Locals look closer at Gingrich
As published on page one of the Nov. 30, 2011 edition of the Keene Sentinel, and online.
William Lonardo estimates he stuck almost 100 campaign signs in the ground around Cheshire County on Sunday -- from his home in Rindge up to Alstead and over to Westmoreland -- all supporting Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
"Many people came by and tooted their horn to me and waved," he said, gestures he took as encouragement. "One man asked for a sign."
Lonardo, a retired businessman, joined the Gingrich campaign six weeks ago, at about the time it launched a dedicated website for building support in the Granite State (newthampshire.com).
Beset by poor funding and the dramatic June resignation of his campaign manager and a number of senior staff members, Gingrich's campaign has been slow to build up steam.
But a recent increase in national media attention has started donations flowing in, organizers say, and they hope to tap into the grassroots enthusiasm of voters like Lonardo -- conservative Republicans who are unhappy with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's record but have yet to coalesce behind any of his right-wing opponents.
"There's so much dissatisfaction with the field of candidates. Plus, importantly, there's concern that the Republicans nominate a standard bearer" to go up against President Barack Obama, said conservative radio personality Al Kulas, who hosts a talk show on WKBK-AM. "When it comes to speaking coherently, intelligently and knowledgeably, Gingrich has no equal."
Kulas has not endorsed any of the candidates, but he reports a growing sense among local conservatives that Gingrich might be their guy.
"He may not be the constitutional purist that Ron Paul is, but there is no smarter man when it comes to the constitution and the history of these United States," said Angela Wiltz of Jaffrey, who also recently signed up to organize for Gingrich in the Monadnock Region. She previously worked on U.S. Rep. Charles F. Bass's congressional campaign.
Wiltz, 39, and Lonardo, 72, both considered supporting other conservative candidates, including U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann, but as one candidate after another rose to national prominence only to fade away, they kept their eyes on Gingrich.
"I admired him for just sticking in there and going to the debates and making his points," said Lonardo, who remembers Gingrich from his days in the House of Representatives, when he authored the Contract with America, an agenda of reforms presented before the 1994 congressional election, and worked with then-President Bill Clinton to balance the federal budget.
Lonardo is in charge of organizing volunteers for Gingrich in Cheshire County, and he's seen a recent increase in interest. On Monday, the day after the New Hampshire Union Leader endorsed Gingrich on its front page, three people contacted him to volunteer, he said.
Before this week there were fewer than a dozen Gingrich volunteers in the county, he said.
Gingrich may have also gotten a boost from allegations of sexual misconduct that have been leveled against opponent Herman Cain.
"Because of all the problems Cain has had, I feel like he's had it," said John Keenan of Winchester, who recently decided to support Gingrich.
Supporters acknowledge there is still work to do if their candidate is to win the N.H. primary on Jan. 10.
Many of the state's prominent Republicans have already thrown their support behind Romney.
Gingrich's track record of working with opponents might detract from his conservative credentials, and he also has a well-known closet full of skeletons, from convictions for violating ethics rules during his time in the House to a taste for buying expensive jewelry -- indicated by a $500,000 revolving line of credit at Tiffany's -- and an unstable marital history.
But all that matters less than the chance to send a conservative into the general election, supporters say.
"Romney is the pick of the party," Wiltz said. "However, he is not the pick of the people."
tagged with: 2012 presidential primary, grassroots support, Newt Gingrich
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