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Subscribe to RSSIn the final days leading up to the South Carolina primary, Newt Gingrich attacked Mitt Romney's tax rate revelation. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
Mitt Romney leads among likely voters in Saturday's South Carolina GOP primary, though Newt Gingrich trails in second by a diminishing margin, according to a new poll released Wednesday.
Thirty-three percent of likely S.C. Republican primary voters expressed support for Romney heading into the Jan. 21 contest, according to a TIME/CNN/ORC poll, followed by 23 percent for Gingrich, the former speaker of the House.
That represents a narrowed lead for Romney over his next-closest competitor in the Palmetto State compared to the same poll conducted after the Iowa caucuses. Romney led former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum by 18 points in that poll, and held a 19-point advantage over Gingrich in that poll, conducted Jan. 4-5.
First Thoughts: Newt-mentum returns?
This new poll, conducted Jan. 13-17, reflects the narrowing race in South Carolina just days before voting in the state, where Romney hopes to pull off victory after having won both previous nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. Completing that kind of trifecta could allow Romney to drive his opponents from the race.
The poll is also reflective of the closing momentum Gingrich is enjoying in South Carolina on the strength of more pointed criticism of Romney and other GOP foes. Gingrich also won praise for a strong showing in Monday night's debate, a performance he's hoping to duplicate in a debate on Thursday evening.
Gingrich's surge, though, has also prompted the Romney campaign to revive its offensive against the former House speaker in hopes of parrying his momentum before voting this weekend.
To that end, 35 percent of likely primary voters said they might change their mind on a candidate before Saturday, versus 57 percent who said they will definitely vote for the candidate for whom they expressed support in the poll.
Rounding out the field in South Carolina are Santorum at 16 percent, Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 13 percent and Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 6 percent.
NBC News and Marist College will release the results of a new poll conducted jointly on Thursday morning.
Looking ahead to the next primary, Florida's Jan. 31 primary, Romney enjoys an even stronger advantage, according to CNN/TIME/ORC figures also released Wednesday.
Forty-three percent of registered Republicans likely to vote in the Florida primary (which is limited to Republicans) said they back Romney. His next-closest competitors are Santorum at 19 percent and Gingrich at 18 percent. Nine percent of Florida Republicans would vote for Paul, who's not competing in the contest, while just 2 percent plan to vote for Perry.
The Florida poll, which was also conducted Jan. 13-17, has a 5 percent margin of error. The sample of likely South Carolina primary voters has a 4.5 percent margin of error.
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Ging's better. He thinks the flat tax ought to be 16%.
What a choice! Newt or Mitt. If I had to pick the lesser of two evils, I would have to go with Newt. At least you know what you got up front. Stupidity. But Mitt he reminds me of the old snake-oil salesman. I don't like a con. Glad I don't have to make that choice.
Romney is just like Obama is. A massive corporate lobby backed teleprompter reader with no consistent voting or campaigning record. Romney appears a wishy washy lobby owned stooge looking to pick right up where Obama left off.
I don't think I have heard Romney even mention the words Federal Reserve, much less have a stand on them. He is the same with the military contractors. You can tell he will be business as usual with these two VERY dangerous lobby's.
Like Obama, Romney has never played ball with the big boys on the Federal level. Obama folded up like a pup tent once he got up there and I believe Romney will do the same. Neither is in the right league to kick some ass up in Washington and this is not the time for another "hum along with the band" President. We already have one of those and the results have been devastating.
Having another mainstream party candidate from either party for another four years will literally doom this country. We need someone who will throw these lobby's out of Washington and make the very unpopular cuts. Ron Paul is the only one who has "the balls" to take them on and make the cuts.... or at least try. The rest of these candidates from both sides are all lobby bootlickers. I would really have liked to have seen them at least replace "boring Biden" with Dennis Kucinich or someone with a pair.
Mitt: "I want desperately to release my tax returns. But my wife and I file joint returns, and I don't want to compromise her privacy."
"We the people" was the founding principled idea our nation was founded on. The fact that these worthless congress critters seem to think that because a candidate doesn't wear the same pinky ring or attend the same chest-pumping socialite function means they aren't electable is a huge issue to me.
I don't agree with some of Ron Paul's views or opinions, but he will have my vote, ballot or write-in, simply because he has the majority of my views dead on. We :
- need to stop spending and start cutting
- need to rebuild trust in a government that needs to be downsized
- have to focus more on our interest at home and not abroad
- shouldn't be the world's police force when we can't even handle our own crumbling infrastructure and crime issues locally
- regain our liberties and rights that have been stripped away and continue to be stripped away daily by the current "representatives" that are in the house
I realize that I can cast a vote, and I do. The problem is, I don't recall particularly having a great selection to choose from. What I'd like to see, to regain my trust in the people my tax dollars are paying for to sit in congress is two fold.
1. Term limits, (2) 4 year terms max, and make it coincide with the presidential elections instead of constantly having political churn
2. Have the ability to hear my voice heard on issues I deem important in some format that allows all of us in our respective states to have the same opportunity.
Is it so much to ask the political "leaders" of our country to actually serve us ? I fear that the statement heard so often that our time has began to sunset is coming true and has been for quite some time.
"We the people" was the founding principled idea our nation was founded on. The fact that these worthless congress critters seem to think that because a candidate doesn't wear the same pinky ring or attend the same chest-pumping socialite function means they aren't electable is a huge issue to me.
I don't agree with some of Ron Paul's views or opinions, but he will have my vote, ballot or write-in, simply because he has the majority of my views dead on. We :
- need to stop spending and start cutting
- need to rebuild trust in a government that needs to be downsized
- have to focus more on our interest at home and not abroad
- shouldn't be the world's police force when we can't even handle our own crumbling infrastructure and crime issues locally
- regain our liberties and rights that have been stripped away and continue to be stripped away daily by the current "representatives" that are in the house
I realize that I can cast a vote, and I do. The problem is, I don't recall particularly having a great selection to choose from. What I'd like to see, to regain my trust in the people my tax dollars are paying for to sit in congress is two fold.
1. Term limits, (2) 4 year terms max, and make it coincide with the presidential elections instead of constantly having political churn
2. Have the ability to hear my voice heard on issues I deem important in some format that allows all of us in our respective states to have the same opportunity.
Is it so much to ask the political "leaders" of our country to actually serve us ? I fear that the statement heard so often that our time has began to sunset is coming true and has been for quite some time.
BUNCH OF HIPOCRITS , IT IS APPARENT ; the republican conservative christian tea partiers , '' are racist '', looking for more open places to vent their frustration of a BLACK MAN , BEING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. no matter what they do , win or lose , it's moments like this that they will cherish. being able to come on national media outlets , and blame black people for food stamps. blame black people for the entitlement program. blame black people for being lazy. blame black people for being convicts who shouldn't vote. blame black people for not wanting their babies to clean the toilets at the public schools they attend. blame black people for being the poor in america. blame black people for being the most uneducated people in america. blame black people for not being as filthy rich as gingrinch, romney, limbaugh , and a host of successful multi-billionaires , whom many inherited land and riches , stolen from freed slaves. WHY DOESN'T WHITE AMERICA, JUST PAY ALL THE BLACKS FROM AMERICA, THE MONIES FOR 300 YEARS WORKING FOR FREE IN THIS COUNTRY ???? IF THEY REALLY CARE FOR THE PLIGHT OF BLACK AMERICANS, ISN'T THIS THE RIGHT THING TO DO ???? NEWTS FAMILY , ROMNEY'S FAMILY , ALL THESE WEALTHY WHITE FAMILIES , LIVED AND ROAMED AMERICA FREELY. FREE TO GET A GOOD EDUCATION , FREE TO MAKE A REASONABLE LIVING, FREE TO GET PAID FOR THEIR LABOR , FREE TO BUY HOMES AND PROPERTIES , FREE TO PURSUE THEIR HAPPINESS. WHILE THE BLACKS, AND THEIR CHILDREN, WERE ONLY FREE TO KISS THEIR BUTTS , AND WORK FROM SUN UP TO SUN DOWN , '' FOR FREE ''. now , after a whole 40 years of being able to go to the same school with the blessed whites , and eat at the same eateries, with the blessed whites , they believe we should own booo-kooo realistate , and be filthy rich like them by now. LET'S CUT TO THE CHASE , LET'S JUST PAY REPARATIONS FOR SLAVERY OF OUR ANCESTORS , AND THEIR CHILDREN . AND VIOLA , THERE WILL BE NO MORE BLACKS NEEDING YOUR FOOD STAMPS OR YOUR ENTITLEMENTS. WON'T THAT MAKE REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE TEA PARTY '' CHRISTIANS '' HAPPY ??????????
Just read a story in Financial Times (British Newspaper) www.ft.com called China And U.S.: Access Denied in it the story of April 7,2011 10:01 pm by Kathrin Hille, Stephanie Kirchgassner and Paul Taylor under Analysis- Comment. Tells about how BAIN CAPITAL PRIVATE EQUITY tried to help Hauwei ( a Chinese Government owned Communication Company) gain control of 3com (a US communication Co.) in 2008 the deal fell through due to US security concerns. What other "Deals" have been cooked up by the Chinese Communist Government, Bain Capital Private Equity and Mitt Romney ??????
How can voters, the 99%, vote for Romney? He has been silently supporting the GOPers tax- less and tax-privileged approach to the rich and he is one of them. He has done nothing to say to his own party that the rich really has to pay a higher tax rate. At the same time, he does not care how our government becomes anaemic.
And he just gave several bills to a single woman during his campaign. He really makes me very nervous.
He should talk to the House Speaker now, not later, to fix the tax rate, higher, for the rich.
Romney always reminds me of the devil in the movie "End of days"
Sherman marched through a broken South burning, raping, and pillaging the people and the land. Now in the new South, we have Romney the RNC endorsed moderate marching in South Carolina a bedrock State of the South. Will the people of South Carolina stop the RNC backed candidate from Taxachuetts from carrying our proud banner this fall? Gingrich with his human weaknesses is the man who could stop Romney and would proudly carry the Conservative Banner into the battle for the Soul of this Country. Romney must be stopped in South Carolina or it is over. Come on Gamecocks-Do your duty for Country! If you stop his juggernaut, Fla, Ala, GA, Miss, LA, TN, AR, KY will follow your lead!
At the end of 230 years our presidents and congress had amassed a national debt of 6.2Trillion dollars. Yes, it was shameful as politicians used the national credit card to buy re-election time and time again. Making longterm promises with shortterm funding. Turned Social Security into the world's largest Ponsi Scheme. Last in pay for lst out. Amway got its idea from social security. Madolf took his turn trying it in the private sector. We jailed him but congress gets a pass because it had "good intentions"? IN JUST 3 SHORT YEARS, OBAMA and his democrat friends in congress DOUBLED THE NATIONAL DEBT! That alone is just amazing.........Think about it! He now is asking congress to run it up to 15 TRILLION Dollars! That puts us at over 100% of GDP just like Greece........We need a take no prisoners President next year. Perry would have been perfect, but the voters have decided he could not handle our seated Prez in a debate. Probably right, but his ideas towards Washington are spot on. So now we MUST turn to Newt who has fire in his belly and wants this fight. Just like the Brits had to turn to Churchill to stop Hitler and they held their nose when they did it. Churchill did not sugar coat a damn thing and was in your face like Newt. Let Newt go clean out Washington and then when the blood has been spilled and order has been restored, you can send this warrior home like the Brits did Churchill. But we can NEVER have another Obama again.
If England had not gotten Churchill out of retirement, they would have had Hitler. If we do not send Newt with troops*conservative congressmen and senators *, then it will take a dictator to fix our problem. That is similar to bankruptcy trustee. The entitlement segment of our society will have to be put down by force of arms. It will be every thing Jefferson feared brought on by a central government out of control and the rights of the states diminished. Who will be the winners under a dictator? Who knows...but a sad ending for one of the greatest short-lived Republics to ever grace God's earth.
You have to understand this country is not divided into Democrats and Republicans or right/left anymore. Those paradigms dissolved completely over the last 50 years and are gone. What is left are those supported by deficit spending and those who are not but are being extorted from to support them.
The deficit junkies make up about 65% of the population. We have 50% that pay zero federal income taxes and use the most entitlements/services. Then we have all the federal employees, federal retirees, military, military retirees, defense contractors, other federal contractors, union pensioners that were bailed out, corporations that were bailed out, retirees of bailed out corporations, banks that were bailed out etc etc etc.
The more people the federal government gets on their dependency bandwagon the more deficit voters they acquire. You can just imagine if that ridiculous healthcare law goes through that will had another 10% of the country through employment and another 25% through dependency. That will be the final stake through the heart of this country. The Treasury is empty, the credit is ruined and the currency is VERY soon to be destroyed. The only question left is how long the "financial mules" of this socialism will tolerate the financial slavery. I think not long at this point.
At this point we are kissing what little is left of the Republic goodbye as the deficit dependents usher in their financial enslavement. Welcome to pure socialism by "mob rule". The corporations are just having fun pillaging everything while we waste all our time fighting over the transition from a Republic to a Socialist state. You can't fight both at the same time... much less the financial battles of globalization.
Very bleak analysis, but rings true. But how many of the dependent people would love to envision the day they can be independent of government largess? That is the one thing that may turn this election.
That is the question. The message Ron Paul is spreading for liberty and financial independence as a country, a state and a person is pretty much our last chance for a very long time. No mainstream party candidate has a message that will pry the fingers of the deficit junkies from their comfortable rut. Ron is the only one trying to light a fire under the country to take it back from the Federalists and lobbies.
The problem is when anyone mentions "cuts" all the deficit dependents can only envision their piece of the pie getting cut. They also figure once the cuts start it is only a matter of time before the cuts get to their little support scam. The question is will they "take a chance" now with a significant disruption to the system in exchange for being self sufficient? Have they been dependents so long they forgot how or their fear of change is so great they just can't let go of the sinking ship? Can they envision themselves restricting and confining the corporations to bring back small business domination again or are they defeated?
The dependency is going to end no matter what anyone does. It is simply unsustainable. Even 1/2 of our current spending is unsustainable in this economy with 80 million moving onto SS/MediCare from being taxpaying earners. The only question is "are we going to make the necessary changes now by ourselves or wait until the creditors pull the plug and make the changes THEIR WAY?
I love my country and the Republic but hate my government. It has been completely subverted. The founders wanted all domestic spending to be under the states who are bound by balanced budget agreements. They avoided connecting the voters to the credit line like the plague.
Gingrich is a stooge of the central bankers and military contractors. He is catering to the insane paranoid evangelical right who want to destroy all the ragheads. The funny thing Newt is blind to the fact we are destroying ourselves financially through the futile efforts. I personally don't think he actually believes in his trumped up terrorism rhetoric. I think he just finds it a convenient vehicle for his manipulating the masses and extorting endless money from them.
Hitler tried to annihilate a tiny group of Zionist bankers and only succeeded in killing 10 million innocent civilians. He accomplished nothing. Newt sounds like someone from Israel who needs to be in futile, never ending military engagements with civilian populations to feel secure. Like his minions.. They have no plan, no clear objective, no way of measuring success and no exit strategy. They never did. It is about creating debt for the central bankers as well as propping up the oil profiteering and foreign corporate interests.
"A war on terrorism… can be only a figure of speech." Terrorism is a tactic, "a form of action available to virtually any determined adult anywhere anytime," It can manifest itself into anyone's mind at any time. Anyone can have a single life experience, read a book or listen to a talk and become a terrorist minded person. That terrorism can be directed at anyone or anything for any reason. It can leave just as fast as it arrived.
Believing "that" can be stomped out with a conventional army can only be a failure. Even wiping out the human race, removing all weapons/nuclear bombs in the world and preemptive strikes until the end of time cannot prevent what happened in 9/11 or the USS Cole, USS Liberty etc.
Newt would only destroy the country until he can grasp our REAL enemies are the Central bankers, military contractors and oil companies. THEY are the true terrorists and their weapons are currency/economy control and federal government manipulation. Unfortunately, I believe he is intelligent enough to know all this which leads us to him just being another stooge for them.