Gingrich trounces Romney in South Carolina Primary; but will SC’s win boost his campaign chances and usher him to the finish line in 2012?

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By Juanita Bratcher

 

Newt Gingrich made an impressive showing in the South Carolina Primary. That’s a matter of fact and certainly leaves no room for debate. Election results from Saturday’s (January 21, 2012) election were overwhelmingly and astoundingly favorable for Gingrich. Gingrich’s lead surged over that of Mitt Romney’s, which several polls prior to showed Romney as being the front runner and possibly the ultimate winner. But those assessments went down in ashes after the South Carolina Republican Presidential debate, pushing Romney to second place in polls. Romney’s numbers started falling like the rain on a well orchestrated parade.

Gingrich garnered 40.5 % of the votes cast in Saturday’s election, 243, 153, Romney, 27.8 % with 167, 279, Rick Santorum, 17% with 102,055, and Ron Paul, 13 % with 77,993.

But will the South Carolina Primary win boost Gingrich’s chances in other primary elections and usher him to the finish line in 2012? Will his fire-in-the-belly rhetoric deliver him and his conservative brand politics to the White House?

Winning the presidency will be a tough roe to hoe for Newt Gingrich – both in winning his party’s nomination and defeating President Barack Obama in the General Election. His “unpredictable mannerism,” his shoot-from-the-lip characteristic, his former marital woes and revelations, his involvement with Freddie Mac, the U.S. government-sponsored mortgage company; and his tenure as Speaker of the House in the U.S. House of Representatives more than likely will shadow his aspirations for the presidency…quite a lot of baggage to carry. He was also caught up in the Kiting scandal in Washington where 450 members of the House had engaged in check kiting.

“The House banking scandal and Congressional Post Office scandal were emblems of the exposed corruption. Gingrich himself was among the 450 members of the House who had engaged in check kiting; he had overdrafts on twenty-two checks, including a $9,463 check to the Internal Revenue Service in 1990 “ – Wikipedia  

“Eighty-four ethics charges were filed against Gingrich during his term as speaker. After extensive investigation and negotiation by the House Ethics Committee, Gingrich was reprimanded and fined $300,000 by a 395–28 House vote. It was the first time in history a speaker was disciplined for ethical wrongdoing.” – Wikipedia

Facing a rebellion in the Republican caucus, he announced on November 5, 1998, that he would not only stand down as Speaker, but would leave the House as well.[73]  – Wikipedia

Gingrich made this announcement only a day after being elected to an 11th term from his 6th Congressional District (in Georgia).

Gingrich, the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House, served in the post from January 4, 1995 until January 3, 1999. Prior to, he served as Minority Whip, beginning his tenure in 1989.

 Are voters willing to ignore Gingrich’s past political history? How long will his confrontational politics last? Certainly, Gingrich is unelectable. His fire-in-the-belly rhetoric may play well with his conservative base but there’s a national pool of voters to face and contend with.

Juanita Bratcher is the Publisher of www.copylinemagazine.com, the author of several books, songwriter and poet. She has been a Journalist for more than 35 years covering politics, education and a wide-range of other topics. 

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