He told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that forgoing the primary was a calculated decision. "There's been much confusion about what we are doing in Missouri, which was not a mistake," he told the paper.
"The Missouri primary doesn't have any delegates attached to it," Gingrich added. "And so this was a conscious decision; this was not an oversight." He calls these primaries without delegates "beauty contests," the Post-Dispatch says.
This is a bit of a tonal change for the campaign. A couple of weeks ago, Gingrich's campaign also said the primary's steep filing fee was a reason to stay out of the primary.
"There was a large filing fee to file for the Missouri primary. One of the reasons was, oh gee, let's not spend any money to not get any delegates. We decided to save the cash," a spokesman told The Washington Post.
There had been some confusion as to why the former House Speaker wouldn't want to be included in the February 7 primary.
Politico notes that former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent and State Auditor Tom Schweich released a statement slamming Gingrich's choice as an indication of what he thinks of Missouri. "Speaker Gingrich's claim that the Missouri primary is not important is disrespectful to Missouri voters and it suggests a lack of campaign organization," the statement said, and "It is a mistake to ignore the Missouri primary as caucus-goers and delegates will be influenced by the results of the primary."
Gingrich's Missouri supporters might not want to read too much into his decision, though. He has said he will participate in the Missouri GOP caucus process — that will dole out the delegates — that will take place in May.
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And the Conservatives win the shitty political wordplay competition 2-1.
Maybe Oblame-Ya should pay attention to Newt....it might have kept him from campaiging in Kansas today.....oh well more taxpayer money down the drain on another boondoggle trip by the Idiot in Chief! How's that Hope and Change working for you?
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