The GOP has virtually no bench in Oregon, so if Newt was endorsing a “pro-choice” candidate who otherwise had a conservative record and who had a strong chance of defeating the liberal Democrat Merkley in the general election (such as, say, Congressman Greg Walden, who is too liberal for his conservative district but would be acceptable as a statewide candidate), I would be willing to give him a pass (after all, we’re talking about Oregon, not Wyoming). But Wehby is a social liberal with no record whatsoever, has given no indication of being a conservative (she’s of the “mend it, don’t end it” school of Obamacare capitulation), and has very low odds of winning the general, so why would Newt endorse the RINO Wehby over proven conservative Jason Conger?
I really liked Newt from like 1993-1997—he thought outside the box, fought to increase the influence of conservatives, and did his best to convince persons from all backgrounds and all walks of life that the Republican Party was better attuned to their principles and needs than the Democrats. But for over 15 years now, Newt has provided nothing but disappointments. I’m glad I never got fooled into joining the Newt for President movement, even when so many FReepers were claiming that Newt was “the only conservative who could stop Romney” (which, I guess, is why he only won one primary, huh?).
There was serious cognitive dissidence on that one. Newt's name was mud a year before the 2012 primary, then he was suddenly he was a "bold Reagan conservative" because he says so. Impy thought the Newt fan club would realize the guy was going nowhere after he got crushed on Super Tuesday, whereas I thought the Newt fans were so delusional they would continue to claim he'd somehow win the nomination after losing 20 states and winning 2. Turned out my prediction was correct. Hell, a bunch of them STILL were living in their imaginary world of a "brokered convention" after Romney had won most states and the rest of the candidates dropped out.
Disturbingly, there's still some die hard "Newt 2016" posters on FR to this day.