>> whomever wins here will be the nominee. >> we are speaking with chad connelly of the south carolina republican party. >> mr. connelly, you mentioned the three or four states that get to go before everybody else. we see all of these editorials bashing south carolina and new hampshire. there has been two or 3 decade- long attempt to jump before iowa and south carolina. do you worry about south carolina's place in the process or about our allies in iowa or new hampshire? >> i do not worry about it. we do a good job of vetting out to those candidates. i battled the whole thing in florida. it was not the gop folks. it was the ninth person commission. they compress the calendars so that we all got moved up into early january. that is an issue the rnc will have to take a look at. i will stay on my narrative. a state like florida forces the issue and it should be more significant in the penalties than the penalties for states like us who our dates to accommodate florida. if south carolina were not a carve out state, we would not see the candidates come here and spending the resources they d

. >> joining me now is chad connelly, mr. chairman, thank you very much for being with us. what are you hearing in terms of how the weather could be affecting turnout down there? >> yes. it is good to be with you, and i just talked to my wife a bit ago and her parents live in grier and it's raining heavily out there apparently and tornado watchers may damp it down a little bit and i've been getting text messages in a bit. one of the big republican boxes has just near record turnout for primary already and there will be places with big time turnout and maybe the weather does keep some people in the polls this afternoon. >> what about some of these e-mail? there have been dirty tricks played and negative e-mails sent out in the gingrich campaign's name suggesting that there were some issues, and we don't want to go into it because they're completely false. >> right. >> is this -- this is unusual, and how does this happen? does it happen in south carolina more than other states? we know there is a long tradition of rough-and-tumble politics down there. what effect might that h

i think chad connelly is doing a great job focusing on south carolina. they are looking for a candidate to inspire to greatness. we'll lay out a plan for getting us out of the economic dolled rum and inspire us to american greatness again. >> congressman, evangelicals and conservatives. where are they going? >> it will be divided. a lot of the folks are for rick santorum and some are going to newt gingrich. mitt romney doesn't seem to be strong in my area but is strong state wide. it is a neck and neck race going into the final sevenhours. >> each candidate had to handle tough things. but out greeting voters and in terps of tax returns. you say mitt romney, you didn't mention him in the iniial group. was he hurt by the state's unemployment rate. which it does and basically his income is mostly in 15 percent capitol gains form when a lot of people are hoping for a w-2? >> mitt romney laid out a great economic plan and he is a leader to help us out of the economicuation and dr. paul is as well. but when you talk about tax return. i think neal cavuto summed

chad connelly chairs south carolina for the republican party.florida republican party chairman. welcome, both of you. first of all, let's talk about south carolina and the angry newt gingrich and rick perry comments. ron paul, notably deferent. rick santorum also different in their remarks about bain capital and about the investment banking career of rick perry. what are you seeing in south carolina? and do you like what you're seeing so far with this combative campaign? >> hey, andrea, glad to be with you again. there's no question about it. primaries are tough. they're bare the knuckles and pull the velvet off the hammer times. we're kind of used to it here. what we love seeing, though, is all across the nation, people are talking about the importance of south carolina. we knew all along, this would be the crucial place where the crucial votes would be taken, and we think we'll continue our tradition of 30 years of picking the eventual nominee. >> jim demint, the senator, of course, who is the conservative icon in south carolina, here's a litt

you're on with chad connelly. caller: hi. i'm going to take my wife to ashville nsked weekend for a get ay way. host: good. come on up. the built more house will be a nice place for you to stay. i'm a big mitt romney supporter. what's happened in the debate in the last two, knut gingrich has just gotten away with murder. he dodges every issue. he gives different talking points to different networks. he was voted out of the house three times and the fourth time he was successfully voted out by his own party. this man is just getting away with murder and i cannot believe that the -- anybody in south carolina would fall for this. i'm just really jup set by it. you know? and i'm just hoping that the trend that's gone this week will not continue to fall and people will see through to the truth. guest: and thanks. i appreciate you calling in. i don't want to move the needle for anybody. i really think that any of our candidates is going to be a thousand times better than this train wreck of a disaster we've got in the white house.

. >> chad connelly is the chairman of the south carolina republican party. their party -- primary is on january 20. >> can wait to see you in south carolina. >> what did you hear from the chairman? >> south carolina is going to be the states that the time is the whole ball game. what we have seen in the last few cycles is that iowa, new hampshire, south carolina is the preseason. it's the real goal is to amass the number of delegates you need to a secure the -- if the real goal is to amass the number of delegates you need to secure the nomination, you only get 28 in south carolina. there are 50 in florida. south carolina is the last chance for any candidate to seize the momentum for the regular season. >> jeff? >> just the questions of governor romney's faith opens the window into what i expect governor romney will try to do. he has gone through this process without giving any type of a speech about his fate for his religion. the chairman was interested in saying religion doesn't matter specifically. it matters what your relationship is and what you believe.

corning the fro-- concerg the frontrunner including jon huntsman withdrawing from the race are chad connelly the gop party chairman. it has been my pleasure to speak with him often. bob mcelwin the ohio congressman and againing rich surrogate you have seen him earlier, he has already endorsed romney and doug wei the senior advisor to ron paul. before i get to you on the hispanic issue i must interrupt myself and ask the former congressman the gingrich supporter we have just received word from the former speaker of the house newt gingrich who is saying, quote, with governor huntsman dropping out we are one step closer to a bold reagan conservative winning the gop nomination. by that i mean mr. gingrich means himself. you want to comment on that? then we will move on to the afore stated question. >> after 15 years of leadership when newt became the first republican speaker in 40 years the second one in 70 years the first thing he did was reinstitute the reagan tax cuts ks triple the amount coming in from capital gains. when you look at what reagan stood for and what newt gingrich stood for you

." >> this morning, south carolina republican party chairman chad connelly previews today's g.o.p.l primary in his state. .

. >> well, chad connelly, thank you for your time. see, we didn't fight tonight.i've got a few rough ones for you. i'm just trying to get a handicap on the race tonight. you come back now, ya hear? >> have a great night. glad to be here. >> ron paul surging on his anti-war message. and has the beltway media been paying attention to him? but the dark truth that they won't way attention to about his views on america that is offensive and very ugly. my commentary is next. [ male announcer ] the inspiring story of how a shipping giant can befriend a forest may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take away the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals, and the storybook narrator... [ man ] you're left with more electric trucks. more recycled shipping materials... and a growing number of lower emissions planes... which still makes for a pretty enchanted tale. ♪ la la la [ man ] whoops, forgot one... [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. >>> we have some good news to report. our here are the

. >> chad connelly is the chairman of the south carolina republican party, dick har putly the chairmansouth carolina democratic party. gentlemen, good morning. >> good morning. happy new year. >> happy new year to you. you know, bachmann says she's bought a plane ticket, so did rick perry, says after iowa he's putting all his efforts into south carolina. not surprising that these conservative candidates are going to the next conservative state. do you think, chad, they'll all make it there? >> well, you know, it's beengoing to be a wide-open race. i've been saying a long time our state is the ultimate retail politics place. it's small enough everybody can chris-cross the state and let's face it, our primary voters have a high level of expectations. we'll see who survives wau awe and new hampshire and on to south carolina. like you said, since 1980 we've selected the right nominee. >> one thing is for sure, dick, everybody will have to adjust their strategy a bit depending on what we see hop hapiappening iowa. i want to play a clip from gingrich over the weekend. >> i think new hampshir

it was almost carmagetton, and chris, melissa and eugene have the details in the daily fix and chad connellyhat about the tea party? how about rick and ron all that and a lot more and what does it mean for president obama next on the specialec wooend edition of "andrea mitchell reports." ♪ feel the power my young friend. mmm! [ male announcer ] for unsurpassed fruit and veggie nutrition... v8 v-fusion. could've had a v8. this is mary. who has a million things to pick up each month on top of her prescriptions. thankfully, her walgreens pharmacist recommended a 3-month supply. now, mary gets 3 refills in one and for 3 months she's done. ask your pharmacist about a 90 day supply and how to save with the prescription savings club. individual memberships are just 5 dollars. enroll today. walgreens. there's a way to stay well. ♪ you and me and the big old tree ♪ ♪ side by side, one, two, three ♪ ♪ count the birds in the big old tree ♪ ♪ la la la [ male announcer ] the inspiring story of how a shipping giant can befriend a forest may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. ♪ ♪ you and me and the big ol

south carolina primary on january 21 with the chairman of the south carolina republican party, chad connelly, and on presidential politics. >> if you really want to see the candidates, c-span's "road to the white house" political coverage takes you on the campaign trail. >> don't know who's going to come out and who's not. >> you are. >> i'm encouraged by the crowds we're seeing. >> go to town halls, campaign rallies and meet and greets. >> thank you for coming. it was enjoyable. >> it's a pleasure to have a listening ear. thank you for giving one. >> i do have is a question for you. >> sure. >> what are some of the plans to do that? are you planning on taxing some of these big companies for shipping work overseas? >> i want a tax code that clears out all of the loopholes -- >> watch the new hampshire coverage on c-span television and on our website, c-span.org. next week, a look at online piracy legislation, the debate over spectrum and other key telecommunications issues expected this year. >> well, as 2012 begins, we thought we would take this opportunity on the "communicators" to look at

you can -- chad connelly joining us on the line. you can join the conversation. mr.? guest: i am not very good at picking. i thought my princeton tigers would do better, too. so i am not much of a prognosticator. i tried to stay out of being the strategist for the team. i think it will be very close. it would not surprise me if the pundits and the talking heads get ahead today. host: what do you mean by that? guest: there is a national- already written. sometimes, people are just looking for a line. i would not be surprised if there was a new story coming out of south carolina than the one that has been written for the last couple of days. host: what are their top three concerns about the candidates -- overall, as far as what they want the candidates to accomplish if he becomes president? guest: in south carolina, we have 50% social conservatives who make up the boat. it will always be an issue -- make up the vote. it will always be an issue to make sure that they have the right to life correct and traditional values correct. what obama has done, specifically in sout

chad connelly is the chairman of' south carolina's republican party and rick harpootlian, the chairmanlina. we heard the gloves come off in south carolina. what does that mean. >> people note races are decided here. people look at south carolina and they realize if they are going to win, they have to win here. megyn: i heard some people say it's a cheap media market and it's easy to run ads. >> i think south carolina first of all has a history of this sort of -- lee at water is a buddy of mine and he developed this 30 years ago. we remember the whisper campaign of john mccain having a mixed race illegitimate child. he came to the gunfight armed with a knife. mitt romney has all these terriers nipping at his heels. i watched tv this morning. in the 24 hours since new hampshire. the negative advertising from these independent groups is brutal on mitt romney. you would -- i have never seen republicans in 40 years of watching politics go this negative on another republican. i have got to say, it's fun to watch. megyn: i want to ask you. you mention that back in 2000, when john mccain and g

bill: chad connelly, runs the republican party down there in south carolina. you as well.artha. >> fox news is americas's election headquarters. you know that, right? full coverage of the south carolina primary all day long with bret baier and megyn kelly. that kicks off 6:00 p.m. eastern. we have you covered all over south carolina. bill: look forward to spending time with you. i hope your husband is cool with that. martha: operation "fast and furious", a federal official was questioned on this and he is choosing to stay silent. what does know about the botched gun program that he is not saying? bill: also mysterious illness hitting a small town. we'll talk to doctors treating a group of young girls with the same bizarre symptoms. >> i'm talking about something that just comes on within a couple of weeks and these kids are just totally normal and then next thing you know they're going, blahh and their arms are swinging and they can't control themselves. you know when i grow up, i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i wan

. >> tomorrow on "washington journal", chad connelly, adam green discusses the progress of strategy intino from the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. washington journal live at 7:00 eastern on c-span. >> next, chicago mayor rahm emanuel 6 part on the form of the presidential campaign. then michael bloomberg on his efforts to improve the city's education system. >> hoover argued a couple of things. he argued that american policy toward japan in 1940 and 1941 was rather provocative and perhaps in a juvenile way he said we are putting pins in a rattlesnake. eventually the rattlesnake will strike back. >> saturday night on "after words," the former presidents evaluation of decision starting with the second world war right to the cold war. also this weekend, jeff charlotte on religion and the inter-american. and a sunday night at 8:15, understanding our constitution by looking at "the odd clauses." >> now, a discussion on the 2012 presidential race. chicago mayor and former obama chief of staff rahm emanuel were among those talking about the reelection campaign and the campaign for

we heard chad connelly talk about the upstate, the low lands and the midlands and markell beach. myrtl will be- -- and beach. they are more likely to be people are native south carolians. they are more culturally liberal. i should not say culturally liberal, but not as conservative as folks upstate. that is where mitt romney will do best. the key is for romney to make as many inroads as he can and to gin up turnout in the places he will do the best. >> he did not talk about the role of bob jones university. >> we have not seen candidates go to a lot of these religious universities. none of them have played the same role that they have in elections past, except for oral roberts law school, who granted to michele bachmann. this year, none of the candidates have given a speech at bob jones university. that tells you a little bit about the changing face of the republican party. even the evangelical voters that played such a pivotal role in iowa may not need you to check that box anymore. they might want to hear a speech about your beliefs on social policy. >> jeff, final thoughts? >>