Gingrich Campaign Press Release - Promising Polls, Large Crowds Greet Newt on Day Four of Georgia Bus Tour

With new Georgia poll numbers released showing Newt with a double-digit lead and campaign stops in Savannah, Brunswick, Valdolsta, and Columbus, day four of Newt and Callista's Georgia Bus Tour was an exciting, news-filled day.

Joined by Georgia Congressman Jack Kingston in Savannah at the Chatham County Republican Headquarters, Newt outlined his American energy plan to lower gasoline prices to $2.50.

Gingrich also plugged his plan to boost energy production and cut gasoline prices to $2.50 a gallon.

On Friday, his campaign unveiled a new TV ad to promote the proposal.

He countered skeptics by arguing that natural gas has become cheaper as supplies increased.

"You tell me why it can't happen to oil," he said. "Now, all of our many friends will say, well, you have to understand oil is a world market.

"True. Natural gas is a world market. ... Natural gas is more locally defined. True. How much more locally defined? 20 percent? 30 percent? You can't tell me supply doesn't have some impact."

Gingrich also said again he'd use revenues from increased offshore gas drilling to deepen Savannah's harbor.

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"He was excellent," said Donna Land. "He's extremely smart. I think he's right on the money as far as fuel prices."

Elly Arden-Jolly, a Savannah Country Day School student, concurred.

"I liked what he had to say about gas prices," Arden Jolly said. "And I want share it with all my friends on Facebook."

In Brunswick, Newt received a "rousing welcome" from the packed crowd at Marshside Grill who came away convinced he's the best candidate to debate Obama.

He spoke to a crowd packed onto the deck at the Marshside Grill, a restaurant and bar overlooking a tidal creek and the Marshes of Glynn. Dozens more filled the dining room and watched through the windows.

They gave him a rousing welcome and cheered during what was more of a thoughtful and seamless lecture than a campaign speech.

Gingrich said he could deliver jobs just as he did as speaker when unemployment was 4.2 percent.

He also promised dramatic changes in the tax structure, changes that the establishment does not want.

He got a laugh saying that Obama has changed his campaign slogan from "Yes we can" to "Why we couldn't."

Brunswick businessman Jeff Jones said he is soundly behind Gingrich.

"We need a leader who will stand up and set America on the right path," Jones said. "America is tired of the socialist activists."

Tracie Yates of Brunswick said she likes what Gingrich stands for.

"I'm tired of working and paying for everything and letting everybody else get a free ride on my money," she said.

Most said Gingrich would beat Obama soundly in debates.

"I would pay to see him debate Obama," said Nancy String of St. Simons Island.

On the third stop of the day, "downtown Valdosta was crammed to the gills" as Newt spoke at the Lowndes County Historic Courthouse.

Each point Gingrich made was well-received by the audience and was encouraged with a chant of "Newt! Newt! Newt!"

"We are the only country in history where our power comes from God and goes to each one of you personally," said Gingrich. "Obama represents a combination of a half-century of left-wingers trying to fundamentally, radically change America to make us a European-style, secular, socialistic bureaucracy and we have a chance this November to decisively, once and for all, to defeat that act."

Gingrich also talked about Obama's plan for $9.99 a gallon gasoline and his desire to bring gas down to $2.50 a gallon by taking advantage of all national energy resources.

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Toward the end of his speech, Gingrich broke down his platform for everyone to understand:

"Obama stands for unemployment, dependency and food stamps. I stand for full employment, jobs and paychecks."

He spoke about his work with Ronald Reagan and how they were able to create 16 million jobs through tax and regulation cuts. During the Clinton administration, he said, they were able to create 11 million jobs using the "Reagan playbook" and ended with a 4.2 percent unemployment rate and a balanced budget.

The final stop of the day brought Newt and Callista to Columbus, the city where Newt went to high school and lived at Fort Benning. Many familiar faces were in the packed crowd, including Newt's high school government teacher Dr. Katrina Yielding.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Friday was like coming home.  He appeared in front of a packed house of supporters in Columbus."I went to Baker High School, and now, it's gone.  And that worries me because it was built the year I was born," Gingrich joked with the crowd.

In a sit down interview with News Leader 9, Gingrich described what Columbus meant to him growing up and now.

"When you're an Army brat, you end up with several homes. And I think emotionally I look at coming to Georgia through Columbus really as a home coming."

The people of Columbus knew Newt Gingrich before he was the Speaker of the House, before he became a Republican presidential candidate, and before he had even graduated from high school.

"My dad was a career soldier so we arrived when I was a junior in high school. I went to Baker High and lived at Fort Benning, and I went to Columbus College when it was actually an Archer Hosiery Mill."

During his rally, he smiled, pointing to a familiar face.

"I have to tell all of you, this is Dr. Katrina Yielding who taught me government."

Click here for a recap of day one of Newt and Callista's Georgia Bus Tour, click here for a recap of day two, and click here for day three's recap.