Newt Gingrich took his campaign to NBC and Meet the Press Sunday morning for some free air time as the race for the Republican nomination heats up in the conservative bastion that is South Carolina. As you might expect, there was much discussion of “dirty politics”, super PAC’s, and Bain friggin Capital; but the highlight of the interview came when Newt was asked what a Romney victory in South Carolina would mean for his campaign and the race for the nomination, generally.
GREGORY: What if you lose?
GINGRICH: ”You would certainly have to reassess.”
GREGORY: If Romney does win, is it over?
GINGRICH: ”If Romney wins here, he has an enormous advantage going forward. Which is why I think it’s important for every conservative who wants to have a conservative nominee to rally around – and I am the one person who has a realistic chance of defeating him here… I hope every conservative will reach the conclusion that to vote for anybody but Gingrich is to help Romney win the nomination and to help him with the primary in South Carolina.”
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Mark my word. Newt is telling us exactly how he plans to play things this week – in the debates and while stumping across South Carolina. He knows that as a product of a neighboring state, this is his best chance to make a final push. He knows that and he knows that the only chance he (or anyone else in the field) has is to unite the conservative base around one candidate to oppose Mitt Romney. Divided – they (Gingrich, Santorum, and Perry) will each claim a percentage of the vote that if combined would be greater than that which Romney will rake in. Such a result would leave all three campaigns dead in the water moving to Florida for Romney’s coronation.
So, here’s what Gingrich will do. He will use the debates to once again remind the base why he was able to vault to the front of the pack before Iowa. He’s the “grownup” in the field and not the child he’s been playing since getting run out of Iowa. This time, though, he’ll use a hybrid of the “Unite Behind the Republican Banner” strategy changing it slightly by replacing Republican with Conservative. Now whether Newt is sufficiently “conservative” enough to head that platform is a debate for another day; but what Newt will do is make the case that voters must choose Romney v. Obama or Conservative v. Obama – a choice that would ultimately mean more of the same versus a drastic transformation and a return to Founding Principles.
Is he up to the task? Truthfully, I really can’t begin to tell. Every time I’ve been ready to count the Former Speaker out, he manages to surprise me. My brain says he’s not going to be able to get away from the Bain/Super PAC mud-slinging; but my gut says he may be able to pull it off. If we were talking about a week of nothing but retail politicking, I’d say he’s toast. But we’re not. We’re talking about a week that boasts a Gingrich wild card – debates.
We will know by the end of the first debate Monday night which Newt will be competing in Iowa – the grownup or the whiny little child that thinks bashing venture capitalism is somehow conservative. I’m hoping for the former and not the latter.
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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
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