Cain endorses Gingrich
Newt Gingrich, left, and Herman Cain, right, on CBS' "Face the Nation," Oct. 9, 2011. / CBS
Newt Gingrich, left, and Herman Cain, right, on CBS' "Face the Nation," Oct. 9, 2011.
/ CBSWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Atlanta businessman and former presidential candidate Herman Cain endorsed Newt Gingrich Saturday night at a West Palm Beach Country Republican gathering after two months of wavering on whether he would offer his support to a fellow candidate.
The endorsement comes just three days before the crucial Florida primary, by far the largest state to vote so far in the GOP sweepstakes, and could help Gingrich energize tea party support. Gingrich campaign has flagged since his upstart, double-digit victory over front-runner Mitt Romney in the South Carolina primary a week ago.
"I had it in my heart and mind a long time ago" to endorse Gingrich, Cain said in a surprise appearance at the dinner. "Speaker Gingrich is a patriot, Speaker Gingrich is not afraid of bold ideas, and I also know that Speaker Gingrich is ... going through this sausage grinder. I know what this sausage grinder is all about. I know that he's going through this sausage grinder because he cares about the future of the United States of America."
Cain's ended his presidential bid in early December amid claims of sexual harrassement by several women who worked for him over the years and amid a charge from an Atlanta woman that the two carried on a longstanding marital affair. Until the allegations surfaced, Cain had been steadily gaining ground as a serious primary contender, attracting hundreds of people to his campaign events and winning over tea party activists with his outsider's message and calls for a "9-9-9" flat tax plan.
Cain and Gingrich walked onto stage together to a huge round of applause from the audience, whose excitement continued throughout the former candidate's brief remarks. As Gingrich took the stage after him, he joked that when he accepted the invitation to speak at the West Palm Beach County GOP Lincoln Dinner, he "had no idea it would be this interesting."
Gingrich's campaign can only hope that the support of the once-popular candidate will give a shot of life to his campaign, which is beginning to falter in Florida after a series of rough debates and nonstop attacks from Romney and a super PAC supporting Romney. But Cain's support may have lost his luster after nearly two months out off the campaign trail.
Always unpredictable, Cain had suggested as recently as last week in South Carolina that he would not endorse one of the remaining Republicans in the field. "Here is my unconventional endorsement. Not a candidate seeking the nomination. Not someone that's not running. My unconventional endorsement is the people! We the people of this nation are still in charge," he said.
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Starting with Bush I saw my health insurance premiums rise over 650%. I saw my doctor visit out-of-pocket costs go from a $5 co-pay to $130 ($30 co-pay and $100 average deductible cost). I have seen one of my prescriptions go from $35 to $435.
Under the Bush regime I watched my 401K's value drop to a fourth and I watched my retired mother's drop to a third (this was the average) of the value. She was in a nursing home and I really was thinking she was going to run out of money and end up on Medicaid (she passed away before the money ran out).
Under Bush I watched financial czars walk away with hundreds of million dollar pay-out's.
Under Bush I watch oil companies triple the cost of gas to the highest it's ever been ($4.xx) and they posted record profits and this had a ripple effect on all other costs (food, etc.).
And Newt wants to go back to this?!
I voted Republican for 30 years, all the way up to Bush's first term. Sorry Newt, I'm a real-world example of the middle class getting run over by the upper class, and I sure as hell won't be voting for you!!
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What the "Spermanator" should have said is: "Speaker Gingrich, like me, knows what it is like to grind his sausage into a woman other than his wife.
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Why is this a surprise? A guy from Georgia who cheats on his wife endorses another guy from Georgia who cheats on his wife. I guess that makes "Toad" Gingrich well positioned to get the cheater/cracker vote in north Florida.
That's about how much the average senior citizen has saved since so-called Obama care has gone into effect.
Has Newt Gingrich or anyone else told senior citizens that they will once again have to choose between their meds and food if the GOP takes power? Has Newt or any one else in the GOP told senior citizens how much they will have to pay for health insurance once the GOP eliminates Medicare?
And what happens to senior citizens who discover that no private health insurance company will accept them because of pre-existing conditions?
Newt Gingrich and the rest of the GOP thinks that senior citizens are stupid and senile. While they may be able to fools a few gullible geezers in Florida and South Caroline - they can't fool me.
*Source; ThinkProgress.org