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With Newt Gingrich now surging in the polls, the first Republican presidential candidate to attack him in a paid TV ad isn’t Mitt Romney. Or Rick Perry. Or Michele Bachmann.
Instead, it’s Ron Paul.
The Texas congressman has emerged, arguably, as Gingrich’s most vocal critic -- at least for now -- cutting a web video from last week that was scathingly critical of the former Speaker into a 60-second TV spot for air in Iowa.
"We wanted to ensure this ad reached as many voters as possible, to debunk the myth that the Newt we are seeing on the 2012 campaign trail is the conservative he has been touted to be all along," Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton said in a statement.
Ron Paul criticizes Newt Gingrich of "serial hypocrisy" in a new TV ad.
The ad casts Gingrich as inauthentic and hypocritical on issues like bailouts and health care, and fueled by his lucrative work as a political advocate after leaving Congress.
It's a line of attack that political observers have more likely expected to come from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, whose campaign has been forced to reckon with the Gingrich surge in the closing weeks before Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses.
But Paul has been especially dogged in his criticism of Gingrich, attacks that may well be serving Romney's needs just as much as Paul's.
"I think that he's getting a free ride. And I've worked with him for a long time. And I think the points I made on the various issues, he's a flip-flopper, so he can hardly be the alternative to Mitt Romney," Paul said last week in New Hampshire.
The libertarian-minded congressman has staked much of his political capital in Iowa, where he made a major push in August's Ames Straw Poll, and finished a close second place. He's peppered the state's airwaves, and emphasized his opposition to abortion rights for the socially conservative caucus-goers in the state.
Gingrich leads, at 26 percent, in Iowa among likely Republican caucus-goers, according to the NBC News/Marist poll conducted over the weekend. He leads Romney at 18 percent, and Paul at 16 percent. A Des Moines Register poll showed similar results: 25 percent for Gingrich, 18 percent for Paul, and 16 percent for Romney.
Romney's campaign had been skittish about making a push in Iowa until recently, when it opened campaign headquarters in the state and launched a round of TV advertisements. Their bet appears to be that, in a splintered primary field, Romney could score well enough in Iowa to win or at least place highly, and carry that momentum into New Hampshire, where he leads in the polls.
But, given Paul's new attacks on Gingrich, it may just end up being the case that, if Romney wins the nomination, he may have Paul to thank.
Romney's leveled some mild criticism of Gingrich, calling him a "lifelong politician," but has otherwise stayed focused on President Obama. He might not have to release that focus on Obama as long as Paul does Romney's dirty work for him; it seems like a classic case where, for Romney, the enemy of his enemy is his friend.
It's not that Romney has escaped criticism from Paul; an ad from the libertarian congressman's campaign last month pilloried Romney along with Herman Cain and Rick Perry. But Paul's campaign has, more often than not, trained its focus on the rotation of candidates who have surged to become the leading alternative to Romney.
He said at an August debate that Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who was surging at the time, "turns our rule of law on its head" for supporting a policy that would deny due process rights to terror suspects.
And Paul mixed it up at an early September debate with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was then surging in the polls.
"First off, you know, the governor of Texas criticized the governor of Massachusetts for Romneycare, but he wrote a really fancy letter supporting Hillarycare. So we probably ought to ask him about that," he said, channeling what would otherwise be an attack on Romney against Perry. It's just one of many times Paul targeted Perry in that debate.
And during an Oct. 11 debate, amidst the boomlet for Cain, Paul's campaign peppered reporters with opposition research about Cain, calling him a "TARP apologist," and attacking the former Godfather's Pizza CEO's signature 9-9-9 economic plan. In that debate, Paul assailed Cain's preference in economic advisers as "spoken like a true insider."
That isn't to minimize the instances in which Paul has tangled with Romney. Paul has sought to cast Romney as an establishment choice, and a June 5 moneybomb assailed Romney's "liberal record" as governor of Massachusetts.
But as the candidates approach the home stretch of the campaign, the beneficiary of Paul's focus on Gingrich may just be Romney's campaign, which might be spared from having to go intensely negative against Gingrich.
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Ron Paul's ideology is just like the delusional way that most Americans were raised after WWII.We were taught the way it should be and not the way it is.And first and for most Rupert and faux news are scared to death of his honesty.
How are we supposed to make it the way it should be if we don't know?
Delusional, no. Educational, yes.
Maybe Paul is a bit of an idealogist. At least his ideas are for the betterment of America and it's youth instead of solely his own pocketbook.
Ron Paul is going to win this one.
No he wont. He has some good ideas and he is genuine. But unless he starts giving a crap about the environment he wont win over any democrats or independents.
Ron Paul is going to win!
All he has to do is expose the lies that Gore and Obama are trying to shove down our throats in reference to the environment. And allow the brilliant inventors who have affordable ways to replace oil and natural gas as fuel to exercise and market their ideas.
I'm betting Cain's mistress saw an opportunity for big bucks, blackmailed him and squealed when he dissed her. And ALL verbal, no evidence
i'm betting this has almost no relevance to this article.
Have you noticed none of the accusers are even a spot in the news since last weekend? Practically disappeared. Mission accomplished for whomever initiated the crap and wanted him out of the running. Wonder how much they got? Probably enough for ow to keep them quiet about the "instigator" of the smear campaign.
So I guess the smear campaign started years ago when the first 2 made their complaints against him??
No the smear campaign started when he announced he was running. Those claims of years ago were dismissed and the women paid well in severance. Was good enough for them then, why now to come out? Just like frivolous law suits. How does any monetary amount replace a life or forgive a misdeed if it is indeed a justified act? Oh I know, if you make it painful and "they have to pay" it teaches them a lesson right?
my kids,my nephews and their friends LOVE Ron Paul...these are kids between 18 and 27....VOTING age...even though my husband and I are Democrats...My mom and brother are hard line old school republicans (HATE newt)....my kids were raised to be passionate about politics...whomever they support....my question to the GOP people is.....why not run Ron Paul instead of embarrassing yourself with idiots
So you are trying to say Obama is not an embarrassment?
so you can prove he is? given its a personal opinion, of course you can't. :)
Shovel ready? "corepsman"? 300k people quit looking for work so it drops unemployment....Solyndra, Fast and Furious, MF Financial, changing bankruptcy laws for Chrysler to reward one union while ruining two other unions pensions....down grade...obamacare down grade.....
Newt-the definition should be changed from 'a small, cold blooded, slimy amphibian that lives under rocks and in mud in marshes and streams' to 'the consummate Washington insider elitist and hypocrit who is an unethical, corrupt, heartless womanizer who will take money over principle and kisses the ass of the Chump'. My only problem with the definition is the poor little newt definitely gets slandered.
Add communist to the mix it sounds like you discribed Obama.....
Yeah because Obama cheated on his wife who was dying of cancer too.
What is with all of the McCarthyism? It isn't 1950, communism not a scary word to everyone anymore. Go back to calling him a secret Muslim terrorist, you might actually scare some more people into hating him with you.
add david to the mix and it sounds like you decsribed a fool with an internet connection making a mockery of the 1st amendment. Freedom without responsibility license, and your living proof of license.
You discribed John Edwards there..and communism is bad but hey at least you admit what Obama is. Let me guess you also love to eat horse meat?
Better than being a tax and spend fool who thinks its ok to raid social security and medicare....
Yeah I did describe John Edwards... the scum of the democratic party...Newt did the exact same thing and he is the poster child of the republican party... google it or even fox news it... its true.
Bill you would be wrong on that but hey liberals are good at spreading lies and making them into truths.... do you know what a benign tumor is? Were they already split?
yeah the uterine cancer that killed her was benign... I'm surprised you could spell the word since you don't know what it means. Thats like John Edwards saying... "Hey she didn't die till after I left her, I'm not such a bad guy"
As far as communism...You obviously don't know an thing about that either... Did you get a letter from Obama saying the US owns everything that you own?
You are an uneducated unpatriotic pathetic moron... I think you should run for president on the republican side yourself.
You should change your name to Urban Myth Bill because everything in your first paragraph is a LIE.
I am uneducated? I would run my degree against yours any day of the week buddy.
Did Newt Gingrich ask his former wife to sign divorce papers on her deathbed?
No. Jackie Battley is still alive, and the couple had agreed months before the 1980 hospital visit to seek divorce. But she was recovering from surgery to remove a tumor, and the former House speaker admits that they “got into an argument.”
Ok Urban Myth Bill how much land does the government now own? Is the government buying into businesses with our tax dollars? Do they give loans to meet an agenda other than success? Are you a sustainable development nut bar Billy?
I do not even have to get into "wealth redistribution" to prove my point Bill.
Also Urban Myth Bill according to their daughter the divorce was set in motion prior to the surgery.....
Ron Paul has issues with Pork Barrel spending...he gets it via other bills that shouldn't have pork in them then helps write bills that contains pork that he votes against.
Really, Newt Gingrich!?? Anyone who would honestly vote for that slug should seek emergency medical attention ASAP. Just look at his track record. Is that someone who you would really want calling the shots as President? Not me. He is the most hypocritical, morally bankrupt person runing for office I have seen in a long time. Why are we as Americans so afraid of someone like Ron Paul, who has honesty and integrity, running this country? Could it be the end of "Corporate Greed" and Washington DC Corruption as we know it?
Pelosi blew him away in corupt actions...hell she had to pull back what she said last week over breaking ethics rules....
Like the guy, agree with him on many issues, don't care for his foreign policy ideas, but the problem I have is this: Why in the world is he a Republican? In the current system, that is what he is, like it or not and that's a problem given his political views.
Haven't we all been put through enough of Newt Gingrich politics and political campaigns. If he is really the best
the Republicans have to offer, the Republican party is in for a big downfall. It's really hard to believe. Surrealistic really. He's worse than Nixon ever thought about being. He should be in jail for the crooked shenanigans he's pulled. Wow!
Ron Paul?
Another Right to Work for Less Advocates. Yep, That's Dr. Paul. More Republican than you think.
Just seems they are knocking everyone out so when election time hits, the one candidate that they really want in, will be the only one left to vote for. Because we all know, GOP will vote for GOP pretty much NO MATTER what.. rather than vote for a Dem. (and vise versa usually of course)
Ron Paul sounds like chicken man and looks like chicken man. He certainly does not look very Presidential and I'm not sure he could be taken seriously when talking about taking out the likes of bin laden etc.
Moot point. Bin Laden doesn't exist anymore.
If you believe American Media.
And you don't have to be able to actually take down a terrorist to qualify to run for president. You only have to promise to uphold the desires of your country men and the Constitution as it is written.
I'd trust Ron Paul over any president we've had in the last 20 years, any day.
EVERYONE should get use to saying president Newt
Gingrich is smart but essentially a "successful" sociopathic schemer. Paul, however, is simply a successful idiot.
You are a successful trash talker. I guess it takes a lot of time sitting on the couch, doing nothing but collecting a check to come up with these "couch QB statements". Right?
From all appearances of knowledge, know how, perception, virtue, integrity, and principle, Ron Paul is the only candidate of choice from either party.
I am rather inclined to agree with you. As a truly conservative American with betterment of country for all in mind, I have not voted. Ever.
There was no point in voting for either the gibbering puppet or the snake eyed scare tactic, the brainless jabberer or the faux hawaiian.
If Ron Paul doesn't get a party backing, I won't vote next year either.
Ron Paul has been in Congress a very long time & has the expirience . He has been a consistent voice & never a flip flopper nor hypocrite. He has the most profound understanding of monetary & fiscal policy + knows the bizarre workings of the fallible Fed. His facial features remind me of Honest Abe. The people of the United States deserve a highly disciplined maximum integrity candidate like Ron. He is to be applauded for exposing Newt for his self aggrandizing & duplicitous behavior for the last 3 decades. Ron Paul is the last reliable man in this absurd theater of presidential electioneering. He is the guy to go after venal money lenders and the co-dependent Fed , Treasury and SEC who have displayed most incrdible malfeasance. Our government is so incompetent it could not reign in an Enron or catch a Bernie Madoff while after the fact gave a 1/2 billion to Solyndra. Please convince me super ego & facile Newt whose managerial inadequacies have been historically demonstrated can right our listing ship. I say we all get on board with Ron Paul & we will get a guy that history could look favorably upon. & send the poor guy some money to get his message across. Ron Paul is a Hybrid in an era of government guzzlers & that he can take Newt apart is praiseworthy. He can hopefully move on to the next serries of impediments to better government with his common sense commitments that our contemporary media have constantly distorted by painting him as fringe player. This country is "broke broke" & Ron Paul is right on !
most all intelligent people see ron paul as a kook, how can anyone take someone seriously that would legalise illegal drugs and prostitution and close all our over seas military bases?
You are absolutely 100% right. Ron Paul is EXACTLY what we need. People were spouting off about "hope and change" for 2008. Have we really seen that? Or have we just watched more red/blue politics. Here we have a guy with radical ideas of change and someone that is not deeply vested into this party system we have allowed to ruin our country.
"Gee, I hope I have some change for food to feed my family next year!
Me too Lindsay!
I really have no idea what Mr. Limbaugher is talking about, legalizing drugs and prostitution?
Please explain yourself with direct quotes from Ron Paul.
Newt was the darling boy of the conservatives in the 90's and really did get the govt back after Clinton's first few years in office with run away socialism. Newt's only problem was he divorced his first wife, like 52% of our country now, which split the base of the Republican Party who exiled him. He made money as a speaker because people LIKED him, except for the Christian Right of course (who were either jealous or hypocrites - not sure of which one) - who made him pay for his transgressions. OK - time to let it go. He has solid ideas and a practical approach t many problems - probably what we need right now - or four more years of Obama. Romney will not beat Obama - you can not out liberal a liberal.
newt was a ruthless politician who moved up to speaker by trashing many who got in his way, many gopers hated him also and they actually threw him out of the party, the republicans couldnt stand him either
Vote Ron Paul 2012!
You are the man Ron Paul! I know we have a slim shot but I am for you all the way! End the Fed - Ron Paul in 2012!!
This is going to be so easy for someone in 2012. ;)
I dont like negative adds and I thought Ron Paul was above that, but it is important to the American people that they remember Who Newt is, was and will be....a wealthy insider. As far a Dr. Paul goes, he is getting the cold shoulder not only from Fox, but also from the RJC who has not invited him to the forum this week since they claim he is 'outisde of their core beliefs'. It is tragic to thiink that so many beilieve that war and aggression is the answer to the worlds problems...especially for Isreal. WE DO NOT WNAT ANY MORE WARS!! Bush and Blair are convicted war criminals as of this week. Dr. Paul is the only one that actually cares for the people of Isreal in that he will not manupulate that countries policies or its citizens (or the USA for that matter) for the benefit and 'world' control of the elites. The other interesting point is that Dr. Paul dissed Trump and told him no he wont attend the 'Trump' debate becuase he knows it will really be all about Trump and not the issues. This guy has guts and sticks to whats important....you and me. Lastly, think about Dr. Paul's policies. He is the only candidate that would actually de-power the presidency (under the guildlines of the constitution) which has gone way off track. Why would a person who wants to be president be given less power and authority? Because he must be honest and more importantly honest with him self. Not one other candidate has a plateform like this since it is all about themselves. Think about that.... Eyes Wide Shut. Wake up America.
paul doesnt care about isreal or any nation, he believes every nation should be on their own, what they do is their own business not ours
He has a point, don't you think?
Iran and Iraq have continually attacked us and taught their children to hate us. Why should we care whether they can put a good government in place? They'll just tear it apart within a decade anyway, and we'll be right back where we started.
If other countires expect us to help them, they should be willing to help us. Equal trading is fine with me. It's when we dump extravagant amounts of time and money into countries that don't want us there that causes a problem.
If Ron Paul has a plan to end the ridiculous spending and sacrifice of our men and women to blood-thirsty terrorists, then I say vote him in. God knows, no one else has any new ideas.
Newt has said, paraphrasing, that sitting on the couch with Nancy and talking about climate change was the dumbest thing he has ever done. Huh, where does adultery sit on the list?
Ron Paul is letting his ego get in the way. He believes and hopefully he is wrong that he has a better chance than ever to be President. His goal as a strong libertarian is to take this country back to a time before many of the rights we fought hard for existed. My concern is that the public is so dissolutioned with the current crop of Republican presidential candidates that they see Ron Paul as a sane contender. The truth is that Ron Paul represents a far right extreme view of this country as does his son who serves in the Senate. Mr. Paul, as President, would dissolve most of the Federal Government and promote an isolationist point of view in which the US would not be part of the global society. We have a sample of the actions someone like Mr. Paul would take by looking at what is going on in Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Florida to name a few.
dissolutioned? It's "disillusioned",
"would dissolve most of the Federal Government and promote an isolationist point of view in which the US would not be part of the global society"
Yep! The US needs to dislocate itself from the Eastern part of the world; start being like Sweden or one of those other countries that don't participate, just in a grander scale!
Obviously you have no idea what the definition of "Isolationist" is or, you have no idea what Dr. Pauls views are. Secondly , if you are looking for "far-right" you need not look any farther than Bachman or Santorum...Dr. Paul is hardly extreme right...educate yourself.
At least the Republicans are TRYING and not BLAMING the opposite party!
hehehehe.... They are all like kids playing the blame game on a playground.. all any of them has done from day one is blame the other.
Clarabell the Clown..........calling out the BOZO........for being Captain Kangarooesqe
I saw this first on RT last week! Check it out.