Gingrich prepared to go 'toe-to-toe with Obama'

Meeting aiken voters: Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista, greet residents after the forum held Tuesday night. Staff photo by Amy Banton.

Though only one GOP candidate attended "The Last Word Before the First in the South Primary" forum Tuesday night, a crowd of around 1,000 people showed up at the USC Aiken Convocation Center.

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich was the only one to show but he received a lot of cheers and even a few standing ovations during the event organized by the Greater CSRA Conservative Coalition which includes the Aiken County Republican Party.

All of the GOP candidates were invited to the event, and Congressman Ron Paul said he may come but he did not make it.

Some residents were disappointed that Paul or the other candidates didn't appear at the event. Tom Sliker of Wagener stood in the Convocation Center with a Ron Paul sign in his hands. He said he wanted to make sure Paul was at least represented at the event.

"I want people to at least consider him," he said, stating that seeing many young people support Paul has been inspiring. "We should vote with our hearts, not just settle."

Dave Craney of Aiken and his family came to the event in hopes to see the candidates in person rather than reading just a few quotes from a newspaper or hearing limited sound bites on television. Craney said he was still kind of undecided.

"I sort of want to see if he (Gingrich) is strong enough to beat Obama," Craney said. "I want to hear more details."

Joyce Haskell came up from North Augusta to check out the forum. "I'm still undecided," she said. "I want to hear more about the candidates."

Residents got to hear a lot about Newt Gingrich. He got to the forum around 7:45 p.m., apologizing for being late to the event which started at 7 p.m.

He began by asking the crowd if they though America was on the wrong track, if lots of changes needed to be made and, if he wins, would the "old order" fight back? There was a strong reaction by applause to each question.

Brian Slowinski, the county chair of the Columbia County Republican Party and spokesman of the coalition, moderated the forum, asking Gingrich a variety of questions about various issues. He covered health care, in which Gingrich said he would immediately repeal "Obamacare." He discussed entitlement programs, Social Security, the judiciary system, veterans and the polarization in Congress.

One question got a response from Gingrich that caused quite a reaction from the crowd, many standing up and cheering. He was asked how he felt about Sharia Law, the moral and religious code of Islam, being used in the United States and a mosque being built at the site of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

"I find the entire concept of a Ground Zero mosque a deliberate and willful insult to the people of the United States who have suffered from that attack," Gingrich said, later adding, "I think the time has come now to have an honest conversation about Islamic radicals."

Gingrich said he would like to see a federal law passed which would prohibit the use of Sharia Law in any United States court.

The last question asked was how Gingrich would win the votes of those in South Carolina, a state that "picks presidents."

"I'm the only candidate running that has helped balance the budget four straight times. I'm the only candidate running who began working with Ronald Reagan in 1974," Gingrich said. "I'm the only candidate running who helped pass a whole series of changes that were fundamental, and I'm the only candidate running who helped design campaigns nationally in 1980, '84, '88, '94, '96 and therefore, if you are serious about beating Obama, you need somebody who knows what they're doing, somebody who can articulate clearly and you need somebody who's prepared to go toe-to-toe with Obama."

Aiken County Republican Party Chair Dennis Saylor was quite pleased with the turnout of the event. A total of 600 seats were on the floor and all of them were filled. Many other people filed into the bleachers to watch Gingrich speak.

Saylor said that, since 1980, no Republican has become the presidential candidate without winning South Carolina, and none of them have won the state without Aiken County.

"It's South Carolina's time to shine," Saylor said. "Iowa and New Hampshire are in the past and in the rear view mirror."

The South Carolina Republican primary will be Saturday.