How does GOP establishment respond if Newt wins SC?!

[Politico]

Dial 911 to do what???  It'll either be Romney or Gingrich (and it'll be Romney), so just let it play out...

I don't think the GOP establishment could stomach the thought of Newt winning.  And if Newt wins SC&FL, then you have a full fledged civil war within the GOP being played out in public:  the Tea Party vs. the establishment, with the establishment having everything to lose and the Tea Party having nothing to lose.

The GOP establishment will stuff ballot boxes before it allows Gingrich to win the nomination, or allow a brokered convention to happen.

Sorry, jmfcst: It is too late for a last-minute entrant.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

What Lief said. If Newt doesn't get out after FL, Mittens and the Establishment will blast him out.

This.

If I were Newt, I would be hoping for a loss in South Carolina because Romney is going to figuratively kick Gingrich in the teeth if he needs to. Hopefully "the fix is in," so to speak (think Clinton in New Hampshire), because South Carolina voters should not be allowed to shame themselves by being the only state to ever give Gingrich a statewide victory in an election.

This ridiculous circus needs to end so Mitt Romney can engage Barack Obama in the general election campaign sooner rather than later.

Wow, the Republican party isn't very tolerant to anyone standing in the way of their front runner. Hillary didn't drop out before South Dakota, even though her win there wasn't enough to get the nomination.

[BigSkyBob]

that would be a sure sign the Romney candidacy is tearing the GOP apart.  So, if Newt winning in SC drives home the fact Romney appears to be fatally flawed in the eyes of the GOP base, to the point where the GOP base is willing to risk losing in 2012 in order to keep from nominating Romney, does the establishment start ringing the phones of someone like Paul Ryan?!

If a Newt win in SC doesn't do it...what if Newt wins both SC and FL...then what does the establishment do?

Panic.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Newt is a part of the GOP establishment. Ask him.

[BigSkyBob]

Just chat up anecdotally just how much of a loose cannon and poor manager that he is for starters. And someone should get up banners attached to planes to fly over the Fruited Plain showing those national polls that Newt has a 30 point deficit in his favorability rating, something like 30% favorable, 60% unfavorable - by far the worst of any candidate. That in particular is why they are so terrified of him. He could pull down a lot of Pub candidates with him this year if he secures the nomination.

The Tea Party's No. 1 target is the GOP establishment....always has been.

And, I would note that the Tea Party is the establishment's No. 1 target. To them, the Democrats are the opposition, while the Tea Party is the enemy.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Just chat up anecdotally just how much of a loose cannon and poor manager that he is for starters. And someone should get up banners attached to planes to fly over the Fruited Plain showing those national polls that Newt has a 30 point deficit in his favorability rating, something like 30% favorable, 60% unfavorable - by far the worst of any candidate. That in particular is why they are so terrified of him. He could pull down a lot of Pub candidates with him this year if he secures the nomination.

The Tea Party's No. 1 target is the GOP establishment....always has been.

And, I would note that the Tea Party is the establishment's No. 1 target. To them, the Democrats are the opposition, while the Tea Party is the enemy.

The establishment and the Tea Party have considerable overlap.

[Simfan34]

I am joining with the honorable jmfcst in the "late-entry" movement. Daniels was my second choice. I hope the rumours, implausible as they are, are true.