March 30, 2012 09:13 PM UTC

Newt Gingrich: The Man Who Gave You Mitt Romney

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• by: Colorado Pols

Remember this headline in mid-November, as the Washington Post reports:

The former House speaker told Milwaukee radio station WTMJ Friday he thinks Romney “is clearly the front-runner.” Gingrich said Romney “will probably” get the 1,144 convention delegates he needs to win the nomination, but added that Romney still has to earn it…

In case you had any remaining doubt about Newt Gingrich’s purpose in staying in the GOP presidential primary, as we discussed earlier this week, ABC News reports:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney confirmed reports Thursday that he and Newt Gingrich met secretly in New Orleans the day before the Louisiana primary…

Romney is the clear front-runner in the Republican race and holds a commanding delegate lead. Gingrich has stayed in the race even though he could never maintain spurts of momentum heading into the Iowa Caucus and after a big win in South Carolina. Any sort of agreement between the men would be a turn of events.

Folks, we’re not saying that 100% of voters for Gingrich would have become supporters of Rick Santorum if he had pulled out, though we do think a solid majority would have broke for any other candidate than Mitt Romney. But the number of primaries won by Romney by totals well below the combined votes for Santorum and Gingrich made Gingrich’s role as Santorum’s spoiler undeniable–before you knew anything about secret meetings between Romney and Gingrich.

Once again: not illegal. It may infuriate the base, but it’s a game of snooker as old as dirt.