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04 Mar 2012 20:00

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Politics: Gingrich predicts Big Oil will hand the election to the GOP

  • “That’s a pretty big burden while he’s waging war on the Catholic Church and apologizing to Islamic extremists”: In which Newt Gingrich tells CNN’s Candy Crowley that Big Oil will intentionally tank the American economy, placing an insurmountable obstacle on President Obama’s path to re-election. source

04 Mar 2012 10:08

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Politics: Super PACs aggressively spend ahead of Super Tuesday. Super.

  • $10 million in Super Tuesday ads bought by Super PACs source
  • » Four states getting strongest focus: Ten states are holding primaries and caucuses in a couple of days, but the ones that the GOP candidates are really focused on? Ohio, Georgia, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Much of the advertising seems to be focused on trashing other candidates, with both Mitt-and-Newt-affiliated Super PACs attacking Rick Santorum — who is currently leading in Ohio. In other news, Mitt won a caucus in Washington on Saturday with Ron Paul scoring second place, though the caucus is non-binding.

28 Feb 2012 14:36

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Politics: Newt Gingrich explains what he means by “San Francisco values”

  • I’m here in 1983, and I’m part of a truth squad… for the convention. And we’re having a great time. It’s a great city, as you know, there’s a reason it’s one of the great tourist cities in the country. We’re down at Union Square, and CBS is interviewing me… literally, at that moment, a six-foot-two transvestite comes up to me and hands me an invitation to an exorcism of Jerry Falwell.
  • Newt Gingrich • Explaining, when pressed by San Francisco Chronicle reporters Joe Garofoli and Carla Marinucci, what precisely he means when he decries “San Francisco values.” His response, as you can see, is not one that will go over well with LGBT advocates, or people who believe a personal anecdote is shaky grounds for a broad-based political narrative. It does bear mentioning that Gingrich had some compliments for the city as, well, a city, and he also had some unexpected praise on California Democratic Governor Jerry Brown. source

20 Feb 2012 19:56

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Politics: Pro-Newt Super PAC’s fundraising courtesy of two people (they’re married)

  • $11M the amount the main pro-Newt Gingrich Super PAC, Winning Our Future, raised in January
  • $5M of that total came from Sheldon Adelson, a casino magnate with deep pockets
  • $5M of that total came from Adelson’s wife, Miriam; they know a thing or two about gambling source

18 Feb 2012 20:12

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Politics: Gingrich claims fellow GOP candidates are too scared to debate him

  • Anybody who’s afraid of debating Newt Gingrich isn’t going to be in very good shape to debate Barack Obama.
  • Newt Gingrich • Campaigning in Peachtree City, the Atlanta suburb he represented in Congress for twenty years. The GOP presidential candidate mocked his rivals for pulling out of a CNN-hosted debate scheduled to occur just days before Super Tuesday. Both Mitt Romney’ and Rick Santorum’s campaigns announced that they would be skipping the debate, leading the network to drop their coverage. Ron Paul’s campaign announced that Dr. Paul would be withdrawing as well a short time later. Romney’s campaign cited a busy schedule as it’s reason for skipping the debate, but Gingrich challenged the assertion saying, “you can’t hide behind millions of dollars in negative ads and think you’re going to win the presidency.” Let’s be honest with ourselves, though, Newt — there have been so many debates that even the presidential candidates are getting sick of them. Make it stop! source

14 Feb 2012 13:46

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Politics: Norris explains how Gingrich won the support of a Texas Ranger

  • How can the ‘alternative to Romney’ also be a Romney supporter?
  • Legendary actor and martial artist Chuck Norris • In an opinion piece, published today on World Net Daily, explaining his reasons for endorsing Newt Gingrich instead of Rick Santorum.  The former star of “Walker, Texas Ranger” pointed to Santorum’s time campaigning for Mitt Romney in 2008, during which time Norris and his wife were campaigning for Mike Huckabee, saying he didn’t understand how Santorum could support someone who allegedly bragged he was “more liberal than Ted Kennedy on social issues.” The actor also cited 27 different votes, cast by Rick Santorum during his time as a U.S. senator, which Norris felt betrayed conservative ideals. That’s right guys; Gingrich now has an endorsement from a glorified laundry detergent salesmansource

31 Jan 2012 23:37

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Politics: Not only is Newt Gingrich not quitting, he hasn’t even started fighting yet

  • I would define Newt’s head space as: ‘Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.’
  • David Lane • A  conservative leader close to Gingrich. This quote is actually from before the primary, and Lane’s prediction was born out in Gingrich’s speech tonight, wherein the former Speaker pledged to plow forward despite having lost Florida tonight. The article’s author, Alexander Burns, adds that “Gingrich has made a career out of upending conventional wisdom and ignoring the establishment view that he should go to the corner and shut up.” A long, protracted primary probably won’t be any help to the eventual nominee, but it’ll sure be fun for political nerds like us.  source
 

31 Jan 2012 19:46

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Politics: Florida exit polls show evangelicals rare bright spot for Gingrich

  • 36% Mitt Romney’s level of support from evangelical voters in today’s Florida GOP primary, exit polls show
  • 40% Newt Gingrich’s level of support — better a cheater than a Mormon for Florida’s evangelicals? source
  • » Pardon us if that seems reductive, but how evangelical voters relate to Mitt Romney’s faith, and Newt Gingrich’s lack of faithfulness, has been a critical question in the GOP nominating process. In a barrage of exit polling coming out of Florida tonight, this seems to be one of the few positives Gingrich can take away; while not a staggering advantage by any stretch, his personal baggage risks making him deeply unpalatable to a moralistic, Christian electorate. In the short-term, however, it seems he’s staying afloat with those voters, at least enough to keep Romney at his back.

31 Jan 2012 15:28

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Politics: Virginia AG investigating fraudulent Gingrich signatures

  • A costly “mistake?”: It’s been reported that the Attorney General of Virginia will hold an investigation into the Gingrich campaign’s ballot petition, which was submitted to the state containing nearly 1,500 fraudulent signatures. In admitting this fraud issue publicly, Gingrich dismissed it as a “mistake,” which drew criticism when compared to the harsh condemnation he voiced on nearly identical signature issues in ACORN’s voter registration drives. Adding insult to injury, the Gingrich petition fell short of the signature total needed to appear on the ballot, meaning the Virginia GOP presidential primary will feature only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. (Photo by Gage Skidmore) source

31 Jan 2012 14:13

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Politics: Gingrich robocall says Romney forced Holocaust survivors to eat non-kosher

  • A heavy slur, sloppily made: The Gingrich campaign has, in an effort to both court and inflame Florida’s large Jewish population, made a startling accusation. As you can hear above, a robocall claims Romney vetoed a bill to fund kosher food in Massachusetts nursing homes, which meant that Holocaust survivors were, “for the first time,” forced to eat non-kosher. In reality, Romney did veto a bill providing additional funds, but it never took effect (overruled by the state legislature), nor would it have forced anyone to eat non-kosher; it maintained present funding levels, and nursing homes without kosher kitchens would offset with other sources of kosher cuisine, saving nearly $600,000. Assuming the true context of this tactic is widely realized, we guess this won’t endear Newt to the Jewish community. Or anybody else. source