Posted on 01/23/2012 11:20:48 AM PST by Kaslin
Many folks who oppose Mitt Romney do so due to the uncertainty of where he will stand on certain issues; his support of the individual mandate that forces people to buy health care insurance; and a general tendency to abandon conservative principles when expedient.
When you look past Newt Gingrich's marvelous oratory skills and unrivaled ability to "articulate" what most Americans believe, you start discovering a politician with many of the same issues that plague Romney.
Romney and Gingrich both give great lip service about the sanctity of marriage and family values. But while Romney's past reveals he doesn't always stand up and defend marriage when the going gets rough, well, Gingrich's past reveals - in a very different way - that he doesn't either. Both politicians claim they have "seen the light" and are now staunch supporters of traditional marriage. And, I for one, still doubt that both of them really do. And I seriously question whether either man has the conviction to unflinchingly stand for the rights and protection of the preborn when there are deals to be made - which there always are in Washington.
When it comes to a plethora of conservative issues, both politicians are found wanting. Romney, has a "moderate" take on nearly everything; Newt, while seemingly a staunch economic conservative, is a supporter of big government in critical areas - as a champion of the ethanol mandates; of the Endangered Species Act; and of the huge government prescription drug debacle. All of which, by the way, have huge negative economic impacts on our economy, jobs and our future.
The big difference between the two sides of the Mitt/Newt counterfeit conservative coin is this: while a Romney presidency will be dangerous to the preservation of conservative principles, a Gingrich presidency has the ability to entirely obliterate much of what we hold dear. Why? Because Romney has never been a Capitol Hill insider and thus doesn't know the ropes, and he can't seem to inspire passion or wield much influence. Gingrich, on the other hand, knows precisely how the system works and has the personality of a pit bull on steroids. And he has worked the system brilliantly - both for good and bad- for many years, as Congressman, as Speaker of the House, as a Washington power broker. He is a bully who thrives on power, fueled by an ego and an appetite that can't be matched. And he has repeatedly demonstrated that he behaves exactly how he wants to behave in every situation. When Newt wants it - Newt gets it. Period.
And that makes Newt much more dangerous to many of our conservative principles than Mitt could ever hope to be.
The ability that Newt has to make us forget or discount his many ethical violations in the past - both personal and as Speaker - makes my blood run cold. Do I believe in forgiveness? Of course I do. But forgiving Newt of his many martial infidelities is between God and Newt, and the people Newt betrayed and Newt. While God erases all sins of those who truly confess, the harm done largely remains. In the case of the adulterer, the families remain fractured; in the case of the arsonist, the building is still in ashes; in the case of the murderer, the victim is still dead.
And, on this earth, there are still consequences, even for the forgiven. In Newt's wake, there is human carnage - people he has used and discarded at will, and a legacy of repeatedly violating the public trust of the American people. His constant display of poor judgment over the years shows that he is fatally marred by, well, by poor judgment - and an ego so huge he always seems to believe he can "get away with it". The combination of poor judgment, repeated ethical violations and an unbridled ego is a recipe for disaster. And the very last thing you want to give a person with that record is the most powerful position in the world. Espcially if that person enjoys being a bully and has the oratory ability to intimidate and manipulate; and the uncanny ability to tell the masses exactly what they want to hear - and convince them to actually believe it.
Neither Romney nor Gingrich is an acceptable choice for conservatives who believe in timeless values. It's time to discard the fool's gold and put our efforts behind the real deal.
I have written a column on why Rick Santorum is both the best man to beat Obama, and why he is a good man - a man we can depend on to champion conservative principles with strength, conviction, wisdom and humility. A man who know how to get things done - ethically. I hope you will read it and prayerfully consider supporting Santorum - our best hope - for president.
You are right.
“Rick Santorum needs to show some class and do likewise.”
But he won’t because Santorum has been in it to be Mitt’s running mate all along.
So Romney is better than Newt because Romney would get less stuff done? Now there is a winning argument.
Also Santorum is, if anything, less conservative than Newt on economic issues. Do we really want someone who voted against NAFTA, against right to work and for steel tariffs? Someone who endorsed Specter over Toomey?
I stopped reading right there.
That statement typifies so much of the misreading of the politics of the present. IMHO, Mitt, like most Mormons I know, would do a pretty fair job of steering the ship of state. His style would be neither too far left or right.
On the other hand, many folks who oppose Mitt Romney, myself included, KNOW for a fact that if he ever gets the nomination, the KOLOB FACTOR would immediately be invoked by the lamestreams. They're laying in the weeds and salivating at the chance.
The question on MTV would no longer be "boxers or briefs?"; there would be a third option.
But, while underwear is what most people think is a harmless, yet amusing, idiosyncracy of Mormonism, the lamestreams would soon get around to a question to the effect of "Mr. Romney, one of your prophets said 'As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man can become'. Mr. Romney, are you striving to become a god?"
Now, while he would say that's not a proper question, it would then be the ONLY question until Mormon doctrines, the ones most Americans have NO IDEA about, would be opened up to hostile and embarassing scrutiny. There are dozens of such doctrines that, despite all the Mormon success, good citizenship, good neighbor, upstanding family images we have come to know and appreciate, would be very off-putting. And there will be no time to undo the bad impressions. And, as we know, with the lamestreams, they don't even have to include truth, as long as what they are doing favors the cause of their boy.
The touchy part of this dilemma is that Republicans MUST NOT broach these subjects; it is just too cruel and unseemly. Still, we must be knowledgeable enough to know that this is coming.
Newt is the answer. And a pretty darn good one. And I love the way he is carrying the cause along at this time.
Mitt is for a VAT tax - taxing manufacturing at every level including a final Federal sales tax - ON TOP OF THE CURRENT INCOME TAX.
Newt is against this.
HOW EXACTLY IS THAT THE SAME?!?
Found the following at Redstate.com
What A Big Government Conservative Looks Like
http://www.redstate.com/erick/2012/01/06/what-a-big-government-conservative-looks-like/
Posted by Erick Erickson (Diary)
Friday, January 6th at 12:13PM EST
NEA
Voted for taxpayer funding of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Voted against a 10% cut in the budget for National Endowment for the Arts.
Bankruptcy
Voted for a Schumer amendment to make the debts of pro-life demonstrators not dischargeable in bankruptcy.
Defense and Foreign Policy
Voted for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Voted against requiring the President to certify that the CWC is effectively verifiable.
Voted against requiring the President to certify that that Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, North Korea, China, and all other countries determined to be state sponsors of terror have joined CWC prior to submitting the instrument of ratification.
Voted for the START II Treaty
Voted to allow the sale of supercomputers to China.
Voted to ban antipersonnel landmines
Voted against increasing defense spending offset by equivalent cuts in non-defense spending.
Voted to require that Federal bureaucrats get the same payraises as uniformed military.
Voted to allow food and medicine sales to state sponsors of terror and tyranical regimes such as Libya and Cuba.
Voted to limit the President’s authority to impose sanctions on nations for reasons of national security unless the sanctions were approved by a multilateral regime.
Voted against requiring Congressional authorization for military action in Bosnia.
Voted to give $25 million in foreign aid to North Korea
Voted to weaken alien terrorist deportation provisions. If the Court determines that the evidence must be withheld for national security reasons, the Justice Department must still provide a summary of the evidence sufficient for the alien terrorist to mount a defense against deportation.
Voted against delaying the India Nuclear until the President certified that India had agreed to suspend military-to-military exchanges with Iran.
Voted against the Conventional Trident Missile Program
Nominations
Voted for Richard Paez to the 9th Curcuit (cloture)
Voted for Sonia Sotomayor, Circuit Judge
Voted for Richard Holbrooke to be Ambassador to the UN
Voted for Margaret Morrow to be District Judge
Voted twice for Marsha Berzon to the 9thg Circuit
Voted for Mary McLaughlin to be District Judge
Voted for Tim Dyk to be District Judge
Voted for James Brady to be District Judge
Labor
Voted against National Right to Work Act
Voted against Real of Davis-Bacon Prevailing union wages
Voted for Alexis Herman to be Secretary of Labor
Voted for mandatory Federal child care funding
Voted for Trade Adjustment Assistance.
Voted for Job Corps funding
Voted twice in support of Fedex Unionization
Voted against allowing a waiver of Davis-Bacon in emergency situations.
Voted for minimum wage increases six times here here here here here and here
Voted to require a union representative on an IRS oversight board.
Voted to exempt IRS union representative from criminal ethics laws.
Voted against creating independent Board of Governors to investigate IRS abuses.
Guns
Voted to require pawn shops to do background checks on people who pawn a gun.
Voted twice to make it illegal to sell a gun without a secure storage or safety device
Voted for a Federal ban on possession of “assault weapons” by those under 18.
Voted for Federal funding for anti-gun education programs in schools.
Voted for anti-gun juvenile justice bill.
Reform
Voted for funding for the legal services corporation.
Voted twice for a Congressional payraise.
Voted to impose a uniform Federal mandate on states to force them to allow convicted rapists, arsonists, drug kingpins, and all other ex-convicts to vote in Federal elections.
Voted for the Specter “backup plan” to allow campaign finance reform to survive if portions of the bill were found unconstitutional.
Voted to mandate discounted broadcast times for politicians.
Voted for a McCain amendment to require State and local campaign committees to report all campaign contributions to the FEC and to require all campaign contributions to be reported to the FEC within 24 hours within 90 days of an election.
Immigration
Voted against increasing the number of immigration investigators
Voted to allow illegal immigrants to receive the earned income credit before becoming citizens
Voted to give SSI benefits to legal aliens.
Voted to give welfare benefits to naturalized citizens without regard to to the earnings of their sponsors.
Voted against hiring an additional 1,000 border partrol agents, paid for by reductions in state grants.
Taxes
Voted against a flat tax.
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for Medicare prescription drugs
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to fund health insurance subsidies for small businesses.
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for an $8 billion increase in child healh insurance.
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for an increase in NIH funding.
Voted twice for internet taxes.
Voted to allow gas tax revenues to be used to subsidize Amtrak.
Voted to strike marriage penalty tax relief and instead provide fines on tobacco companies.
Voted against repealing the Clinton 4.3 cent gas tax increase.
Voted to increase taxes by $2.3 billion to pay for an Amtrak trust fund.
Voted to allow welfare to a minor who had a child out of wedlock and who resided with an adult who was on welfare within the previous two years.
Voted to increase taxes by $9.4 billion to pay for a $9.4 billion increase in student loans.
Voted to say that AMT patch is more important than capital gains and dividend relief.
Welfare
Voted against food stamp reform
Voted against Medicaid reform
Voted against TANF reform
Voted to increase the Social Services Block Grant from $1 billion to $2 billion
Voted to increase the FHA loan from $170,000 to $197,000. Also opposed increasing GNMA guaranty from 6 basis points to 12.
Voted for $2 billion for low income heating assistance.
Waste
Sponsored An amendment to increase Amtrak funds by $550 million
Voted to use HUD funds for the Joslyn Art Museum (NE), the Stand Up for Animals project (RI) and the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Project (WA)
Voted to increase spending on social programs by $7 billion
Voted to increase NIH funding by $1.6 billion.
Voted to increase NIHnding by $700 million
Voted to for a $2 million earmark to renovate the Vulcan Monument (AL)
Voted for a $1 billion bailout for the steel industry
Voted against requiring that highway earmarks would come out of a state’s highway allocation
Voted to allow Market Access Program funds to go to foreign companies.
Voted to allow OPIC to increase its administrative costs by 50%
Voted against transferring $20 million from Americorps to veterans.
Voted for the $140 billion asbestos compensation bill.
Voted against requiring a uniform medical criteria to ensure asbestos claims were legitimate.
Voted to increase community development programs by $2 billion.
Spending and Entitlements
Voted to make Medicare part B premium subsidies an new entitlement.
Voted against paying off the debt ($5.6 trillion at the time) within 30 years.
Voted to give $18 billion to the IMF.
Voted to raid Social Security instead of using surpluses to pay down the debt.
Health Care
Voted to allow states to impose health care mandates that are stricter than proposed new Federal mandates, but not weaker.
Voted twice for Federal mental health parity mandates in health insurance.
Voted against a allow consumers the option to purchase a plan outside the parity mandate.
Education
Voted to increase Federal funding for teacher testing
Voted to increase spending for the Department of Education by $3.1 billion.
Voted against requiring courts to consider the impact of IDEA awards on a local school district.
Energy
Voted to allow the President to designate certain sites as interim nuclear waste storage sites in the event that he determines that Yucca Mountain is not a suitable site for a permanent waste repository. Those sites are as follows: the nuclear waste site in Hanford, Washington; the Savannah River Site in South Carolina; Barnwell County, South Carolina; and the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee.
Voted to make fuel price gouging a Federal crime.
Like it or not, Gingrich is the only one with a shot at beating the 0 mania media machine. Admittedly it not a good shot given the $1 billion in free advertising 0 can count on receiving from the scum at ABC/CBS/NBC/CNN/Washington Post/NY Times et al but at least it is a shot.
And just WHERE is the “Rick Santorum Government Reduction Act”?...crickets...
I tell YOU WHAT things he DID support:
1. SOPA
2. Arlen Specter
Vote for Pedro!
I feel the same. Newt is arrogant slick and no better than Romney.He will start on amnesty as soon as he gets the executive branch.Will deceive big time and get it done. Santorum is the best on this issue.
Glad DeMint is helping purge Senate we will need it. Presidency is a lost cause.
On paper, LDS has a pretty stiff set of family friendly morals. In practice, much less so, and Mitt as a bishop had a lot of say in that. Note that he carried on “gay marriages” and enabled state paid abortions. This is deeply worrisome.
Mitt would be correct of course to say that he’s not campaigning here for eternity. He’s campaigning for president. Is magic underwear sitting in the Oval Office worse than a Kenyan-in-all-but-technicality doing so? Probably not. But the guy wearing them is a nonstellar choice. Newt, even Santorum would be almost infinitely better.
Santorum will appoint gun grabbers to the USSC. The 2nd amendment is not there to ensure a bounteous harvest of game, but Santorum has shown no clue about it.
This is Santorum of course.
Rips you off, but with discretion :-)
He has some questions with his voting.
He is not a pure conservative.
No disrespect, some of your guys for Rick, are wanting a family guy and cannot look over Newt's marriages. This is about saving the country first; family values will benefit in a better economy with the best person who has that shot (Newt-a fighter to the left)
You are a little to “vested” in Rick.
Time for Rick to get behind Newt and look for a job in his administration.
I’m over Newt’s many transgressions.
We are asked over and over to look at the totality of a man.
Well, I have and when I looked back Newt’s record of accomplishments on issues that were important, things that mattered then one comes to the conclussion that Newt, the loud mouth, actually got things done we cared about.
Welfare Reform.
Newt’s idea and forced Clinton to sign it into law over his strident objections because both houses and the American people had had enough of welfare queens and we demanded legislation forcing people to adopt a lifestyle of self determination and oh yeah, they became producers and participants in the Paycheck Class.
Reduced Taxes.
Newt’s idea, once again, and the upside to this was Americans taking home more of their money and turning mom’s at home into stock holders in Americas Prosperity.
Balanced Budget.
That darn Newt! Always thinking up crazy things such as being responsible and having a government deal honestly with its financial and fiduciary responsibilities to the American Taxpayer.
Out of those three things alone.
unemployment dropped from 7% to 4%.
Revenues to the treasury rose ... dramatically, as the GDP bouyed by an tax that made it possible to plow more money into investments and expect a reasonable return that made it worthwhile.
Are there more benefits that came from Newtonian ideas, hell yeah, but when you look at his record of achievement and contrast it with the needs of the country today...Jobs! Full Employment!
What the hell else do I want. What do you want?
Newt has once again outlined a plan to get American working again and return us to that Shinning City on Hill.
Are we going to stand on our moral haunches and “Just Say No”.
The 21st Century Contract with America a bold plan, hell it’s audacious. With majorities in the Senate and Congress we stand a 100% chance of fulfilling that Contract with America.
It is after all not Newt’s Contract with America.
It’s your Contract with America.
It describes what are the most important and pressing issues that you talk about and yearn to overcome or achieve.
You can Read it here. Tell me you agree with this ideas. If you are conservative or even Republican how can you not agree with the ideas?:
http://www.newt.org/contract/legislative-proposals
For some real fun here is his day one plan:
http://www.newt.org/contract/day-one-plan
Assuming you read only the bullet points on each page there can’t be any other conclusion than Newt represents our ideals in realm of dealing with big challenges.
If you agree with his proposal I ask you to support Newt Gingrich for President.
Newt.org
Since when is Rebecca a dude’s name?
Yes, it is Santorum.
Newt Gingrich has admitted to making political errors, and to having learned from those errors - NOT to do it again.
Rick Santorum will not admit to any error in judgement concerning these “big government” issues he supported when in Congress. In fact, he still embraces them.
Sorry, but I refuse to read anything from politica
Sorry, but I refuse to read anything from politico
What is your point?
If you have read any of her columns it’s of no surprise that she would support Rick Santorium
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