Sarah Palin Supports Newt Gingrich But Is It Enough? (VIDEO)
Former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has voiced support for Newt Gingrich. During an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Palin stated, “If I had to vote in South Carolina, in order to keep this thing going, I’d vote for Newt, and I would want this to continue.”
Palin explained that she would like to see further examination of the Republican candidates before they are put to the test against incumbent President Barack Obama. “More debates, more vetting of candidates because we know the mistake made in our country four years ago was having a candidate that was not vetted, to the degree that he should have been.”
She added, “I want to see that [vetting] taking place this time because America is on this precipice -- it’s that important. We need this process to continue.” Palin also stated that “these guys [Romney, Perry, Paul, Santorum and Gingrich] are getting better in their debates” and fleshing out their core beliefs, which is important to voters.
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After a CNN debate in Las Vegas in October, Palin told Greta van Susteren, “I think we [Republicans] are more interested in substance and that’s why tonight Newt Gingrich, again I think did best, because he seems to be above a lot of the bickering that goes on.”
Palin has stated that she supports Gingrich’s plan for job creation, specifically citing his view that “government needs to get out of the way for all Americans to have a sense of opportunity to work.”
For his part, Gingrich is attempting to beat candidate Mitt Romney, who is the current frontrunner in polls. Gingrich told an audience, “If you consolidate the three conservative candidates, we clearly would have a huge margin over Romney, and the challenge for me is to convince conservatives to come home and have a single candidate on Saturday.”
Could Sarah Palin be influential in uniting Republicans around Gingrich and toppling Romney’s reign? Gingrich may need the support after being criticized for attacking Romney’s record at Bain Capital, which many see as a direct attack on capitalism. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani told Fox News, “I’m shocked at what they are doing. I’m going to say it’s ignorant. Dumb. It’s building something we should be fighting-ignorance of the American economic system.”
Gingrich defended himself by saying, “When you have crony capitalism and politicians taking care of their friends, that’s not free enterprise, that’s back-door socialism.”
Gingrich has stated that he is thrilled about Palin’s support. “It’s a signal to every conservative that the one conservative vote that’s effective is to Newt Gingrich and that’s very helpful. Lots of different things are working together to help us.”
Political analysts are not certain whether or not Palin’s words will be enough. Chip Saltsman, Mike Huckabee’s former campaign manager, told Politico, “For it to make an impact, she needs to come to support him. Is it a game changer where it turns everything around? My thoughts are probably not.”
Palin is very active on media websites Facebook and Twitter; she currently has over 3 million followers on Facebook alone. Comments posted after her announcement for Gingrich expressed support and views similar to Palin’s. She has previously said that she thinks Gingrich would “clobber Barack Obama in any debate.”
See Palin's interview here:
