Posted on 02/23/2012 5:12:37 PM PST by Marguerite
Leadership: A great debater. Politically polarizing. Prone to error, but also prone to spectacular success. Steeped in history. Politically brilliant. Unorthodox. Audacious.
All these qualities were once used to describe Winston Churchill. Today, you might use the same words to describe Newt Gingrich. Sound absurd? Not when you think about it.
Churchill, like Gingrich, was a brilliant politician with a powerful sense of the occasion.
Sometimes prickly, often witty, but never dull, his career had lots of ups and downs — ranging from being blamed for the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in World War I to being credited as the father of the British welfare state — not exactly a compliment among conservatives, then or now.
Indeed, by Churchill's own admission, "The Conservatives have never liked nor trusted me." The same thing can be said of Gingrich, who has had a tortured relationship with the GOP's conservative wing, to say the least.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
Churchill, like Gingrich, stayed around long enough to acquire wisdom and insight about world affairs and the economy. From 1931 on, Churchill wasn't fooled at all by Hitler. "The Nazi regime," he said in a speech reprinted in "The Unrelenting Struggle," "is indistinguishable from the worst features of Communism."
Churchill was 65 in 1940 — quite old at the time, even to be alive. But after a long public career as a politician, journalist, author and soldier, when a weary and frightened Britain turned to him for leadership he was ready.
Newt, at 68, is also up there in years. Once the brash, even obnoxious Young Turk in Congress, Gingrich is today wiser and more experienced. He has seen what works in public policy and what doesn't."
“Both Churchill and Gingrich, in different ways, are men of letters and ideas. Avid writers, each has a deep sense of how current events fit into history.
At his death in 1965 after 90 years of life, Churchill had authored 56 books. Gingrich, who has a Ph.D. in history, has written or co-written 25 books and one film — and there’ll no doubt be more.
In Churchill’s day, it was British and American “progressives” who heaped praise on Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin. But Churchill knew better. He was right about Hitler and he was right about Communism — making his “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946 in Fulton, Mo., in which he clearly saw the outlines of the Cold War.
Today, American Progressives look to places like China, the Mideast and the socialized economies of Europe for their inspiration.
Gingrich knows the world’s future lies with freedom, not with party masters controlling the destinies of billions of people. He’s more likely to aggressively pursue the illogic and the inconsistencies in Obama’s statements in a head-to-head debate — and to take on Obama’s failure as a central element of his campaign.”
Good article.
Like Churchill, Gingrich had his “exile” years. But he spent them writing a ton of books. And teaching, and debating, and speaking whereever he could draw a crowd. At any gathering, out of any of the speakers who show up, Gingrich is always the one you don’t want to miss.
It’s the jowls.
"Gingrich: "We're at the crossroads. Down one road is a European centralized bureaucratic socialist welfare system in which politicians and bureaucrats define the future. Down the other road is a proud, solid, reaffirmation of American exceptionalism."
Both Churchill and Gingrich spent years in political exile. In both cases, those years were useful, giving each man perspective on events and world affairs.
As Steven F. Hayward wrote recently in the National Review, "The same negative qualities that kept Churchill from high office in the 1930s — his resolute stubbornness, his unconstrained and unpredictable imagination and occasional recklessness — paradoxically made him the best person to lead the nation when it reached the point of extreme crisis in May 1940. But the crisis had to reach the extreme before the Churchill option became thinkable."
With a president in office who, if not an actual socialist seems awfully like one in the statist policies he promotes, America is headed toward inevitable decline and an end to its ancient freedoms — unless, that is, our course changes dramatically.
In short, the Gingrich option has "become thinkable."
In 2012, there is NO other choice for president than NEWT.
He will make a great president for these times.
It’s rather something wrong with your brain.
My family will be in his (our Country’s) corner.
Ah, no sense of humor. Tsk, tsk.
I’m sorry, but one should be quite careful with these types of comparisons. I merely pointed out the most accurate comparison.
Well, unfortunately, he is completely being ignored on all news outlets.
Yes FRiend, he most certainly will.
President Newt Gingrich—”Our beloved republic deserves nothing less.”
This is a great story. Thank you so much for sharing.
I just read it to my better half. We enjoyed the read.
We are praying that Newt is our president. America needs him.
He’s gonna have look like Superman to get through the gauntlet of the next few weeks! The media will be piling it on...and gushing over their darlings, obama and Myth!
I agree. In his own way Gingrich does remind me of Churchill. As was said above he is definitely the man for our times. It will be a big opportunity missed if Newt is not President. GO NEWT GO!
You're so right.
I went to Newt's FaceBook page, and I wrote,
Tell voters, "I'll never be the media darling, but you can make me your darling. Please vote for me!"
LOL.
I agree also.....he will make a wonderful President.
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.