14 November 2011

Understanding the Unexpected
(and Unfunded) Rise of Newt Gingrich

Yeah, he's got more baggage than 
Lady Gaga on a 3-month European tour... 
many conservatives are starting to say 'so what?'


Newt Gingrich articulates conservative positions like no other Republican candidate...  everybody knows this (genuine) constitutional scholar would rip Obama a new one in any debate. 

With 'Newt 2012' funds scarce-to-nonexistent, his recent and unlikely comeback in the polls was driven almost exclusively by magnificent TV debate performances as the deep-pockets boys hit choppy waters.

And Gingrich doesn't take a one speck of crap from underhanded old-guard media still attempting to prop-up the teetering Obama regime, either. This, along with his strongly-professed Christian/Catholic faith- play well with the conservative GOP base (of which I am a proud part).

Today -after dismissing him as a top-tier candidate initially- a lot of Republicans are coming to the dawning realization that given the current choices, Newt most closely approximates what they've been looking for. This healing process between voter and votee has been aided somewhat by Gingrich's frank admission of errors re. the Scozzafava debacle and in posing with Nancy Pelosi for a climate-change ad- "the dumbest single thing I've done in years". 

Pollsters now find him surging, and right into second in South Carolina. Suddenly, we have a new three-horse race- one poll out Friday even put Gingrich in second place nationally, right smack-dab behind Romney. Newt 2012

Personally, it's been defense and foreign policy issues that leave me wanting for a GOP 2012 candidate to this point: only Bachmann, Palin, and (yes) Trump ever said the kind of things I need to hear re. Iran, China, Israel, Russia, etc- yet obviously none of them contenders at this point. But Gingrich sounds great (foreign policy) in the video below, and if his administration could find some room for -say, John Bolton somewhere in there- that would be the kind of thing that could perk my interest quick.


Perhaps noble Cain supporters expected peace-though-strength Republicans to be won over to the man -who I like and respect- in CBS's ill-managed attempt at a foreign policy debate last Wednesday. I'd been looking forward to this one of course, yet in the case of Herman Cain he seemed lost and out-of-his-element, an oft-repeated default response being he would 'consult with his experts', etc.  

Since I can't fathom the thought of initiating a federal VAT-like tax (as 9-9-9 proposes), I don't think Herman Cain is going to work out for me- not unless it comes down to him, Romney, and/or Perry of course.

But for now there are other people in the 2012 race, including of course Newt Gingrich. Make no mistake, he's got plenty of challenges waiting for him along any path to the GOP nomination, and I'm not just talking about the affairs/apparent moral lapses, (we're all sinners). 

The Gingrich campaign is basically broke for one -although cash is starting to come in lately- as it faces well-financed Romney and Perry smear machines that have yet to train their guns. Think there's nothing left to dig up on Newt? Consider that he's been out of political office for over a decade -while Perry and Romey have been under far closer scrutiny in recent years-  and it's something to think about.

But I've long said that I want a fighter to really bring it to Obama in 2012... one thing for sure, you get that with Gingrich- a smart one, too. And his forthcoming confession of RINO sins is at minimum a refreshing change from the obfuscation, spin, and fake UltraBrite smile you get from Mittens when you ask him about his unsettling past involvement with statism and statists.

If I had to vote tomorrow -and Bachmann still had no prayer, as it now appears- I think I would have to pull for Newt... and
I'm not the only one.