Posted on 07/26/2010 10:21:53 AM PDT by NetRight Nation
The news that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich folded like a cheap suit in the wake of a brazen political attack on the tea party movement was sad. But not surprising.
As far back as his second term in Congress, in 1980, Gingrich sided with big labor interests until brought to his knees by a National Right to Work education campaign. Contrary to his image, Gingrich has demonstrated throughout his political career that he possesses no real ideological mooring.
Now, his legitimizing the NAACP’s crass political attempt to play the race card reveals him to be nothing more than a rank political opportunist – a White House-aspiring demagogue who prefers looking good for the liberal legacy media to standing up for our rights as citizens and taxpayers.
Practically-speaking, Gingrich no more subscribes to the tea party ideals of limited government, individual liberty and personal responsibility than President Barack Obama. At least, that’s what one could infer from his endorsement of liberal “stimulus”-supporter Dede Scozzafava in upstate New York last year.
In fact, Gingrich previously dismissed the tea party as nothing more than the “militant wing of the Republican Party” — a crude diminution of a diverse group of freedom-loving Americans.
That’s why, when the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People decided to play the race card against the tea party earlier this month, it wasn’t shocking to see Gingrich immediately raise the white flag and suggest that the Tea Party should give credence to this attack by co-hosting town hall meetings with the NAACP. Rather than rebuking this unfounded attack and exposing its political motivations, Gingrich chose to cave – again – in hopes of giving America a “teachable moment.”
This policy of appeasement had disastrous results in past. In fact, it is responsible for the GOP’s fateful retreat from its limited government roots after the “Republican Revolution” of 1994.
“When the Republican Party faced withering criticism during the government shutdown of 1995 to 1996, our leaders folded instead of standing their ground,” then-former Rep. Tom Coburn wrote in his 2001 book, “Breach of Trust.” “Rather than doing the hard work of explaining to the public, or even to rank-and-file Republicans, what was necessary to reduce the size of government, our leaders retreated.”
By taking the easy way out, and bowing to the altar of political-correctness, Gingrich established a pattern of appeasement that has defined the GOP to this day. Making matters worse, it was his arrogance which precipitated the costly sellout.
“He told a room full of reporters that he forced the shutdown because Clinton had rudely made him and Bob Dole sit at the back of Air Force One,” former House majority leader Tom DeLay later wrote. “Newt had been careless to say such a thing, and now the whole moral tone of the shutdown had been lost. What had been a noble battle for fiscal sanity began to look like the tirade of a spoiled child. The revolution, I can tell you, was never the same.”
Nor was the Republican Party — which from that moment began caving left and right to the Washington establishment it was elected to uproot.
In short order, Gingrich’s Contract with America gave way to bridges to nowhere and other big government spending outrages.
Now, in the hope of positioning himself as a legitimate presidential contender in 2012, Gingrich is again betraying the ideals of the limited government movement for his own political gains. Instead of calling NAACP leaders out as intellectual frauds, Gingrich is seeking to give their race-baiting views a national platform at the tea party’s expense.
Such appeasement is a recipe for disaster.
True limited government advocates should recognize both the NAACP and Gingrich for what they are – enemies in the fight for greater personal and economic freedom for all Americans.
That is the real “teachable moment” of Gingrich’s latest betrayal.
Howard Rich is chairman of Americans for Limited Government.
Read more at NetRightDaily.com: http://netrightdaily.com/2010/07/on-gingrich-a-legacy-of-surrender/#ixzz0uoGdnE3s
What do you expect from a womanizing slime?
What on earth happened to the gingrich of 94?
People have a short memory - Newt is not to be trusted at all, but smoothtalkers always have a way of swaying people into stupidity. WARNING WARNING WARNING - Newt is an opportunist who is banking on the Patriots to forgive and forget. I shall do neither.
bttt
Just another reason that Newt needs to stick to his television job . . .
I was done with Newt when I saw him in that global warming ad with Nancy Pelosi.
Totally and utterly done.
If you want you country back, then KILL ALL RINOs (politically speaking, of course), including this one. JMHO
Ersatz. He was never firmly on the side of limiting the government. In the article, the author discusses the cave-in to Clinton in 1995. The "Republican Revolution" was over in less than a year, without a single shot fired. We've paid for it ever since.
As for now, Newtie's on the couch with Pelosi again. It's obvious that's where he thinks he needs to be to run for President in 2012. He'll announce he's not running next Spring when he find out that he's not getting any traction.
He fought hard for a while, I would say from 1994 to 1998. He had the rug pulled out from under him by the RINOs, especially in the Senate, so many times, and then he was exposed with a woman problem, and he seemed to lose what fight he had in him. I think he has shown signs of the old Newt a few times (read his piece about how the war on terror should have been fought), but he has been all over the place in recent years, and I think he’s just a defeated guy who lost that devotion to principle that he had.
Newt is part of the McCain wing of the Republican Party.
This IS the “Gingrich of 94”!
Newt does not have the courage of his convictions.
You aren't the only one. (He got rolled the same way by Hillary when she was trying to tak over health care.):
"I’m just afraid that, no matter what Newt says or does from this day forward, when I’m in the voting booth and see his name, this is the only picture that’ll be in my head: 
No Newt. You're Disqualified. And take Huck and Mitt with you.
“Gingrich has demonstrated throughout his political career that he possesses no real ideological mooring”
He’s also demonstrated he has no real moral mooring.
That picture of those two on the couch... it never fails to trigger my gag reflex.
Mr Newt needs to to be the elder statesman, attack dog Conservative that can get a lot of ego-feeding press around him. He is an articulate but deeply flawed individual. He is not electable, nor should he be.
Maybe he had "womanizing" on his mind. Newt must be blind, she is a two bagger.
agreed. even with the views and thoughts of these three idiots out and up front for all to see, STILL people fall for their bullcrap. just hard to believe sometimes.
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