Concur. There have many, many, many, other times in Newt’s public appearances where he has walked the fence, sacrificing conservative principles, thinking he could win political percentage points, but never providing a political voice enumerating the perspectives of those he sought to represent.
What we have identified as “RINO” is too frequently a public personality/celebrity, who believes they can simply report a somewhat counter-liberal commentary and be associated with conservatism and politics.
The degeneration of American virtue is too far along to condone this type of mediocrity in conservative leadership.
Politics is more than simply expressing some popular thoughts. There is a process of identifying and communicating amongst multiple parties with similar base values and virtues, their common perspectives, especially to adversarial opponents lacking any virtue in worldly power structures.
Newt too often has rolled into the same mediocre level od popular politics, which appeals to the criminal and corrupt, as well as the conservative.
At this stage of the game, I would recommend he not only back out, but change his attitude back to virtue and provide guidance to those less scarred in the public eye.
If he runs now for public office, he simply becomes a detractor, encouraging a split between Tea Party candidates and Republicans, affording Obama the same advantage Perot gave Clinton nearly 2 decades ago.
The overwhelming majority of the “political class” needs to be put out to pasture, IMO.
I don't see this country turning around for the better without a total collapse and a rebuild from the ground up, and although I don't see that happening anytime soon, I am having a hard time seeing another viable solution, but I sincerely hope I'm wrong with that sentiment.