Newt Gingrich in New Hampshire speech: I'm best debater in GOP field

Politico ^ | November 21, 2011 | JONATHAN MARTIN

[Cincinatus' Wife]

NASHUA, N.H. — Newt Gingrich has made his refusal to launch negative attacks on his GOP rivals a point of pride, but he didn't hesitate to lay out why he thinks he's a superior candidate at a speech here Monday morning.

Channeling the oft-repeated comments of what Republican primary voters say they like about him, Gingrich held up his experience and debate skills to contrast himself with the other Republican hopefuls. Continue Reading

"If you stop and ask yourself: it's October of 2012, President Obama is spending $1 billion beating up the Republican candidate [and] you get to the debates, who do you want to have debate Obama to draw clarity between the various lies they will be telling and the truth?" he asked. "I think most people end up thinking I'm probably a better debater than my friends are."

To that, Gingrich got a loud ovation from the crowd of about 100 students and businesspeople.

Gingrich, speaking at Rivier College, had been asked by a student for "the one thing" that separates him from his Republican opponents. He listed three.

"The scale of the solutions that I propose — which are much bigger and much more comprehensive than any other person running for office," he said.

And, he added, there is his experience.

"I've actually done it," Gingrich said. "I'm the only person running this year who has actually helped create a national majority twice, in 1980 and 1994" (Gingrich was reelected to the House in 1980, but it's not clear whether he was claiming a share of credit for Reagan's victory, Senate Republicans winning a majority or both).

Of his record as House speaker, Gingrich rattled off a list of accomplishments.

"I passed entitlement reform, welfare, I passed a second reform, Medicare, which was done so well nobody noticed it," he boasted. "AARP was for it, the Democrats didn't oppose it."

Gingrich also noted his pushing through a series of balanced budgets.

"Nobody else running comes anywhere close to that," he said.

[Timber Rattler]

I'll agree that Newt is indeed a master debater---he can certainly debate both sides of an issue with equal intensity and seeming sincerity. However, he's been practicing and perfecting the manipulation of language for over twenty years now, and he even issued a pamphlet in 1996 explaining how to do it.

Language: A Key Mechanism of Control

Needless to say, he's fooling a lot of Conservatives now using the very same techniques he used to employ against the Rats. People need to look at his RECORD and not simply rely on his recent "debate" performances to vet him.

[SpaceBar]

The best description of Newt Gingrich was given by Michael Savage, who described him as a second hand white wall tire, retreaded and given a fresh coat of paint.

[txrangerette]

Committment to the conservative cause?

Judgement in all phases, personal and political?

And to what end do you USE your knowledge?

He’s an historian and a professorial type.

Nobody else in the race should sound like him. He’s the only one who should.

I agree with CW when she posted that Newt seems narcissistic.

And I added that we have that in office now...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Correct. To be a good debater you must be able to defend either side of any issue. I think Newt lost (maybe never had it) his moral compass. He’s in love with history but he hasn’t learned from it.

[HotKat]

I think one of the freepers uses it as a tagline. Preface name is Obama, not Newt.

[Carry_Okie]

It's easy to sound authoritative when consistency with your past positions mean nothing. One need not clutter one's mind with whatever one might have said before, focusing only upon what the particular audience wants to hear.

Perry does it too.

Situational reality is almost as much an advantage in debate as is subjective definition of terms.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

How does “Perry do it too?”

[apillar]

If Newt would have spent more time being a “master..uhm..debater” and less time having affairs with his staff, he might still be speaker of the house and have a lot less baggage for this presidential run.

[SgtHooper]

Agreed.

[jdsteel]

I was waiting for that one!!!!!! ; )

[elpadre]

Great debaters do not good presidents make -

debating skills are not the requisite talents of a good leader

[Carry_Okie]

How does “Perry do it too?”

Pretending to conservatives to be for "border control" and "against illegal immigration" not long after pandering to a bunch of racists at a La Raza convention is a fine example. "Border control" and "anti-illegal" are both subject to interpretation. One can "control" a border by letting everybody through, as control only means that it is being used as intended. One can "oppose illegal immigration" by allowing the same people to become legal residents.

See? It just had to be easy, as even Rick Perry can do it.

[ronnie raygun]

Kerry and his wife did the same when they were creating their healthcare mess. Insider trading for anyone else is jail time. Where is the screaming

[Venturer]

I believe you are right, the choice’s are thinning out and Romney and Newt will be the ones left standing.

If that happens, I go with Newt.

[Gator113]

Good.

Newt can beat Romney and he can disassemble Obama..... then he can ACTUALLY lead our country out of this mess.... competently and quickly.

[truthguy]

Reagan cleaned Buckley's clock in the Panama Canal debate circa 1977. It helped that Reagan was right and Buckley was wrong.

Absolute rubbish. I watched that debate and to me Buckley's team won (George Will was Buckley's partner) that debate. You could have interpreted it as a Reagan win but nobody could have believed that Reagan cleaned Buckley's clock.

And BTW, it was Buckley's policy that was adopted. We did turn the Canal over to Panama (with provisions) and there has been no negative ramifications, at least so far (despite the Manuel Noriega mess). So Reagan's predictions did not in fact come true. Now I'm a Reagan fan and voted for him twice, but in this case it was Buckley who was right.

[ken21]

and, gosh, newt is so-o-o-o intelligent!

at least as intelligent as obama and o’reilly.

/s

[USS Alaska]

Well, in one debate, Mitt Romney shut Newt up real fast when he pointed out that Newt had the idea for the INDIVIDUAL MANDATE.

I Expect Obama will have some fun with that too.

You are probably right, but Newt will have a good come back and will remember all three of his counterpoints.

Anita's boi toy will be safely back in Texas, hunting whitetail deer {on a private, enclosed "buck haven"} oblivious to the fact that Presidential debates are going on, and being grateful that he is not involved.

"Go ahead down into that draw, and push that 10 pointer up here, Pedro, and I'll make sure you get that stipend for college".

BOOM!!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I see you "do" just what the Left does. LIE about Gov. Perry's record and statements regarding the border, illegals and amnesty.

You don't disappoint. I expected nothing else. Which candidate gets such unscrupulous support as yours?

[Venturer]

That is the plan.

Hopefully it will become reality.

I don’t altogether trust Newt, but I trust Romney and Obama even less.
Perry and Cain cannot win the election.
So far all we have seen is Republicans ripping each other apart, and Republicans in Free Republic leaning toward one candidate or another and tearing down the others.

The problem with that is can they back a nominee they have speant months tearing apart. I hope they can or we will end up with the Democrats entitlement group electing Obama to a second term. Obama is going to be hard to beat, because he has so many people who ignore the problems in this country just to vote democrat or black or homo.These people think entitlements will last forever. It aint so.