The defiant, mean-spirited former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has won the South Carolina Republican primary. So, what's that mean to the GOP? to America? Three GOP primaries. Three different winners. Let me try to sum it up:

For the GOP, they've got a dilemma. The ideology of the Republican Party is so splintered that its going to be impossible for the eventual nominee to rally the base around a clear strategy to defeat President Barack Obama. There's the Tea Party, the traditional liberal-bashing wing and the extreme Ron Paul-Libertarianism. Which strategy will resonate with enough with the GOP voters to get them movitated to vote?

The notion that Gingrich has staying power is hilarious. Where are the "family values" folks now? Did they stay at home in South Carolina? It's amazing that Gingrich's supporters are looking past his horrific marital indiscretions as a series of unfortunate incidents caused by the fog of Washington power grabbing. 

These same supporters are revealing an ugly side of America that says they want someone who is ready to make outrageous, race-baiting comments about what he knows how to solve to problems of black people on welfare and how the "liberal media" is out to get him.  The other underlying tone goes to religious tolerance. The "Evangelicals" - with Gingrich cheering them on - came out in force as a protest message that they didn't want a Mormon in the White House. 

Remember, the GOP same party that impeached President Bill Clinton for his affairs, and for the past 38 years has tried to forget the Richard Nixon Watergate disaster, in part, the result of a president who overstepped his executive powers.

Now, on to Florida. Look for Gov. Mitt Romney to squeak out a win there, but expect Gingrich to have strong showings in other Deep South states and other states that still fly the Confederate flag, and believe the South won the Civil War.