Newt Gingrich makes stop in Warrenville

Staff photo by Rob Novit.

On Tuesday night, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich addressed 1,000 people in Aiken at a forum in which no other Republican presidential candidate showed up.

On Wednesday afternoon, 300 people crammed into Bobby's Bar-B-Q banquet hall to hear Gingrich make his case that's he's the best conservative alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the pivotal GOP primary in South Carolina Saturday.

Although Gingrich mostly went after President Barack Obama in his remarks Wednesday, he took on Romney, too. Gingrich said he has picked up 11 points nationally in polls and has closed the gap between himself and Romney in South Carolina.

"I fully expect the Romney campaign to be exceptionally dirty in the next four days," Gingrich told the crowd. "They thought they could buy this primary, but they can't. They have internal polls that show them losing, so they will do anything to win. But, people-power will beat money power."

Claude O'Donovan, the former Aiken County Republican Party vice chairman, was also a co-founder of We the People Aiken about two years ago. He had previously supported Rick Perry, currently trailing badly in the polls.

"Newt is the man we need," O'Donovan said. "There was a lot of enthusiasm out there, as there was last night. Newt's leadership power has brought me around, along with his ability to communicate. This man is a leader for the 21st century. I really think that the momentum is in the right direction."

When he took the podium in the Valley Wednesday, Gingrich had some fresh news - that the president is rejecting the Keystone oil pipeline from Canada to Texas. Gingrich called the decision stupid, saying it will cost Americans jobs and the opportunity to get closer to energy independence.

"My goal is to make America so energy independent that no president has to bow down to a Saudi king," Gingrich said. "It's inconceivable that an American president would drive Canada into a partnership with China."

The Associate Press reported later Wednesday that Obama contends he was reacting to Republican efforts to force a deal by Feb. 21. The project is not dead, in that TransCanada could provide a new application once a new route is determined.

"This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people," Obama said in a written statement.

Gingrich maintains that Congress "should take him head-on. This is such a destructive decision."

He said he alone of the Republican candidates has the experience to challenge Obama in the general election. Romney and the others can't match Gingrich's work with former President Ronald Reagan and Democratic President Bill Clinton, Gingrich said. He never compromised with Clinton, but "coordinated" with him to get things done.

What asked about the future of Yucca Mountain as a repository for nuclear waste from the Savanna River Site and other locations, Gingrich said that South Carolina residents should get an electric bill rebate for the hundreds of millions poured into that project, now off the table following White House action.

"New technology could make Yucca Mountain irrelevant," said Gingrich, "but there may be a way it could work. Still, the leading newspaper in (Nevada) is deeply opposed, and it would take an educational process. The state has to be willing to accept it."

Tom Plowden, a Merriwether resident just outside of North Augusta, said he initially supported Herman Cain until the retired businessman dropped out last fall. After attending a town hall meeting for Gingrich in Newberry, Plowden decided he is a good choice for president.

"I'll never vote for Obama and I can't vote for Romney," he said. "I'm concerned about jobs and unemployment, and I agree with Gingrich that we can't rely on government. There is a reward for hard work and honesty and that we have to provide for ourselves. We can't count on government to do all these things."

Senior writer Rob Novit, a journalist for the past 41 years, has worked at the Aiken Standard since 2001. He covers education news and general assignments."