Posted on 12/09/2011 1:31:59 PM PST by Jim Robinson
Dang he is making it hard for me to not like him....
From a trust of ideology perspective, I'd rather have Bachmann, or Santorum, or even Perry.......but then I realize that none of them could even beat Romney and I pause.......
Obama has to be voted out, and not by Romney.
Newt, you magnificent bastard!
(did I really say that?)
There is no question that Newt has always been a super talker. And he is a very experienced politician, who has been a power in the back rooms of congress for many years. That has both it’s good and it’s bad sides, of course.
My problem is that he seems to lack a firm moral foundation. You can’t count on him. He started out the Contract with America like a real powerhouse. But then he reached a certain point and stuck, and for whatever reason he then started doing whatever clinton said in his last year in the speakership. At the time, I speculated that clinton had something in his FBI files. In any case, he caved in completely.
Reagan was divorced in his earlier years, but as he grew more mature he seemed to get stronger and stronger in his moral principles. He could be counted on. He didn’t bend with his advisers. When his speechwriters kept removing “tear down that wall” from his Berlin speech, he stuck it back in, several times.
I won’t repeat all of Newt’s recent flubs, but there are quite a few of them. Dede Scozzafava. Friendship with Pelosi. Just the other day saying that life begins with implantation, not conception—which he then retracted after his base was upset. But I cannot believe that that was just a matter of careless talk. He was very specific, and he is perfectly well aware what the arguments are. Probably he wanted to continue fetal stem cell research or chemical abortion.
His several divorces and affairs with aides over the years are far worse than anything Cain was accused of. Whatever one thinks of them, they will certainly be used to persuade the Evangelical vote to stay home, and that’s one of the ways that the Democrats took congress in 2006—because the Evangelicals who had turned out in large numbers for Bush got discouraged and stayed home. The media will have plenty to work with to accomplish a similar reaction.
We are certainly between a rock and a hard place at the moment. With Cain gone, frankly the only real hope I can see out there is that Palin will somehow be drafted or persuaded to run. So I’m not ready to hop on board the Newt train yet. But I can understand why it may seem the least bad alternative at the moment.
Could be, and I agree, he was not ready for the job. I liked him though.
I will also note that Newt could have been doing many other things since leaving congress but has chosen to spend a great deal of time and money working at the grassroots level to help republican candidates in state and local races. That also speaks well of him IMHO.
The fact that the elites hate Newt draws me to him. Newt has been all over the map (NY23}in some areas and has been willing to admit mistakes in the past. If he stays disciplined and speaks the truth he will be successful. I do not see any way Obama can win and have not seen any way for him to win in about 4 months. I wish Sarah would have run just for the excitement factor, and she would have won. I am not settling for Newt he would be my second choice after the early carnage in the debates. Great post Jim!!
2. My first preference would not be Newt.
3. We do not need a 3rd party run, too much riding on 2012.
4. See the other candidates very similar to what you described.
5. From the beginning I made the statement that I would prefer Rick Perry remain Governor of Texas. For this reason: as long as Rick is Governor of Texas he will not get too far off the reservation. He has powerful (and honorable) supporters who keep him in check.
6. It will be harder to do that with Newt, but it could be done. We do not need an academic (like Newt) but we need a leader, a young Dick Cheney Clone. Hmmm. VP slot? If we could find the Right VP for Newt and the Tea Party extract enough concessions from the Republican Establishment it might work. This is not about electing one man, it is about electing a man who will bring the right people to Washington, DC. People capable of building things, not people who only want to steal and destroy things. (novel concept?)
7. It is time for Americans to stand together against the common enemy. In this case an internal one and an external one. The internal enemies are the Leftist Dems, the Gobalist Traitors, Self Serving POLs. The external enemies we have always had, but Obozo has enabled the resurgence of the Muslim Dictators.
8. The storm clouds are on the horizon. It is up to US to decide how we will hand them.
"He's a man who might be more comfortable at Independence Hall in 1776."Now that is one of the most wise and apt comments I have read on FR in a long time (I might even have to borrow it next time I write a commentary). Too many conservatives have the idealized vision of our Founding Fathers; they forget that they were merely men, with all the failings of their fellow men, who were blessed with a vision, the education and knowledge to see one step farther than their peers.
Good piece and good info, Jim. I was for Sarah Palin in a big way, when she decided against running I was disappointed and didn’t have a favorite second.
With Cain out I’ve been thinking Gov. Perry and lately Newt Gingrich though I doubt Perry can recover and beat mittens. I believe at this point Newt can beat mittens so I’m going with Newt.
My exact thoughts.
Didn’t I hear Newt say he could see Romney as his VP? REALLY? No way! That will not be the right person. A Chris Christie is needed. A Marco Rubio. Someone with some solid conservative creds who will bring something to the ticket.
My goal is to follow my tagline. That way anyone in charge can be controlled.
I don't hold out hope but I keep praying Sarah will reconsider somehow someway.
OMG, folks. that new Newt commercial is deadly.
Enter Newt Gingrich - who confounds me. Yes, his tenure as Speaker of the House was productive for conservative goals but his lobbying (whatever you call it) and statements on various issues trouble me. His multiple wives and seemingly extravagant lifestyle don't help. They will be easy targets for the Obama campaign, guaranteed. Most of all, I just don't feel confident that Gingrich won't 'go left' if elected president. However, with Perry, Bachmann and Santorum's campaigns basically on life support, as conservatives, we're just about out of options. With the realization that no candidate is without flaws but that RINO Mitt Romney is not worth even considering but Obama must be defeated, I'll very likely end up voting for Newt Gingrich in my states Republican primary. I won't have to hold my nose, as I've had to do numerous times before e.g. McCain, - but I will have to grit my teeth and hope that this time, we won't get hosed.
Newt is not perfect on every issue, but then, neither was Reagan. And unlike everyone else running, Newt has demonstrated an ability to cobble together coalitions when necessary to enact conservative legislation. All the ideology in the world is of little value if you can't do that.
I’m looking forward to Newt campaigning against Obama. The debates will be a bloodbath - Zero won’t know what hit him.
I am so tired of having mealy-mouthed apologists and cowards representing the Republican party - afraid to take the battle to Obama and those like him.
When Americans are given the choice between conservative principals and liberalism, they choose the conservative every time. Unfortunately, they don’t get the choice very often. Gingrich is the first candidate since Reagan who has me excited about the election.
The people are going to see a real contrast between a man of accomplishment and a poser.
Newt is a real intellectual and professor, not a fake one. No one in the media will be able to say Newt is a dummy. He can articulate conservative solutions in complete sentences with proper syntax. To those who think being a good debater is not a qualification for president - sorry, but it is hugely important. If you can’t express your ideas clearly no one is going to vote for you.
Newt has a real list of accomplishments as Speaker. His balanced budgets will contrast dramatically with the Reid/Pelosi/Obama fiscal disaster since 2006 (and put an end forever to the myth that those 1990s balanced budgets belonged to Clinton).
Newt has free market-based solutions to bring under control the problems of health care, Social Security, immigration, energy, and the EPA. Contrast with Obama’s demagoguery on these issues.
He is a realist on foreign policy and will make Obama’s kowtowing to the Muslims look ridiculous.
Newt will never ever say that Obama is a good man that we don’t need to fear as president. He will take the battle directly to him and has the smarts to win on every issue.
Unless WW III starts between now and next November (and it very well may) Newt will win a landslide victory over the boy President.
Thank you. Your opinion carries a lot of weight with me.
Perhaps the more useful question at this point would be, “Newt Gingrich - better than Obama?”
Just as a personal idiosyncracy, I would suggest that the answer is, “Yes.”
I think he said something like he would "consider" him, nothing more. The press ran with that to rediculious extremes.
Like most conservatives, I WILL NOT vote for Mitt for anything. NOTHING....
If the Republican Establishment forces that, the party is over.
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