The Other McCain

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NEWT MET SECRETLY WITH MITT BEFORE LOUISIANA PRIMARY

Posted on | March 28, 2012 | 31 Comments

In an exclusive story that would appear to undermine Newt Gingrich’s claims of opposing Mitt Romney as the Republican presidential nominee, Ralph Z. Hallow of the Washington Times reports:

Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich recently met in secret with GOP rival Mitt Romney at the former Massachusetts governor’s hotel in New Orleans, according to a Gingrich admirer close to the former Georgia congressman’s campaign.
Mr. Gingrich did not deny the meeting in his response to questions from The Washington Times, but did deny he had cut any deal to end his struggling presidential bid.
The two Republican rivals met at 7 a.m. Saturday, the morning of the Louisiana primary that would turn out to be another in a series of dismal defeats for Mr. Gingrich . . .
He explicitly said there was no understanding that Mr. Romney’s big donors would help retire the Georgian’s campaign debts of more than $1 million or that Mr. Romney had offered him a position in the next GOP administration in exchange for dropping out. . . .

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: CBS News:

Despite praising Gingrich, [Sheldon] Adelson, the Las Vegas casino mogul, said Gingrich is “at the end of his line,” partly because he is unable to obtain the 1144 delegates necessary to secure the nomination.
“‘Cause, I mean, mathematically he can’t get anywhere near the numbers and it’s not — is unlikely to be a brokered convention,” Adelson said in a video posted on JewishJournal.com.
Adelson and his wife, Miriam, gave $16.5 million to a pro-Gingrich super PAC, Winning Our Future.

Category: Election 2012, Louisiana, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich

Comments

31 Responses to “NEWT MET SECRETLY WITH MITT BEFORE LOUISIANA PRIMARY”

  1. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    March 28th, 2012 @ 9:32 pm

    Was Newt trying to borrow some money?  Or was it through that mutually beneficial blog ad site you used to have.  

    Here is an image you will never forgive me for…

  2. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    March 28th, 2012 @ 9:33 pm

    The mutually beneficial deal would be for Newt to stay in not drop out.  And for Mitt to pick up his debt to do so.  

  3. steveegg
    March 28th, 2012 @ 9:38 pm

    Looks like Gingrich shifted from “Stop Romney” to “Stop Santorum”.

  4. RufusChoate
    March 28th, 2012 @ 9:46 pm

    Too bad, he should have met up with Santorum about 10 weeks ago.  Such a sad waste of two highly talented men opposed to a man who sat out the Reagan Revolution and the Contract with America as a Progressive Independent. 

  5. Confutus
    March 28th, 2012 @ 9:47 pm

    The way he’s been going, Gingrich will be doing well to stop Ron Paul.

  6. Dana
    March 28th, 2012 @ 9:52 pm

    Mr Gingrich is fishing for the Vice Presidential nomination.

  7. robertstacymccain
    March 28th, 2012 @ 9:52 pm

    Looks like Gingrich shifted from “Stop Romney” to “Stop Santorum”.

    “Shifted”? Were you hitherto unaware of the anti-Santorum ads Gingrich’s super-PAC ran in New Hampshire, South Carolina, etc?

  8. ThePaganTemple
    March 28th, 2012 @ 10:02 pm

    Gingrich would make a great Secretary of Education.

  9. Senator Marco Rubio Endorses Mitt Romney: Brokered Convention Would Be ‘Recipe for Disater’ | The Lonely Conservative
    March 28th, 2012 @ 10:09 pm

    […] I’ll update this post. The Fox News summary of the endorsement is here.In related news, Newt Gingrich had a private meeting with Mitt Romney before the Louisiana primary. Hmmm.google_ad_client = "ca-pub-1395656889568144"; […]

  10. richard mcenroe
    March 28th, 2012 @ 10:42 pm

     Except we should be eliminating the Dept of Ed at the Federal level.

  11. richard mcenroe
    March 28th, 2012 @ 10:45 pm

    If this meeting was at all above board, it would not have been a secret meeting.  Certainly not from Newt’s side.  He would have been trumpeting it to show what a playa he still was: “See?  Governor Romney knows he has to deal with me!”

    That didn’t happen.  Suggestive.

  12. ThePaganTemple
    March 28th, 2012 @ 10:51 pm

     You can make a case for that, but in the meantime there’s a lot of good that could be accomplished by the ED with the right person at the helm, and Gingrich is at the top of the list. One of the reasons I supported him for a while was because of the way he spoke about the need for education reform, at all levels. He talks about it the way you never hear politicians talk, and usually the way you only see on conservative blogs. And he speaks with both knowledge and passion on the subject.

  13. richard mcenroe
    March 28th, 2012 @ 11:26 pm

    Rick Santorum: Rebellion

    http://youtu.be/O3bYBkGgRCE

  14. Now in campaign debt, Newt Gingrich has ‘secret’ meeting with Mitt Romney in Louisiana : Fire Andrea Mitchell!
    March 28th, 2012 @ 11:57 pm

    […] the two might just be chums after all. According to The Other McCain, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney had a “secret” meeting early in the morning this past Saturday before the Louisiana primary, at the hotel Romney was […]

  15. steveegg
    March 29th, 2012 @ 12:08 am

    Of course I’m aware of that.  Allow me to edit that to “shifted back”.

  16. Adjoran
    March 29th, 2012 @ 12:56 am

     Yeah, but he ran those ads after Santorum had won Iowa, and Newt was afraid of his momentum.  He wasn’t worried about Romney in SC so much, and the NH ads were intended to prevent Santorum from getting too much momentum before SC.

  17. Adjoran
    March 29th, 2012 @ 12:56 am

     Why not do both?

  18. Adjoran
    March 29th, 2012 @ 1:32 am

    Wouldn’t be ironic if it turned out everyone were only out to get you because you’re so paranoid?

    Think about this:  if Newt and Mitt want to talk tomorrow, they could do it on the phone, or through trusted intermediaries, or in any number of ways besides in person.  What is it about a personal meeting that inspires suspicion?  Why would they broadcast such a meeting?

    Anyway, the leak is attributed to sources close to the Gingrich campaign, which means they see no harm in making it public.

    What nefarious scheme could they have been discussing?  Not the VP slot or a cabinet position, Romney will be looking for positives from his VP (figure McDonnell or Martinez), and whether you think Newt’s baggage is fair or not, it’s there.  And Mitt knows a lot of people who have actually run large organizations, and I hope he coerces many of them into service instead of political figures.

    Retiring Newt’s debt?  Isn’t that a tradition since Reagan in 1980 at least?  Which nominee of either party since then has NOT helped retire the debt of opponents who subsequently endorsed them?   So why would that be unusual – or even worthy of a meeting?

    No, sources close to the sources who heard about the first sources say that what was actually discussed was a bold plan to end the nomination campaign by faking Santorum’s death until after the convention.  They would kidnap Rick, whisking him safely away to the palatial estate of 70 year-old porn star Ron Jeremy, who also opposes condoms, where he is held in comfort but incommunicado for the duration.

    THEN, having previously arranged for a master craftsman to create an exact butter sculpture of Santorum, they start a fire at an orphanage close to where the real Rick was supposed to appear, where he was nabbed, and make sure all the kids get out safely but their rescuer, Butter Santorum, of course gives his life in the blaze, and no trace is found.

    It was a perfect plan.  Except that both Mitt and Newt blanched when they realized the butter sculptor would have to die or he could blow the whole scheme.   They knew it had to be done, and Biden would do it if the price was right, but neither of them knew the ward number where Joe stays, so the idea died on the vine. Besides, just then the room service check arrived, and Newt remembered another engagement and rushed out.

    But Newt could hardly leak THAT, nobody would pay $50 for a picture anymore.

    Yeah, those dastardly conspirators!  A pox upon them!

  19. SJ
    March 29th, 2012 @ 2:24 am

    If he thinks that’s a realistic possibility, he should also be fishing for a therapist.  LOL.  

  20. Gillian
    March 29th, 2012 @ 5:52 am

    Newt’s behavior since Louisiana has still been “crazy hostile” since Louisiana, I don’t see any deal being struck. 

    If there was any meeting, it was probably to placate Adelson as some sort of precondition to open up the checkbook for Romney. 

    Personally, I don’t think Romney should give Newt a penny to pay off his debt.  Mitt should send him one of the “King of Bain” videos he made and let Newt know he doesn’t care about the “little” people.

  21. Ann Marie Pilson Lapps
    March 29th, 2012 @ 7:15 am

    Why is Santorum talented?  I’m confused.  He himself doesn’t point to his accomplishments, but more his social values.  That alone does not qualify you to be POTUS.  In fact, the more yo9u dig, the more he is similar to Romney, as they are both typical oppportunists.  Santorum would have been an after thought if Mitt didn’t spend $25M eviscerating Newt in Iowa and Florida.  Santorum was a direct benefactor to Mitt’s money.

  22. Bob Belvedere
    March 29th, 2012 @ 8:56 am

    I don’t think Newton Leroy’s ego would let him take a job the goal of which is to ultimately eliminate his position.  He has a deep-seated need to dazzle, to be the center of attention.

    How about NASA?

  23. Bob Belvedere
    March 29th, 2012 @ 8:59 am

    -Adj, you should be screenwriting.

    -Your wrote: Anyway, the leak is attributed to sources close to the Gingrich campaign, which means they see no harm in making it public.

    What if it was leaked by one of the staffers who knew, or believed, he was about to be one of the ones let go?  I’ve seen that happen in a campaign for Governor I was involved in.

  24. Bob Belvedere
    March 29th, 2012 @ 9:00 am

    BTW: I’d pay to see a movie version of your scenario.  But: who would play Newton, Willard, Rick, and Butter Rick?

  25. ThePaganTemple
    March 29th, 2012 @ 9:24 am

     He’s more qualified for ED, imminently so. It wouldn’t surprise me if something like this wasn’t what he and Romney were discussing.

  26. PhillyCon
    March 29th, 2012 @ 9:43 am

    I think Santorum was a direct benefactor of Santorum and his hard work via grass roots.

    You can say all you want about the man, but you can’t take away his hard work on the ground.

    Re: your confusion … maybe, you should listen to his speeches where he talks about his record with welfare, entitlements, and legislation on Iran.  

  27. RufusChoate
    March 29th, 2012 @ 10:31 am

    In your lights, you’re absolutely correct how could Rick Santorum a Lawyer, Law maker and Senator compete with a graduate of the august “Baltimore School of Massage”?

    Masterful response.

  28. richard mcenroe
    March 29th, 2012 @ 11:30 am

     I’ve seen that happen in the last two Congressional campaigns I worked. 

  29. rosalie
    March 29th, 2012 @ 4:17 pm

    That was a little rough.  I read somewhere that he apologized.

  30. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    March 29th, 2012 @ 7:13 pm

    Spike Lee gave some mealy mouthed apology today, but he is still a jerk.  

    Actually I screwed up though on the link.  I did not intend the Spike Lee one.    This is the mental image you will never forgive me for.  

  31. The Last Nail in Newt’s Coffin UPDATE: Conservative Leaders Huddle With Santorum, Seek Deal With Newt : The Other McCain
    April 5th, 2012 @ 1:52 pm

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