Romney joins rival Gingrich in the viper pit, and it's working

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NAPLES, Fla. — The increasingly negative tone of the GOP presidential primary race here comes as no surprise to Mitt Romney supporter Paul Juster.

"If you're going to get in the ring with the big boys, you've got to be just as bad. If you're in a viper pit, you've got to be a viper," said Juster, who retired to Florida from Massachusetts, where Romney served as governor.

Romney is on the attack and key supporters from Utah are playing a role in helping him take on chief rival Newt Gingrich. With the election only days away, polls show the strategy appears to be working.

Juster said he's trying to ignore the bitter back-and-forth between Romney and Gingrich. "They can shoot each other in the foot all they want," he said. Still, he said it may be what's needed against an opponent like Gingrich, who won the South Carolina primary after hammering Romney on the business dealings that earned him millions.

The loss taught Romney a lesson, Juster said. "It's a shame that it has to be this way."

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who is campaigning for Romney in Florida, said voters need to hear the tougher talk.

"I think people want him to be more proactive," Chaffetz told the Deseret News. "I think that was one of the challenges in South Carolina."

The newly aggressive Romney campaign is to show he can "take the fight to Barack Obama. That was the concern I heard from people, does he have the fight in his belly. This demonstrates he does," Chaffetz said.

Chaffetz, who first hit the campaign trail for Romney in Iowa, is attending Gingrich campaign events as a Romney surrogate, offering the media an immediate response to any statements made by the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Other Utah political figures helping Romney include former Gov. Mike Leavitt.

"I'm pitching in wherever I can," Leavitt said before leaving Florida on Sunday. "Romney supporters have reason to feel optimistic, but there is little certainty, and all systems are at full throttle."

Frank Ball, another retiree in Naples, said he understands the need for Romney to go on the attack.

"I'd be happier if it wasn't taking place," Ball, a Romney supporter, said. "But I don't think anyone can stand by if the guy is doing that. South Carolina proved that."