In South Carolina, Romney's rivals try to take him down

Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a campaign stop at Lizard's Thicket restaurant, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012, in Lexington, S.C.

/ AP Photo/David Goldman

With a little more than a week to go before South Carolina's January 21 primary, the Republican presidential field has descended on the Palmetto state full-force, furiously attempting to garner support ahead of a contest that, for some, is likely the end of the road.

Following Mitt Romney's historic consecutive first-place finishes in both Iowa and New Hampshire, South Carolina presents a last-chance opportunity for his rivals to present themselves convincingly as the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney - a candidate who has managed to establish himself as the frontrunner for the nomination even while many Republicans appear underwhelmed by the prospect of a Romney candidacy.

(In a recent CBS News Poll, Romney led the Republican field with 19 percent support - but his lead was matched by 19 percent of Republican primary voters who wanted "someone else.")

Newt Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond presented his candidate's goal this week in clear-cut terms: "The goal is to get rid of Romney," he said, according to the Washington Post. "Our goal is to remove Mitt Romney from the competitive ranks."

It's a fitting goal for South Carolina. The state is known for its down-and-dirty politics, and has been home to some of the more notorious - and spurious - whisper campaigns over the years. In 2000, the Palmetto state was the birthplace of a nasty and untrue rumor about Sen. John McCain's adopted Bangladeshi daughter.

So far, Romney's rivals have largely focused on his record as CEO of investment firm Bain Capital, which his opponents argue was responsible for laying off thousands of Americans in the name of corporate greed.

The pro-Gingrich PAC Winning Our Future is spending $3.4 million to air a 28-minute short film depicting Romney as "more ruthless than Wall Street" for his tenure at Bain.

Texas Governor Rick Perry, too, has gone after Romney hard for participating in what he's started calling "vulture capitalism."

Perry, who at last count was polling at just five percent in South Carolina, is hoping to catch a second wind in a state with a strong evangelical community. The Texas Governor, who has touted his record of creating jobs in Texas as a major tenet of his campaign, is also hoping his message will resonate with voters given the state's 9.9 percent unemployment rate.

"I understand the difference between venture capital and vulture capitalism. We need to have more venture capitalism going on in America, and less vulture capitalism," Perry said in Lexington on Wednesday. "The idea that you come in and you destroy people's lives, the idea that you come in just to make a quick profit, tear these companies apart - I understand, restricting, I understand these types of things. But the idea that we can't criticize someone for these get rich quick schemes is not appropriate from my perspective."

In light of a recent Republican backlash against these criticisms, however - some argue that the anti-Bain tack is essentially a Democratic argument against the private sector - Gingrich in particular has expanded the breadth of his attacks. The campaign recently released an ad that characterizes Romney as "pro-abortion," as well as a web video that basically serves as a Romney gaffe highlight reel.

Gingrich at the moment appears best-positioned candidate to take on Romney in South Carolina, but the relatively long 10-day interim before voters next hit the polls offers all of the candidates a chance to shake things up.

Both Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman are hoping to leverage the momentum of their recent successes (in Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively) into a new wave of support down South.

"We feel like we've got a real shot in the arm, some wind at our back," Santorum said Wednesday night on Fox News. "We're able to run a full boat of campaign ads down here, which is really the first time we've really run a real campaign, if you will, with both radio and TV ads, as well as the work that I'm doing."

"It's been that kind of energy and enthusiasm ever since we've gotten to South Carolina," he continued. "We'd love to win here. We think we have a shot at winning here. But you know, a top two finish would be absolutely super."

The extent to which Romney's competitors will be able to derail him, of course, remains to be seen. The candidate has the backing of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and S.C. Sen. Jim DeMint, while not endorsing a candidate, has defended him against the charges of flip-flopping on abortion, telling conservative radio host Laura Ingraham on Wednesday that "this idea of condemning people who have changed their minds is not a good idea for any of us."

Moreover, "Restore our Future," the pro-Romney PAC credited with blunting Gingrich's surge in Iowa through a series of negative ads, is already at work in both South Carolina and Florida.

A new ad by the PAC targets Gingrich's attacks on Romney as "desperate" before going on to hit him for 1990s-era ethics charges, his consultancy with Freddie Mac, and co-sponsoring a bill with Nancy Pelosi that "would have given $60 million a year to a U.N. program supporting China's brutal one-child policy."

(Gingrich, in turn, has threatened to sue television stations that continue to air the ad.)

Either way, with nine days left before South Carolinians head to the polls, there's still plenty of room for movement. And according to Gingrich, the anti-Romney movement is already kicking into gear.

"I think everybody who's been here has felt a shift in mood, a shift in crowd size, the shift in media coverage," Gingrich told reporters in New Hampshire earlier this week. "You know, Romney came here as a victorious person, and I think he is clearly limping at this point."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article referred to rumors about John McCain taking place during his 2008 White House run. They occurred during his run for the presidency in 2000 against then Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

[ajcVeteran]

My fellow voters, please be wary and be very scared of Mitt Romney carney salesman of the Bain Capital carpetbagger company. Romney's extremist vulture capitalist job wacking ender approach is NOT 'what' Reagan's pro-business approach was about. Reagan's conservative business philosophy was about creating quality high paying jobs, not acting like Darth Romney and Bain factory busters whom swept down on struggling companies, took their double edge boot knives out and gutted them and their poor fellow Americans of ours...down to their skeletons. As your co-workers and you head for unemployment, off they go running in the other direction with millions in profits, preying on any company they can gleefully sack. He doesn't want to save your or America's soul...he wants to collect your dying hopes in his personal cookie memory jars---owning it in a way that you will never get it back.

Sadly, it was two US government bailouts that Romney/Bain applied for and utilized...that saved their company so they could then destroy more folks dreams.

In Gaffney, South Carolina for example, Bain's company, Holson Burns Group Inc, shut down a company while raking in $24 million dollar, doubling their initial investment as the South Carolinians he pink slipped...stayed home empty handed. As Romney-Bain said recently, he "like(s) to fire people". Indeed he does! When a business is run by ethical leaders and in the right hands, capitalism is a great job creator and community uplifter...just not in Romney-Bain's. In gaffney, after he shut down that company...a community of 12,000 suffered the side negative affects. You see, shutting down factories instead of saving them, harms lots more than those whom got let go...

Below link to actual copies of financial documents regarding this shut down and sale:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/275058-holson-burnes-documents.html

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/275058/holson-burnes-documents.pdf

Romney-Bain collectively, gave conservative family values and what is respectable about America's business tradition a back eye and a bad name. Candidate Romney-Bain is no Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, etc...Not by liberal mile.

As a combat veteran myself I believe---the Romney-Bain approach is robbing the suffering and giving them the middle finger as Romney-Bain and his family roll around their many home's palacial beds, luxuring in your hard earned money they hijacked from you.

Do fear, yes that's right---FEAR Romney Gecko swooping upon your city ripping apart everything you have left.. If he gets in, he'll take away everything that you and your family hold dear. In both Iowa and New Hampshire, 60% of the Republican voters voted AGAINST Romneycare man.

Fellow GOPers, your vital voting duty moment is near. It's up to each and every one of you---to stop Romney's carried out scorched earth conservatism.

One day he is for abortions, the next day he isn't. One day he tells T
Ted Kennedy I'm not for Reaganism, but today..he claims he loves Ronald Reagan. Our future voting, must enjoin to stop this poser.

This time, pretty...is just too pretty to be true. I know Ronald Reagan, and Mitt the Hun workforce terminator, is no Reagan. Good luck and God bless you!!!

[tsigili]

All candidates need to be heard, and the voters need to vote their conscience, and NOT the party establishment pick.

[MSMlies_Always]

Do you like "skipping" candidates much, Lucy ?
No worries , we know that you are pooping your pans. You have seen Dr. Paul numbers and you are just hoping that he'll vanish altogether.
50% of youth vote is with Dr. Paul. 43% of Independent Vote ( The most important voting block ) is with Ron Paul.

Dr. Paul even came second in the NH Democratic Primary.
http://www.democratsforronpaul.com/2012/01/12/ron-paul-2-in-nh-democratic-primary/

Go and tell your bosses that people have woken up. We are putting country's interest regardless of party affiliation; unlike you , whose undiminished loyalty is that of your next pay check.
Cheerio

[keremtibuk]

Dear Lucy,

When you write a news report about Mitt Romney's South Carolina primary rivals and fail to mention the name of Ron Paul there are only two explanations.

Either your education failed you miserably or you have an agenda.

I am not the conspiracy theorist type so I don't really think you did this on purpose.

I know Ron Paul overwhelms you intellectually like he does too so many media pundits. Yes, when you cover Paul you have get out of comfortable talking points and cliches and discuss real issue that need knowledge and intellectual capacity.

So my advice to you is this. Either try to raise your intellectual capacity, way way higher than it currently is, by reading and studying or get out of this business because you are just embarrassing yourself and your loved ones.

Best wishes.

[answerman1949]

Lucy, you write an article about Mitt Romney's South Carolina GOP Primary rivals, but fail to mention Ron Paul, who placed third in Iowa, second in New Hampshire, nearly 3% of the ND DEMOCRATIC primary vote as a write-in, is on the ballot in every state so far and is leading Jon Huntsman, whom you did mention. I know the Fed and the big banks have a big influence, but are they so powerful they gave you political amnesia? Get real.

[nancy_naive]

His own BS will take him down...


Romney on the Mormon's racist beliefs: He claims that he was driving home from law school when he heard that the Mormon Church reversed its position on blacks as cursed, lazy, etc., etc., and was soooo overcome with joy that he wept openly and had to pull off the road...

Hmmm, so he was on his way home from law school when he heard that? He was 28 in law school and 31 when the Mormon cult changed its position... LONG COMMUTE.

[NewtsArmy]

One day a man looked for a good home builder.
So the man asked "Bob The Builder" to share the whereabouts of his completed homes.
But "Bob The Builder" became furious at the man and said "that is an attack on my honesty!"

The next day the man looked for a good Princess.
So the man asked "Cinderella" to share her foot size.
But "Cinderella" became very furious with the man and said "that is an attack on privacy!"

The next day the man looked for a good Kitchen Chef.
So the man asked "Ratatouille" to share some of his cooking.
But "Ratatouille" became very furious at the man and said "that is an attack on goodwill!"

The next day the man looked for a good Jobs Creator.
So the man asked "Romney" to share where the jobs he created could be located.
But "Romney" became very furious and said "that is an attack on all Capitalism!"
So the story was FRAMED against the man and told again and again by all of "Romney's" surrogates, day after day after day!

[wvufan01]

Rick Perry will prevail!! 2012

[Quivley]

Romney is the leader our nation needs. The attacks against capitalism and free enterprise by Gingrich and Perry are shameful. Gingrich in particular seems hell bent on destruction. His almighty ego has been bruised and he would rather damage the party and the nation than admit his failures.

[Parrots10]

Quivley, do you think that YOU deserve to know what he did at Bain ?? Especially, since that's what he bases his strengths on ??

[RealiteBites]

The rednecks are going to take down the mormon in SC.