On Newt v.s. Mitt

[jodyf]

I am a 68 year old female who supports Newt because he is experienced in the internal workings of DC. We do not need another President who has to learn on our time how bad things are in Washington. Newt "knows where his apponates bodies are buried" so to speak. This unfortunately is the only way the gridlock in DC can be over come. Perhaps that is why so many "inside the beltway" folks don't want him to win. I beleive that has more to do with the piling on than HIS "bagage". Mitt may be a good big business man but he lacks the ability to lead people how do not work for him. This shows in the debates as he is ho hum in all of them so far. I was a Regan democrat. supported Hillary in the last primary and voted for John McCain in 2008 because I was VERY upset about how the Clintons were treated in 2008. I changed my registration to Republican and I doubt that I will vote for a democrat again. PS I also voted for Ross Perot so maybe that makes me an independant!

[ARJ127]

This is an interesting topic. Who would have thought that Newt's campaign would be resurrected? He sure looked dead after NH. Anyway, I found this piece on the CNN website today. I admit that it was written by a Democrat. However, he quotes a string of Republicans who have absolutely no use for Newt. Here's an exerpt:

And we draw this conclusion from listening to people who understand the GOP far better than we:

Former Rep. Susan Molinari, who served with Gingrich in the House, has made an ad for Mitt Romney in which she rips her former colleague for "leadership by chaos." Molinari knows Newt well, as she was the keynote speaker at the 1996 Republican convention. Surely, she must know something about the Republican Party. When asked whether she would support Gingrich if he defeated her candidate for the nomination, she demurred, saying, "It would be very difficult for me to support Newt Gingrich for president."

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie presumably understands the GOP. A strong Romney supporter, Christie has excoriated Gingrich. "He was run out of the speakership by his own party," said Christie. "This is a guy who has had a very difficult political career at times and has been an embarrassment to the party."

Jim Talent, former senator from Missouri and another former Gingrich colleague, also supports Romney, and attacks Newt lustily. "He is not a reliable and trustworthy conservative," Talent says, "because he is not a reliable and trustworthy leader." Ouch.

Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, who worked closely with Gingrich when Newt was a top GOP leader in the House, has also thrown in his lot with Romney -- and has also volunteered to swing the hatchet. Sununu basically called Newt nuts, telling CNN, "You can't have somebody that's really as irrational and perceives himself as Winston Churchill or the equivalent of Margaret Thatcher or Charles de Gaulle."

Ari's White House colleague during the Bush years and current CNN colleague, David Frum, wrote Monday, "Over a political career of nearly 40 years, Gingrich has convinced almost everybody who has ever worked closely with him that he cannot and should not be trusted with executive power."

And if we may engage in speculation, then we would say that the closer you are to Gingrich, the more likely you are to be a Republican and the less likely you are to vote for him. Just recently, columnist George Will wrote in The Washington Post, "Gingrich, however, embodies the vanity and rapacity that make modern Washington repulsive."

These Republicans are more believable with regard to Newt than anyone posting here. After all, they know him.

[Media Rookie]

ARJ, I think this is why Newt is able to somewhat fashion himself as the Washington Outsider. He spent years in DC yet Inside the Beltway, but people there noe hate him. Many of us on the Right are quite disenfranchised by our party. So it's looking, to me, like Newt has teh experience of insider politics, but doesn't play their game so to speak.

[btorocco]

ARJ, I think this is why Newt is able to somewhat fashion himself as the Washington Outsider. He spent years in DC yet Inside the Beltway, but people there noe hate him. Many of us on the Right are quite disenfranchised by our party. So it's looking, to me, like Newt has teh experience of insider politics, but doesn't play their game so to speak.

Agree. It would seem the 'establishment' Republicans don't like him; I see that as a plus.

[ARJ127]

Do you remember who was the last anti-establishment Republican to win the nomination? Do you remember Barry Goldwater? What happened to him?

[ARJ127]

What you guys are overlooking is that Gingrich has no integrity. No one trusts him. Why should you?

[flyphish56]

What you guys are overlooking is that Gingrich has no integrity. No one trusts him. Why should you?

And what you ignore time and time again is that an increasing number of Americans AND those from other parts of the world feel EXACTLY that about Mr. Obama.

[btorocco]

Do you remember who was the last anti-establishment Republican to win the nomination? Do you remember Barry Goldwater? What happened to him?

First of all the country was not in anywhere near the sorry state it's in now when Goldwater ran. Second of all BG was the victim of (yes, even then) a media smear campaign at a time when people were not nearly as aware of liberal media bias and tended to take the MSM seriously. Remember Walter Cronkite was considered by many 'the most trusted man in America'. He certainly would not be considered that in 2012. Goldwater did not fight back against the media; it would have been viewed as sour grapes. Not the case today, Newt's numbers rise whenever he attacks them and not just among conservatives.

[btorocco]

What you guys are overlooking is that Gingrich has no integrity. No one trusts him. Why should you?

I'll tell ya why, because I (and I'm not alone) trust him a lot more than I trust Mitt Romney and Newt is no johnny-come-lately to conservative ideals. You can trust the fact that Gingrich will do everything possible to steer the country in the complete opposite direction Obama took it. You can take that to the bank, or whatever's left of it by the time Obama's done.

[ARJ127]

What you guys are overlooking is that Gingrich has no integrity. No one trusts him. Why should you?

I'll tell ya why, because I (and I'm not alone) trust him a lot more than I trust Mitt Romney and Newt is no johnny-come-lately to conservative ideals. You can trust the fact that Gingrich will do everything possible to steer the country in the complete opposite direction Obama took it. You can take that to the bank, or whatever's left of it by the time Obama's done.

If Newt isn't trusted by the Republicans on the Hill he'll be totally useless as a President. He isn't a conservative. He's a populist. Different kind of person from my vantage point. I'm not saying that he doesn't have some good ideas. I am saying that the overall policy package isn't viable and he doesn't have any political allies who will support him. The more they see of him, the less they like him.

Good luck to you. I think that Newt is Obama's ticket to a second term.

[tim.ned@gmail.com]

What you guys are overlooking is that Gingrich has no integrity. No one trusts him. Why should you?

I'll tell ya why, because I (and I'm not alone) trust him a lot more than I trust Mitt Romney and Newt is no johnny-come-lately to conservative ideals. You can trust the fact that Gingrich will do everything possible to steer the country in the complete opposite direction Obama took it. You can take that to the bank, or whatever's left of it by the time Obama's done.

If Newt isn't trusted by the Republicans on the Hill he'll be totally useless as a President. He isn't a conservative. He's a populist. Different kind of person from my vantage point. I'm not saying that he doesn't have some good ideas. I am saying that the overall policy package isn't viable and he doesn't have any political allies who will support him. The more they see of him, the less they like him.

Good luck to you. I think that Newt is Obama's ticket to a second term.

This is silly. We are in the midst's of the primaries. When the primaries are over and the Republican candidate is chosen the Republican party will be bonded with a common cause stronger than Elmer's glue. And that purpose is to defeat Obama.

Once the candidate is chosen I hope to see the young guns which are mainly the Rubio's and the Ryan's emerge out as party leaders as they are the future. To this point they have stayed out of the press during the primaries. But that will change shortly.

[ARJ127]

Here's some more stuff about Newt. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/worldview/gingrichs-brand-of-conservatism-comes-under-attack/article2317272/

Here's more from a well-respected conservative: http://spectator.org/archives/2012/01/26/our-bill-clinton

Newt will say anything that appeals to the angry base of the party. None of that stuff will ever stand up to serious scrutiny. WTF? What's this BS about planting a colony on the freakin' moon???

He really is Obama's dream opponent. Obama may not be any great shakes but Newt, if anything, will be worse.

[flyphish56]

Obama may not be any great shakes but Newt, if anything, will be worse.

As much as I'm not thrilled with Newt I consider Obama to be worse by a factor of thousands.
For all his pompousity and delusions of grandure I feel that Newt lacks the shear malevalence of Obama.
It is Obama's INTENT to destroy this nation as it was founded. It is his GOAL to circumvent, twist beyond recognition, re-write the constitution.
To me Barrack Obama embodies all that I find abhorrent and dispicable in the liberal/progressive cancer and I cannot think of a single person on the conserative side of the spectrum who is even remotely as dangerous to The United States of America as him.
That Gingrich is flawed and less than he would have us believe I take no issue with, and have said as much myself on this forum and elsewhere.
But given a choice between Gingrich and Obama there is actually no choice to make.

[Cap'n Billy]

To me Barrack Obama embodies all that I find abhorrent and dispicable in the liberal/progressive cancer and I cannot think of a single person on the conserative side of the spectrum who is even remotely as dangerous to The United States of America as him.

Well and truly said, flyphish, and I've never seen it put better. Yet I very much fear that we live in a country that has been so corrupted by that cancer you mention that we may well see it prevail next November, and that will be the beginning of the end of this republic.

[ARJ127]

flyphish

That was quite the display of histrionics from both you and Cap'n Billy. You gloss over the fact that the President without the support of Congress or the blessing of the Supreme Court is relatively powerless to destroy your great country. If you really want to rid yourselves of Obama, nominate Romney. No one else could stand a chance. Newt will get chewed up on the character issue if he doesn't implode by saying something stupid. Real conservatives who know him won't vote for him. Independents (remember them?) will see him for the bum he is. Newt is Obama's ticket to a second term. Don't punch it for him by nominating Newt.