tiffany's account, is on the way back. The reason for the emerging Newt 2.0? His effective performance in the last debate that inspired supporters to boost online donations after he assailed the deficit "super committee" while spelling out detailed solutions to fixing the economy.

"He moved out of the irrelevant category and now he has some standing," says a GOP analyst. "His strengths are his ideas and translating them at a debate. Given that there are lots more debates, he has a chance to win."

The Gingrich surge is seen in some polls. In Missouri and Louisiana, for example, he is fourth behind Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Rep. Michele Bachmann.

"The general response to the campaign has gone up significantly since [the Iowa debate]," says Gingrich. "There's been somewhat of an uptick in polling numbers, not gigantic yet, but starting us back on the road to building a unique case. What I'm trying to do is show leadership now, show how you could actually solve problems and do it in a way that is totally compatible with conservative values but is also common sense and in some ways bipartisan," adds the Georgian.

"A number of people say that I'm just different and that they are glad to see somebody who isn't just articulating slogans without trying to develop solutions and my hope is that will grow," says Gingrich.

He feels he can come back and take the GOP nomination because the economy is so bad that voters more than ever are looking for new ideas.

Some suggest that his effort is similar to Sen. John McCain who in 2008 staged a comeback after being written off. Gingrich rejects that model. "I'm actually closer to [Barry] Goldwater and [Ronald] Reagan," he says. "They were arousing new groups, new organizations, using new issues and doing it new ways and it took a while to build momentum."

Also in the article, when asked about being a "Comeback Kid," Newt replied: ""Well, I may be that, but I may be more like a comeback grandfather."

Newt's campaign is promoting the fact that there will be five public discussions of issues in September -- four debates and Jim DeMint's Presidential Forum next weekend in South Carolina -- and those will shine light on the fact that Newt is the one with the real solutions to renew America.

Newt to be at Jim DeMint's Presidential Forum

Newt's campaign confirmed he would take part in the Palmetto Freedom Forum, which is occuring in South Carolina over Labor Day Weekend and of which South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint is a co-sponsor.

"Candidates will take turns fielding questions from the trio of panelists for roughly 20 minutes at a time," writes Peter Hamby of CNN. An actual conversation when determining who should be the next President -- what a concept!

In other news, Newt will be at the Georgia GOP Fish Fry this Saturday. It will be Noon to 2 PM.

Here is the Facebook event page.

Also, Newt will be on Sean Hannity's TV show Wednesday night.

Newt calls for no tax hikes in debt ceiling deal. Will be on Fox and Friends Sunday Morning.

Newt wrote an op-ed for National Review about how Republicans need to resist any deal that raises taxes:

Republicans should reject the establishment’s demand for a tax increase. There is plenty of money to be saved from a bloated government without giving Washington one penny of higher taxes.

The pressures from the Washington establishment to raise taxes are unending. This has been true for at least 30 years.

When Pres. Ronald Reagan adopted the Kemp-Roth three-year tax cut, the establishment hated it. Both Democrats and Republicans in the establishment hated the idea of allowing the American people to keep their own money.

I was there and I fought the 1982 tax increase that the establishment had foisted on President Reagan. He presently figured out their game and rejected all other efforts to get him to raise taxes.

When Pres. George H. W. Bush pledged, “Read my lips, no new taxes,” the establishment was determined to force him into breaking his word. I led a majority of House Republicans in voting no when the tax increase came up in 1990.

When I was Speaker, we balanced the federal budget by cutting taxes to increase economic growth, reducing spending, and reforming government. These policies led to four straight years of balanced budgets and the repayment of over $400 billion in federal debt. Unemployment dropped from 5.6 percent to under 4 percent.

With more jobs, people left welfare, left unemployment compensation, left food stamps, left Medicaid, and went back to work taking care of their families and paying taxes.

This two-step process of reducing government spending and increasing government revenues was a major factor in our ability to balance the federal budget.

In light of Friday's anemic jobs report, Newt said "[e]very conservative should say, firmly and loudly: NO.

America is over-spent, not under-taxed."

Newt on what should be done:

What Congress should be doing is passing a Balanced Budget Amendment as Senators DeMint and Snowe suggested, cutting unnecessary spending through dramatically reducing fraud (maybe $120 plus billion a year), bringing private-sector management techniques to government that would eliminate vast layers of bureaucracy (between $125 billion and$500 billion a year), and creating an American energy policy to create American jobs and keep $400 billion plus a year here at home that is currently going overseas for energy. (See my paper on the debt ceiling at Newt.org for more details.)

Newt will be on Fox and Friends at 9:00 AM ET Sunday Morning.

He will be on Sean Hannity's TV show Tuesday night from the site of his townhall meeting with the Charleston Tea Party.

Jim DeMint will not run for President; South Carolina wide open.

With the news that conservative Senator Jim DeMint will not run for the Republican nomination -- which was never a great possibility -- it means that South Carolina will be a competitive primary. (Had DeMint entered the race, no other candidate would have challenged him in his home state.)

Mike Huckabee won the state in 2008, and is still strong in the state as well as in other Southern states. However, he seems to be leaning toward staying out of the race. As does Sarah Palin, who polls in third place in the Palmetto State without DeMint.

A February Public Policy Polling survey of South Carolina GOP voters showed:

Huckabee 26%
Romney 20%
Palin 18%
Gingrich 13%

Those numbers are very close to PPP's national numbers, and if South Carolina is the same as the national electorate, then Newt would be the biggest beneficiary of Huckabee and Palin staying out of the race. Nationally, Newt and Romney were tied when the two former Governors were not included. It seems very likely that Newt would be in a very similar situation, if not even better, in South Carolina.

PPP asked what Newt's path to the nomination would be a couple of weeks back. It would seem that without Huckabee and Palin, he would perhaps be the frontrunner in Iowa and South Carolina as of this moment. And if he could win those two states -- with Romney likely winning New Hampshire by a big margin -- he would have the early momentum, and all that goes along with that, including more money and volunteers.

Herman Cain: Newt has bought office space in Atlanta for a run; ABC: Gingrich will form an exploratory committee within two weeks (video)

In an interview with National Journal, conservative businessman and 2012 Presidential candidate Herman Cain says that Newt, a fellow Georgian, has purchased office space in Atlanta. It will, as National Journal writes, "serve as headquarters for a presidential campaign."

From the article:

Cain had previously told Hotline on Call that Gingrich and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) are the two potential candidates whom he could support for president. But surprisingly, Cain said Gingrich entering the race will encourage -- not deter -- him from doing the same.

'Newt will help elevate the debate and the discourse,' Cain said. 'With Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain up there on that debate stage, we're gonna be bringing the red meat. I don't want to be up there against three people who are using same, old political rhetoric. That doesn't bode well for the Republican Party.'

ABC News is reporting that those close to Newt are saying within the next two weeks, he will form an exploratory committee.

Newt tweets that Jim DeMint is right to force reading of 2,000 page spending bill and START treaty

Newt sent these two tweeets out today:

Senator demint is right to demand the reading of the 2000 page earmark filled spending bill. Senate gop should stop the bill

Senator demint is also right in demanding the reading of the new start treaty. This lame duck senate should go home and leave treaty alone

He added in another that the Senate GOP "has more than enough procedural tools to stop harry reids lame duck power grab."