The Perry team is apparently going along with him in backing Newt Gingrich now. The Gingrich campaign is touting this new endorsement, from SC House Speaker Bobby Harrell. Harrell said:
“Cathy and I make these decisions together. We believe Newt Gingrich is the right choice for South Carolina, and for the United States. His commitment to the conservative principles of lower taxes, smaller government, and economic development are key to restoring America to greatness. Speaker Gingrich is the only candidate with proven leadership experience, which is what we need to effect real change in Washington.”
And the SC Democrats were the ones who brought it to my attention that Katon Dawson was now pressuring Mitt Romney — in a sort of passive-aggressive manner:
At Perry’s announcement here, former South Carolina GOP Chair Katon Dawson, who had endorsed Perry, also called on Romney to “do the right thing” and make his tax returns public:
KEYES: He’s been pretty vocal about calling on Mitt Romney to release his tax returns.
DAWSON: All us politicians have to do it and eventually you do. It’s either pay me now or pay me later. That’s what’s going to happen.
KEYES: So you think Romney is going to have to release them?
DAWSON: You’re not going to run a race without having to do it. It’s going to be a continued question mark. I’m sure that Governor Romney will do the right thing.
Of course, the Democrats have been all over Romney in recent weeks, convinced he will be the nominee. If Newt pulls off an upset, he can expect to have a lot of attention lavished on him.
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In terms of economic development, I daresay advantage Romney, wouldn’t you? I mean, Newt seems to know how to get lucrative deals for Newt (historical consulting?), but in terms of actual business smarts–Romney!