CA: Bring in Newt!

Even for a supposedly-liberal state like California, Gingrich shows a strong presence among conservatives. As a candidate with real solutions about the border, Republicans, especially in the greater Los Angeles and San Diego metros, find a Gingrich candidacy a welcome answer to societal needs.

A recent field poll from this past week shows that the talks about a Gingrich campaign is certainly tantamount to the want for a Gingrich campaign. As current GOP presidential contenders surrender to the consultant-dominated arena of politics and follow the "pale pastel" answers about how to solve immigration, healthcare, social security, and Iraq, the Republican base is demanding a candidate with intellectual alacrity in regards to realistic and solution-oriented policy. The result: A demand to draft Newt Gingrich for president. Even in California.

SF Chronicle: Poll rates Gingrich 3rd with state's GOP -- if he runs

Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich would rank in the top three among GOP voter preferences in California -- right behind former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and second-place Arizona Sen. John McCain -- should he enter the 2008 presidential race, a new Field Poll shows.

"Giuliani certainly has done well, and McCain is a steady candidate. If you throw Newt in the mix, it shows there is a mood for someone else to get in,'' Dorinson says. "Now we're about ready to see the second act."

Newsmax.com Poll: Newt Leads in Strides!

Yet another grassroots-based online poll shows that Newt Gingrich is winning the argument and, thus, the vote. Newsmax.com, a conservative-geared online news and opinion site, has issued the following results and news story.

Newsmax.com: Gingrich Receives Big Backing on Web

An Internet poll sponsored by NewsMax.com reveals that an overwhelming number of Americans -- nearly 7 in 10 respondents -- favor former House Speaker Newt Gingrich as their presidential candidate in 2008.

The unscientific poll of nearly 90,000 people also shows that Gingrich would win handily in a GOP primary race against both Rudolph Giuliani and John McCain.

The specific questions below the fold.

1) What is your overall opinion of Newt Gingrich?

Favorable: 87 percent

Unfavorable: 10 percent

No Opinion: 3 percent

2) Is Newt Gingrich your candidate for president in 2008?

Yes: 68 percent

No: 32 percent

3) In the following field, who is your 2008 candidate?

John McCain: 2 percent

Condi Rice: 4 percent

Mike Huckabee: 2 percent

Mitt Romney: 6 percent

Rudy Giuliani: 12 percent

Tom Tancredo: 5 percent

Ron Paul: 2 percent

Newt Gingrich: 58 percent

Duncan Hunter: 1 percent

Other: 10 percent

4) In a Republican primary of Newt vs. Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, who would you vote for?

Rudy Giuliani: 17 percent

John McCain: 5 percent

Newt Gingrich: 78 percent

5) If the 2008 President race was between Newt Gingrich and Hillary Clinton, who would you vote for?

Newt Gingrich: 95 percent

Hillary Clinton: 5 percent

Mexico does it -- why can't we?

This week, Mexico will likely pass a measure to change the public worker's pension system from a pay-as-you-go system to an individual account-based system with retirement savings mobility. If Mexico can see the inescapable destiny of a pay-as-you-go system, Americans should too. This lesson should be applied to Social Security, just as prescribed by Newt in "Winning the Future."

From today's WSJ

The centerpiece of the reform, which passed the lower house last week and is expected to pass the Senate this week, is the establishment of worker-owned, individual accounts to replace the communal pool at Issste [The government pension program]. There are no changes for those already retired. Current workers will have the choice of staying with the government's defined-benefit plan and accepting gradual increases in the retirement age, or migrating to the new individual account, defined-contribution system.

You Are Mighty!

For all of you fellow Newt supporters out there:

Newt Supporter: You are mighty!

Enjoy!

Signs Point to Newt's Candidacy

There's an interesting speculative piece in the St. Petersburg Times about what those who know Gingrich are thinking about the likelihood of his presidential candidacy.

St. Petersburg Times: Gingrich could be the right's guy

Yep, we're jumping the gun. Newt Gingrich hasn't announced his candidacy, and says he's in no rush to decide. But there are plenty of signs he's headed that way.

"He's running. I know him. I can read him like a book," said longtime Gingrich protege Matt Towery of Atlanta, who used to head the Friends of Newt Gingrich political action committee.

Michigan Daily: Yes to Newt!

John Stiglich of the Michigan Daily wrote an interesting and compelling piece recently on Newt, the 2008 presidential hopefuls, and CPAC. Follow the link, but I've quoted some of the better parts below.

Michigan Daily: John Stiglich: Newt for president?

Gingrich would be the only candidate in the field at the forefront of two major conservative revolutions - Reagan's in 1980 and the Republican Revolution in 1994. If Republicans are serious about returning to core principles, there is no better candidate.

and

In 2005, Newt released some of his platform in his book "Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America." Unlike the literary works of Barack Obama, the book provided detailed descriptions of policies that would secure the homeland, keep our economy thriving and educate future generations of leaders.

Note that there is a distinct difference between Newt and other candidates within both camps: Newt offers solutions, not emotional appeals or celebrity.

South Carolina Straw Poll

South Carolina Republicans voted in a straw poll and voted on 2008 presidential candidates who have already declared candidacy. Normally this would not include Gingrich, however, there was a significant write-in on behalf of South Carolina's Republicans. Thanks for representing the movement!

Action 5 Memphis News: Newt is a write-in!

Vote.com Acknowledges Newt's Appeal

Vote.com acknowledge's Gingrich's strength among Republican Primary voters in an open news release today.

An online survey by Vote.com of 29,000 Republican Primary voters showed surprisingly strong support for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich -- who hasn't even entered the race -- and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Gingrich topped the survey with 41% of the vote followed by Giuliani with 33%. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney ran a distant third with 12% and former front runner Senator John McCain lagged in fourth place with only 7%. Commenting on the Vote.com poll, CEO Eileen McGann said, "This survey shows the strong support for Gingrich getting into the race among Republican base voters and demonstrates how little progress McCain has made in appealing to the core of the GOP." The online survey was conducted on February 27, 2007. Poll Results:

JOHN MCCAIN = 7% (1,900)

RUDY GIULIANI = 33% (9,707)

MITT ROMNEY = 12% (3,514)

CHUCK HEGEL = 1% (373)

NEWT GINGRICH = 41% (11,802)

SAM BROWNBACK = 3% (816)

MIKE HUCKABEE = 3% (901)

PLEASE FORWARD THESE RESULTS TO ANY FRIENDS OR FAMILY WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN THIS POLL!

Sincerely,

Your friends at Vote.com
http://www.vote.com

Vote.com: Newt is in 1st!

Dick Morris' Vote.com has posted a new question to the primarily Republican-dominated website asking "If the Republican Presidential Primary were held today, who would you vote for?" The results are still coming in, but the clearly noticeable leader of the pack is, in fact, Newt Gingrich.

This further highlights Gingrich as the articulate conservative leader for the Republican party.

Newt's Futurism Applied to Campaigns

In the spirit of Alvin Toffler's "Third Wave," Gingrich understands the empowerment that electronic interconnectedness gives each potential voter. The advent of the "iPod" society allows individuals to hear candidates and policy proposals when they want to on the medium they want to without commercials or interruptions. Applied to presidential elections, a continually information-driven society has greater freedom in the ability to recognize, highlight, and showcase political candidates. Thus, Gingrich's statements last Friday should come as no surprise. Especially the last line.

“This current model is a consultant full-employment system,” Gingrich said. “We live in an age of iPods, cell phones with cameras, blackberries, laptop computers, blogs, television, 24-hour radio. You should be able to have a national campaign make a serious decision for president in nine weeks.”

That means it's up to the technologically-enabled grass roots (us!) to create momentum for Gingrich's candidacy.

Gingrich Outranks Romney

"Voters know Gingrich, they don’t know Romney.” -- Larry Sabato, University of Virginia Center for Politics

Despite Mitt Romney's recent spotlight and color picture on the front page of the Financial Times, Newt Gingrich still outranks his presidential candidate popularity.

Boston Herald: Poll: Mitt 4th in prez race - behind Newt

Former Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney continues to trail former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the presidential race - even though Gingrich isn’t a candidate. Among Republicans polled, Gingrich garnered 9 percent of the votes to Romney’s 5 percent in the Feb. 9-Feb. 11 USA Today/Gallup survey. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani leads with 40 percent, followed by Arizona Sen. John McCain with 24 percent, and then Gingrich in third place. Several other possible GOP contenders round out the pack.

“Whatever it is we’re not doing we want to keep doing it,” said Gingrich spokesman Rick Tyler. Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia Center for Politics said, “Voters know Gingrich, they don’t know Romney.” “Polls are merely a snapshot in time and I’d expect any poll to be a reflection of just how early it is in what is expected to be a very long campaign,” said Romney spokesman Kevin Madden. The poll was conducted in the days leading up to Romney’s announcement speech as news of the event and his intentions made headlines.

The Next Churchill?

An interesting letter from a Rancho Murieta resident asserts Gingrich as the next Churchill:

American Thinker: Where is our Churchill?

He is a prominent member of the American public forum, just as Churchill was of the British forum. He is the man who said on Meet the Press that World War III has begun, just as Churchill spoke of the gathering storm in Europe. Like Churchill, he is the author of several books...Like Churchilll, he is a conservative, but a gadfly in his own party. Like Churchill, he is a former office holder who is currently out of office. Like Churchill, he has exhibited personal habits that got him into trouble. Like Churchill, he is extremely intelligent and articulate...He is, of course, Newt Gingrich.

Gingrich speaks on a presidential bid...

On Fox News on Sunday, Gingrich indicated that he would not make a decision to run for president until late next year. While John McCain and Rudy Giuliani put togethor exploratory committees (the organizations that allow for the raising of money without candidacy declarations), Gingrich has decided that too much effort is wasted in the early scramblings of putting together campaigns.

When asked if a Gingrich exploratory committee would soon form, Newt responded:

"No. We have a program called American Solutions we're working on. And in September of next year, I'll be glad to come back and talk with you about running for president. We have lots of time for personal ambition. And I think an awful lot of this early energy is wasted."

The 2008 Republican ticket is wide open and conservatives are looking for a candidate with the name power and conservatism to win. When asked who would fill that "vacuum" of desired conservative leadership, Gingrich responded:

"Governor Mitt Romney is working very hard to fill that vacuum, and may well succeed. Senator McCain would like to find a way to fill that vacuum and is working very hard at it."

The problem with both candidates is that neither of them have the know-how to lead and deal with both houses of Congress. As a legislative veteran, Gingrich has both the revolutionary ideas and status as "Washington Insider" to actually implement his ideas from the position of the presidency. And drinking Guinness (see the entry below) is a sign of good character.

GOP Frontrunners: Newt

Pioneer Press has reviewed some of the top presidential hopefuls for 2008 and, of course, Newt Gingrich is among those top leaders.

Pioneer Press - Favoring front-runners

Gingrich is the biggest wild card in the race — he is the one person who benefits from the GOP's midterm losses. The Republicans lost the House in part because they strayed too far from the limited government agenda that Gingrich's "Contract With America" envisioned. And it was Gingrich, contract in hand, who helped the Republicans win power in 1994. Who better to get the GOP back on track?

In a time when Republicans are now the minority and the U.S. faces challenges in the War on Terror, the US-Mexican border, the viability of economic competitiveness with China and India, and our broken healthcare and social security system, we need an experienced leader who has the policy answers, knows how Washington operates and has the ability to make the trains run on time. Newt is that leader.

Gingrich: Pelosi Poor Leader on Security

While in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Newt Gingrich rightly critiqued potential Democratic Leader Pelosi while talking about the need for a serious and sensible approach to the security of the 21st century.

Lancaster Online: Gingrich rallies GOP on security issues

“A victory for (House Minority Leader Nancy) Pelosi and a victory for Casey is a victory which will lead ... inevitably to a world in which Hugo Chavez buys Iranian-made missiles of North Korean design and (Iran) probably supplies North Korean nuclear warheads for Venezuela,” he said.

As Gingrich has repeated in the past, a San Franciscan congresswoman would be ill suited to lead the most powerful legislature in the world. It makes little sense to allow a body representative of the United States populace to be governed by values that are consistently out of the mainstream. As a previous Speaker of the House, Gingrich knows the seriousness involved in approaching such issues as national security and foreign policy. Especially when considered with the Newt-described "third world war," serious approaches to real security problems are necessary for effective policy.

An Introduction Suited for a Californian

I would like to introduce myself as the new DraftNewt.org California blogger. As a young individual, I feel it is paramount that young people get involved in politics and exercise their right as a not just a consumer or a student or an employee, but as a citizen who actively participates the political process of the United States.

Newt Gingrich is one of the most intellectually eager candidates for the Republican Party for the 2008 presidential election. Whether it is the War on Terror, immigration, healthcare, education, economic policy, or tried leadership ability, Gingrich has been a proponent for well-justified, pragmatic, and historically valid policies. As the idea man of the Republican Party, it would behoove the future if Gingrich won the presidency in 2008.

I will be blogging about Newt's issues and policies in the future. I look forward to being a part of the new political frontier and support a candidate who embraces such grassroots support.