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SPARTANBURG, SC -- Mitt Romney's campaign launched a barrage of attacks against Newt Gingrich just three days before South Carolina's primary amid signs the former House speaker could threaten Romney's bid for his third straight win in the primary cycle.
The former Massachusetts governor led his campaign in opening a fusillade against Gingrich, who's persisted at or near the top of the polls in tests of Saturday's first-in-the-South primary.
In a sign of how seriously his campaign is taking Gingrich as a threat, Romney broke from his usual form on the campaign trail -- which usually involves attacking only President Obama -- to instead deliver a rebuke of Gingrich's claims on his record on job creation.
"The speaker the other day at the debate was talking about how he created millions of jobs when he was working with the Reagan administration. Well, he'd been in Congress two years when Ronald Reagan came into office, " Romney said. "That'd be like saying 435 congressmen were all responsible for those jobs. Government doesn't create jobs. It's the private sector that creates jobs. Congressmen taking responsibility or taking credit for helping create jobs is like Al Gore taking credit for the Internet."
Romney's words were just one part of an offensive that extended to his surrogates, who hosted a conference call and launched web videos questioning Gingrich's leadership abilities.
First Thoughts: Newt-mentum returns?
The assault began earlier this morning with a web video released by the Romney campaign entitled "Undisciplined Leader," in which former New York Rep. Susan Molinari, who served with Gingrich in the 1990s, delivered the first blow.
"I served with Newt Gingrich in Congress. Newt Gingrich had a leadership style that can only be described as leadership by chaos,” Molinari said in the video. "I worry about the Republican Party’s chances to defeat President Obama if Newt Gingrich is the nominee."
On a conference call with reporters later in the morning, former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent, another Romney supporter, continued the attack, and warned that if Gingrich were to become the Republican nominee it would hurt the party.
"Each one of us [who served with Gingrich] has personal stories we can tell about going home and having to clean up after our speaker," Talent said. "It had an impact on the 1996 presidential election and, if he's the nominee, it will have an impact on the 2012 election and the impact's not going to be good for the conservative movement and the Republican Party."
If this all sounds familiar, it might be because the Romney campaign employed the exact same tactics following the first surge in the polls Gingrich had enjoyed in Iowa in early December. At that time, Talent and Former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu lanced Gingrich for "off-the-cuff thinking" and "irrational behavior" on a similar conference call, with Sununu continuing to voice the attacks for days in interviews on television and in print.
Related: Santorum targets Gingrich in S.C. stumping
It now appears those attacks may continue. Today, the Romney campaign confirmed reports that Sununu will travel to South Carolina on Thursday to campaign for Romney.
This afternoon, the Gingrich campaign responded to Romney's comments on job creation.
""I fully expect the Romney campaign to be unendingly dirty and dishonest for the next 4 days because they are desperate, they thought they could buy this. They discovered that they can't buy this. I think they have internal polling that shows them loosing. I think they will do anything to try at any level and I need your help. People power will be money power. And I need your help," the candidate said at a town hall meeting.
"If your curious of what kind of leadership style Romney would use as president, today we are seeing what panic looks like," Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond told NBC News.
NBC'S Alex Moe contributed to this report.
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I believe on the jobs front what Republicans are saying is get the government out of the way so the private sector can prosper and be able to expand their buisness and their workforce.
After reading and hearing Romney's attacks on Newt, I will vote for Gingrich in the South Carolina primary this week. After reading Romney's garbage, I would vote for Newt twice if I could. Guess I will have to get my second vote from my husband. Maybe, I can get a few more votes for Newt from my neighbors.
TO: Steven Robins who wrote:
Steve, why do Republicans believe that in order to do business in the United States it's absolutely necessary to pollute our clean air and poison our drinking water?
Why shouldn't businesses be required to keep themselves clean? After all, business profits are at record highs while American Workers' paychecks are at record lows.
Obama / Biden 2012
How enchanting ... it's like one pile of sh!t bragging to the other pile of sh!t ... * I stink worse than you * ...
buncha nutzos.
"Loosing" "your" instead of "you're." This is sloppy "journalism."
Hard to say if *Loosing* is a kind of internet-slang instead of *Losing* say like pwn (own) or like other shortcuts like UR (you are) etc. ... it's irritating ... and I know several sophisticated posters who do this to be funny but they still get slammed by grammar-nazis ... but your / you're I don't see the excuse at all and is in fact sloppy (journalism) and uneducated ghetto trash talk ... in fact I think they do it on purpose to irritate or bring people down to their level ...
Go away English language desecrators.
Hey exotix, I couldn't agree more. The only one that will come out "smellin' like a rose " is the Roto-Rooter man
If Richard Nixon were alive today, would it be possible for him to overcome Watergate and become a viable candidate?
I dare say, most people would think not. Nixon was guilty of too many "dirty tricks".
But, now Gingrich is a viable candidate from the republican point of view. Gingrich....the only house speaker in history to be forced to resign the office due to ethics violations. Gingrich....who paid a $300,000 fine for his unethical behavior. Gingrich....who had his wife served with divorce papers as she was dying in the hospital while he was banging his secretary.
And there are republicans in America who are actually considering voting for him. President Dwight D. Eisenhower would be spinning in his grave if he could see the lowlife scum that's highjacked his party.
just ask newt to un seal his ethics records...cuz he wont...that is why he will never be the GOP nominee...the old school republicans know how stinky newt really is...he just panders to the feeble minded...if newt was the GOP nominee...that would be the FIRST thing the democrats would ask for!!! un seal your ethics records you old fat pasty pig!!!
What's Romney going to do to Gingrich? Maybe he can throw the silver spoon in his mouth that he was born with at Blingbitch.
If all Romney does is tell the truth about Newt, that alone will be enough to keep Newt out of office.
Please please please....Garrett Haake (the author of this story), can you learn how to spell the word "losing". It is not spelled "loosing". No wonder 99% of people in USA don't know how to spell this word correctly.
Haake probably went to a private school.
Romney vs. Gingrich and the winner is.............OBAMA!!!!
Yes, but government jobs are only spending hard earned tax dollars....your money. Private sector jobs on the other hand create real value and tax revenues.
David,
you are obviously correct...but talking sense doesnt wash in the leftist paradise moonbat-land of MSNBC.
My god Bob,,,, can you get any crazier.
Here is a thought if Mitt Romney's father was born in Mexico how was he able to run for office if one of the requirements is that you have to be born in the US? Also how do we know that the Gov. was born in the US? Maybe we should be asking him to produce a birth certificate just to make sure? I know that this may have nothing to do with this articule but it just show how racist and how extreme this party has become.
It does not matter where you were born to run for any office other then President sir. An exampkle would be Arnold Schwarzenegger, he was born in Austria. To be president, you must have been born in the United States.
Romney last week - PLEASE MAKE NEWT STOP ATTACKING ME ON UNFAIR THINGS!!!! LIKE MY ACTUAL RECORD AT BAIN CAPITOL. ATTACKS ARE BAD AND MAY JEOPARDIZE MY CAMPAIGN!!!
Romney this week - ATTACK NEWT WITH HIS ACTUAL RECORD! ATTACKS ARE OK!!!
Flip-flop Flip-flop Flip-flop Flip-flop Flip-flop Flip-flop
After all of the back and forth from Republicans I have made my choice. I will now vote for Obama. These candidates have hit new lows. Our country is in trouble and all they do is fight . . Why are we in trouble ? The Republicans of course. Democrats are are trying to mop up the mess the last idiot Republican left, Bush.
Go Obama !
Well said, Roger! As the Republican back-biting progresses, Obama won't need to do any campaigning. The GOP is eliminating itself from the race, eating itself from the inside-out, leaving the door wide open for Obama's second term.
Go Republicans! You are, at least, entertaining.
Roger, the worst *undecided voter* acting performance of all time.
"all the Republicans do is fight, why are we in trouble the Republicans, Democrats are trying to mop up the mess from the last idiot Republican".
You "will now vote for Obama"...uhhh you did last time, and you've been planning to ever since.
1 out of 5 stars. Go back to acting school.
I voted for John "the same" McCain in the last election. Sorry sport, you are off base here.
Sure you did.
0 out of 5 stars on the performance this time, you added a derogatory nickname to the candidate you pretended you supported in 2008.
Seriously, lying Democrat scum. To make your online faux-conversion stories as believable as possible, include details about rightwing policies you support, and limit attacks on the rightwing so that it seems more probable that you at one point were not a complete Democratic hack, like you are in real life.
I hope this helps.
This shows the character of Romney, if he might have competition , get down and dirty.
Romney and Obama are not my Presidential choice and Im not sure about Gingrich but I will say, Gingrich knows the inside of government, he knows how it works, and he can work it to the advantage of the voters. I do think Gingrich will remember who put him into office, Romney wont, just like Obama forgot about his supporters.
Im still undecided but I have made my mind up that Romney and Obama are birds of a feather and they say what people want to hear then they do what they darn well please.
I hope Gingrich does give Romney a run for the money, competition is good and Gingrich might be the better choice in the long run, due to his experience and connections.
When it comes to leadership and straight talk, I finde Gingrich doesnt back down on either issue.
Willie&Newt, is like choosing between jock itch and the squirts
If Obama is returned to office I will be looking forward to a Huntsman-Andrew Cuumo race in 2016. I live in the NYC metro area. Boy, are there tons of Cuomo infomercials all over the airways, pointing out he has not raised taxes, cut this or cut that all that much and how is is working to deal with union issues . IF that's not getting ready I don't know what is.
So let the games begin. Unless the Democratic party replaces Biden with someone electable in his or her own right in 2016, things could get very interesting 4 years from now. Do not underestimate the personal financial commitment the Huntsman family, principally Jon, Sr. , would be willing to make to elect Jon president. They are following the game plan that gave us JFK, including having Jon avoid being on a losing ticket. Many feel the best thing that ever happened to JFK was not being on the 1956 ticket in the #2 spot.
Well, we certainly didn't see any big Jon. Sr cash commitment this time. The total Huntsman campaign war chest added up to two pencils and a $5 gift certificate to McDonalds.
Bob, I don't think the Republican Party is going to help Huntsman -- He's a high school drop out.
Romney should have his Super Pac run some more lies about Gingrich and then pretend he hasn't seen them, but describe them seconds later as he did in the debate last week.
I haven't seen them. Oh you mean the one with this and this and this.
Poor poor moonbats.
Just think.. all the vicious and nasty personal attacks they make on Republicans.
So...how is it gonna feel when your failed leftist President LOSES in a landslide to one of these simply awful GOP candidates...and drags down the Democratic Party with him?
As feisty the moonbat says, *popcorn*....
Bob, you may as well forget it. There is no way the American People are going to vote for any of those Republican nuts who have nothing planned except for the demise of everyone who is NOT part of the Top 1%.
As a working American myself, there is no way I'm going to vote for Republicans to take over MY social security money that they have absolutely no respect for. All my working life I paid into that program, and I'm NOT about to hand it over to the wealthy to help make them richer, or anybody else for that matter.
Obama / Biden 2012
government doesn't create jobs????
Interstate highway (also HUD) construction has given jobs; Military spending creates jobs building weapons etc. Government spending that helped create the internet resulted in jobs; NASA research resulted in satellites and thereby allowed the infrastructure necessary for phones, TV, internet etc.; The human genome project funded by NIH allowed progress in understanding disease and will eventually improve treatments being worked on by companies (and NIH funded researchers);Government required TSA (damn them);Government bailed out GM and Chrysler creating jobs;U.S Geological surveys are used by mining companies;the U.S. government brought electricity to rural areas that had not been served...it took employees to do these things or people were hired as a result of these examples and hundreds of others.
Govt only creates jobs by taking jobs out of the private sector.
Govt takes money that people then can't spend in the private sector on cars, homes, tvs, iPhones, burgers, pizza, home improvement supplies which create more jobs when people buy them.
Govt inefficiently creates jobs by taxing money from people, wasting a lot of it along the way, and finally producing some paltry, overpriced jobs at the end of the process.
If they hadn't taken that money away, it would have been spent or invested in the private sector creating real jobs.
A private sector job is a real job that our country depends on. A govt sector job is leeched off of private sector jobs through taxation, and is a tradeoff job, where you had to lose jobs elsewhere to pay for this job. A private sector job on the other hand is a net gain.
willard's only hope is to train his staff...to manage the paper voter ballots...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu2sSVt32bo
Or he could do the "hanging chads" trick! Maybe he could rent a brother who holds office in Florida.
Hello America!!!! Is anyone old enough to remember, Buy AMERICAN the job you save maybe your OWN!!! I still remember, but Mitt forgot!!!!!!!!
Seriously, Newt is better as a messenger, not as a leader. If you want a Theocracy, vote for him. He will not win in November, He will not win the majority of America, He will not be something people wish to listen to for four years. He can't beat Obama. He is wasting Americans time and money.
Anything is better than Obama or Romney or Paul
"Newt wants a theocracy".
"You're a leftwing idiot".
"Newt has advocated forcing everyone to become Christian, when?"
Man, secular liberal vermin are stupid.
No Chesty
You
Are an IDIOT!
Just sayin!
Lol
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
TO: White Collar Auto who wrote:
Wow, it's nice to hear that you actually learned something today.
Now if we could only find a way to help Republicans with their amnesia.
Just vote for Mitt Romney and this all will pass; including Newton.
I want a constitutionalist in the white house.
Yep, but just not traitors like Ron Paul and his supporters.
What do you mean "traitors" Ron Paul wants to stop ALL foreign aid, why in hell should WE give money to corrupt leaders of poor countries that don't even like us. Why not spend the money here?. In the Vietnam era M.Romney hid in France to try to convert people to Mormanism, N.Gingrich got married to his teacher and a deferment for having a child, R. Paul was drafted while married and having 2 children, AND WENT. Sounds pretty damn patroitic to me. Agree to disagree, yes. Traitor- not so much, me or Ron Paul.