Who needs attack ads when you’ve got the New York Times? Today’s Intl. Herald Tribune has a front-page story about Newt Gingrich, which is a great read. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/us/politics/the-long-run-gingrich-stuck-to-caustic-path-in-ethics-battles.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=gingrich%20gopac&st=cse
Yes, it reads like a hatchet job. In fact, it’s one of many portraits of Gingrich to come out recently. That’s why you hear Gingrich talking about the ‘Biased / Liberal / Elitist media.’ It brings to mind the quote ‘You’re not being paranoid if everyone really is out to get you.’ But in the case of Gingrich, ‘You’re not being tarnished by the media, if you’ve already tarnished yourself.’
Newt Gingrich literally wrote the book on hate-filled rhetoric. (well, okay, he wrote the GoPac manual.) Gingrich’s relationship with the Republican party is like the scorpion on the back of the frog. ‘Why did you sting me?!’ ‘It’s in my manual.’
The ones now pointing out Gingrich’s poisonous effect on politics are mostly Gingrich’s Republican colleagues. Certainly Mitt Romney has not been flattering. But now even former Senator Bob Dole has written a damning portrait, pointing out the significance of Gingrich’s lack of endorsements from Congressional Republicans: the man is a liability to his own party.
‘Gingrich had a new idea every minute and most of them were off the wall. He loved picking a fight with Bill Clinton because he knew this would get the attention of the press.’
It reminds me of the Massachusetts man I met in 2004, who said he was voting for Bush. I asked him: ‘How could you not vote for Kerry? He’s from Massachusetts!’ The response: ‘I KNOW John Kerry. And believe me, you do not want that man as your president.’
Just when it seems that Republicans in Congress have helped raise partisan politics to an all-time high, it’s refreshing to hear that some Republicans regret the rancor. Here’s an interview with a senior (Democrat) member of the House, who yearns for the old days, when Republicans and Democrats could go out for a drink after work.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/opinion/the-last-moderate.html?scp=1&sq=nocera%20blue%20dog&st=cse
Gingrich is great as a candidate. He’s good at stirring up trouble, stirring up a crowd & getting people motivated. He’s got nice one-liners, like calling Pres. Obama ‘The biggest food-stamp president in history.’ But at some point, even Gingrich’s supporters have got to wake up and look at Newt the same way his former colleagues do. My prediction is they’ll realize ‘You do not want that man as your president.’