Posted on 12/09/2011 3:59:33 AM PST by Carolyn826
I had a friend once who amused herself thinking up bumper stickers for states. The one she made up for California was brilliant. "California: It's All True." It is so vast and sprawling a place, so rich and various, that whatever you've heard about its wildness, weirdness and wonders, it's true.
That's the problem with Newt Gingrich: It's all true. It's part of the reason so many of those who know him are anxious about the thought of his becoming president. It's also why people are looking at him, thinking about him, considering him as president.
Ethically dubious? True. Intelligent and accomplished? True. Has he known breathtaking success and contributed to real reforms in government? Yes. Presided over disasters? Absolutely. Can he lead? Yes. Is he erratic and unreliable as a leader? Yes. Egomaniacal? True. Original and focused, harebrained and impulsive—all true.
Do you want evidence he's a Burkean conservative? Start with welfare reform in 1996. A sober, standard Republican? Go to the balanced budgets of the Clinton era. Is he a Tea Partier? Sure, he speaks the slashing lingo with relish. Is he moderate? Yes, that can be proved. Michele Bachmann this week called him a "frugal socialist," and there's plenty of evidence of that, too.
One way to view this is that he is so rich and varied as a character, as geniuses often are, that he contains worlds, multitudes. One senses that would be his way of looking at it. Another way to look at it: In a long career, one will shift views, adapt to circumstances, tack this way and that. Another way: He's philosophically unanchored, an unstable element. There are too many storms within him, and he seeks out external storms in order to equalize his own atmosphere.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Peggy Noonan?
Good lord...that prune has been on the wrong side ever since a million points of BS
snotty urbane beltway moderate
the Sally Quinn of our side
I’ll pass
Sorry... romney and newt will never see my vote... if that gets me removed from FR then so be it. I am one conservative that will never sellout to a progressive again.
LLS
*************************************
"You" people? "Like bill clinton"? Is that necessary?
Newt is not my first choice, but I will vote for him if he is our nominee.
We may not have the vote if we lose this election.
Just imagine how much we'd be bashing Noonan if she had endorsed Dede Scozzafava..
****************************
I doubt that not voting would ever cause that to happen.
Actively promoting Romney? That's a different matter.
LLS
that mimicks very closely my own progression on all this more or less
i think most folks here have made that progression through all of this withering primary season of uncertainties and surprises
i wish Palin had run..boy howdy and we all thought for sure she would...something deflected her..like ducks flaring off over a shooting blind when they already cupping to come in when someone looks up too much in the sun or the caller chokes up on his call
you like me are old enough to recall that relative to that time against Clinton and Wright that Newt was indeed very conservative and hated by the media and that Reagan trusted him...
he is flawed ...very
but he is tenacious and driven and is on our side more than not and he will take the fight to the enemy
that is what it takes to win especially against a media and hollywood that is going to dig in to preserve Obama
nie post
***********************************
Pointing out that your post was encouraging a Romney supporter isn't accusing you of lying. It is my opinion that the point of this thread was not to discuss Newt's weaknesses, it was an attempt to remove him from the competition so that Romney might benefit.
In effect, it is promoting Romney by damaging Newt.
LLS
I would suggest our best possibilities lie in Gingrich as President and then make sure we have as many conservatives in the House and Senate as possible to keep him in line on his fringe issues. I think Gingrich would wipe the floor with Obama in a debate and would easily win the general be we would need a strong House and Senate to support him and keep him directed toward his conservative side. He does tend a little left on some issues but could be controlled.
Life begins at conception and the several convictions of murder of the unborn when the mother is murdered.
I can respect the fact that you don't care for Gingrich, but saying he and Romney are the same is BS. They are not even close.
Fiscal man... you did read where I said fiscal... not social... not abortion... not butt piracy... savvy?
LLS
Well argued.
Newt has too many “solutions” for things. Not all of them are good and necessary. He needs to listen to people who would rather not be bothered with any of his “solutions” to problems they really don’t have, but who neverthe less are made to suffer because someone else in the same situation might. Still, Newt will mop the floor with 0, and that would be worth much.
I remember in Junior High in 6th Grade I had a looney History teacher (now in Jail for life... long story lol!) complaining in 1994 about Newt's "Contract For America" and you'd think someone hit him with a hammer the day after we retook Congress!!! Maybe that's what set this "teacher" off the deep end...
I think you hit the nail on the head on every point!
I remember a few months back during one of the debates, it may have been the one onyx attended, but Newt absolutely wiped the floor with everyone. What had my standing ovation for him was when he said Dodd and Frank belonged in prison!!!
Baggage, well I'll take baggage over two Marxists. Romney gave us Obamacare, gay marriage, flip flopping worse than John Kerry could ever imagine! Then you have Nero who has the most abdominal vermin in every part of the Government! Did you all see how smug Holder looked yesterday? These people make Bill Clinton look like a Saint!!!
I like JR and onyx was with Palin, then when she bowed out we went to Cain until he was destroyed (although his handlers didn't help him at all), Perry excited me until he threw the "Heartless" dagger at us, hence my tagline since he made that disgusting comment!!! Bachmann has no organization at all besides sending lots of emails which I have go to spam now. Santorum, no chance. Huntsman worked for Obama, so no dice for me, and Ron Paul would probably on Day 1 dissolve the military...
I LOVE what you said about Newt and Reagan united to destroy the Soviet Union!!! From a historical point you nailed it!!! They truly did defeat an evil empire, and I have really been encouraged by Newt's foreign policy stance, something tells me he won't be bowing down to dictators or having an "apology tour"...
Get ready though because if you thought the destruction of Cain was bad they are going to try and crucify Newt! We just need to stay strong and IGNORE the "Romney is the only way we can win...", that's what the McCain people said!
Did you read Jim Robinson’s post?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2818122/posts?page=11#11
I don’t agree with you about Newt and Romney, but I do understand being hesitant about voting for someone one perceives as unacceptable. I felt that way about McCain, but I voted for him anyway. For most of the past three years I bitterly regretted it, but I have changed my mind. I’m glad I did all I could to prevent what happened.
You never even went to the "On the Issues" site.
I was thinking the same thing. hey all Mitt supporters - we (those of us who are Conservative) do not and will never like your man.
Granted we will all vote for whomever the Republican is but if Romney wins we vote for him only as a slightly better alternative to the Marxist that currently is infesting this nation and residing in the White House.
**************************
Well, that's unfortunate. Did you read Jim's post on this thread, LLS? He's made a few recently, on various threads. Have you read any of them?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.