IT DOES not get more Republican than this: the ladies of Palm Beach, wrapped in velvet, silk and pearls, standing beside their be-suited husbands in a ballroom festooned in red, white and blue. The Lincoln Day dinner started with a prayer for God’s guidance in tomorrow’s primary.
Florida’s chief financial officer Jeff Atwater set the tone. The great Republican president Abraham Lincoln, whose silhouette was projected on the white curtain behind him, “could not have imagined the day would come when half the population would expect a cheque from the other half, earned by the sweat of their brow”.
The African-American Republican congressman Allen West, who served in Iraq, described himself as “the number one target for the Democratic Party” and “the embodiment of what Lincoln talked about . . . 50 years ago, those beaches my parents could not walk on [because of segregation] I now represent”.
Mr West called Democrats “the other side” and said they “see the safety net as a hammock”. The Democratic Party “was about slavery and segregation, and today it’s about socialism”.
Sid Dinerstein, chair of the local party, said “America is the last great hope for civilisation”. Republicans would be helped in November by “the Occupy people” who “have sent a message to America that says ‘if you keep these people in power, we will be a country of murders, rapes and anti-social activity’ ”.
Newt Gingrich finally arrived, an hour and 10 minutes late. Herman Cain, the former presidential candidate who was forced to drop out of the race because of allegations of sexual harassment and marital infidelity, was the surprise guest, telling the audience: “I hereby officially and enthusiastically endorse Newt Gingrich for president of the United States . . . And I also know that speaker Gingrich is running for president and going through this sausage grinder . . . because he cares about the future of the US.”
Mr Gingrich promised to appoint Mr Cain as co-chair of a commission on “jobs, economic growth and taxes” if he is elected. “This little thing” known as Cain’s 999 tax plan would become “part of the national conversation”.
With Mr Gingrich trailing Mitt Romney in Florida polls, Mr Cain’s support is unlikely to make a significant difference, though several dinner guests said they were impressed by the combined endorsements of Texas governor Rick Perry and Mr Cain.
At a rally earlier in the day, Mr Gingrich appealed to supporters of former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who had gone home to do his taxes and look after a sick child.
“The fact is [Santorum] is not going to win in Florida,” Mr Gingrich said. “There’s only one possibility of a conservative winning in Florida . . . the only effective and practical conservative vote on Tuesday is for Newt Gingrich.”
Placing himself in a long line of conservatives who have challenged Republican moderates, he made the central argument of his battle against Romney: “I believe if you get involved with moderates, you are too close to the Democrats. We tried a moderate strategy in 2008 [with the nomination of John McCain] and it failed. You have to have enough space between you and Barack Obama.”
Mr Gingrich offered simple answers to America’s problems. “I have a clear idea how to create jobs,” he said. “Lower taxes. Less regulation. More American energy.” He did not explain why that same policy destroyed the economy under George W Bush.
The former speaker of the House repeated lines he has been using for some months and the denizens of Palm Beach showed their appreciation.
“Never again will an American president bow to a Saudi king”; “Obama is the best food stamp president in American history. I would like to be the best pay check president in American history”; “I am for the Declaration of Independence. Obama is for Saul Alinsky [the late community organiser], for European socialism . . . ”
On his first day in office, Mr Gingrich promised, he would abolish all White House “czars” – policy advisers who do not require congressional approval. On the second day, he would move the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. And on the third he would approve the Keystone pipeline from Canada to Texas.
He compared his vision of a US base on the moon to Abraham Lincoln’s foresight in building the transcontinental railway, John F Kennedy’s prediction that the US would land a man on the moon within a decade, and Ronald Reagan precipitating the end of the Soviet Union.
“This is a big country filled with big people with big dreams,” he concluded.
Several members of the audience said they’d hesitated between Gingrich and Romney, but Mr Gingrich’s dignified manner on Saturday night convinced them.
“Tonight, Newt tipped the scales,” said George Blumel (75), a retired business executive. “He concentrated on real issues: taxation, regulation, the overwhelming control of government.”
James Edwards (69) especially liked what Gingrich said about marking a stronger contrast between Democrats and Republicans: “If it’s too similar, people might say ‘leave it as it is’.”
Mr Blumel believes President Obama’s goal is “total” government.
“His parents were communists. He’s a product of a Marxist family. He believes the end justifies the means, that truth is irrelevant.”