Mitt Romney fires a shot across Newt Gingrich’s bow

Looks like Mittens is feeling the heat, perhaps from the flip flops and/or because of the recent polls and is firing back.

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — Mitt Romney landed here Sunday with a simple message: Newt Gingrich is a failure and a fraud. And a disgrace. And a hapless showman.
Standing under a brilliant orange Florida sunset, Romney delivered his longest sustained critique of the South Carolina primary winner to date — ticking through a list as if he were reading off Gingrich’s Wikipedia page, and undercutting each item as he got to it.
“Speaker Gingrich has also been a leader,” the former Massachusetts governor said. “He was a leader for four years as speaker of the House. And at the end of four years, it was proven that he was a failed leader and he had to resign in disgrace. I don’t know whether you knew that, he actually resigned after four years, in disgrace.
Romney continued: “He was investigated over an ethics panel and had to make a payment associated with that and then his fellow Republicans, 88 percent of his Republicans voted to reprimand Speaker Gingrich. He has not had a record of successful leadership.”
Then Romney got into Gingrich’s post-congressional career.
“Over the last 15 years since he left the House, he talks about great bold movements and ideas,” he told the crowd of several hundred people gathered at a building materials company here. “Well, what’s he been doing for 15 years? He’s been working as a lobbyist, yeah, he’s been working as a lobbyist and selling influence around Washington.
via Mitt Romney: Newt Gingrich is a ‘failed leader,’ ‘disgrace’ – Reid J. Epstein – POLITICO.com.

To be clear, Newt Gingrich is not a saint and as Geller put it, “He is a son-of-a-bitch, but he’s our Son-of-a-bitch.” I know that personally I would rather vote for someone like Newt and hold my nose, than to vote for some idiot racist Mormon who worked for a Latin-American financed company that acted as corporate raiders. I am sorry, but that is simply Anti-American; the very idea that an American would sit at a table with Latin Americans to devise a plan to destroy American businesses is absolutely asinine and for this Mitt Romney should be held accountable. However, because Fox News and others are in the tank for that creep, you will not hear a word about it and that my friends is the tragic thing about corporate media.

So, yes, you can put me in the “anyone but Mitt Romney” category.

Videos: Flip-Flop: Romney caves on tax returns

First he was against it: (H/T HotAir.com)

Then, he was for it: (via Daily Caller – H/T HotAir.com)

This calls into question Mitt Romney’s judgements and ability think under pressure. My question is, which Mitt Romney would we be voting for and if he cannot stick to a single position here, what else would be flip flop on? Would he flip flop on Obamacare too? These are questions that he must answer.

Newt Gingrich Snags the win in South Carolina

Obviously, I underestimated the power Chuck Norris. 😯

ABC, Fox News, CBS, AP, are all reporting that New Gingrich has won the South Carolina primary. I guess the accusations of his second ex-wife did not stick at all. Which says much about the moral condition of South Carolina and of the Nation as a whole.

AllahPundit, as always has some very good information. Here’s Romney’s speech, in this speech, he dings Gingrich, Newt does not return the favor and in fact, he compliments all of the people running with him in the primary. Voters will remember that:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Here is the first part of Newt’s victory speech, I’ll post the second part when it comes up: (H/T Fox News Insider)

and Part 2:

Florida is going to be an interesting battle. I look forward to blogging about it! 😀

Blogger Round up via Memeornadum

Culture of Corruption: Former Obama Staffer Busted for Stealing Iowa Secretary of State’s Identity

I have not always agreed with Michelle Malkin; but when she wrote this book here, she had a very good point — and no I am not talking about the one on the top of her head either! 😉 :

Barack Obama’s 2008 Iowa New Media Director was arrested Friday for attempting to use the identities of Secretary of State Matt Schultz, and/or his brother Thomas, with the intent to falsely implicate the Secretary Schultz in illegal or unethical behavior. Zach Edwards, 29, of Des Moines, currently works for Link Strategies, a Democrat-affiliated organization with ties to Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. Edwards is the Director of New Media for Link Strategies.
The Secretary of State’s office discovered the alleged crime and reported it to authorities. Edwards turned himself in to the Iowa DCI agents Friday afternoon. He was charged with identity theft, a misdemeanor, and booked into the Polk County jail. Edwards posted $2,000 bail and was released later on Friday. He faces up to two years in prison.
Zach Edwards’ bio on Link Strategies website says he joined the Obama campaign in early 2007 as an intern in Nevada. He eventually joined the New Media department and directed their operations in five other primary states. He was the Iowa Director of New Media for Barack Obama’s general election campaign. After the election, Edwards joined Link Strategies, “where he provides innovative web-based research tools, video analysis and production, and web-based communication tools to assist our clients,” according to the bio.
Those clients include Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. On the Link Strategies testimonial page, Harkin credits the political consultant group for his electoral success. “The folks at Link Strategies have been helping me win campaigns since 1996. Whether it is managing campaigns or handling research, their specialty is doing quality work while finding smart, creative solutions to problems. In a tough fight, there is no question that I want Link Strategies in my corner.”
Jeff Link, the founder of Link Strategies, ran the Gore-Lieberman presidential campaign in Iowa in 2000. He managed Tom Harkin’s 2002 and 2008 reelection campaigns. Link also served as a media consultant for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.
via Former Obama Staffer Busted for Stealing Iowa Secretary of State’s Identity | The Iowa Republican.

Charming fellow. 🙄

Others: Iowa Grounds, Power Line, Hot Air, Des Moines Register, RedState and The Gateway Pundit

Newt in the lead in South Carolina polling

Looks like the attacks on Newt from his ex-wife did not do a thing to diminish his chances. Either that or Chuck Norris has more power and influence than I thought. 😉

Quote:

Newt Gingrich heads into South Carolina election day as the clear front runner in the state: he’s now polling at 37% to 28% for Mitt Romney, 16% for Rick Santorum, and 14% for Ron Paul.
Gingrich’s lead has actually increased in the wake of his ex-wife’s controversial interview with ABC. Although one night poll results should always be interpreted with caution, he led the final night of the field period by a 40-26 margin. One thing that continues to work to his advantage are the debates. 60% of primary voters report having watched the one last night, and Gingrich has a 46-23 lead with those folks.
The other reason his ex-wife’s interview isn’t causing him much trouble is that there’s a lot of skepticism about it. Only 31% of voters say they think her accusations are true while 35% think they are false and 34% are unsure. 51% of voters say that they have ‘no concerns’ about what came out in the interview.
The skepticism of Republican voters toward the media is helping Gingrich as well. Just 14% of likely voters have a generally favorable opinion of the media, while 77% view it negatively. Gingrich’s attacks on the media have clearly played well with the party base.
Gingrich is leading with pretty much every key segment of the Republican electorate. He’s up 41-21 on Romney and Santorum with Evangelicals, he has a 52-18 advantage on Romney with Tea Partiers, he leads Santorum 44-21 with ‘very conservative’ voters with Romney at 20%, and he’s up 39-26 with men.
In the final week of the campaign Gingrich rose from 24% to 37% in PPP’s polling while Romney basically stayed in place, going from 29% to 28%. Romney saw a 15 point decline in his net favorability in the closing stretch from +24 (57/33) to just +9 (51/42). Gingrich saw a modest increase in his numbers over the final week from +14 (51/37) to +17 (54/37).
via Newt expands South Carolina lead – Public Policy Polling.

Best thing about all that up there? Ron Paul is a 14%; which is where that Jew-Hating, Racist bigot jerk belongs in this race. 😡 Like I told my commenter, “John V” the man allowed his name to be lent to a bunch of newsletters that contained some of the most vile, nasty stuff ever written; much more than anything that I ever written here or on my old blog. That alone brings into question his judgement as a leader; not to mention as a congressmen.

Furthermore, the worst thing that ever happened to me, during my tenure as a blogger; is the fact that I actually got associated with that idiot man and his followers. For the record, I have never, ever agreed with any of the garbage that was contained in those newsletters, ever. Furthermore, the most idiotic, tone-deaf thing I ever have done was when I thought that I could call myself a Paleoconservative/paleolibertarian and could actually disagree with that tripe. The truth is everyone and I mean every darned last one of them agree with that garbage that was published in those newsletters. Because of that, I prefer to call myself simply, “Right of Center.” I do not agree with Wilsonian foreign policy, but I sure as heck do not agree with those who seem to harbor the ugliness in those newsletters.

If there is anything that I ever hope to accomplish as a writer; it is that I can finally shake off the association with those who are of the Ron Paul, anti-black, anti-Jew mentality. I do not think that way, nor have I ever, nor will I ever. I might not like the liberal left’s idea of racial resentment and “Multiculturalism;” But I am not a bigot, not like those people.

As for Newt and Mitt’s race; I believe sooner or later, one of them will win the primary and the Republican Party will get behind one of them. The sooner the better, if you ask me.

Others: Gretawire, Don Surber, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mashable!, Christian Science Monitor, Yahoo! News, Scared Monkeys, today.yougov.com News, American Spectator, Political Insider, Telegraph, Daily Kos, New York Times, ABCNEWS, Hot Air, Ricochet Conversations Feed, The Reaction, M.JOSEPH SHEPPARD’S …, Guardian, Gallup and Clemson University

Chuck Norris Endorses Newt Gingrich

Alternate Headline: “Chuck Norris gives the green light for Presidential Candidates to be womanizing freaks”

Not that this honestly matters, but it is news. 😀

No man or candidate is perfect. We all have skeletons in our closet. If buried bones became unforgivable bones of contention, the world would never know or will never know another Benjamin Franklin, King David and others like them. We must remember that we’re electing a president, not a pastor or pope. And with the mainstream media and a billion-dollar Obama campaign coffer on the president’s side, we need a veteran of political war who has already fought Goliath, because he will be facing Goliath’s bigger brother.
In the last few editions of my weekly column, I detailed “10 questions to find our next president” in no particular order of importance. I proposed that the name of the candidate that fills the majority of the answers deserved readers’ vote.
Who is most committed to follow and lead by the U.S. Constitution?
Who has the greatest leadership ability to rally, unify and mobilize citizens across political and societal spectrums?
Who has the best working comprehension of America?
Who has the best ability to influence a volatile world away from its brink of destruction?
Who has clear and present moral fortitude?
Who can best beat President Barack Obama (in and outside of debates)?
Who has the best abilities to lead Washington politics and politicians?
Who has the best plan and leadership ability to restore America’s economy?
Who is the most fiscally prudent?
Who has demonstrated the highest regard for human life?
For my wife, Gena, and I, we sincerely believe former Speaker Newt Gingrich is the answer to most of those questions and deserves our endorsement and vote.
via My endorsement for president -WND.

He also should have asked the question, “Who was the first speaker of the house to be reprimanded by congress?”

To me, this just proves that the social conservatives movement has fallen a good deal from its moorings of long ago. The movement would have never allowed this sort of man to be even remotely consider for President years ago. It also shows, I believe, that the GOP is utterly desperate for someone to nominate for President. They’ve come along way since the ways of Eisenhower, Goldwater, Reagan, Bush and the like. That very sad fact is not a good thing at all.

Others: Balloon Juice, Pat Dollard, Mediaite, Riehl World View, Hot Air, Gawker, The Hill, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Daily Caller

Local CBS Station catches Solyndra destroying million bucks worth of parts

This is millions of dollars of your tax money, going square down the drain. Angry

The Story via CBS in San Francisco:

FREMONT (CBS 5) — After filing for bankruptcy last year, Fremont solar company Solyndra still owes American taxpayers half a billion dollars. But CBS 5 caught them destroying millions of dollars worth of parts. At Solyndra’s sprawling complex in Fremont, workers in white jumpsuits were unwrapping brand new glass tubes used in solar panels last week. They are the latest, most cutting-edge solar technology, and they are being thrown into dumpsters. Forklifts brought one pallet after another piled high with the carefully packaged glass. Slowly but surely it all ended up shattered. And it’s not a few loads. Hundreds of thousands of tubes on shrink-wrapped pallets will meet a similar demise. Solyndra paid at least $2 million for the specialized glass. A CBS 5 crew found one piece lying in the parking lot. Solyndra still owes the German company that made the tubes close to another $8 million. So why is a bankrupt company that owes a fortune to creditors, including American taxpayers, throwing away millions of dollars worth of assets?

I do believe that the last line of that story. has pretty much become a metaphor for the President Administration. Gee, I wonder if my commenter “Dusty” still believes that I simply do not know what I am talking about. Dusty?

Others: Atlas Shrugs

Gingrich cancels campaign event due to low attendance

This might not mean a thing and then again, it might. Thinking

From Mercury News:

CHARLESTON, S.C.—Newt Gingrich has cancelled a campaign appearance in South Carolina because of poor attendance.
The Republican presidential candidate was scheduled to speak to the Southern Republican Leadership on Friday. But a campaign spokesman told reporters that he would no longer be appearing due to poor attendance.
There were just a few dozen people in the audience at the College of Charleston’s arena, where the event was taking place. The conference has suffered from low attendance all week but Gingrich rival Rick Santorum went ahead and addressed the group on Thursday.

Interesting….very interesting. I wonder if it related these items here? It is to wonder. Thinking

Fed official in AZ to plead fifth on “furious”

This ought to be really interesting, as this plays out.

Via Fox News:

The chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona is refusing to testify before Congress regarding Operation Fast and Furious, the federal gun-running scandal that sent U.S. weapons to Mexico.
Patrick J. Cunningham informed the House Oversight Committee late Thursday through his attorney that he will use the Fifth Amendment protection.

The real interesting part of this story, is right here:

The letter from Cunningham’s Washington DC attorney stunned congressional staff. Last week, Cunningham, the second highest ranking U.S. Attorney in Arizona, was scheduled to appear before Issa‘s committee voluntarily. Then, he declined and Issa issued a subpoena.
Cunningham is represented by Tobin Romero of Williams and Connolly who is a specialist in white collar crime. In the letter, he suggests witnesses from the Department of Justice in Washington, who have spoken in support of Attorney General Eric Holder, are wrong or lying.
“Department of Justice officials have reported to the Committee that my client relayed inaccurate information to the Department upon which it relied in preparing its initial response to Congress. If, as you claim, Department officials have blamed my client, they have blamed him unfairly,” the letter to Issa says.
Romero claims Cunningham did nothing wrong and acted in good faith, but the Department of Justice in Washington is making him the fall guy, claiming he failed to accurately provide the Oversight Committee with information on the execution of Fast and Furious.
“To avoid needless preparation by the Committee and its staff for a deposition next week, I am writing to advise you that my client is going to assert his constitutional privilege not to be compelled to be a witness against himself.” Romero told Issa.

Hmmmmmmmmm….. Thinking Obviously, this guy is trying to cover his own backside; and it could be that Holder and his cohorts are looking for a fall guy, and this guy is not interested in being that fall guy.

As I wrote last night; this is not what Obama’s supporters voted for in 2008. I am hoping that they do see what they were sold, and what they ultimately ended up with, this, was not what Obama campaigned for, that is for sure; this continuing story is proof of that. However, as long as the media and the Democratic Party professional liars continue to spin and cover; this is what you will get — corruption. It is the Chicago way. Big Grin

Update: Ed Morrissey, of whom I tipped off to this story, but didn’t get credit 🙄 — has some very interesting analysis on this story too and adds:

One point is pretty clear, though. Officials at the DoJ involved in this operation are fearing criminal prosecution, which means that this scandal just went prime time.

Indeed.

Update #2 Others: Power Line, Big Government, Wake up America, PJ Media, The Volokh Conspiracy and The Lonely Conservative

A simple question for Democrats

For my final entry tonight, here is something I just noticed over at Drudge’s site.

To all those who all of those who are Democratic Party voters; I have a simple question for you —- Tell me, which President did you vote for? No, seriously —– this is an honest question from someone who used to be in your Party and voted for Democrats until 2008. Again, I ask you; for what kind of Democratic Party President did you vote?

I seem to remember a President who ran on a huge platform of openness and transparency. I seem to remember a President that said he would be very different from the last President that ran this Country. I seem to remember this President saying that there would be change in this Country. I seem to remember a President who promised that he would be a reason to hope again for the many in this Country that had no hope in the Government and those who served in it.

If that is the case, then why is stuff like this here happening to members of the media, in San Francisco no less?

Richman reported he was ushered out of the fundraiser after Biden started taking a few questions from the audience of about 110 campaign contributors. “The event raised somewhere between $275,000 and $1.1 million,” according to his report. —via Biden’s oops moment in SF: “Giants on their way to Super Bowl” | Politics Blog | an SFGate.com blog.

I am sorry, but even I as a former Democratic Party voter, someone who simple decided to vote differently, than I had voted in the prior elections cannot help but think that this here is nothing more than good old fashioned political corruption at its finest. Why would a Vice-President, who is serving in one of the supposedly most open administrations in the history of the office of the President, allow a member of the media to be hustled out of a fundraiser?

In case the members of the Barack Obama administration have forgotten, San Francisco is your base block of people who voted for you. If it were not for the voters of that city and many more like it, ol’ Barry would be cooling his heels in Chicago right about now. I believe that Independent Liberals need to really look hard at this man’s record; they need to look at stuff like this and honestly decide if this man is worth of four more years in the White House. I mean, look at this SOPA act, that was a Democrat bill, not a Republican one. I can assure you that four more years of this man would bring more laws like this one. I know that Barack Obama came out against it; yes, after all of the fuss was made about it!

The question is this; do you really feel like you can trust this President again? Are you better off today than you were 3-4 years ago? Do you have the same amount of money? Do you have the same job? Is your business that you run making the same amount of money as it did 3 or 4 year ago? Do you feel like anything really honestly changed in this Country at all?

We all as Americans must ask these questions to ourselves in the coming months. I am not believe me when I tell you this; asking this question in a sarcastic manner, nor am I saying that the Republican field is any better than what is there now. However, I think that everyone, independents, and centrists — everyone needs to really ask themselves, “Is this really what I want my Country to be like for four more years?” Look, we tried “hope and change” and it failed. Do we want to try it again, with a new slogan? I mean, aside from a few noticeable exceptions, I have not seen any fruits of anything that this current President has even done; at least nothing that honestly affected me at all here in the Detroit area.

President Barack Obama promised jobs and a big economy. Only big thing we got out of it was high unemployment and a whole bunch of debt, which you and I and our kids and grandkids will be paying off for a long time. Am I saying Republicans will do any better? I would like to think that the debt might slow down a bunch; but I do not trust Romney at all. However, I think the attitude of “Business as usual in D.C.” is not going to work anymore, with the crash of the market and the rise of Tea Party movement. I believe the Republican Party knows this and so does Mitt Romney. However, I do not trust him at all.

You see, this right here is why I did not, when the Iraq War ended, I just did not say, “Okay, bye! The Iraq is over; I’m leaving and going back to watching TV and ignoring the World!” Believe me I wanted to! I am tired of sitting here hunched over a keyboard and writing for hours. It sometimes gets very old. I get tired of fussing with servers and fussing with software and so forth. However, I am plugged into what is happening in this Country and I just cannot walk off like that. I would feel as if I were abandoning the cause.

I end this rather long missive by simply saying to everyone who reads this — think.