Posted on 01/13/2012 1:49:07 PM PST by indianrightwinger
Gingrich is a perverse product of political system
byTimothy P. Carney Senior Political Columnist posted January 11, 2012 at3:26pm with26 Comments
One reason to deplore our corrupt revolving-door politics and crony-corporatist economy is that it has produced a man like Newt Gingrich.
Through his defenses of his pro-corporate welfare lobbying efforts and his facile attacks on Mitt Romney's profits, Gingrich has emerged this election as an enemy of the free market -- an unlikely distinction for a member of the Republican Party, which is supposed to stand for the free market. The pious preachments of liberal college professors, the foolhardy machinations of liberal central planners, and the even the greedy public-policy profiteering of subsidy-suckling CEOs and regulatory robber barons are all less harmful to economic liberty than the insidious and Orwellian campaign by the former speaker.
Gingrich, both himself and through a superPAC technically separate from his campaign, has attacked Romney's lucrative career at Bain Capital. This is not automatically unconservative. There is nothing sacrosanct about making money, and defenders of the free market certainly aren't obligated to side with finance, as the bailouts reminded us. But the Gingrich video doesn't hit Romney for chasing bailouts or subsidies, for using eminent domain, or any sort of cronyism. Gingrich is attacking Romney for trying "to reap massive rewards for himself and for his investors."
The knocks on Romney in Gingrich's video are that Bain Capital "took foreign seed money," and that the struggling firms Romney tried to save laid off workers. The Gingrich narrative -- that Romney made money by laying off good working men and women -- is breathtakingly simplistic, the sort of thing you expect from an Upton Sinclair or a Dennis Kucinich.
(Excerpt) Read more at campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com ...
I’m not anyone’s bot, but I am hoping and praying Newt Gingrich first stops Romney and then whacks the Marxist right out of the White House.
If you’re implying that Newt can debate, I remember a debate he had with Bill Clinton in which Newt did so badly that Clinton actually looked Presidential for the first time since the 1994 election.
First he needs to whack the marxism out of his own soul.
Newt in 2012!
Give it a rest. I don’t know when your fantasy debate between Newt and Clinton happened, but he’s done pretty well so far.
WHY would the Speaker debate the President?
“Mega Dittos JN.”
So Mountain Mary, I’ll ask again.
DO YOU SUPPORT ROMNEY??
It’s a fair question.
BTW.... Romney supporting JN isn’t here anymore.
“I'd suggest that we all stop trying to tear down the other conservative candidates in the race and instead concentrate on trying to build up our own personal favorites.”
Concentrate on your favorite and build them up rather than attacking Newt and his supporters. Unless, your favorite is Romney, in that case post away and get banned. HA
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2829090/posts?page=120#120
ObamaCare = RomneyCare = CommieCare. NO Romney! NO WAY!!
Go NEWT !!
Just because some Conservatives have been defending Bain does not mean that they want this loser to win the presidency. Mittens underperformed in IA and NH and he is not doing great in SC. 66% of voters rejected him in NH, a state he should have cleaned house in. Your argument is BS. Zot you later.
I watched on TV, expecting fireworks. I think it was at the beginning of 1995 in New Hampshire. It wasn’t so much that Clinton destroyed him as Newt self-destructed. He acted like he and clinton were drinking buddies. He didn’t challenge the slickster on anything.
You must be too young to remember.
It wasn’t a debate. It was a photo-op. Newt thwarted everything Clinton did and then brought the articles of impeachment to the Senate. Your Marxist statement is stupid, childish and a lie.
Not an ounce of Marxism in Newt Gingrich, but perhaps you’d like to tell that to Jim Robinson, instead of me?
I actually was drifting toward Newt, but he’s a loose cannon. There is plenty to criticise about Romney, but Newt chose to criticise him for, choke, gasp, making a profit.
He could have gone after him for Romneycare. he could have gone after him for costing the government money in some of his takeovers, as described often by Newtbots trying to change the subject, except that Newt, himself, has gotten millions from the government.
He could have gone after Romney for crony capitalism, except that newt has profited himself from crony capitalism, so, instead he went after Romney for just plain ordinary captalism.
At this juncture, there is nobody in either party that I’m feeling all that enthused about for the Oval Office, maybe Santorum, maybe, but I’m very disappointed in Newt. Sorry, Jim, but there isn’t anyone to build up. We’re doomed, Artoo.
Well said. I am one of those fighting Bain attacks. Not because of Romney.
I’m sorry, but it was billed as a Lincoln-Douglas type of debate. I’m just saying that Newt isn’t the master debater as the Newtbots bill him. He is, but with the middle two syllables deleted.
And, I’m really getting sick of his commercials trashing Romney for (G-d forfend) making a profit.
I agree absolutely. Newt needs to shut his face about Romney’s business history. Santorum comes out of this looking like the hero he is.
“Santorum comes out of this looking like the hero he is.”
I wouldn’t go so far as to call Santorum (or most politicians) a hero, but he does come out of this looking better than either Newt, Mitt, or the other Rick.
On the basis of comparison of records in governance, there is simply no contest who is best prepared to defend the Constitution and conservatism as president. Newt Gingrich had to first take down the establishment republicans before he could become the conservative revolutionary and take out the democrats in the House after 40 years.
Look who supports Romney now, led by John Sununu (advisor who influenced Bush 41 to break the no new taxes pledge, and brought us Justice Souter), Bush 41, who does not forgive Newt for standing with him when Newt refused to be part of the new new taxes betrayal The ‘victorious’ John McCain and a whole gaggle of the moderates who didn’t get us anything but defeat in ‘08 and showed us we need to be ‘fair’ with the historic Obama. Compare that to who supports Newt, led by Art Laffer, architect of Reaganomics, Thomas Sowell, Palin’s (Todd has publicly, Sarah has all but said it) and you will know where we are as a party.
Romney can claim credit for running a successful business, making money and restructuring some businesses. He claims his efforts created 100 thousand jobs. Newt can claim credit for being a key driver of Supply-Side economics and helping enact laws that created an economic environment that led to 11 million new jobs. Newt went on to become Speaker of the House, led to spending and taxing reform, forced Clinton to a ‘Triangulation’ strategy and was in power during a time when unemployment was effectively 4%. The markets soared after the American people voted in the Gingrich House, because Newt’s conservative leadership created consumer confidence. Anyone who wants to credit Clinton need only look at his decisions before Newt, and after.
Gingrich took action on the Clinton crime enterprise, formed the Burton committee and took action on crimes that aligned with a tremendous advance in Chinese technological capabilities. Not a day goes by that we don’t suffer economically from China’s advance. By necessity, many jobs that were ‘saved’ by Bain’s acquisitions had to go overseas. Newt Gingrich pushed the House committee that led to the Impeachment of Clinton. Without his strength, Gore would have had an easy course to the presidency in 2000. Newt left the congress strong and conservative, the moderates ran it into the ground.
The moderate GOP senate never forgave Newt for forcing the Impeachment Trial into their hands. When the heat came on Newt for that phony ethics problem in ‘98, it was moderates who turned on him. Moderates are the problem - Romney is a moderate.
Our country owes a debt of gratitude for Newt’s record of service in governance. Romney has one unimpressive term as governor of Mass. All his other service has been as a capitalist who in many ways benefitted from the efforts of Newt Gingrich. I will be thrilled to elect Romney the president of the Chamber of Commerce. May his skills in business be shared with us all.
For President of the United Staes, I want the candidate with the real record of conservative service and results for our country. I support Newt Gingrich.
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