Posted on 11/30/2011 2:13:19 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
I am now officially a self-declared member of the “Not Romney” camp. I will absolutely, positively support Mitt Romney should he win the GOP nomination, but I believe the GOP would meet certain doom if he is the nominee. Therefore, should Gingrich be the only other choice, I’d side with Gingrich over Romney.
But I think in the next few weeks conservatives must ask themselves if they are ready to forgive Newt his sins. I’m not talking about his adultery and wives. I’m not really even talking about his ego. What I am talking about is only tangentially related to his sitting on a couch with Nancy Pelosi.
It was, after all, Newt Gingrich who advocated for an individual mandate long before Mitt Romney ever did. Gingrich has, like Clinton before him, been a “third way” fan of new fangled ways to do things. The conservative warrior people tend to think Gingrich is, often is not. Newt has a fascination with the shiny in policy and technology, hence the latest oppo drop on Newt that he once praised Donald Berwick, the Obama appointee chosen to oversee the death panels and shoving of grandparents over the medical cost savings cliff.
To be fair to Gingrich, he was offering legitimate praise to Berwick way back when and Berwick’s own writings that Newt praised would be damning to Obamacare. But it is the first of many attacks.
The real issue for Gingrich is that he is the Great American Sisyphus, always rolling his political rock up a hill only to see it go tumbling back down. And unfortunately for many, when Newt reaches the top of the hill and his political career starts its roll back down the hill, many others get rolled over in the process.
Gingrich is going to need to convince people he has changed. Conservatives must be ready to forgive him his sins. And as conservatives come to terms with Gingrich’s sins, they are going to be confronted by a man named Tom Coburn who wrote a book called Breach of Trust and a man named Robert Novak who wrote the foreword to that book. One excerpt will be particularly troubling to conservative activists currently enamored with Newt’s debating skills.
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Gingrich either felt that he could not use his office to control spending or was not willing to lose his office to control spending. This goes to the heart of the matter: If your decisions are based on not losing a position, you cannot effectively serve the best long-term interests of the country.
Sen. Tom A. Coburn M.D.; John Hart. Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders (Kindle Locations 1283-1285). Kindle Edition.
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If Newt can withstand the rehashing of Tom Coburn’s book — a book that portrays Gingrich as talking the talk, but betraying the talk once in office — we may have our anti-Romney. If not, I think Rick Perry may yet have a second coming if he is ready. I say that having asked many callers to my radio show who are Cain supporters where they would go. Most say Newt. The others Perry. And if Newt implodes? They almost always say they’d go to Perry — Romney is rarely their choice.
Some excerpts from Breach of Trust below the fold.
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Coburn made his presence felt immediately. It became clear to him that Speaker Gingrich, House Majority Leader Armey and the rest of the Republican leadership were not what they pretended to be. They were revolutionaries in name only, content to take possession from the Democrats of the machinery of government and then run it virtually unchanged. That froze in place the system of pork barrel spending that young Woodrow Wilson described in Congressional Government more than 130 years ago.
Sen. Tom A. Coburn M.D.;John Hart. Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders (Kindle Locations 55-58). Kindle Edition.
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Gingrich talked a lot about the importance of listening, but he was often not interested in discussing our ideas. He had a saying on his wall in the Speaker’s office that he quoted often: “Listen, learn, help, and lead.” The freshmen later developed our own quote about Gingrich: “Fire, Ready, Aim.”
Sen. Tom A. Coburn M.D.;John Hart. Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders (Kindle Locations 849-850). Kindle Edition.
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Gingrich would receive our input, but he rarely took it seriously. He usually made us feel as if we didn’t have much value because we didn’t know anything about the political game in Washington. We were from the outside and wet behind the ears in terms of politics, and we obviously didn’t know as much about history as he did. It would not take long for us to become “the conservatives” to him.
Sen. Tom A. Coburn M.D.;John Hart. Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders (Kindle Locations 850-853). Kindle Edition.
It’s unknown who created the criteria and what it all entails, but the meeting has a large contingent of Bachmann supporters. The reason why this is important is because TheIowaRepublican.com was told that this group has been charged with making a recommendation to the FAMiLY Leader’s board before they decide on who they will endorse. When asked why his board of directors cannot make a decision on their own, Vander Plaats admitted that the board will seek the input of others, and added that, “Wisdom comes in a multitude of counsel.”
Since showering praise on Gingrich in an interview with the Des Moines Register following the forum, social conservatives leaders around the state have been grumbling about what they think is a likelihood that Vander Plaats may endorse Gingrich.
Yesterday, an anonymous letter from a group called Iowans for Christian Leaders in Government distributed an open letter that they had sent Vander Plaats warning him about the negative ramifications that endorsing Gingrich would bring. The letter stated that Vander Plaats’ endorsement “may be guided, not by prayer and conviction, but by personal benefit and prior relationships.”
Vander Plaats traveled the state in 2008 to advocate on behalf Gingrich’s American Solutions. Gingrich also provided financial support to Vander Plaats’ effort to defeat three Iowa Supreme Court justices last fall. Vander Plaats also received financial support from the American Family Association and worked with Wayne Hamilton, a key Perry aide. …………
While Vander Plaats and the FAMiLY Leader are still searching for clarity, there is one thing he was very clear about. The process is more difficult because their goal is not to just find a candidate who can beat President Obama next fall, but this candidate also needs to be able to beat Mitt Romney.
The only question for Vander Plaats and the FAMiLY Leader is, what kind of candidate will best accomplish that goal? A surefire conservative whose core convictions match theirs, or a candidate who already has momentum or has the connections that may pay dividends down the road?”
I can live with Newt—He aint perfect—he has warts—but He can do the job. I don’t see anyone else out there? Ron Paul? You surly jest. He would be the sort of president we need. He might even become great.
Now we know where Mitt spends his campaign money - no one wants to listen to him so, better than campaigning, he puts his staff to work and here’s their work.
Jesus forgave him 2000 years ago. The American people are being called upon not so much to forgive him, as to assess if he's shown the "fruits of repentance": a chastened and changed mind and heart. I'm not convinced.
How can the way be cleared for one leading Presidential candidate with confirmed baggage, knocking another leading Presidential candidate out of the way on the basis (or competitive benefits gained therein) of mere hearsay and "unconfirmed" baggage?
To me, this is no justice.
I would say, in a moral sense, there is a definite line of priority here.
Just going on the headline question posed for the article. People have to get the order right on these things.
NO
Why not? I had to forgive clinton his sins and forgive zero not even being a natural-born citizen. Newt is better than both of those, smarter than and just as conservative as Bush I and II. That makes hom better thazn every President soince Reagan.
Some people have praised the current roster of Republican candidates and said that they were very strong. In general, I do not find them to be strong or appealing. Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich are the only two who stand out for me. Both seem to have some problems — but I would vote for either of them.
That is the wrong question.
The correct question is:
“Will the liberals and leftists be able to rekindle animosity among conservatives by constantly digging into Newt’s personal life after the liberals and leftists destroy every other good conservative candidate and pick not the weakest candidate but the one that looks strong but who has enough weaknesses that he or she can also be destroyed before the election?”
No.
No more rinos... Not now not ever... F newt and Mitt
There’s a WHOLE BUNCH of issues out there that are KILLER ISSUES.
“Killer issue” means if you get it wrong—you’re DEAD.
Get ONE killer issue wrong, all the other ones right—YOU’RE STILL DEAD.
The “not perfect” candidate will KILL YOU iffen he’s wrong on JUST ONE issue—if it’s important enough.
Forgiving and electing is two different things.
No. We just don’t want to vote for Romney.
Perry is done. Cooked. This time I am serious. He does not know that the election is 6 November 2012 and that you can vote at 18. Those are so serious problems. I definitely don’t think he can win the general for sure now.
I am beginning to believe ‘conservatives’ are a lot like Charlie Brown and Lucy.
Com’n Charlie kick the football!
You’re so cute giving up over and over on someone you never were for — just your standard opposition post.
Did you see Gov. Perry’s interview on Fox this morning?
Hit it out of the ball park.
No. He is disgusting and so is his blonde.
Every single one of our crappy candidates is 1,000 times better than anti American Obama....
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