Chris Matthews On Newt Gingrich Win: 'The Right Has Won In South Carolina' (VIDEO)

NBC called the South Carolina primary for Newt Gingrich as soon as the polls closed at 7 p.m.

Rachel Maddow made the announcement on MSNBC, and turned to Chris Matthews for his reaction. Matthews said Gingrich's victory had just shifted the race farther to the right, and would leave a lasting impression on the election.

He predicted, "The only way for Romney to beat Newt Gingrich now is to catch up to him with his hatred of Obama, his willingness to take on the American establishment." The MSNBC host also speculated that Gingrich's victory would give Obama an opportunity to grab more moderate voters.

Maddow pointed out that there have never been different Republican winners in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Iowa before. While Matthews compared the volatility of the race to past elections, he was firm that Gingrich had just re-defined the rules of the game. "The right has won in South Carolina," he declared.

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What conservatives say about Newt:

Comments

[Billy Dinkins]

04:27 PM on 01/24/2012

MSNBC=Propaganda for the Left....FOX=Propaganda for the Right.

[An Independent Woman]

04:00 PM on 01/24/2012

Sarah speaks.... you can hear the crickets......

[An Independent Woman]

03:58 PM on 01/24/2012

I know it's not right to talk about what an intelligent and articulate woman looks like. That being said, Ann Coulter fluking scarey, no?

[SantaMonican]

03:33 PM on 01/24/2012

There are many republicans in this country, that will actively campaign for President Obama, if Newt is the nominee.

[Billy Dinkins]

04:27 PM on 01/24/2012

Says whom?

[JayMonaco]

03:09 PM on 01/24/2012

The Peggy Noonan quote is hysterical. "Watch this!"

[movingman64]

01:01 PM on 01/24/2012

Ann, eat something just eat. you look like a white person with an Ethiopian famine!!

[SisterAnn]

01:49 PM on 01/24/2012

It kind of makes a person think "you can be too thin"

[movingman64]

03:04 PM on 01/24/2012

yes!

[SisterAnn]

12:51 PM on 01/24/2012

Andrea Mitchell, Greenspan's wife, says both are doing so badly that the republicans will have smoke filled rooms choose who to run for president and it will be Zeb Bush and Mitch Mcdanials.

Just what we need is another Bush.

[Ipanemagirl]

12:06 PM on 01/24/2012

Newt's tax plan would force romney to pay how much in taxes? answer: ZERO
How can you recover an economy and a disparity by giving the rich a complete tax break while we , the 99%, pay almmost half of our incomes to taxes. Its totally absurd and needs to be changed!

[binxterdoodles]

11:27 AM on 01/24/2012

Haha, no Chris, it's NOT fair to say that Obama represents the "center left". Clinton represented the "center left". Obama is far more left than Clinton.

[JB1977]

12:29 PM on 01/24/2012

That's laughable. On what issues? Glass-Steagall and NAFTA are probably the only ones Obama is to the left of Clinton, although I guarantee Clinton regrets Glass Steagall at this point.

Clinton raised taxes. Obama has cut taxes and maintained the marginal rates that are lower than Clinton's marginal rates were. Clinton wanted to end the abolishment of gays in the military (like Obama), but was forced into the DADT compromise. Clinton wanted and pushed healthcare reform, but simply couldn't get it done. Obama is also to the right of Clinton on virtually every aspect of foreign policy.

[Bobbie-The-Jean]

02:51 PM on 01/24/2012

What a JOKE. By the gods, are you even paying attention? Obama is a friggin republican at this point. That's not even a matter off opinion. He's continued like 90% of Bush's policies and spat on most of his campaign promises to the left. Pay attention.

[JayMonaco]

03:06 PM on 01/24/2012

F&F

[VoteThemAllOut]

03:52 PM on 01/24/2012

So will you vote for him?

[DanoX]

08:17 AM on 01/24/2012

It isn't hard to figure out. Romney carries the West and Northeast, establishment conservatives. Santorum carries the midwest, religous conservatives. Newt carries the south, racist conservatives. Florida will be interestingly close, as all three groups are equally represented there. But in the end Mitt will get the nomination because he will have the numbers and the establishment behind him.

[An Independent Woman]

04:06 PM on 01/24/2012

I have many acqaintances of the Republicant persuasion and I live in Calfornia. There was a basic consensus that Pawlenty wasn't a bad candidate, but since he left the field, some have told me that they will not vote this year for two reasons. The first being that they don't believe any of the top three can beat President Obama. Secondly, they couldn't, in good conscience, vote for any of the top three candidates. The proof will be in the pudding, but like most republicants, these people are stubborn.

[DanoX]

05:41 AM on 01/25/2012

I've heard the same. A few say they might begrudgingly vote for Romney, but that is only if they vote at all.

[DanoX]

08:11 AM on 01/24/2012

The fact that there was a different winner in three contests shows just how fractured the Republican party has become. Too many years of peddling hate to the extreme fringes has only served to embolden them and drive away the moderates.

[pmag88]

07:06 AM on 01/24/2012

"The only way for Romney to beat Newt Gingrich now is to catch up to him with his hatred of Obama, his willingness to take on the American establishment."

I don't necessarily agree that disaproval of the establishment and hatred of Obama are one and the same. Maybe for some, but I think Gingrich not being popular with the so-called establishment among his own party, sort of points up the possibility that his intent is less about shifting this farther right and more about building a consensus that the system is broken. If he can do that and convince people that he has the ability to do what has been very difficult for Obama, then he would be the better choice for the GOP.

[CapitalismIsCancer]

07:03 PM on 01/23/2012

The DLC, DNC started this fire when they forced a black man through the 08 Dem nomination when America wasn't ready. The bigots who dominate most of the Southern states and some Midwestern states are in-the-bag for fascists who want to exploit racism in the lower classes.

[jbvbwysu]

02:03 AM on 01/24/2012

If America "wasn't ready," how did Obama get 53% of the vote?

Jim Crow racism still exists, but it's on life support...at best. I firmly believe that.

[Deborah H]

02:48 AM on 01/24/2012

THE PRES. WASN;T PUSHED INTO ANYTHING, HE WHIPPED HIS OPPONENTS FAIR AND SQUARE! YHE RACIST ARE JUST CRAWLING OUT OF THE DIRT WHERE THEY BELONG!

[ignacio sanabria]

06:19 PM on 01/23/2012

Meanwhile, America spends its best human capital wrangling between the left, the center, the right, and everything in between. What a waste!!

[mom2sons]

12:40 PM on 01/24/2012

hear, hear!

[SuperDW]

05:13 PM on 01/23/2012

There are about 3.5M eligible voters in SC. 600,000 voted in the GOP primary (250,000 of them for Gingrich). Seems to me that there are still a few votes up for grabs here.

[sansainte]

07:55 PM on 01/23/2012

I think so too. In many ways the media has added to this circus by creating the false scenario that any of the 3 Bozos actually has a mandate. A few thousand voted in Iowa. Not sure how many in New Hampshire, but I would be surprised if it was more than 600,000. And now South Carolina.. Wouldn't it be nice to let the rest of the states have their say before declaring the winner and new champion of the republican circus? And please let's keep in mind that for those that think this means any one of these guys BEAT OBAMA...no.. the real election isn't until November. At that point I think the Republicans will be horridly awakened by the fact that the entire nation will not buy into these race baiting, lying, voyeurs. I can't see any of them winning the national ticket.

[RozTorrier]

12:39 AM on 01/24/2012

The real voyeurs are those seeking to know intimate details of Gingrich's divorce 14 years ago, making public statements by his ex-wife with no proof that she is telling the truth. Come to think of it, there was never any proof that the women who told of Herman Cain's indescretions were not lying either.