What does Newt’s huge low-cost turnaround, in the face of all the money that Romney has spent, presage about the fall election with the hundreds of millions that Obama plans to raise?
[Afternoon update]
Heh: “Newt’s win in SC shows that big money can’t persuade as well as threats of violence from Chuck Norris.”
How you spend it isn’t trivial.
I live in SC, and most of my campaign related mail/phone calls came from Ron Paul. I received 2-3 pieces of mail from Paul every day last week, and as many as 6 phone calls from him or his proxies in a single day. No other candidate was half as persistent. In fact I can’t recall more than 2 calls from Gingrich all week and maybe that many mailings. But none of it effected my vote.
My guess is: it presages very little.
Firstly the primaries aren’t over. Florida is a big-cash primary. Furthermore, Newt’s enjoyable red meat attacks on MSM and the liberal mindset will play much better in S. Carolina than, say, the California or New York GOP primaries.
Next, if Willard had a little fire and brimstone of his own, he would be running away with the nomination and the difference would be money and a trifle less baggage. I don’t think it’s Willard’s Bain Capital and income issues that’s killing him. I think it’s that he looks like another wishy washy, no hard position candidate. People are as much tired of GOP cliches as they are with “Yes we can”.
Obama will connect better with a large chunk of the electorate, than Willard has connected with Conservatives…in much the same way as Newt connects with Conservatives.
This isn’t to say that all his cash will save Obama.
The key message that Newt’s low-cost success brings is that the conservatives and, I bet, a large chunk of the independents are hungry – and I mean STARVING – for some straight talk delivered with conviction. They are tired of spaghetti-spined Boehner; mortally tired of the Congress referring to itself as “the world’s greatest deliberative body”; tired of dissembling and prevarication; tired of namby pamby wishy washy positions; achingly tired of the facade of doing something when nothing gets done. They are scared as they watch the same thing happen in Europe and can see Europe circling the drain.
Lastly I think a large chunk of the electorate (conservatives and some independents) see the MSM left wing bias for its monstrous size and impact. This is why Newt got the response he did when he gutted John King like a fish (I loved the look on King’s face during his destruction as moderator). I think even some lefties are getting a little tired of the gotcha media and the focus on trivia while the US burns.
People are slowwwwwly coming to understand we are in serious trouble and it’s time to focus as adults.
I think it presages that Mitt Romney isn’t barack obama. No more, no less.
Mark Steyn addresses this issue much more eloquently than I:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/288873/man-who-gave-us-newt-mark-steyn
“Can’t any of his highly paid honchos write him a campaign slogan that’s his own and doesn’t sound in his mouth so cheesily anodyne, as if some guy ran a focus-group and this phrase came up with the lowest negatives?
And where, among all the dough he’s handing out, is the rapid-response team? Newt’s “spontaneous” indignation at John King was carefully crafted by Gingrich himself. By contrast, Mitt has a ton of consultants, and not one of them thought he needed a credible answer on Bain or taxes? For a guy running as a chief exec applying proven private-sector solutions, his campaign looks awfully like an unreformable government bureaucracy: big, bloated, overstaffed, burning money, slow to react, and all but impossible to change.
Mitt’s strategy for 2012 as for 2008 was to sit on his lead and run out the clock: Four years ago, that strategy died in New Hampshire; this time round it died one state later. Congratulations!”
..I forgot to add….
these are not the sorts of mistakes Obama is likely to make. So Obama’s money will make a difference.
Newt’s win shows just how split the Republican party is. Its time to pop some more pop corn and watch the show 🙂
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[Newt’s win shows just how split the Republican party is. Its time to pop some more pop corn and watch the show.]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
You all suck! 🙂
Frankly I’d much rather hit the convention with some actual decisions as to who the nominee might be still left to be made. The ‘my turn’ coronations we’ve been having lately where it’s all wrapped up by April or so haven’t been working out so well. Might forestall a suicidal (for the GOP) third party run by the sour grapes candidate were he to get a plank or two installed in the platform. Bring back the days when platform negotiations were consequential and not rubber stamps of preexisting IKEAs of the anointed one.