Could Newt Be Our Guy?
Written by Sam on January 28th, 2007Fortune Magazine just did a piece on Newt Gingrich which I thought was very informative and a fair evaluation of him, pointing out his strengths and weaknesses. I spent most of today at a buddy’s house just hanging out and being that he is a political geek like myself we of course had a lengthy discussion of the ‘08 Presidential candidates. He is solidly behind Gingrich, should he decide to enter the race, and I am thinking that will probably be my leaning as well based on the other candidates we already know are in.
Yeah, Newt has his baggage, no doubt, but point out one of them who doesn’t. And what’s Hillary going to say about his divorces when she stood by and allowed her husband to have extra-marital affairs for her own political expediency? His ethics charges were dropped and I think from hearing him speak in different forums, Gingrich has realized over the years some of the mistakes he made as Speaker.
What I really like about Gingrich is his ability to communicate with the American people in such a way that he allows them to understand not just what issues are important to our country, but why they are important, something W has failed to do since day one. He’s already demonstrated that he knows what matters most to the American people, as indicated by his leadership in the Republican Revolution of 1994, and he’s dead on about all the mistakes Bush has made over the last six years and why the Republicans lost both majorities. If he were preside over the White House with the same message and values that swept the GOP into the majority in 94 then he could revitalize a broken party.
I will not support McCain under any circumstances, even if he is our nominee. I don’t think Giuliani can win the nomination because of his social liberalism. Romney has caught the Kerry Flip Flop bug and I can’t see Brownback winning the general election. Ideally, Ron Paul is my preferred candidate and I will most likely vote for him in the primary next year if he is still in the race, but he is an ultra long shot to win the nomination.
I think Newt might be the one we need.
29
AM
I don’t see social conservatives lining up behind Newt. Like you said, there is simply too much baggage. Dumping wives when they are sick?
Don’t get me wrong, Newt is a very smart man. Great on policy. Even though he’s stayed out of the Washington scene for a considerable amount of time, I think he would still be seen too much as a Washington insider. I think to us younger voters he seems like something new, but that’s because we were all under the age of 10 for the most part when he was a big deal.
29
AM
I think if it comes down to a fight between Romney/McCain/Giulani, Social Conservatives will be 101% behind Newt. He grew up in their backyard unlike any of these folks.
29
AM
This Social Conservative would NEVER back Newt.
He was having an affair during the entire Lewinsky affair. He’s the GOP’s Bill Clinton. No thanks.
On policy, sure he is an ideas guy, but you have to look at his record. He was pathetic as speaker, refusing to take a stand on core issues towards the end of his tenure. Many conservatives have forgotten why he was dumped in ‘98.
29
PM
I think Newt can win if he gets through the primary. I also think that he’s the best person for the job…no one else has his vision.
That being said he’ll have a tough time in the primary. I think McCain or Romney both have a shot at getting social conservatives.
29
PM
Newt’s 3 marriages will hurt him.
29
PM
McCain has absolutely no shot at social conservatives. He has a documneted contempt for them. That on top of his support of embryonic stem cell research won’t get him anywhere in socially conservative circles. They are the reason he lost in 2000 — namely in SC. He won’t do well in Iowa, where at least 40% of caucus goers are self-described social-conservatives.
The battle for social-conservatives will ultimately come down between Brownback and Romney. Brownback clearly has the consistent record, and most will line up behind him, as seen at the March for Life. Romney is busy assembling a social conservative PR spin machine, and one can only hope he gets the same answer that Harriet Miers got from pro-lifers.
29
PM
Well, at this point, McCain has this social conservative’s vote and he has the support of the former President of Right to Life in Iowa and is picking up social conservatives across the nation. I’m tired of hearing that social conservatives don’t back McCain.
No, I don’t support Campaign Finance Reform. It will take more than this issue to move me away from McCain and it will also take a better lot of candidates then the ones we have running against McCain now.
I am fully behind the Presidential Candidacy of McCain at this point…..
29
PM
Newt has the ideas and political genius to win. Listening to Newt speak makes people want to fight to win, people see more of the same old say anything but do nothing in MacCain and Romney.
29
PM
Bob, McCain is a good example of what is wrong with the current Republican Party. He opposed the first round of Bush’s tax cuts, but conveniently changed his opinion several years later to burnish his “conservative” credentials in preparation for 2008. He has stated on the record that he’d rather infringe freedom of speech for “clean government” (I guess that’s what incumbent-protecting “campaign reform” is supposed to produce). He is an egomaniac who whines about anyone getting in the way of him being the golden boy in front of a camera. He supports legislation that would require blog owners and online community owners (i.e. Facebook) to be penalized for inappropriate actions of their members. In a magazine interview he scoffed that he didn’t think the 700 mile fence on the Mexican border was a good idea, but he’d “build the damned fence if they want it.” (paraphrased)
McCain is not a reliable conservative and not even a reliable leader. He will do and say anything to remain popular so he can be president. He’s a media whore who has a condescending attitude towards rank-and-file Americans who want to maintain conservative principles. We can do much better.
31
PM
Gingrich has another problem. In some circles, he`s known as an egomaniac who`d toss aside the conservative agenda if it would suit him. This could prove a real problem for him.