Gingrich at top of pack for first time in CNN polling

[Douglas Carpenter]

Source: CNN

According to the survey, 24% of Republicans and independent voters who lean towards the GOP say they are most likely to support Gingrich for their party's nomination, with 20% saying they back Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who is making his second bid for the presidency.

Gingrich's four point margin over Romney is within the survey's sampling error. A CNN poll released one week ago had Romney at 24% and Gingrich at 22%. Gingrich was at just 8% in a CNN poll in October.

Gingrich's campaign was left for dead by many in May and June, following a number of controversies that spurred some of his top advisers and staffers quit, and that left the campaign coffers in the red.

But the former House Speaker has performed well in 10 major GOP presidential debates held this year, acting as the elder statesman while many of his rivals for the nomination attacked each other


See full results (PDF)

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/11/21/rel19b.pdf

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/21/gingrich-at-top-of-pack-for-first-time-in-cnn-polling/

[sofa king]

1. Like a turd peeping over the rim of a clogged toilet.

[abq e streeter]

7. Perfect.

:rofl:

[blkmusclmachine]

16. +1

:hurts:

[FarLeftFist]

21. LOL.

[qanda]

2. They're running out of candidates to take over the top spot

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. This is like al Qaeda and their #2 men - there's an endless supply.

Right?

[customerserviceguy]

19. Never thought of it that way

But you've got a point.

The only place where your analogy fails is that whoever wins the title of "Anti-Mitt" stands a fairly reasonable chance of grabbing the brass ring. The fundies would rather vote for a repentant Gingrich than an unrepentant Mormon any day of the week.

[Philosopher King]

4. The establishment is smiling...

with Mitt and Newt leading the pack, their odds are looking better all the time.

[Faygo Kid]

5. Bring it. President Newt?? Give me a break. Only Gussie Fink-Nottle would vote for him.

He's a crook and a slimeball. Good luck with that, GOP. He can't be Hannitized no matter how they try.

[Mr. Sparkle]

6. I think republicans are the flakiest people i know of.

They keep on changing their minds as often as the wind changes direction.

There is nothing conservative about these people at all.

[Mosaic]

8. This guy is almost as bad as limbaugh or oreilly

He's 'Catholic', he's an adulterer, he's toast.

[customerserviceguy]

20. The Catholic thing

doesn't bug fundies anywhere near as much as the Mormon thing, when's the last time Catholics showed up at your doorstep, trying to entice you into their religion?

He's selling the "changed man" line, fundies gobble that up, even if it's from the 'wrong' church, as long as it's not a total cult. Gingrich is surging just because he's more acceptable to the GOP base than Romney and all the rest. Let's face it, his scandals are old news.

[Lost-in-FL]

9. At this point, if a rotting cupcake enters the race...

it will get more votes than Romney.

[InkAddict]

10. Thank you witches of Willie's MacBeth for describing the GOP candidates.

Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blindworm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing.
For charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

11. "acting as the elder statesman" ?

More like the immature little tantrum thrower when he doesn't get a debate question he likes.

[Turbineguy]

12. A D-

in a class of F students.

[unkachuck]

13. "...24% of Republicans and independent voters...".

....wow, the fat-fascist has actually lured 24% of brain-dead Republicans into his web?

....scraping the bottom of the Republican barrel must mean the pukes are finally getting desperate....remember Mountain Meadows!

[provis99]

14. it's llike playing republican whack-a-mole.

One maniac gets clubbed down, only to have another one pop up in the polls.

[BiggJawn]

15. Flavour of The Week...

What happens when they run out of flavours? will Bat-shit Shelly be the favourite again?

[Botany]

17. Outstanding!

A man who was having sex w/ his high school teacher and then married her only to divorce her after she got him through college
doing his work for him but he then dumped her after she had cancer to move on to a second wife who he dumped after she got M.S. and
then he had to resign from his speakership of the House of Representatives in disgrace for using campaign money for his own
personal uses.

VOTE NEWT

[McCamy Taylor]

18. Can the "Gingrich that Stole Christmas" beat Obama? I don't think so.

When it is this easy to put into a picture, it also easy to disseminate to the public. Think the GOP will have to settle for Mittens.

[FarLeftFist]

22. That No Child Labor laws thing really went over with the neanderthals, huh?

[Tom Ripley]

23. "I am the great and mighty Oz!"

[Douglas Carpenter]

24. well when I honestly look at the numbers I am kind of thinking that it will probably be Newt

who might very well win the GOP nomination:

Poll taken between November 18 -20 2011

Gingrich 24%

Romney 20%

Cain 17%

Perry 11%

Paul 9%

Bachmann 5%

Santorum 4%

Huntsman 3%

None 3%

No Opinion 2%


Someone else is now at less than 1%

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/11/21/rel19b.pdf


It would seem that most likely the combined 37% now supporting Cain, Perry, Bachmann or Santorum are essentially very right-wing voters who will almost certainly break heavily toward Gingrich as their campaigns start to appear nonviable and they start to leave the race. Paul's 9% will probably stick with Paul or split evenly or cease to be interested in the race if he should drop out. That leaves only a combined 8% who either now support Huntsman or who now say none or who now have no opinion who might break toward Romney.

I don't think that Gingrich is likely to lose a major portion of right-wing voter due to some gaffe or unflattering revelation. People already know Gingrich. His scandals are already out there in the public domain. What damage that can be done to his image has largely already been done - mostly years ago. How on earth can Gingrich's image be damaged any more than it already has been for a long, long time?

As the process gets underway - the choice will come down to Romney or someone who is seen as way to the right of Romney. Gingrich is the only viable un-Romney left standing. When given the choice between Romney and the only un-Romney left standing - the figures strongly favor a break toward the one non-Romney who has a viable campaign that is not in taters which means of course Gingrich.

I think this should be good news for the Democrats and President Obama. Gingrich is simply not likable and he seems incapable of not sounding extreme. Of course anything can happen especially with a lousy economy as we head into election. But I doubt that barring some unforeseen events - Gingrich would be electable on the national level.

[Cirque du So-What]

25. If you can, imagine being a repuke today

and seeing a succession of assclowns in turn become the frontrunner. Pathetic, yet I cannot work up so much as a single give-a-shit over their plight.