Newt and the Governing Class

americanthinker.com ^ | 12/8/2011 | Steve McCann

[TBBT]

I just returned from the belly of the beast, Washington, D.C. There is not a more parochial or insular city in the country. While there, I had a conversation with two members of what can be described only as the Republican establishment, one in the print media and the other a K Street lobbyist. In short order, the conversation turned to Newt Gingrich and his surge to the top of the ladder.

There is no one more reviled in Washington than Newt. If anyone believes he is part of the establishment, he or she is mistaken. In fact, it would not be a terribly great stretch to say some in the Republican wing of the governing class would prefer to see Obama re-elected than Newt in the Oval Office. However, the vast majority of this class are now in a panic as the preordained choice, Mitt Romney, is truly threatened by the rabble in flyover country constantly looking for anyone but Romney. These people have settled, so it seems, on Gingrich. The increasing volume of commentary of the Beltway insiders and attendant vitriol toward Newt has become a near-hysterical tidal wave rehashing and embellishing Newt's supposed failings and personal "baggage."

[GLDNGUN]

I am speechless...forget his record...forget his lobbying... Just listen to a politician on what he says he is going to do and all will be well!!! Newt Gingrich is 100% progressive establishment...HE HAS EVEN SAID IT. Get your head out of the sand...time is running out.

You are kidding, right? You are the one needing to pull your head out of somewhere. Forget the record?!! Again, ARE YOU KIDDING?! Have YOU forgot Newt's record - leading the Republican Revolution in 1994, author of the wildly popular and successful Contract with America. He pretty much game-planned Reagan's re-election in 1984, and that was after Reagan took up Newt's suggestion in 1980 to ask Americans if they were better off after 4 years of Carter, which made him the slam-dunk winner in the debate.

You should be speechless because you don't have a clue. Let me repeat - NOT A CLUE - of what you are speaking of. Has Newt made mistakes? Sure, so did Reagan, but the final tally shows that Reagan, and then Newt are the 2 most important and effective conservatives during the modern movement. Period. End of discussion. It is not arguable. There is nobody alive even close to the conservative accomplishments of Newt, and that's before he takes the White House. Oh sure, some conservatives can talk a great game, but I want someone who can GET IT DONE. Newt GOT IT DONE before, and there's no reason to think he can't do it again.

[algernonpj]

"That’s the point. We either make our stand now and save our country from the progressives or they win. This is the end game."

I like Ron Paul.

He should be appointed as Secretary of Education to dismantle it.

And then in order, reappointed as Secretary of Commerce, HUD, Energy and Interior to do the same job.

If he could accomplish all that in four years, he should get a medal!!

You must have read his proposed budget.

[brownsfan]

“If he can survive that and get elected in the face of Obama’s billion-dollar warchest, then it would be a miracle.”

I’m totally pessimistic, mostly because of the electorate coupled with the biased media coverage.

However, I have noticed that Gingrich really, is getting under the skin of the liberals. I suspect part of that is that they fear Gingrich as an opponent. I certain they fear him as a president.

I think Romney would oppose Obama the same way McCain did, and the way the RNC says to approach Obama, that is, no direct assaults, be nice.

Gingrich is our best chance, and if he implodes, or if he just doesn’t get the job done, God help us all.

[Pollster1]

Oh my goodness, I love your bumper sticker! May I borrow it?

Use it early. Use it often. Feel free to sell it for a profit.

[Tallguy]

I’m totally pessimistic, mostly because of the electorate coupled with the biased media coverage.

Put another way, Newt will die the death of a thousand sound-bites. Democrats can get away with wonkish behavior and the Media lauds them as the smartest in the room. If a conservative does that... well, let's just say they won't allow it.

[surfer]

To compare Gingrich and Reagan in the same sentence exposes what you don’t know.

Gingrich is NOT a conservative. He is a progressive - self admitted progressive. Maybe that is what you mean by the “modern movement” - maybe you are really a progressive and not a true conservative either.

Gingrich had a lot to do with Obamacare, with the medicare reimbursements for the death panels. Newt co-sponsored over 400 bills with Pelosi and was happy to do it. Newt was all cozy over global warming - a true hallmark of the progressive movement.

Newt is BIG GOVERNMENT, BIG SPENDING ALL DAY LONG.

A victory for Romney, Gingrich or Obama in 2012 spells the end of America.

Funny how you had to go back over 30 years to find something good Newt did. Yeah back in 1984 and 1994 I was a huge Gingrich fan and supporter but the cancer that is DC got the better of him.

Look at what he has done since...

[lonevoice]

Thanks, it’s a good one. :-)

[larryleo]

The problem with putting a true conservative in is nothing will get done. To get what you want, you would need 60 Republican votes in the Senate to approve anything. At best, we can hope to get the majority in the Senate, but 60 is a little out of reach. A true conservative would also have more trouble winning the general election. You have to look at this more strategically. #1 priority is to replace Obama. To beat Obama, you’ll need to win back the Independents. The further you are to the right, the less chance you have. It might align with what you want, but you have to be happy getting some of what you want - most importantly replacing Obama.

[Timaeus]

However, the vast majority of this class are now in a panic as the preordained choice, Mitt Romney, is truly threatened by the rabble in flyover country constantly looking for anyone but Romney.

They're not panicked enough. I want the center-right political classes so panicked that even they turn on Romney.

[surfer]

What would you have done in 1775?

Worked with the Tories or with the Patriots?

Would you have said we can’t beat the British it is better to work with the Tories...etc???

Guess what it is 1775 ALL OVER AGAIN!

[GLDNGUN]

To compare Gingrich and Reagan in the same sentence exposes what you don’t know.

On the contrary, it shows what I DO know. I know that Reagan led the Reagan Revolution, aided by Gingrich in the 1980s, and that Newt continued the conservative vision with the Republican Revolution that started in 1994. Newt was the architect of that, and every single item on the Contract with American was checked off in the 1st 100 days of Newt's speakership. So, no, I don't have to go back more than 30 years to find something good Newt did. All I have to do is look at the last time he was in office. In case your calculator broken, the mid-90's is actually less than 30 years ago.

If you can't give credit where credit is due, that is a problem with your honesty, integrity and/or intelligence, not mine. I am just stating fact.

But, please, go ahead and humor me - what living conservative has DONE more for conservatism? Yeah, forget the talking points and platitudes. Look at the RECORD. It's not even close, which is why I'm assuming you haven't come up with a name thus far. There is no living conservative that has DONE more in office than Newt Gingrich. That is FACT. Again, it's not even close, and it's not arguable.

He was extremely effective as SOH during the Republican Revolution. I've already detailed all that he accomplished in a previous lengthy post. JimRob said it was a "must read". I'm afraid though, it was a waste of time since the very next day you see new idiots making the same lame arguments that are laughably false.

I give up. Some people can't be schooled. Yes, Newt isn't perfect, so he must be a RINO. Forget all that he accomplished for the conservative cause the last time when he was in power. All that matters is that he sat on a couch with Nancy Pelosi. *YAWN*.

You Newt haters, feel free to continue in your delusions and ignorance. Luckily, it looks like enough conservatives have the brains vote for someone that can knock out Romney, and then beat Obama like a red-headed step-kid.

Cry and stomp your feet all you want. Gingrich is a brilliant political strategist, helping Reagan in 1980 and 1984, then leading the GOP Revolution in 1994, kicking asses all the way, and he's about to do the same to Romney and Obama. I don't know why so many supposed conservative "experts" and pundits worry that Newt will self-destruct. Uh, he did manage to win a few elections, helped Reagan get elected twice with brilliant strategy, was the author of most brilliant election stragegy - Contract with America - in memory. Yeah, we don't want THAT guy being our nominee! LOL

Get on board, get out of the way, or get run over. Makes no difference to me.

[maranatha]

The dem and press dirty tactics which were so successful for years don’t work anymore. Not since the rest of America has been exposed to Obama, Pelosi, dem house and senate and the Tea Party. The lies are ridiculed now. If Newt did something illegal during the recent past which can be proven, ok. Nothing short of that will cause us to throw him over, certainly not media and enemies rehashing the past which was mostly their lies.

[maranatha]

Please understand I included Tea Party with the scum because American was exposed to people rising up and speaking truth to the lies and dirty tricks.

[fightinJAG]

I know.

[fightinJAG]

I accept it as a reality. However, there will be many of Newt’s new best friends who abandon him as quicly as they ran to him.

I agree with you that the most important thing, after getting Obama defeated, is to enlarge the number of conservatives in Congress.

However, there again, I won’t be shocked if they are either co-opted by Newt’s “intellectual conservatism” or at constant loggerheads with him while we lose precious time.

And, btw, I don’t conclude that “reaching out to Dems” is a benign political phrase with Newt. I don’t care so much about what he says as about what he does — and he has done some hummdingers.

I don’t trust him at all, which is why I say consider at least kicking up a little fuss before going all in with the guy.

[fightinJAG]

Does New have the stomach? I don't mean the self-confidence, but the courage to go against elite opinion when it matters. Neither Bush really had that. Reagan did.

I have no question that he has the stomach to do whatever it is he determines to do.

I think the question is: does he have the gut instinct to determine what it is that conservatism demands him to do?

Bush, for example, went against elite opinion by trying every which way to reign in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, including in 2005 introducing legislation to strengthen regulation. This would have gone a long way toward helping to minimize the housing crash.

The Dems fought Bush's effort tooth and nail -- and so did Newt Gingrich, the man who took millions of taxpayer dollars in consulting fees from Freddie Mac.

I find that inexplicable and politically unforgivable.

It doesn't matter how much courage a person has if he isn't being courageous about doing the right (conservative) things.

[fightinJAG]

Palin is not capable of finely crafted speeches.

Oh, and I disagree with you here. She has given some of the most authentically inspirational speeches in recent political history. And that's my definition of "finely crafted"!

[surfer]

Give me a break...spend some time in the Library of Congress Thomas Database and learn about the bills Gingrich co-sponsored with Pelosi.

He did 10X’s as much for the liberals and progressives then HE EVER did for conservatives.

Its 1775 again glad to see you would have picked the Tories to work with instead of standing with the real Patriots that made America happen!

[RobbyS]

Newt has been compared with Churchill, and Churchill was never a Tory. During the campaign of 1945, Churchill was curiouslly uneffective, His heart was not in it, because thought he despised socialism, he was in favor of the welfare state.

[Jim from C-Town]

Believe whatever you want. As I said before.