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Newt Gingrich Earns Important N.H. Endorsement

November 28, 2011 RSS Feed Print

Newt Gingrich has won an important endorsement in New Hampshire, but that doesn't guarantee success in the Granite State's first-in-the-nation primary on January 10.

[Read: Bachmann Comes Up Empty With Congressional Endorsements.]

The New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester backed Gingrich for the Republican presidential nomination yesterday. The newspaper, New Hampshire's largest and an influential conservative voice, said in a front-page editorial that Gingrich is injecting important new ideas into the race. "We are in critical need of the innovative, forward-looking strategy and positive leadership that Gingrich has shown he is capable of providing," publisher Joe McQuaid wrote in the editorial. The editorial also said, "Newt Gingrich is by no means the perfect candidate. But Republican primary voters too often make the mistake of preferring an unattainable ideal to the best candidate who is actually running."

[See photos of the 2012 GOP hopefuls on the campaign trail.]

The Union Leader endorsement is avidly sought by GOP candidates because it's thought to be important in persuading conservative voters. But the newspaper's record is by no means perfect in predicting winners.

It endorsed Sen. John McCain of Arizona in 2008 and McCain went on to win the New Hampshire primary and the GOP nomination but lost the presidency to Democrat Barack Obama. However, the newspaper supported businessman Steve Forbes in 2000, but Forbes finished third in the state to McCain and George W. Bush, who won the GOP nomination and the White House.

Mitt Romney, former governor of neighboring Massachusetts, led in New Hampshire for many months, but Gingrich has overtaken him recently, according to some polls. The former House speaker impressed many with his debate performances while other alternatives to Romney faltered, including businessman Herman Cain, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. 

[Check out a roundup of political cartoons on the 2012 GOP candidates.]

Some polls in New Hampshire show Gingrich in a virtual tie with Romney there. But the latest survey by WMUR and the University of New Hampshire, released last week, found that 42 percent of Republican primary voters in New Hampshire are likely to support Romney, followed by Gingrich at 15 percent.

Tags:
New Hampshire,
politics,
2012 presidential election,
Newt Gingrich,
Republican Party

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The evangelical movement seems to be leaning towards Newt as well, which is ironic considering Newt's checkered morality...(three wives, affairs, etc). I guess anyone but a Mormon....

Sad situation for the Republicans at this point. Herman Cain's goose has been thoroughly cooked and Mitt keeps changing his mind.

RKearns of NJ 10:59AM November 29, 2011

the newtster having said ten our fathers and ten hail marys as an act of contrition for his past indiscretions.now feels he has the moral compass and permutation to be the leader of the free world.

one things for sure,newt's a legend in his own mind!

as for the union leader's endorsement of newt.it does show that the union leader has scraped the bottom of the political barrel.

bruce b of NV 7:47PM November 28, 2011

NEWT GINGRICH FAILS THE US TAXPAYER.

The concern of illegal immigration may be on the back burner to jobs, a struggling economy and not simmering under the surface? It doesn't mean that this issue affecting our sovereign nation is going away. The financial sink hole has opened wide again through former speaker Newt Gingrich revelation that people who have settled in America and stayed out of trouble for 25 years, should be allowed to remain here; even with the clause that they can never receive a path to citizenship. These people might have entered initially through an airport terminal, as an estimated 42 % percent of overstays have done, or the other proportion who just slipped across the border at night All the while carefully conceived by numerous administrations, was to make illegal entry just a minor crime; like jay walking and not even substantiated as a criminal offense. This very well maneuvered plan and so carefully manipulated by the politicians just to make it look like the government are obeying the people, the enforcement laws.

But the truth as millions of Americans see it, that it was a bluff, a downright lie; just plain hypocritical words meaning nothing and that the 'Rule of our Law' means nothing? To prohibit illegal immigration was never meant to work? That why this country has now an estimated 20 million foreign nationals here, of which of a large preponderance lives of taxpayers as do many American shirkers. Even if Gingrich did become President, how is he going to process those who are supposedly here for a quarter of a century? Then there is the problem of those who stole Social Security numbers of citizens or legal resident’s, young children and even the dead. Surely this should be judged as a FELONY? Or is Newt Gingrich going to take the wrong path of similarity to President Obama's presidential predilection in permitting certain foreign nationals to stay; this isn’t going down well with the hard working Border Patrol agents or taxpayers.

Gingrich will have major problems in his electoral race on this fact, that these illegal migrants violated the law not once, but in a substantial number of cases, twice over. This is certainly happened after the 1986 Immigration Control and Reform Act. It was Massive fraud on a grand scale in the Amnesty bill. The processing procedure was so overwhelming; the administration neither completed the investigations and background checks rushing pre-legality of farmer laborer’s; THE SAW ACT’ Special Agricultural Workers amnesty provision as a path to citizenship. The real fraud was in the initial paperwork, as millions of phony documents were brought and sold, as of which showed that they had lived in the United States for five years. The cost for the processing of all these millions of people was estimated to be $700 million dollars. After the law was passed and signed into law. Millions then deserted their jobs in Agriculture, opening up even more hires for illegal aliens, in a never

Dave Francis of IN 3:39PM November 28, 2011

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A longtime chief White House correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, Kenneth T. Walsh has covered five presidents beginning with Ronald Reagan. Along with other U.S. News writers, he continues to provide insight into the White House of Barack Obama and the world of presidential campaigns.

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