When ordinary people think of Newt, I think they remember welfare reform, balancing the budget, and standing up to Clinton on the budget.
Compared to the horrors in the global financial markets today, and our unemployment and housing bubble fallout, the 1990’s look pretty good in contrast.
People would vote for Clinton again, because the 1990s were economically mostly noneventful.
The Tea Party was mostly about limited government, free markets, and fiscal responsibility. Local groups have turned it into whatever they wish — ours is hugely socially conservative, which made a lot of people leave. There is no youth movement in our Tea Party. (40 is considered young!)
Also, I started to feel cynical when the “Tea Party Patriots, Inc.” made Zazzle take away all my bumper stickers that referred to my being a “Tea Party Patriot” with a picture of a minuteman. I had no idea being a Tea Party Patriot would be trademarked. LOL.
LLS