For the
record, I don’t particularly care for Newt Gingrich. He is abrasive, obstinate, and at times
inflammatory, but he is also coherent, intelligent, and consistent in his
politics. I am not sure these are bad
qualities for someone who may be in a position to make hard choices and then
have to stand behind them.
A few days
ago I wrote about not caring for either of the leading Republican candidates, but since then there has been an onslaught of attacks against Gingrich, based on rumor, innuendo and outright lies. When I see this scale of attack I have to ask what is
behind it and why? I think both are fairly easy to answer.
Why are we
seeing this now? Simple - Romney and the
money people who run the mainstream Republican Party are losing, on the issues
and on the candidate; so they are using all those funds he has amassed to win
Florida no matter the cost. What they
don’t seem capable of understanding is the cost they will pay is the defeat of
their candidate in the fall, if he successfully becomes the Party nominee.
They have
unleashed all the tools they command, like blogosphere media celebrities Ann
Coulter, Matt Drudge and his “Drudge Report” and employed willing mainstream
outlets like ABC and CNN. Heck, even
that couch sitting Nancy
Pelosi has implied she has dirt on Mr. Gingrich. Yet when you dig below the surface none of
these attacks actually bring new information to the surface. For examples see Ms.
Pelosi only citing public record, and The
American Spectator, why is that?
I think it
is because the money of the Republican Party and the mainstream media know the
fiscal conservative Mr. Gingrich brings to the table an agenda that will disrupt the
business as usual approach, with unlimited pork barrel spending, the Congress thrives
on. What you are seeing today is reminiscent
of the Bush-Reagan primaries of 1980, where Mr. Reagan was accused of "Voodoo Economics." Can
Mr. Gingrich win in the fall? I don’t
know. But I am now convinced Mr. Romney cannot. That is just my opinion.
5 comments:
Hmm, maybe that's the case. Certainly because of your location you are front and center to the whole circus.
I guess I have a different perspective. It seemed like Gingrich was the one who took the gloves off and started in with the knuckles (the anti-capitalist Bain attack.)
My impression is that Gingrich has supported conservative causes, but that he isn't fundamentally conservative. I fear that he would be attracted to big, shiny solutions to problems, when what is wanted is a long, unsexy drive to undo government in its many small and mundane aspects.
But it's not as if Romney's a great champion!
What all of this is bringing home to me is that there is no savior. There is no solution from the top. It can only come from persistent pressure from the bottom, from a changing of hearts and minds that will leave our leaders no choice but to change business as usual. In that sense, this election is important, but just one in a long series of them.
I'm curious to see how things will look by October, or June, or even Wednesday!
WB, you could be right, but I don't think Gingrich focused the whole of his campaign on the Bain issue, certainly not to the extent we see the Romney campaign engage at. While I understand it is right to hold a person accountable for his record, for example to expect Gingrich to explain his ethics censure, or his voting record on an issue, the current approach goes beyond that. I find it has risen to the level of offensive. I am not sure I vote for Gingrich but I know I don't vote for Romney, and I don't like going into the polling place with only the lessor of two evils as my choice.
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John, I guess you are seeing a lot of anti-Gingrich stuff that I'm not seeing (not being in Florida and not watching TV.)
"I am not sure I vote for Gingrich but I know I don't vote for Romney." It's funny you should say this because it's exactly the way I've been feeling, with the names reversed. Truth is, if I vote for either it will be purely a matter of voting against Obama.
Perhaps this isn't all that bad. Say, for example, that Obama loses to one of these characters. Expectations might be so extraordinarily low that the winner might govern less like a savior and more like an adult. I could live with that.
its easy to see the unease for gingrich.
he cannot win, for all of the charcter flaws you already mentioned. plus a few more, and the fact that everybody who has to work with him thinks he's a pompous ass and hard to work with.
if there is one thing the GOP fathers want is a GOP vctory regardless of who it is.
they see Romney as the best chance to achieve that.
its the same reason the democrat fathers jettisoned Hillary and went with Obama despite his shallow resume.
they want power. the way to that is winning.
Gino, it is unfortunate the Republicans seem unable to come up with a candidate who can speak to the need for fiscally sound and less intrusive government without becoming a polarizing lightening rod. If either Romney or Gingrich are the candidate the President has at least an even up chance to retain office and that just shouldn't be possible based on his record.
Thanks for the comment
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