Newt Gingrich on MEET THE PRESS 01/15/12 VIDEO TEXT

Newt Gingrich on MEET THE PRESS January 15, 2012 01/15/12 VIDEO TEXT

MR. GREGORY: And good morning. All the focus now on South Carolina where GOP voters will go to the polls next Saturday. This weekend, a group of prominent Republican Christian conservatives gathered in Texas and gave a boost to candidate Rick Santorum, throwing their collective support behind him in a last ditch effort to stop Romney's march to the nomination. What will it all mean? Here with us, another Republican trying to stop Romney in South Carolina, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

Speaker Gingrich, welcome back to MEET THE PRESS.

FMR. REP. GINGRICH: It's good to be with you. I'm delighted.

MR. GREGORY: Let's, let's start there because you laid it out this week. You said there's one way to stop Romney in South Carolina, this is what you said to Fox News.

(Videotape, Thursday)

FMR. REP. GINGRICH: If we consolidate conservatives, we could beat Romney by a big margin.

(End videotape)

MR. GREGORY: We've heard from social conservatives in Texas, they're saying let's get behind Rick Santorum. Do you feel pressure to consolidate behind Santorum?

FMR. REP. GINGRICH: Well...

MR. GREGORY: Perhaps get out of the race?

FMR. REP. GINGRICH: Well, I think that report was very highly exaggerated. We basically split that group. I got a very good number of votes and I think as of noon today that Reverend Jim Garlow and Congressman J.C. Watts and others who were there are going to be talking and I think they'll indicate that I have very strong support from Christian conservatives and social conservatives and that that support continues. There was an agreement, the one consensus was that virtually no one was for Mitt Romney. But in fact, there was a very strong Santorum group and there was a very strong Gingrich group at that particular meeting, and the Gingrich folks are still very much for me and they'll be speaking up starting at about noon today.

MR. GREGORY: But isn't this the issue? I mean, if you just look at the raw numbers here and look at the politics, there's not one alternative to Mitt Romney. There's several of you who are vying for that evangelical vote down in South Carolina. We've seen this movie before, four years ago. Doesn't that help Romney?

FMR. REP. GINGRICH: Sure. Well, it does--it does help him. And I think the only way that a Massachusetts moderate can get through South Carolina is if the vote is split. But we have six days to make our case to people and I think somebody who generally people agree was the best debater so far, I think I have the best chance to beat Obama. I think I also have the like--the greatest likelihood given the past to actually change Washington. And as The Wall Street Journal pointed out, I have the boldest and most aggressive pro-jobs plan, as well as a record working with Reagan and working as speaker with Bill Clinton of actually having created large numbers of jobs. So we're going to be making our case to national security conservatives, social conservatives and economic conservatives that this--that Newt Gingrich is the best candidate to defeat President Obama. And I think we're doing pretty darn well down here.

MR. GREGORY: So your feeling is that despite what the social conservative group said over the weekend, Rick Santorum doesn't have any more momentum here? He's not the obvious conservative alternative choice to Romney?

FMR. REP. GINGRICH: No. I think the fact is if you look at the actual vote yesterday that we were very close in the vote and that, in fact, the folks who'll be speaking out starting at noon today, Congressman J.C. Watts, Reverend Jim Garlow and others, are very committed to my candidacy and I think we will go into the next week, this last week of the campaign with a large amount of momentum here. The polls have all shown consistently that I am the strongest rival to Romney in South Carolina and I think that the debate tomorrow night will be a very important part of that and the debate Thursday night will be a very important part of that. And I think it's going to be a very, very lively week, one of the most important weeks in the history of the GOP because I think nominating somebody who is essentially a Massachusetts moderate makes it much harder to defeat President Obama and nominating somebody who is a Reagan conservative makes it much easier to defeat President Obama. +sookie tex

TEXT CREDIT: Meet the Press transcript for Jan. 15, 2012

VIDEO CREDIT: Meet The Press: SC is the ‘last stand

01/14/12 John Hoeven Weekly GOP Republican Address Keystone XL Pipeline VIDEO

01/14/12 John Hoeven Weekly GOP Republican Address Keystone XL Pipeline

Published on Jan 14, 2012 by gopweeklyaddress

In the Weekly Republican Address, North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven discusses the Keystone XL pipeline and why it's "in the national interest and the interest of the American people."

Sen. Hoeven says, "This new $7 billion, 1,700-mile, high-tech transcontinental pipeline, the largest shovel-ready project in the country, would reduce our dependence on Middle East oil, help keep down the cost of energy for American consumers and businesses, and create thousands of jobs for American workers at a time when our nation so greatly needs them."

He points out, "A week ago, newspapers across the country ran a story warning consumers that gasoline could rise to more than $4.00 a gallon this year. In the same week, we saw world markets react nervously to the standoff between the U.S. and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz—through which one-third of the world's seaborne oil is now shipped. Combine all of this with growing global demand for oil, especially in China, and we have a recipe for dramatically higher energy prices and more personal hardship for working Americans. . . . Yet the President is saying 'no' to the Keystone XL pipeline, he's saying 'no' to a project that will bring more than 700,000 barrels of oil a day from our friend and ally, Canada, and he's virtually assuring continued reliance on the Middle East. That makes no sense, and it's a matter of great concern for our national security, particularly with what's going on in Iran."

Sen. Hoeven continues, "Last month the U.S. Senate passed a payroll tax cut measure that includes an important provision that I, along with Senator Richard Lugar, introduced to clear the way for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

"This pipeline will carry oil not only from Alberta, Canada, but also 100,000 barrels a day from the U.S. Bakken region in Montana and my home state of North Dakota. Our legislation accomplishes three crucial things. First, it makes sure the decision to permit the project can be reached within 60 days, it addresses routing concerns by the state of Nebraska, and then it ensures that the pipeline permit includes strong and specific environmental protections. It's hard to imagine a project that is more in the national interest and the interest of the American people."

Concluding, Sen. Hoeven says, "The point is this: If the Keystone XL pipeline isn't built, Canadian oil will still be produced and transported—700,000 barrels a day of it—but instead of coming to our refineries in the United States, instead of creating jobs for our people, instead of reducing our dependence on Middle Eastern oil and keeping down the cost of fuel for American consumers—that oil will be sent to China. A number of year-end stories recently made much of the fact that the Keystone XL pipeline project isn't on the President's agenda before next year's election, which is unfortunate, because it is private-sector projects like Keystone XL—and the hundreds of others cited by the U.S. Chamber study—that will get our nation working again.

"I have worked towards approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, first as governor of North Dakota, and now with my colleagues as a U.S. Senator, because it is just the kind of project that will grow our economy and create more jobs. And that's the larger point here. We must empower private investment and create sustainable jobs through private enterprise to lift up our country. The President and his Administration need to join us in creating the kind of legal, tax, and regulatory environment that empowers private investment. That's the approach that will grow our economy and get people back to work. That's the approach that will reduce our deficit and debt, and strengthen our nation."

Category: News & Politics

Tags: John Hoeven North Dakota Republican Address Response Obama White House Senate Congress Keystone XL Pipeline Energy Independence Security Jobs Creation Oil Canada TransCanada Chamber Commerce Unions Environment Bakken Montana Nebraska Iran China Gas Prices

License: Standard YouTube License

VIDEO IMAGE and TEXT CREDIT: gopweeklyaddress