South Carolina Primary Open Thead

Posted on January 21, 2012 by myiq2xu (D)

The official results should start rolling in at 4 pm LA (7 pm Myrtle Beach)

If the astrologers and entrail readers are correct, Newt should win big tonight. I think this is a game-changer. I’ll say more in the morning. For now I’ll say that I predict that Rick Santorum will be the next to drop out.

NBC is showing Betty White’s 90th Birthday Tribute. It won’t be funny because they’ll edit out the dirty stuff.

What else is happening?

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Filed under: 2012 GOP Primary Tagged: |

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104 Responses

  1. votermom, on January 21, 2012 at 3:04 pm said:

    Are we betting?

  2. myiq2xu, on January 21, 2012 at 3:15 pm said:

    Romney concedes.

    • myiq2xu, on January 21, 2012 at 3:16 pm said:

      The Iraqi army held out longer than that.

      • Bull J. Moose, on January 21, 2012 at 3:29 pm said:

        Apparently even with the full US might coming down their throats, they could still manage to fight. Romney on the other hand shits his pants if you say boo.

      • 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 3:45 pm said:

        Newt didn’t even give up when his whole campaign staff resigned. He didn’t give up when he lost Iowa in the last week. He didn’t give up when evangelicals endorsed Santorum. It might be why Sarah Palin said voting for him could actually keep the primaries alive.

        Newt has some of Palin’s spirit, just not any of her good judgement.

        • WMCB, on January 21, 2012 at 3:53 pm said:

          R’s are voting for Newt for 3 reasons that have little to do with presidential qualifications:

          1) They want to tell the GOP establishment to fuck off and not pick their nominee for them

          2) He’s smart, and can articulate conservatism well (despite his lack of or dubious accomplishments).

          3) He may be a mean little fucker with issues, but they know Obama is a mean mean snake, and they want someone not afraid of taking him on directly, or of the press. They want a down and dirty knife fighter, and Newt does tend to be that. Romney and Santorum are not.

  3. crawdad, on January 21, 2012 at 3:21 pm said:

    Santorum already eyeing next stop: Florida

    Florida: Where people from up north go to die

    • Bull J. Moose, on January 21, 2012 at 3:32 pm said:

      Santorum is a piece of shit. He’s helping Romney, thus helping Obama.

      OT, the usual Dems look scared shitless at this outcome. I think they’re picturing Newt debating Obama and they want do do what owsies do to police cars..

    • Three Wickets, on January 21, 2012 at 3:47 pm said:

      Florida is interesting. Mitt was trailing Newt by 20 pts until his superpacs started-up end of December. Their numbers virtually flipped by mid January. Guessing today they’re probably running closer to even.

  4. DandyTiger, on January 21, 2012 at 3:35 pm said:

    Betty White is my hero.

  5. WMCB, on January 21, 2012 at 3:37 pm said:

    Yeah, this is what we’ve been saying the deal was, too.

  6. WMCB, on January 21, 2012 at 3:38 pm said:

    HA!!

  7. DandyTiger, on January 21, 2012 at 3:42 pm said:

    Word from my Aiken side of the family: it’s all Newt all the time. Not really for Newt as much as against the establishment, and because of Palin.

  8. DandyTiger, on January 21, 2012 at 3:46 pm said:

    World is Obama is going to pivot and some of the SOTU speech will be about not just middle class values (i.e., not Romney 1%) but also about family values (i.e., not Newt). What a turd.

  9. 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 3:51 pm said:

    Fox News coverage is pretty amusing. They have live shots of all the campaigns. Ron Paul’s is empty. Santorum’s has one guy there.

  10. 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 4:01 pm said:

    Newt won.

    That was fast.

    • WMCB, on January 21, 2012 at 4:07 pm said:

      Must have been a blowout to call it that fast.

      • DandyTiger, on January 21, 2012 at 4:12 pm said:

        It’s looking like around 15% give or take. From more than 10% behind just days ago. Show’s you how powerful and mesmerizing Romney is. :)

  11. myiq2xu, on January 21, 2012 at 4:12 pm said:

    photo/1

  12. DandyTiger, on January 21, 2012 at 4:16 pm said:

    Even Dems trying to put down Newt and help Obama, in an effort to “warn” Americans against Newt, are saying a race between Obama and Newt would be one of the most divisive races in history.

    Exactly the reason Newt’s winning in SC. Romney wouldn’t fight, Newt would.

    • DandyTiger, on January 21, 2012 at 4:17 pm said:

      And now they’re saying that dirty politics of Newt’s next to the squeaky clean politics of Obama will make Newt look really dirty. You can’t make this shit up.

    • DandyTiger, on January 21, 2012 at 4:18 pm said:

      And now they’re screaming really loudly, with fear in their eyes, that Newt could never win a national election. This is fucking fascinating.

    • 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 4:21 pm said:

      Watching MSNBC too?

      I was watching Current. I love to see the squealing.

  13. fif, on January 21, 2012 at 4:17 pm said:

    Ok, I just have to ask again: why why why why why do a few conservative states have so much influence in choosing our presidential candidates? Newt–seriously? If people are concerned about electability, do they really think Newt has a chance in hell of beating Obama?

    Banging head against wall…

    • DandyTiger, on January 21, 2012 at 4:19 pm said:

      Romney has no chance of beating Obama. I’m not sure Newt does either, but any candidate up there is better than Romney.

      For me, I’m liberal, so they and Obama are pretty much all the same to me. It’s just fun to watch from there. :)

      • 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 4:23 pm said:

        A big sack of money has the best chance of beating Obama. Mitt will get the biggest sack, but Newt can get money too and he HAS the bigger sack.

      • fif, on January 21, 2012 at 4:29 pm said:

        Romney has been tied with Obama for weeks nationally, and I read a piece today (I tried to find it just now and it’s been taken down) that showed the Obama, Romney & Newt’s favorability/unfavorability ratings nationally. Obama first (people are such idiots!), then Romney, and Newt’s fav/unfav are frightening. The thesis: Americans can’t stand Newt on a national scale. How would have ever pull in moderates, independents and women?

        • elliesmom, on January 21, 2012 at 6:37 pm said:

          Well, he could pick a woman to run for VP. That would get those of us who want the break in the glass ceiling to happen in our lifetime and don’t want another 4 years of Obama to say “what the hell” and vote for him. If he does enough damage to Obama by getting Obama’s scandals out there, he might pick up some angry moderates and independents who realize they’ve been snowed by “Mr. Squeaky Clean”. I’m a moderate who lived and prospered through the 90′s, and I’m not afraid of a Gingrich presidency. He’s not my first choice unless the other choice is Obama, but I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that Gingrich will be our next president.

  14. fif, on January 21, 2012 at 4:18 pm said:

    7 in 10 Gingrich voters say it is important that their candidate share their religious values.

    Did they miss the part about two affairs and 3 marriages? Talk about cognitive dissonance.

    • DandyTiger, on January 21, 2012 at 4:22 pm said:

      Red states have the highest divorce rates in the country. Give or take, red states have around 75%, blue states around 25%, averaging to around 50%. I think they see themselves in Newt. :)

      • 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 4:30 pm said:

        Statistics like that always bug me. You don’t know how many conservative people felt like they had to get married vs the number of liberal people “living in sin.”

      • fif, on January 21, 2012 at 4:32 pm said:

        Good thing those religious values are so important in the abstract.

        • myiq2xu, on January 21, 2012 at 5:08 pm said:

          It’s a little more complicated than that.

          Around here we only sneer at evangelicals on alternate Sundays.

        • murphy, on January 21, 2012 at 8:49 pm said:

          Actually it IS a good thing that those values only matter in the abstract. If I thought Newt actually believed in those values it’d be more difficult for me to vote for him against obama. As it stands I’ll vote for him happily.

          Santorum makes my skin crawl precisely because he appears tp actually believe the evil shit he claims to believe in.

          Hypocrisy is the worst sin ever in the Teenagers’ Bible. For grownups, life is more … Nuanced.

  15. 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 4:25 pm said:

    David Gregory, the most biased Sunday show guy on the networks.

    I am so sick of Tweety’s mispronunciation of Republican names. It’s NOT Ginrich, you ass.

  16. 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 4:27 pm said:

    Oh, good. We get to see Al Sharpton talk about Gingrich.

    Someone let me know when Sarah is on Fox News. I’ll gladly turn off this crap for her.

  17. myiq2xu, on January 21, 2012 at 4:28 pm said:

    So far the reactions remind me of when Hillary would win a primary and all the bloviating gasbags would sit there and explain how it didn’t matter.

  18. 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 4:34 pm said:

    I hate Al Sharpton. He’s never apologized for the Tawana Brawley race baiting and I think anyone who puts him on TV is stupid.

  19. 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 4:40 pm said:

    Steve Schmidt on MSNBC trashing every Republican but Romney and Santorum. Gee, I wonder what that tells us?

  20. HELENK, on January 21, 2012 at 4:58 pm said:

    If Newt is the candidate, I am fine with that. I do not want to be his BFF.
    I don’t want to have coffee with him.
    I want him to be the meanest SOB in the valley and get backtrack out of office. I do not see anyone else with the guts to do so.
    If he wins, he has worked with both sides and maybe can undo some of the damage done to this country in the last 3 years.

  21. 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 4:58 pm said:

    Romney giving his constipation speech.

  22. myiq2xu, on January 21, 2012 at 4:59 pm said:

    If it were anyone but Romney, the headlines would read “Romney campaign implodes”

  23. myiq2xu, on January 21, 2012 at 5:04 pm said:

    Ruh-roh

    According to CBS exit polls, voters who said “electability” was their primary concern went decisively for Gingrich.

    • WMCB, on January 21, 2012 at 5:35 pm said:

      I heard some talking heads going on about that. It seems that the GOP thinks “electability” means milquetoast and trying not to offend anyone. The base thinks “electability” means someone who will rip Obama a new asshole.

      Romney actually is more qualified and less of an egotistical loose cannon than Newt. But I think the voters are trending Newt because they WANT an asshole, fearing that Mittens will be a pushover and just whine when the race gets as nasty and dirty as its bound to get.

      What they really would have preferred, IMO, is a real fighter who is not an asshole….. but she didn’t run. So they’ll live with the asshole-ness if they get the ability to fight along with it.

      • Three Wickets, on January 21, 2012 at 5:52 pm said:

        Newt may or may not be able to beat Obama, but there’s no way Mitt beats him, he wouldn’t be allowed. The other thing is that Obama/Newt would be much better for media ratings than Obama/Mitt. And those ratings for campaign news coverage means much more $$ to the media than direct campaign ads. So for all their protestations, I think we might see media from all sides favoring an Obama/Newt showdown.

  25. 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 5:14 pm said:

    Current TV is funny as shit.

    Olbermann just compared Gingrich / Romney to Twilight. Apparently, Romney is vampire Edward Cullen and Gingrich is werewolf Jacob.

    Al Gore must regret letting him back on political news nights.

  26. 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 5:17 pm said:

    Gingrich supporter said that Palin came in like the 6th fleet to save Newt. I hope they don’t forget that when the job of Secretary of Energy comes up.

  27. WMCB, on January 21, 2012 at 5:30 pm said:

    LMAO!

  28. WMCB, on January 21, 2012 at 5:54 pm said:

    Heh!

  29. 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 6:13 pm said:

    LOL

    Maddow and Crazy Larry arguing over Ron Paul.

  30. 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 6:33 pm said:

    Hmm. Santorum compliments Newt. Newt compliments Santorum. Each one knows they’re getting the other ones support.

  31. jeffhas, on January 21, 2012 at 6:36 pm said:

    This is just like when the Japanese had to call in Godzilla to defeat Monster X.

    They knew Godzilla would wreck the joint and leave it smelling like a giant friggin’ lizard, but the alternative of living with Monster X was worse.

    How prophetic and deserving of the Dem establishment that they might get Newt because they shoved Obama down our throat.

    I Love it!… f*ck those f*ckers!

  32. 1539days, on January 21, 2012 at 6:38 pm said:

    I suggest people might want to watch MSNBC following Gingrich’s statement. I predict a Lawrence O’Donnell meltdown over the teleprompter thing.

    • teresainpa, on January 21, 2012 at 6:56 pm said:

      he must be so melted they took him right off the TV screen. He’s probably peeing and washing his face and hands now. W\
      BTW, when did Rachel take lessons in Olbermann?

  34. WMCB, on January 21, 2012 at 7:39 pm said:

    The talking media heads and pundits and political operatives just don’t get it. They can’t see the forest for the trees. They are all trying to figure out how in the heck Newt won, and keep talking about the debates, the zingers, race, religion, blah blah blah……

    It’s very simple. The R voters instinctively sense that this is going to be a nasty, nasty, NASTY election, with Obama and the media pulling out all the stops. And they know whoever goes up against Obama is going to have to fight, and fight hard, and not be afraid, or appeasing, or “trying to get along”. They KNOW Newt is a loose cannon and an asshole. They know that. They don’t necessarily like that. But he’s the only one they’ve got that has shown some damn spine where both Obama and the media are concerned.

    • myiq2xu, on January 21, 2012 at 8:04 pm said:

      People keep underestimating Newt as much as they overestimate Mitt.

      • WMCB, on January 21, 2012 at 8:16 pm said:

        Yep. I don’t like Newt one bit. But I can step back, look at the big picture, and understand why he is appealing to voters despite his evident flaws. I don’t think it’s because voters are unaware of those things. I think it’s because the ability to scrap and take it to Obama and the media with NO apology or backing down is going to be necessary in November. And so far, Newt is the only one left running who has shown that inclination.

        Sarah has that inclination without the baggage and arrogance and asshole-ness, but unfortunately she is not running.

        And BTW, I was just looking at the exit polls, and Newt won Independents and women – two groups that the talking heads and conventional wisdom say he has NO chance with. I think they are underestimating him big time. The story will now be that South Carolinians are an aberration, a throwback, some sort of weird backward racist breed completely unlike anyone else in the whole country, and THEIR independents and women are just bizarre. Watch. That will be the storyline.

        • myiq2xu, on January 21, 2012 at 10:48 pm said:

          Newt has been wandering in the outer darkness for over a decade. He’s been writing books, giving speeches and showing up on television, but he’s been an outsider to the halls of power.

          He’s ambitious and smart. People forget the smart part.

          Last time hubris got the better of him. Maybe it will get him again this time. But if he’s learned to keep his ego in check he will be a formidable contender. Never assume your opponent won’t learn from his mistakes.

  36. Three Wickets, on January 21, 2012 at 7:50 pm said:

    Wow, Jeb Bush isn’t going to endorse Romney. He’s staying neutral. Says Romney should release his tax records.

  37. HELENK, on January 21, 2012 at 7:55 pm said:

    newt’s victory speech

    irstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/21/10207281-gingrich-wins-sc-gop-primary-beating-romney

  38. myiq2xu, on January 21, 2012 at 8:27 pm said:

    PJ Tatler:

    One other thing. Romney annoyed people in South Carolina. His robo calls, from the vaunted “organization,” annoyed voters to no end. I watched someone get 5 calls in one night, many from Chris Christie. Another person is getting them in Germany in the middle of the night on her cell phone. Sometimes organization and money backfires.

    • DandyTiger, on January 21, 2012 at 9:32 pm said:

      Are they sure the ones from Mitt were robo calls and not Mitt talking live? I’m not sure I could tell the difference.

      Has anyone seen Mitt and John Kerry in the same room? Just wondering.

  39. myiq2xu, on January 21, 2012 at 8:34 pm said:

    Results for South Carolina Republican Primary

    Jan 21, 2012 (99% of precincts reporting)

    Newt Gingrich 242,417 40.4%
    Mitt Romney 167,419 27.9%
    Rick Santorum 101,914 17%
    Ron Paul 77,943 13%
    Rick Perry 2,527 0.4%
    Other 8,201 1.4%

  40. DandyTiger, on January 21, 2012 at 9:30 pm said:

    Best election night ever. Total popcorn heaven. I was laughing most of the night at the talking heads. Damn this is fun. If the new Dem party is going to do away with democracy and fully bend over for wall street and the banks, and the Repubs are the same, and both are pushing for their best empty puppets, I’m looking for any asshole to overturn the apple cart. I think we found an asshole and he has an apple in his mouth. :)

    • DandyTiger, on January 21, 2012 at 9:51 pm said:

      Keep in mind, I think Newt is one of the most horrible pieces of shit in politics today. And I’m not sure the country would survive him. But it still makes me happy to see this. That’s just how totally fucked up politics has become. Thanks obots and the new Dem party. You’ve done an amazing thing.

  42. myiq2xu, on January 22, 2012 at 2:02 am said:

    Esquire:

    Romney has a problem: People don’t like him. Not only that, but the more people see him, the more they dislike him. The panel on MSNBC was particularly keen on pointing out, as the results came in, that Newt Gingrich’s unfavorability ratings in this country at large are whopping, and indeed they are. But Willard’s unlikability is of a different sort. It is chronic and general. Gingrich, at least, for the several moments when he goes into highest dudgeon and starts raving about “elites” and Saul Alinsky, can give you a few seconds of pure entertainment for which you might briefly wish to thank him.

    [...]

    There is none of that watchability with Willard. There is something about the man that doesn’t connect. (He doesn’t even really seem to connect well with all the money he has. First, he tries not to talk about it, and then it’s the embodiment of the American Dream. Pick an anthropomorphism and stick with it, man!) Watching his support dwindle down here over the last four days was like watching an earthen dam give way. One crack, then two, then the whole side collapses and people are running for the freaking hills. There was never any sign of a contingency plan that might be in place for this eventuality. (The Romney people never figured that Newt Gingrich could give them a run in South Carolina? Were they all high in the 1990′s?) There was never any personal affection or identification that he could have relied on as even a temporary stopgap measure. Willard stopped being electable because there stopped being the faintest reason to vote for him. If you wanted stubborn independence, you had Ron Paul. If you wanted sanctimony, fetuses, and paranoia about Iran, Rick Santorum was your boy. If your biggest thrill in life is to hock a loogie at all of your fellow Americans whom you despise, well, Newt Gingrich always has been there for you, and he’s better than you are at it. What was left for poor Willard Romney, erstwhile frontrunner?

    Electability?

    That’s a self-refuting proposition now.

    It’s been two campaigns now, and the problem has not improved. This is no longer a trend. It’s a statement of political character. The campaign moves on to other states and other reasons in which the advantages Romney still possesses will work better for him than they ever could here. He can buy Florida, probably. He’s from Michigan. There are several states, including Virginia, where Gingrich isn’t even on the ballot, and the governor of Virginia endorsed Willard on Friday night. If he is to be nominated — and I still think he probably will be — Willard Romney will be nominated by a party that would move en masse to the other end of a subway car rather than listen to him talk any more. At the convention, we will be treated by the least spontaneous “spontaneous demonstrations” in the history of the Republic. By the third day, they might have to bribe people just to fill the hall.

    • 1539days, on January 22, 2012 at 4:26 am said:

      MSNBC is pushing the negatives meme again. Gingrich has 60% negatives, so he is somehow unelectable. They also say Palin has high negatives and, of course, Hillary Clinton reminds guys of their first wife.

      Negatives can be turned into positives. Obama’s negatives are above 40%, and that’s with no media scrutiny. Once anyone, be it Romney or Gingrich, goes against Obama, those numbers will flatten. Sarah Palin had 80% job approval in Alaska. Her negatives were cultivated by a campaign that focused more on sliming her as VP in 2008 than on McCain as the presidential candidate.

    • Pips, on January 22, 2012 at 4:47 am said:

      Heheh! So love it when people – in writing as well as in speech – are in control of their metaphors. :lol:

  43. myiq2xu, on January 22, 2012 at 2:06 am said:

    Erick Erickson:

    Newt Gingrich’s rise has a lot to do with Newt Gingrich’s debate performance. But it has just as much to do with a party base in revolt against its thought and party leaders in Washington, DC. The base is revolting because they swept the GOP back into relevance in Washington just under two years ago and they have been thanked with contempt ever since.

    • 1539days, on January 22, 2012 at 4:27 am said:

      I heard that on MSNBC last night. Maddow was saying that Ron Paul is the only Republican who has young people there by choice. Funny that she never mentioned the free booze and bands that got young people into Obama events in 2008.

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