Tea Party Insurgents Fight GOP Establishment In Florida Primary

First there was South Carolina where the Conservative base rallied to push Newt Gingrich over the top instead of Mitt Romney, the GOP establishment RINO darling. The establishment went into meltdown mode after South Carolina. Now Florida’s winner-take-all primary has become the latest firewall in the Tea Party’s and grassroots Conservatives’ fight to stop Romney from a pre-ordained coronation by elite party insiders.

There is a fierce battle raging in the streets of Florida between the GOP establishment and the Tea Party. The call to arms became frenzied last week as a barrage of hit pieces and an all-out assault on Newt Gingrich, largely viewed as the anti-Romney, came from every corner of the elite GOP and DC punditry, even dragging out old Bob Dole to bash Newt. Karl Rove to the right, Ann Coulter to the left, and Fox News bringing up the rear flank by shilling for Mitt Romney as the inevitable GOP nominee. Old guard Conservative blogs, including Drudge Report and NRO, published an avalanche of negative, misleading stories about Gingrich even going so far as charge him as being anti-Reagan which is a ludicrous charge given the relationship between the two men. A video has even emerged of Nancy Reagan stating that her beloved Ron passed the torch on to Newt.

Tea Party activists nationwide are pushing back hard and backing Newt because he is seen as having the best shot to take down Mitt. While Rick Santorum is well liked by the grassroots, many view him as not having the money or traction to win any of the remaining primary states. Furious Conservatives are lashing out at those GOPers who attack Newt like Matt Drudge. There are major ongoing efforts to unite and help Gingrich win as many states as possible leading to a brokered convention and a bloodied, financially-strained Romney.

Tea Party activists nationwide are pushing back hard and backing Newt because he is seen as having the best shot to take down Mitt. While Rick Santorum is well liked by the grassroots, many view him as not having the money or traction to win any of the remaining primary states. Furious Conservatives are lashing out at those GOPers who attack Newt like Matt Drudge. There are major ongoing efforts to unite and help Gingrich win as many states as possible leading to a brokered convention and a bloodied, financially-strained Romney.

The Tea Party activists understand that is a high-stakes battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. Tea Party champions Sarah Palin, Herman Cain, Chuck Norris, Fred Thompson, and many others are telling the grassroots to go rogue and “Vote Newt!” The issue is not whether Gingrich is the best candidate or if he can beat Obama but this is a big-picture battlefield strategy to stop Mitt and crush the GOP establishment who have badly damaged the Republican brand over the years.

Florida has now become the Gettysburg of the GOP primaries. A win here by either Newt or Mitt will have tremendous impact and be a turning point in the race going forward. As Gettysburg was the decisive battle fought in the Civil War so will be the Florida primary in the GOP war. The Florida Tea Party understands this and it has endorsed Gingrich. Sarah’s Palin’s online army has sprung into action and is coordinating efforts to donate money, phonebank, and help get out the vote for Newt. Can Newt and the grassroots overcome Mitt’s blitzkrieg of wall-to-wall negative ads blanketing Florida and the GOP establishment? No one knows at this point but I will have my popcorn ready with butter for Tuesday night.

Update: Mitt won with his 24-7 wall-to wall anti-Newt ads bought with special interest money and the GOP elites. No worries. The battle moves forward. Americans have to take a stand against Crony Capitalists and both political party establishments which are driving the US into a financial abyss and moral decline.