Because it’s been a busy week you folks get a special Friday edition of Presidential Wednesday. With our neighbors to the south going to the polls next Tuesday, this post will no doubt serve as the final word on the Florida Presidential Preference Primary.
But before we get started, allow me to be the third to report that President Obama will not, I repeat, WILL NOT be on the ballot in Georgia in November. According this this blog, Judge Malihi said yesterday he would enter a DEFAULT JUDGEMENT against Obama! Before you break open the champagne you purchased for the occasion with pre-1964 gold and silver coins, enter Jay Bookman to ruin the fun, he’s such a killjoy.
I know you will be shocked to hear this, but Orly Taitz and others have a record of claiming important legal victories that turn out to be inglorious defeats.
Oh well, back to the process that might actually remove Obama from the White House.
As Todd reported, former Senator Fred Thompson was in town and held a press conference in the Senate Press Office in support of Speaker Gingrich. Be sure to watch the video.
Not everyone was impressed by Thompson’s visit and support of Gingrich:
Atlanta, Ga (January 26, 2012) — Rep. Lynne Riley (R – Johns Creek) released the following statement in response to Fred Thompson’s press conference today at the Georgia State Capitol:
“Newt Gingrich has spent the last decade running from his Georgia roots and into the arms of the Washington insider establishment. We need a steady, reliable, conservative leader who can beat Barack Obama and turn around our broken economy—not a lobbyist and former legislator who left Congress in disgrace. As president, Mitt Romney will never embarrass the people of Georgia.”
There was a debate last night and the consensus seems to be that Santorum and Romney did well and even Paul was better than Gingrich. See here, then see here and here to hear praise for Santorum’s performance who many thought had a terrific night and scored some points. Santorum, as he has in previous debates, articulated many people’s reservation in supporting Romney. His health care reform in Massachusetts is problematic for him and could cause serious problems if he’s the nominee.
Santorum pounced:
“What Governor Romney just said is that government-run top-down medicine is working pretty well in Massachusetts, and he supports it. Now, think about what that means — going up against Barack Obama…you are going to claim, well, top-down government-run medicine on the federal level doesn’t work, and we should repeal it. And he’s going to say, wait a minute, Governor. You just said that top-down government-run medicine in Massachusetts works well.
Santorum added, “Folks, we can’t give this issue away in this election. It is about fundamental freedom.”
Santorum this week was fighting off rumors he was about to drop out. That’s never a good thing for a campaign.
Gingrich has been under attack from people other than his opponents. Bob Dole and others had some unkind words to say about the former Speaker but perhaps the most biting criticism of Gingrich came from Emmett Tyrrell of the American Spectator:
Back in 1992 I appeared with Chris Matthews on some gasbag’s television show. Was it Donahue? At any rate, I said candidate Clinton had more skeletons in his closet than a body snatcher. It was a prescient line then, and I always got a laugh. I can apply the same line today to Newt, though he has skeletons both inside and outside his closet. Conservatives should not be surprised by the scandals that lie ahead, if they stick with him. Those of us, who raised the question of character in 1992, were confronted by an indignant Bill Clinton, treating the topic as a low blow. To listen to him, character was the “c” word of American politics. It was reprehensible to mention it. By now we know. Character matters. Paul, Santorum, and Romney have it. Newt has Clinton’s character.
It wasn’t all bad news for Newt. Georgia’s own Jenny Beth Martin of the Tea Party Patriots told Brietbart.tv that Gingrich’s win in South Carolina was a win for the Tea Party. To be sure, Tea Party folks got behind him in South Carolina, helped deliver the victory to him, and pushed him to the front of the nomination pack. Will they stick with him in Florida?
So who wins Florida and their 50 delegates? The RCP Florida average shows Romney up 38.7% to Gingrich’s 31.5%. Most recent polls show Romney ahead but as with the first three States in this process, the number of undecideds are large. Tune is next week for another edition of Presidential Wednesday (now available on other days of the week) to find out what happened.
Here’s the update primary process spreadsheet:
UPDATE: Newt goes nuclear. Hat Tip: Political Insider.
Any use of an out of context quote from the Republican Presidential primary 4 years ago in a political ad to advocate for the election or defeat of another candidate is not authorized, approved, or known in advance by me. I have made it clear that I have not and do not anticipate making an endorsement in the GOP primary, but will support the nominee. My hope is to defeat Barack Obama and win majorities in both the House and Senate, not to attack any of the Presidential candidates who might be our nominee.
Article source: http://www.peachpundit.com/2012/01/27/presidential-wednesday-friday-edition/
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