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  February 3, 2012, 6:20 pm

Gingrich: Romney's 'reprehensible' and 'dishonest' campaigning not deserving of congratulations call

By Justin Sink

Newt Gingrich argued Friday that Mitt Romney was undeserving of a call congratulating him on his win in the pivotal Florida primary.

Gingrich said the former Massachusetts governor's campaign tactics were "reprehensible" and "dishonest" in an interview with CNN.

Gingrich cited media reports that quoted Romney staffers planning to sharpen their criticism of Gingrich after his surprise South Carolina win. One Romney staffer interviewed by Buzzfeed told the site that the campaign was focused on "destroying Gingrich."

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  February 3, 2012, 6:05 pm

DNC Web ad knocks Romney as flip-flopper on jobs

By Justin Sink

Democrats are using the surprisingly robust jobs numbers announced Friday to attack Mitt Romney as a flip-flopper. 

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  February 3, 2012, 5:46 pm

Gingrich on jobs report: 'Anemic growth is not growth'

By Justin Sink

Newt Gingrich dismissed January's jobs report - which showed unemployment decreasing at a better that expected clip - as "anemic growth" in his first public comments on the economic numbers.

"Anemic growth is not growth. We need to make dramatic change to the tax code and draw back job-killing regulations.  Millions of Americans have been waiting months, if not years for the economy to improve," Gingrich said in a statement.

A reporter asked the former House Speaker about the report at a campaign event earlier in the day, but Gingrich said he had not yet seen the numbers. That provided opportunity for Mitt Romney's campaign to take a shot at the former governor's chief rival.

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  February 3, 2012, 4:30 pm

Santorum fails to qualify for Indiana ballot

By Justin Sink

Rick Santorum might be left off the ballot in the Indiana primary, giving the former Pennsylvania senator fewer chances to claw his way back into contention for the Republican presidential nomination.

Santorum fell 24 signatures short of the 500 needed from the 7th congressional district, where Indianapolis is located, according to county voter registration officials speaking to WIBC.

Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are all expected to qualify for the ballot. Santorum could mount a legal challenge or appeal to the Federal Election Commission, although it is unclear how successful such a campaign would be.

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  February 3, 2012, 4:16 pm

Santorum: Iran would nuke Missouri

By Daniel Strauss

Campaigning in Missouri, he said if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, you will not be safe, even here.

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  February 3, 2012, 3:43 pm

Gingrich blasts Romney as 'Obama lite' in fiery Vegas speech

By Justin Sink

Newt Gingrich reiterated his claim that he would contest the GOP nomination all the way to the convention, and blasted front-runner Mitt Romney as "Obama lite" while campaigning Friday in Las Vegas.

"It isn’t good enough for the Republican Party to nominate 'Obama lite,' " Gingrich said. "Now, let me tell you what the difference is. If you’re a genuine conservative, first of all you don’t say that you don’t care about the poor. If you’re a genuine conservative, you believe that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Gingrich has been hammering Romney for comments he made earlier this week suggesting that he was not concerned about poor Americans because they had a social safety net. Romney later said his comments were taken out of context.

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  February 3, 2012, 3:33 pm

GOP Rep. West: Someone's 'playing around with' unemployment numbers

By Daniel Strauss

Florida Rep. Allen West sees "something suspicious" about the January drop in unemployment, particularly in the black community.

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  February 3, 2012, 1:53 pm

GOP lawmaker surprised by Panetta’s comments on Israel and Iran

By Daniel Strauss

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said he was "surprised" to hear Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta say Israel is prepared to attack Iran.

Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said Israel has suggested that if it were to attack Iran, it would not warn the United States.

"I think they've made it very, very clear that they're not going to tell us," Rogers said to The Hill.

Rogers's comments come in response to a report in The Washington Post that said Panetta believes there's "a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June — before Iran enters what Israelis described as a 'zone of immunity' to commence building a nuclear bomb."

Panetta refused to confirm to reporters whether the report was true. He did say to Agence France Presse, though, that the United States had indicated its "concerns."

"I'm just not commenting," Panetta said according to published reports. "What I think, and what I view, I consider that to be an area that belongs to me and nobody else."

Rogers said he was surprised that "any definitive statement like that would come out of the administration."

Rogers added that he felt the United States hadn't taken a clear stance on Iran and that has caused Israel to act in like fashion.

"Not knowing for sure what the posture was with the United States toward Iran has caused Israel to make some calculations [on their own]," Rogers said.

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  February 3, 2012, 12:36 pm

Santorum latest GOP candidate to channel Tim Tebow

By Justin Sink


Rick Santorum is the latest Republican presidential candidate to try to align his fortunes with popular Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.

The former Pennsylvania senator was photographed Wednesday "Tebowing" with supporters at a campaign event in Lakewood, Colo., where he was endorsed by former GOP Rep. Tom Tancredo. The picture was posted to the Tumblr blog of his Iowa campaign manager, Cody Brown.

The Internet meme — in which individuals adopt the quarterback's signature kneel for photographs — originated from a website launched by Broncos fan Jared Kleinstein.

"Tebowing is defined as to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different," Kleinstein's website says.

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  February 3, 2012, 12:10 pm

Santorum ad attacks Gingrich's moon proposal

By Daniel Strauss

Rick Santorum has a new radio ad attacking Newt Gingrich on his proposal to establish a U.S. base on the moon.

According to the Santorum campaign, the ad is set to air nationally.

"Reckless spending has led to $15 trillion of national debt," the voice-over in the ad says. "And what does Newt Gingrich suggest? Spending half a trillion dollars on a moon colony."

The ad goes on to quote Gingrich saying that, if elected, by the end of his second term in office, the United States would "have the first permanent base on the moon."

"Gingrich's example is fiscal insanity," the ad continues.

The ad goes on to argue that Santorum is the most authentic conservative in the GOP presidential field. Santorum has focused his attacks on Gingrich recently in an effort to win over conservative Republicans who favor the former Speaker. Santorum and Gingrich are fighting to be the conservative alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney.

While campaigning in Florida before its primary on Jan. 31, Gingrich proposed putting a base on the moon. His suggestion was widely criticized by his opponents.

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