Romney Buys and Gingrich Belies Florida Primary
By Kevin A. Lehmann on in Entrepreneurship, Kevin's Commentary, Politics
Outgunned, outnumbered and outspent 5 to 1 ($15 million to $3 million), Newt Gingrich lost a hotly contested Florida primary. Considering the avalanche of negative attacks against him (60 to 1), it’s a wonder Romney didn’t win by the same margin of victory in which he outspent Newt. It also shows that Floridians aren’t completely convinced that Mitt’s the man for the job. All things considered, a 14 point win could be construed as a moral victory for Newt Gingrich. But a moral victory holds little solace in war and politics.
Clearly the most intelligent, articulate and entertaining candidate, Gingrich is also the least disciplined. He’s the “High Roller” of presidential politics. He comes to the table with three things in mind: a winning strategy, bankroll management and discipline. But when the chips are down—in the heat of the action—his balls often trump his brains. Caught in a quandary between victory and defeat, in a momentary lapse of prudence and at 35 to 1 odds, he stacks all his chips on snake eyes only to see the dice come to a rest on 5 and 2—Seven out!
In light of the fact that Newt had the momentum coming off a huge victory in South Carolina, Romney did the only thing that an intellectually inferior but financially superior candidate could do—he took a page out of Governor Rick Scott’s playbook and bought the State of Florida with a barrage of negative attack ads. And pound Newt Gingrich he did . . . over and over again.
Knowing that Newt’s only defense would be a stellar performance in the last debate, Romney cleverly set a trap—a trap that would take advantage of Newt’s achilles heel . . . revenge! Like a boxer who took a beating in the previous round, Romney knew that Gingrich would want to prove that he could take a licking and keep on ticking. A battle of balls versus brains. Only the fight was between Newt and Newt—the end of which would have a national audience watch his balls deliver his brains on a silver platter garnished with ego and pride.
Where did Newt go wrong? He belied his “positive” platform and bit the bait. Only instead of the red meat John King gave him in a previous CNN showdown that he devoured in “Great Newt” fashion, Romney’s meat was booby trapped and Gingrich fell for it . . . hook, line and sinker.
What should have been a brilliant display of acute knowledge of the big problems plaguing our country and a smorgasbord of big solutions from Newt Gingrich instead became a colossal collapse of intellectual integrity and a pompous display of ego and arrogance. In a personal tit-for-tat feud to the finish, Romney won Florida by unanimous decision.
Newt’s greatest assets are his superior intelligence, his keen insight and both his Washington and private sector experience. His acute knowledge of the issues coupled with his conservative credentials and aggressive economic plan should have him squarely in the driver’s seat. Instead, he finds himself in the unenviable position of underdog in what’s shaping up to be a two horse race to the finish line in Tampa, Florida.
Can Newt pull off the upset and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? Yes. But he needs to play his cards right. His bankroll took a big hit in Florida but a chip and a chair is all you need to stay in the game. That, and a tight/aggressive strategy moving forward.
Given the fact that Virginia and Missouri are out of play, the odds against Gingrich securing the nomination are even greater. This election boils down to one thing: “It’s the economy stupid!” Like I told Newt Gingrich during his rally in Pensacola, he not only needs to draw a sharper contrast between his superior economic plan and Mitt’s, but he needs to hammer that home in the next debate.
Newt was right to point out that government doesn’t create jobs but writes the rules and establishes the environment in which those jobs can be created. He missed a prime opportunity to drive home the fact that as Commander-in-Chief, it would be his superior economic policy that would revive capitalism and give rise to the next generation of Mitt Romney’s. He just needed to bring it full circle and draw the stark contrast between his radical tax reform and Romney’s plan—Obamanomics with lipstick.
When push comes to shove, Americans are far more concerned with dollars than defense, jobs than jihad and saving our own asses instead of everyone else’s. If Newt can make that the crux of his campaign and exploit Romney’s unconservative, liberal and dismal track record of job creation in Massachusetts, he’ll be the Rocky Balboa of the GOP field . . . “Yo Calissta, I did it!”
Until next time . . . Wake Up America!
Kevin A. Lehmann
P.S. View a three minute video clip of my interview with Fox News at the Newt 2012 Rally in Pensacola, Florida.
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15 Comment(s)
By Bonnie Lee on Feb 1, 2012 | Reply
You nailed it, Kevin. Great metaphor too. Let’s hope Newt sticks to the issue at hand – creating jobs and the deficit spending, and throws the accusations aside with a clever aside showing Romney’s true colors.
By Enigmaticaluna on Feb 1, 2012 | Reply
I believe that all those tings you have expose might have done the damage, but it’s also the dishonest tactic of Mitt, who not only was dishonest on the attack base on faults accusations, but the fact that he has buy with his money people’s support.
I will bring in the table, Mitt records as gov. of MA, since is none because he has destroy them, I believe that he provably had allot to explain to the people. Might I remind you that people is more than tired of corrupt politics? it’s what they been living for the last 3 years plus, and bring in equation the fact that as obama he’s hiding something, could be damaging to him.
I do hope that people paid attention and from now on, Mitt is out from the people’s mind. Mitt only vision is to keep things as they are, Newt is a vision of change drastically to the very base of what this Nation has been build upon, dreams of conquer, self empower, he’s giving to people a future and we need someone like that.
Thanks for the article.
By Carol Modrell on Feb 1, 2012 | Reply
Kevin, that was so interesting, right on and ENTERTAINING…lol
I just hope the states that say they aren’t going to allow the pos on the ballot hold their ground. As for Romney I’m not convinced he’s eligible…
By Laura on Feb 1, 2012 | Reply
Kevin, I see nothing wrong with Newt setting the record straight. He has done that very effectively with the media and won several standing ovations for his trouble. However, I DO see a problem if Newt focuses on this rather than drawing a sharp contrast between himself and Mitt.
Mitt is the Republicrat version of Obama and must be exposed as such. America cannot tolerate 4 more years of either Obama or Romney. So I would say to Newt, go ahead and set the record straight, but hammer home how you are different from both Barry and Mitt.
By Chris Race on Feb 1, 2012 | Reply
Good article Kevin, out spent is the key and it doesn’t look like Newt will be able to overcome that so he needs to out think Romney. You know when Clinton was faced with all the Lewinsky mess he would tell the press the first 3 or 5 minutes was theirs to ask about it but then he ignored all other questions about it and gave the message he came to give. Some how Newt has to quit talking about all the negatives Romney’s camp is spitting out and start talking about issues if he plans on winning. I think your right about bringing it to Romney over his economic plan, Newt has a great plan but he needs to get the differences across to the people.
By Pam on Feb 1, 2012 | Reply
When it comes down to filling in the bubble on the ballot, it doesn’t matter if Newt dropped his signature stellar Newt-tron bomb. He is still the best conservative up there and the only one of in my book capable of taking on the enormous task of getting the country back to being functional, growing and healthy!
By barbara pafundi on Feb 1, 2012 | Reply
Kevin, ya did it again !!!!
This is exactly what took place, and Newt can bring it home. Stick to the issues…jobs, taxes,, and how about Mitt’s daddy having duel citizenship while your at it, cus we’ve had it with these clowns in Dc….call the left what they are…communist….shake it up and bring the house down…..we’ll have your back….GO sic em.
By Darwin on Feb 1, 2012 | Reply
Romney is taking a “Scorched Earth” policy to win the nomination. He may bring down the Republican party in the process.
“Special Report” reported tonight that RNC rules doesn’t allow a “winner take all” primary before April 1, and that Newt is going to file a complaint to get his share of Florida delegates.
By Marie on Feb 1, 2012 | Reply
Very interesting. I just hope Newt will use this as a learning experience and not make the same mistakes twice. He is smarter than that.
By Frank on Feb 2, 2012 | Reply
Here’s how I know that Newt is a good candidate… all of the “establishment” GOP representatives don’t like him.
At least Newt is a problem solver. He may not be perfect person, but neither am I.
By Darin on Feb 2, 2012 | Reply
In my opinion, Gingrich and Romney are both big government politicians. I was alarmed at Newt’s speech after the FL primary, concerning all the Executive Orders he would sign, if elected President. Abortion, czars, religion. So, with all the abuse the current President has displayed, how are these promises any different? Answer: it’s not. It’s a progressive in action. The most conservative of the remaining candidates is Santorum…just sayin’.
By Paul on Feb 3, 2012 | Reply
Darin, Santorum IS the most conservative. So! So what? Does he have the experience to balance the budget? No, he has never been a governor or had a position that would enable him to learn how to govern and balance the budget. Does he have the experience completely repeal ObamaCare? No. What is his plan to get the nation back to work? I think these are the concerns that is causing him to carry only 10 percent of the Republican party. One has to wonder if he can’t even carry a major part of the Republicans, how is he going to gain support of the nation? In my humble opinion, a vote for Santorum actually causes Romney to win. So Darin, Please, please stop voting for Santorum/RomneyCare! Gingrich has experience. He represents the Reagan that we are looking for. He has already balanced the budget, thus we know he can do it again. His Drill Here, Drill Now petition caused the gas prices to go down over night early in 2008. He knows what to do with the Middle Eastern people who want to kill ALL infidels. He knows how to get us back to work because he has done it before! He is right on the mark when it comes to getting rid of Frank Dodd. And his 200 or so pieces of legislation on day one is with the congress in mind so he is not shoving things down our throats as you claim. Gingrich has my vote and I am not worried at all about a less than peak performance in the debates.
By John on Feb 4, 2012 | Reply
There’s a reason why Gingrich’s staff quit en masse last summer. There’s a reason why Gingrich had to rely on the children from his first wife to combat allegations of infidelity from his second wife involving the woman who would supersede her as his third wife. There’s a reason why Gingrich’s former colleagues on Capitol Hill overwhelmingly support Mitt Romney over their former leader.
By Kevin A. Lehmann on Feb 5, 2012 | Reply
@John: Yes there is a reason, it’s called complacency and the unwillingness on the part of most Americans to stomach change. Gingrich is bold and brilliant. Romney is would be the closest thing to Obama. He was third from the bottom in job creation as the commander-in-Chief of Massachusetts; he’s pro-abortion and pro-gun control, and a chameleon who panders to his current audience. He’s the consummate politician who would see his mother’s soul for a buck and a vote. As for Gingrich’s past personal indiscretions, let he who hasn’t sinned cast the first stone. I’m voting for a president, not a priest.
By Pam on Feb 5, 2012 | Reply
@Kevin A. Lehmann Well said! And as far as I am concerned, this woman voter is selecting a president as well. Go Newt! Romney is packaged plastic. He says what he feels he has to say to get elected rather than give us insight on who he really is and how he will lead.