Election Day: Democrats-for-Newt

DULUTH, Ga. – The question in Georgia is not “Will Newt win?” The question is whether his landslide will be so huge, the rubble will bounce so hard, that he sweeps in almost all of the state’s 72 delegates. Here in Gwinnett County, one of the shiny, wealthy heartlands of the New South, I’ve been unable to locate anyone not with Newt. Laurie McClain, a Republican candidate for county commissioner, said she chose Gingrich after ranking him against Santorum and Romney and proving that he was superior. “Santorum’s a great guy,” she said. “I wish he was my preacher. But when it comes down to it, I don’t think he could put his finger on the button. Gingrich would know how to move into the job and start fixing things, immediately.” She had no doubt that he would win it all. “Three years ago, I remember watching Obama win, and thinking, boy, when the economy recovers, he’ll get all the credit and he’ll win by a landslide. It never occured to me that he could screw everything up.” Jack Mohler, a retired data processor, voted for Gingrich without reservation. “It bothers me that they attack him for the shadows in his past,” he said. “It’s like what they’re doing with Limbaugh.” Rush Limbaugh’s name came up in a different context when I met Kenny Middleton, an electrician who voted for Newt just to screw with Republicans.
“I want to keep it going!” he said. “When Newt got in, I went to his website, and I signed up, like I was volunteering for him. They emailed me. I emailed back: Newt, don’t run!” He laughed. “These guys are crazy. It’s like this Rush Limbaugh situation. You can’t look at that and say these people know how to run the country. Hell, Gingrich was impeaching Clinton – and I’m not saying Clinton didn’t do bad things – at the same time he was two-timing his wife.” He couldn’t stand him. He voted for him.