Posted on 06/25/2016 9:09:04 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
LOVE HIM or hate him, there’s never been a presidential candidate quite like Donald Trump, and there’s never been a presidential campaign season quite like this. All the ordinary rules etched into political science textbooks about how politicians should walk, talk and strategize have been tossed out the window.
It’s a new political world, and that makes the political-prediction business as unreliable as the weather—and at times, as volatile as hurricane season.
But this is precisely why at this chaotic moment in U.S. history, when it feels as though almost anything can happen, Trump will likely pick as his vice-presidential running mate Newt Gingrich, a well-established, well-known political insider. The Gingrich choice would expand Trump’s image as a renegade outsider hell-bent on tearing down the status quo, by bringing in a politically experienced and astute partner whose mastery of the inside game of national politics once made him extraordinarily effective in forcing change.
Gingrich would surely be an interesting pick. Despite his long history in the Republican Party, he doesn’t fit the conventional mold for a modern Republican vice-presidential candidate. He isn’t young and energetic; he can’t deliver Trump an important swing state such as Iowa, Florida or Ohio; and he wouldn’t make a particularly spectacular ambassador to minority groups, those living in urban city centers, or to women—groups polling show Trump is struggling to win over.
What Gingrich can bring to the table, however, is a storied, policy-centered past. As speaker of the House from 1995 through 1998, he achieved several important, pro-liberty policy victories.
In 1996, Gingrich worked to implement much-needed welfare reform, which led to a nationwide decline in welfare rolls of 70 percent. Many of the reform ideas Gingrich promoted and urged lawmakers to adopt at the state level—including time limits, work requirements and asset tests—are still being discussed and advanced today in state capitals across the country.
Throughout the 1990s, Gingrich and the Republican-led Congress oversaw tremendous economic growth, and under Gingrich’s leadership, Republicans demanded President Bill Clinton agree to important government spending cuts, which eventually led to a budget surplus, a feat that now seems virtually unthinkable. They accomplished all this despite reports released in 1995 from the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office predicting $200 billion budget deficits for the rest of the 1990s.
Gingrich’s congressional history, while impressive, is by no means a perfect picture of pure conservatism. In the 1980s, Gingrich opposed drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, before reversing course on drilling in the late 2000s. In the 1990s, Gingrich supported a government-imposed individual health insurance mandate. In 2008, he acknowledged on ABC’s “This Week” he would have voted “reluctantly” for bailing out failing billion-dollar banks had he still been in Congress.
Although Gingrich may not be the most charismatic or exciting potential vice- presidential pick, he does have something to offer almost everyone Trump needs to bring together if he’s going to capture the White House in November.
Gingrich is one of the few mainstream conservative voices to have supported Trump from the beginning (or close to it), making him a palatable choice for Trump’s devoted base. Gingrich can appeal to middle-of-the-road voters and those skeptical of Trump’s lack of governing experience, thanks to his own decades-long career in Washington.
Gingrich would also likely help Trump appeal to the “Never Trump” crowd concerned about the real estate mogul’s left-leaning past and history of supporting Democratic Party candidates, including Hillary Clinton herself. Perhaps conservatives would see Gingrich as a reliable agent able to ensure Trump chooses true constitutionalists to fill current and future Supreme Court vacancies.
Most important, in a year when few may actually be willing to sign on to Trump’s controversial campaign, Gingrich has repeatedly indicated he is interested in the job—and that may very well prove to be the most important qualification of all.
Newt would destroy whomever he faced in the debate.
Today’s meeting with Murdoch was about this very subject.
Reagan had a meeting like this forcing him to take on Prescott’s pro life kid; Reagan listened unlike Nixon who did not, and got Watergate for daring to put in Ford.
Oops, I meant Reagan had a meeting like Murdoch’s with Trump today about taking on Prescott Bush’s PRO ABORT kid, HW Bush.
Governor Greg Abbott of Texas. He is the man who gave the country the injunction against Obama’s lawless Executive Order keeping millions of illegal aliens here.
Abbott was former AG of Texas. He does not seem to be a globalist, he is very, truly conservative and has a Mexican American wife.
He would be a wonderful balance to Trump’s economic and business experience because he is a brilliant legal mind.
Gary Sinise for vp!
Newt, maybe. Cruz, never. More likely a female. Fallon or Blackburn.
Sinise? Weird and off the wall. Sinise is a good guy, but what is his background.
What impact will Abbott’s handicap have on a potential selection. Paraplegic.
No way. It would throw away certain victory.
Jon Voight. The periodontist.
I'd like to know, to quantify it, but Marsha Blackburns attractive face and feminine demeanor would be worth a LOT of votes when people--male or female--see her and then see pictures of Huma-munching Hillary or Fauxcohantas. Two screeching hysterical old cones not aging well at all, juxtaposed with Marsha? Like it or not, that would be worth a lot.
You are spot on. It will be Marsha Blackburn.
I would guess that the vetting process would uncover any big issues with his handicap. He has been able to overcome it it seems. His wife stuck with him. The marriage seems to be a love story.
Abbott is a good guy. If Trump is ok with his situation, and he becomes the choice. I am cool with that.
Someone like Clint Eastwood, only younger
OMEROSA!
I LIVE Gregg Abott he is a hard core conservative much more than Perry!!! I see NO reason why Trump would EVER take into consideration a disability because he HAS NONE this man had a spine of steel for someone who can’t use it to walk!!!
Justin Haskins could have shortened his article a lot by writing only two sentences.
1. Nobody knows who Trump will pick.
2. But I want to write why I (Justin Haskins) would pick Newt.
Sinise has been active in supporting Repubs and veterans issues. He may not be as conservative as I’d like, but for VP that’s not as important as helping Trump win the election.
And winning is where Sinise would really contribute.
As a well-liked and well-known outsider, Sinise would reinforce the insurgency theme of Trump’s campaign, and bring in a lot more votes than a career pol.
He’d also do fine in the debate, given his acting background, intelligence and popularity.
Trump started out the race with tactics from his show business/ public relations background, and it’s worked. If Trump keeps it up, and doesn’t start to play it safe now that he’s come so far, I can see him picking a celebrity outsider like Sinise for VP.
Concern noted
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