The media claims Pawlenty was the first to unveil an economic plan

In a speech yesterday, Tim Pawlenty outlined his economic plan. It is quite good -- though much of it is similar to the one Newt gave a speech unveiling on May 13. Notice the date Newt released his plan -- May 13, almost a month ago -- because the media obviously doesn't notice the date.

The mainstream media, even some mainstream conservative outlets, spent yesterday and this morning talking about how Pawlenty was the first Republican to have a plan on the economy. As should be expected, Newt's camp wanted to set the record straight.

Newt's spokesman, Rick Tyler, tweeted that one of the members of the Wall Street Journal editorial page, Stephen Moore, was at the very speech in which Newt laid out his nine-point plan.

POLITICO:

"Apparently, according to the Journal, its editorial board neither looked at nor has seen Gingrich’s jobs and prosperity plan, even though one of its members was present when he revealed it," Tyler told POLITICO. "It’s posted on our website and it’s been distributed to hundreds if not thousands of political reporters."

Kendra Marr: "Though the Journal apparently hasn’t been impressed, Investors Business Daily’s editorial board gave Gingrich an “A” grade for the plan, calling it “one of the most laudable economic plans in memory.”

Marr doesn't mention it, but as I have written about, Peter Ferrara has called it the best reform plan of any of the candidates.

Art Laffer, vital to the Reagan economic policies and the man who hosted the speech Newt laid out his plan in, said of the plan: "The combination of pro-growth tax reform, spending restraint, and sound money will restore robust economic growth with low unemployment and low inflation."

Attendance count of some of Newt's Iowa events

The article is over a week old, but MSNBC got an attendance count from Newt's spokesman, Rick Tyler, of twelve of Newt's seventeen Iowa events:

Dubuque - 130
Cedar Rapids - 97
Des Moines - 200
Mason City - 160
Waterloo - 110
Marshalltown - 178
Ames - 160
Carroll - 104
Atlantic - 75
Council Bluffs - 140
Onawa - 68
Sioux City -120

1542 in total. Would be interesting to see what the numbers for the other five were. (The article was written in the middle of the three-day trip.)

Photos of Newt's crowds in Iowa (hint: not exactly lacking in size)

Newt's spokesman, Rick Tyler, has posted these pictures to his Twitter account the past couple of days:

Ames

Atlantic

Carroll

Council Bluffs

Marshalltown

Marshalltown

Waterloo










In Marshalltown, the room was over capacity so a wall had to be opened up to allow more chairs.

Newt wants the Medicare changes to be optional, not compulsory

While much -- much -- has been written of Newt's appearance on Meet the Press Sunday and his criticism of Paul Ryan's proposed changes to Medicare, the journalists and others have missed a very important part of the story.

Newt does not oppose changing Medicare; instead, he wants seniors to have an option. Newt and Ryan both want to modify Medicare, making it a premium support system, but whereas Ryan forces seniors to buy private insurance, Newt would allow seniors to use the subsidies to purchase private insurance or stay in the traditional government-run insurance.

Much like how conservatives have proposed making any flat tax proposals optional -- so as to avoid political blowback and make important, needed reforms possible -- Newt is doing the same with Medicare. The current Ryan budget -- which is great policy -- is proving to be a headache for many House Republicans.

Newt's optional change to Medicare should not have been such a shock to people. On an April 20 Facebook post, Newt explained he wanted to "allow seniors to choose, on a voluntary basis, a more personal system with greater options for better care."

Many of the conservatives going after Newt today have intimated that it is contradictory for Gingrich to have said he would have voted for Ryan's budget -- and calling it "brave" -- and yet criticizing it. Which means that anyone who criticizes any piece of legislation cannot ultimately vote for it. That's nonsense.

John McCormack of The Weekly Standard writes:

I pointed out that Paul Ryan doesn't see much difference between his plan and what Gingrich was calling for on April 20, and Gingrich's spokesman agreed. "There is little daylight between Ryan and Gingrich," he wrote. "But look how it gets reported. Newt would fully support Ryan if it were not compulsory. We need to design a better system that people will voluntarily move to. That is a major difference in design but not substance."

But if there's "little daylight" between the two, why did Gingrich call Ryan's plan "radical" and "social engineering"?

"Radical means that politically you can't get to what Ryan wants from where we are," wrote Tyler. "It will be demagogued to death. Right wing social engineer refers simply to compelling people to participate without giving them a choice. That is a political mistake."

The biggest political mistake involving the issue was done by the House Republican leadership holding a vote on the issue, which exposed vulnerable members to the political heat -- when there was absolutely no chance of it passing with the current Senate and President.

Video of Newt's speech in front of the Georgia GOP

Video.

Newt's first official speech -- at the Georgia Republican convention -- as a Presidential candidate.

Gingrich's spokesman, Rick Tyler, posted this picture from Fincher's BBQ in Macon, Georgia:

(I apologize for not posting the last couple of days, but Blogger has been down.)

Rob Johnson as campaign manager, Joe Gaylord will reportedly stay at American Solutions

On Friday, there was the not-so-surprising news that Rob Johnson, who managed Texas Governor Rick Perry's 2010 Gubernatorial campaign, would become the campaign manager of Newt's Presidential run. Johnson first signed on with Newt -- in an advisory role -- back in March. (Another former Perry staffer -- called Perry's "top political consultant -- Dave Carney is helping Newt out in New Hampshire.)

Johnson's "special strength," says Gingrich spokesman Rick Tyler, "is how to harness the Internet for modern campaigns. He did that in Texas and he will have the same capability for Gingrich nationally."

A bit shockingly:

In a surprise move, Tyler said Gingrich’s closest political adviser, Joe Gaylord, will remain as CEO of American Solutions for Winning the Future, the 527 political committee that Gingrich set up about five years ago to promulgate conservative positions.

Gaylord, a native of Iowa, had been widely expected to be a senior adviser to a Gingrich campaign.

In more staff news:

Tyler also said that Sam Dawson, a protégé of Lee Atwater who has been advising Gingrich this year as he explored making a run for the White House, will be a senior political consultant to the campaign. Dawson, who worked for former Gov. Carroll Campbell of South Carolina and has been close to Gingrich since the mid 1990s, also did a stint as the executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Newt gets office space in Atlanta

Newt has rented out office space in Buckhead, a neighborhood of Atlanta, the AP reports.

As far as tying up loose knots before being able to jump in:

[Gingrich spokesman Rick] Tyler said that among other things, Gingrich had turned in the manuscript for a book and completed a film in the works by his production company.

More about Newt's Iowa hires: Will Rogers and Craig Shoenfeld

(Update: Rogers has resigned from a paid position with the campaign but will, according to Craig Robinson, stay on in a volunteer role. Politico, writes: "Iowa sources tell me that when the campaign landed Katie Koberg, formerly of Iowans for Tax Relief before a big exodus from that group, Rogers was apparently layered over."

Here is my post about Koberg coming onto the campaign.)

Jennifer Jacobs of the Des Moines Register quotes Gingrich's spokesman, Rick Tyler, as saying of Shoenfeld: “He has a winning track record."

Of Linda Upmeyer, who will serve in the volunteer role of chairman of the Hawkeye state effort, Tyler says: “She’s a real leader and she’s been extraordinarily helpful to us over the years."

Jacobs tells a story of Rogers' past with Gingrich and Tyler:

Tyler recalled how a few years ago, Rogers offered to volunteer for the Republicans and was tasked to be Gingrich’s driver on a trip to the Iowa State Fair.

The gig stretched until very late at night.

“I was thanking Will for taking care of us all day long and through the conservation I learned he’d only been assigned to drive for the morning,” Tyler said. “He said, ‘no, no, that’s fine.’ He was there to serve.”

Tyler said they were impressed that Rogers knew Iowa so well.

“Going around the fair he knew everybody. And everybody knew Will. He’s like a one-man chamber of commerce and tourism division.”

Newt "will begin raising money to test whether a bid for the GOP presidential nomination is feasible"

From the AP:

Gingrich is set to talk about the step at a news conference Thursday at the state Capitol in his home state of Georgia where he has a meeting with the governor. Tyler told the AP that Gingrich 'is entering the exploratory phase' of a presidential candidacy.

He is stopping short of setting up an exploratory committee, which would have made him a legal candidate. Gingrich and his wife, Callista, oversee a web of commercial and nonprofit ventures and must tie up some loose ends with those businesses before they can take that step, Tyler said.

However, 'this is a serious exploratory phase,' Tyler said.

...

The 67-year-old Gingrich is doing what is known by the Federal Elections Commission as testing the waters.

That means he can raise and spend money to hire staff and conduct polling to gauge how much support he would have for a presidential bid.

Quick Hits

Newt's spokesman, Rick Tyler:

In noting Gingrich’s accomplishments as a Member, Tyler telegraphed what could be a campaign messaging strategy to contrast the former Speaker’s record of concrete achievement at the federal level versus his opponents’ 'rhetoric' of as-yet-unfulfilled promises.

'I imagine those are the same people who thought balancing the budget was just an idea; I imagine those are the same people who thought welfare reform was just an idea,' Tyler said, in response to critics who complimented Gingrich’s contribution to Republican policy but otherwise consider him to be a political liability to the GOP.

Palm Beach Post:

'If…I end up running we will create a channel called Learning From America and everyday, with volunteers carrying cameras, we will try to find at least three places where everyday Americans are doing smart things,' Gingrich said.

'And every night we will file on the Internet three more examples of why every American should be an optimist, every American should be hopeful and every American can believe there’s a better future. I have no interest in running a 30-second attack ad that is petty, trivial, negative and destructive. I have every interest in a national dialogue.'

Matt Lewis:

A new book about former House Speaker Newt Gingrich could provide a last-minute boost to his chances heading into the primaries if he seeks the GOP nomination for president.

The book, "Citizen Newt," is being authored by the respected Reagan biographer Craig Shirley (who has been interviewing Gingrich one day a week) and is set to land on bookshelves just one month before the Iowa caucuses next January.

AJC: "Newt Gingrich tells Georgia Republicans he’ll be a candidate in ‘12"

The first line of the Atlanta Journal Constitution story reads:

In the last 24 hours, former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich has touched base with several prominent Republicans in his former home state, telling them that he intends to make a run for president in 2012 using Georgia as his base -- and that he already has his eye on office space in Buckhead for a campaign headquarters.

AJC writer Jim Galloway:

The visits and conversations -- some face-to-face, others on the phone -- appear to be an attempt by Gingrich to revive his old campaign network and lock down as much support as possible in a state won by Republican Mike Huckabee in the 2008 presidential primary.

A spokeswoman for Johnny Isakson said Gingrich called the U.S. senator earlier this month -- adding that Gingrich was not definite about his plans in that conversation. In an interview on Friday, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss said he had not talked to Gingrich yet, but that the former U.S. House speaker had asked for an appointment in the near future. 'He said, ‘I need a significant amount of your time,’ ' Chambliss said.

...

Perhaps more important, fundraising for Gingrich’s American Solutions organization is conducted out of Atlanta.

However, Rick Tyler, a spokesman for Gingrich, contacted Friday, said the former House speaker’s schedule for deciding on a 2012 presidential run had not changed. 'His plans are to decide on whether to create an exploratory committee in late February, and make a decision about his candidacy in March,' Tyler said.

But Tyler said that Atlanta shouldn’t be ruled out as a headquarters -- should Gingrich join the presidential contest.

Newt's Inner Circle

Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post has started a series of looking at some of the close advisers of possible Presidential candidates. Today he looked at some of Newt's.

Writes Cillizza:

With Gingrich teetering on the edge of a presidential candidacy, now seems like the right time to take a look at the people he is consulting with as he makes a final decision on a bid.

Gingrich, more so than any other politician -- with the possible exception of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels -- keeps his own counsel and is his own best political strategist.

But, he still has a (small) inner circle of advisers, all three of which have been with him for a decade or more.

Sam Dawson: Dawson, a native of South Carolina, is regarded as a disciple of the late Lee Atwater. In the 1996 election cycle, Dawson functioned as then Speaker Gingrich's liaison to the National Republican Congressional Committee and went on to briefly serve as executive director of the committee in the 1998 cycle. (He had previously been political director and field director at the committee.) Dawson also did a stint as chief of staff for Minnesota Sen. Rod Grams in the late 1990s. In 2001, he started a media consulting firm with fellow GOP strategists Terry Nelson and Pat McCarthy.

Joe Gaylord: Perhaps the first among equals in Gingrich's tight-knit inner circle, Gaylord has been at the Georgia Republican's side for a very long time. Gaylord, an Iowa native, managed several of the Gingrich's congressional races during the 1990s and was his political alter ego during his speakership. Like Dawson, Gaylord has deep roots in congressional politics -- having chaired the NRCC during the mid 1980s.

Rick Tyler: If Dawson and Gaylord are more prone to be found behind-the-scenes, Tyler is the public face of the Gingrich political operation. Tyler is Gingrich's official spokesman and also the leading defender of the former speaker on television and in print. Tyler is a former executive director of the Maine Republican party.

Here is another post of mine from a while ago that mentions what the foundation of a national campaign might look like.

Making a trip to Iowa

As he has done several times, Gingrich will be heading to the first presidential caucus state in late May. He has already visited New Hampshire, which holds the first primary in 2012, in January.

"Newt certainly hasn't ruled out a run and Iowa is an important political state for 2010," said his spokeseman Rick Tyler. "I know he has his mind focused on 2010, and he will be doing what he can to help the party."