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Subscribe to RSSGREENVILLE, S.C. -- The folks at Tommy's Country Ham House in Greenville are expecting a record crowd Saturday morning, and the mob's not coming for the grits.
In a state famous for its bizarre brand of Republican politics, mere hours after polls open in South Carolina, the primary's two frontrunners are hosting dueling campaign events at the restaurant over breakfast. Same time. Same place.
Call it the Ham House Showdown.
Incredulous reporters first thought there was a mistake. Both Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney scheduled events at Tommy's Country Ham House in Greenville, S.C., at 10:45 a.m. ET Saturday. For Romney, the event will be his final public appearance before results are announced Saturday night.
Not quite a duel at high noon, but close.
The Gingrich campaign put their public schedule on their website roughly an hour before the Romney campaign emailed out theirs to reporters. Now, neither campaign is backing down.
"We have had this event on the books. Our schedule went out first. We are confirmed at our event," Gingrich campaign spokesman, Nathan Naidu, told reporters aboard the USS Yorktown following a Gingrich event. "We are more than happy if Gov. Romney would like to join us at our event and have some ham."
A Romney aide said: "It is pure coincidence the events were scheduled at the same time and we are not changing our schedule."
The Gingrich spokesman added, "We are more than happy to treat Gov. Romney to ham at our event."
Reporters were told that Caroline Vinvick, Gingrich's Greenville regional director, called and woke up the owner of the restaurant, Tommy Stevenson, Friday night. He said none of Romney's people has contacted him about an event. The Gingrich campaign is confirmed for 10:45 a.m. ET, Stevenson reassured Vinvick. Meanwhile, outside Romney's rally Friday night in Greenville, volunteers were overheard telling supporters to head to Tommy's Saturday morning to support Romney.
National media -- seizing on the opportunity for pithy, ham-related headlines and the potential for a political showdown that could rival any from the debate stage this season -- are preparing to flock to the restaurant Saturday morning.
Some may want to bring helmets to prepare for what could be a dangerously packed house. All will bring their appetites.
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Yeah, I have to go too.
Leaving this blog to Rufus' dumb a$$ comments that I am sure will continue until he cleans up his act.
crybabies all
This 'Rufus' is a troll. Judging from his/her comments he/she must be about ten years old. I flagged him/her to be ignored. I suggest the rest of you do the same.
go tell the Big left-wing censor in the sky on me. ignore isnt a flag genius. wha you really want to do is censor me; report me. but i will only create a nother s/n. sorry to hurt you with facts
Well, here's an idea...Vote for your Country, vote Dem.
vote dem; early and often. lol another false patriot making a fool of himself
It apalls me that anyone will vote for these fools including Obama. They are voting to destry America.
Well who's going win a Massachusetts moderate tax cheat.Or a Georgia pompous ass adulterer.Special thanks to CNN how much did the lobbyist offer you to let him go on his self righteous rant.He is right the media is a joke
Lambo, things change and you have to change with them. This is not the Republican Party you long for and will likely never be again. You are confused because in reality, you now would be considered a Centrist Democrat by your now rabid far right Party, welcome aboard Lambo!
dems purged their centrists; everything looks like its on the far right from your perch on the far left genius
OH come on Rufus, are you still buying that FOX grabage? Think Rufus, break away from the brainwashing, or else you will wake up in an America that is nothing more than a labor colony for offshore corporations.
Go NEWT...we need your leadership and your blunt, in your face talking in the White House. Yelp, you would throw Obama under the bus along with his friends, chronies. Hope you would use a tank on a few, ie Jared, the AG, the czars, Reed and the hold group in the Homeland Security Dept. starting with Janet.
Gosh, the Reds are out today.
Rufus - are you Lee Atwater reincarnated? Except in the process of returning to earth you lost most of your brain? Give it a break! You are the laughing stock of the blog.
why dont you go cry somewhere like the rest?
You're wasting your time lambo, Rufus don't know who Lee Atwater was.
In a world where George W. Dink Cheney had not beat the life out of the GOP, it should have been a walk in the park to regain the White House in 2012. In spite of all the damage that the Bush team inflicted on America, and even though wack-o Sara never really went away during the off cycle years and still the GOP should have been able to get the Whitehouse back and then with each GOP candidate announcing their candidacy they just kept getting stranger and stranger, and now I honestly can not see the Republican party winning anything as a matter of fact they will likely loose ground in this election cycle, thanks to the images of Mr.Cain or Newt Gingrich or Sarah Palin or or Michelle Bachman, or Rick Perry... even if Ron Paul or Mitt Romney had started out as "electable" beating out Barrack Obama was not going to be an easy task and now because of "brand" association with the Republican party they don't stand a chance and they could save millions of dollars and just concede now and GO HOME!!!
these boards are a parade of left-wing losers deep in denial. they come here to spew hatred, lies and distortions about the Right then get all whiny when you give them a dose f their own medicine; with facts no less.how many cired and called me names but couldnt refute anything i posted?
Seems like all you right "wingnuts" got amnesia. You forget how we got here, and how many filibusters it took to gum up the works. Its not good for the country, its bad for everyone.
How appropriate. The 2 greedy pigs meeting at the "Ham House" spouting their pig @!$%#. Should be enough methane to power the state for a month. "The King of Ging" much respect..at least you asked before ya went ho'in around. LMFAO.
what does this stupidity mean?
The two biggest pigs vie for the chance to take on the biggest a$$. Got to love American politics.
Rufus,
Actual fact checks have proven you wrong. You have to face the fact that people such as Rush is a bald face liar and a hypocrite.
Again, fact checks need to be performed by you. When President Bush took office in Jan. 2001 unemployment was at 4.2 percent. In Jan. 2009 President Bush's last month in office unemployment was at 7.8 percent. So, a 3.6 percent increase. And one month after he left office the hangover effect put unemployment to 8.3 percent.
The above information is a fact.
So, Rush does not tell the truth.
repeat post by you. ignorant and laughable. it doesnt say anything. bush is gone; so is clinton. obama is president and his record cant compare to bush's average unemployment of just 5.2%
and you havent said what i supposedly lied about. did i dispute your numbers? i said they are meaningless. you cant dispute mine. you are a joke. why do you want to b taken seriously?
Omg dude wat are you smoking, or drinking?? Jobs left this country by the thousands. Plus, at the end, he put the final dagger in by bailing out the banks and his rich pals. DISGRACE.
Its a shame hatred clouds ppl's judgement. Good post. You are correct.
Democrats were a majority of the government when bush left office; had been for almost 2 whole years. sorry facts bother you. how can left-wing losers and fools accuse the repub MINORITY of obstructing obama and hindering him but turn rigth around and say the dem MAJORITY was helpless to anything as the economy crashed or do anything about bush's so-called "disastrous" policies? you losers cant have it both ways; though you keep trying to
you leftnuts are a pathetic bunch. the corporate bailout was passed by the dem MAJORITIES IN BOTH chambers of Congress; more repubs voted against it. are you idiots crying bush should have vetoed the bill you wrote for him?
Dennis - I appreciate your comment. I know things change and I change with them. But, the Republican party as depicted by the Presidential candidates this election, are out of touch. I don't know where the party is headed, but like so many other Republicans have said, " I did not leave my party, the party left me." This is not a party I can support. Quite honestly, I will probably sit this one out, even if it contributes to the re-election of Obama. I can not support this brand of the Republican party, and I suspect there are many Republicans that feel the same way I do. This is simply not our year.
The real story is the PPP poll asking SC Republicans whose honesty they trust most.
All the GOP candidates were beat by STEPHEN COLBERT -- A COMEDIAN!!!
This circus is beginning to frighten many observers who now realize the Republicans DON'T
HAVE A CANDIDATE!!!!
Bizarre...
dems dont have a pres; they have ACORN'S disaster
Rufus3,
You are right on! Don't let the liberal, want a hand out, socialists get you down!
If Italy can elect Berlusconi, then I guess Gingrich can be elected in the US. These days being a crook does not disqualify you from being elected to the top office.
When 65% of the country is dependent on deficit spending all we have are little crooks electing the big crooks to keep their deficit spending scam going awhile longer. Whether you like it or not the wars and entitlements are going to stop. The creditors are going to shut down this deficit party real soon.
VMAN,
If you want to call someone a crook, then you had better take a hard look at the White House and start with our Chief Crook hiding under the name of President. He is not only a crook, but a lying one at that with no leadership skills, wants to point his fingers when there is a problem and play the racist card when he doesn't get his way. He sold us a pig in a poke but we found out to late that all that he sold us was a bag of @!$%#!
Rufus - please tell me where are you from? And what is your education level? Can you read or are you completely dependent upon others to tell you what to think. Do you ever have an original thought other than to complain about the "leftist" on this blog and how everyone is crying? Apart from you and those that are obviously so far right they have fallen off the edge of the planet, there are some people making intelligent comments about the current political state in America.
lol what is your problem boy? just stick your nosy self to the article instead of asking questions about me.
COLBERT 4 POTUS of South Carolina!! YES!! A vote for Cain is a vote for Colbert. A REAL outsider. 1st order of biz? CLOSE THE FED!! Colbert IS the man!!
"You tell em, reb!"
"Tommy's Ham Town!" Boy, that sounds like a "real socially inclusive place where multi-ethicn Americans would feel real comfortable." Did anybody notice that all of thse republican candidates and their audience "is really a lighter shade of pale?"
LTC Rattus, USA, ret.
oh the race card; you sir are an idiot
yes loon; they should be like the self-hatng left-wing whites who go to Trinity church in Chicago to hear a white reverend like Pflegler; or a Black bigot like Wright; put down his own race in obam's den of racism and bigotry
There is no hope for a solution to the problems facing this country if we are not speaking the same language. If you wish to pretend that the profound hatred of all things Obama is not based on pure bigotry in a huge number of cases, you would be better served by renouncing your citizenship in the U.S. and applying for citizenship in Wonderland.
Please refrain from your insane notion that profound hatred or even mild dislike of anything Anti-Immigration, Obama, Cutting or Federal is based on pure bigotry and racism. Playing the race card is the last effort of a desperate person who forgot what their original point was and how to defend that point.
Racism is the last card thrown of a desperate person with nothing of left of substance to donate to the conversation. It is a shield or hole to hide in. It is improvable, much like believing in an invisible guy in the sky that rules the world. That is a belief and beliefs are a waste of time trying to prove.
Let's stick to the financial issues. The Titanic is sinking and you guys are worried about the dinner menu.
Rufus - you are a waste of time
lol you still crying???
I have had acquaintances treat me better when sick than, Newt treated his ex wives.Newt is a creepy,mean, old weird man.
If you vote for any of these idiots you have helped to reduce Americas change to recover.
i'm sure the candidates cringe at the indignity of having to make an appearance at the ''ham house'' but resign themselves at having to mingle with the common folk to get the votes of people they will write off after the election. if pigs could vote neither one of these'' unfit to govern'' candidates would get a single vote.
obama wrote you off a long time ago
Rufus - I have to go to work. Bye
Pity the GOP ----Newt or Mitt and an improving economy! Will they take the House down with them?
Why??? The house is the reason we have an improving economy. You will notice all the good things have happened since they took office.
we had 10% unemployment when Dems ran everything. dave go get a brain satem
Question--To win the Republican nomination, a candidate needs 1143 delegates...What happens if neither candidate reaches that mark?
Newt & gang think the "Sermon on the Mound" was a liberal media attack against him