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Stan Honda / AFP - Getty Images
Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich following a Lake County Tea Party rally Jan. 26, 2012 in Mount Dora, Florida.
Newt Gingrich, if nothing else, has sought to position himself as the enemy of the Washington establishment in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
The former House speaker, who's been a staple on Washington's K Street, its lobbying corridor, has postured himself not just as the enemy of the "elite media," but also as a potential thorn in the side of the Republican establishment.
"The Republican establishment is just as much of an establishment as the Democratic establishment. And they're just as determined to stop us," Gingrich said at a rally this morning in Mount Dora, Fla.
"Make no bones about it, this is a campaign for the very nature of the Republican Party, the very opportunity for a citizen conservatism to defeat the power of money and prove that people matter more than Wall Street, and that people matter more than companies that are pouring money in to run the ads that are false."
In that, Gingrich is looking to channel the frustration with the GOP establishment that drove the advent of the Tea Party during the 2010 campaign cycle, and align himself with that sentiment to use to his political advantage.
"I think the Washington establishment is going fight me every steps to the nomination. And I think they are going to say whatever they have to say," he said following the event, explaining that he's "angry" about the attacks his candidacy has faced in Florida, which hosts its pivotal primary on Tuesday.
The ex-speaker has sought to paint Mitt Romney, by contrast, as the choice of the establishment. The former Massachusetts governor is Mike Castle to Gingrich's Christine O'Donnell (the Tea Party-backed Delaware Senate candidate who has, ironically, endorsed Romney), or the Lisa Murkowski to Gingrich's Joe Miller.
The fact that Romney has rallied more establishment support to his campaign than any other candidate does little to dispel Gingrich's narrative; it only ads kindling to the fire Gingrich has sought to stoke in the race. As if to underscore the extent of Romney's establishment support, Bob Dole, the 1996 GOP presidential nominee who served in the 1990s as Gingrich's counterpart in the Senate, released a statement through Romney's campaign assailing Gingrich.
"Hardly anyone who served with Newt in Congress has endorsed him and that fact speaks for itself. He was a one-man-band who rarely took advice. It was his way or the highway," Dole said.
Duricka / AP
Historian, author, member of Congress and speaker of the House — a look back at his public life.
Seventy-two Republican House and Senate members have endorsed Romney, according to The Hill newspaper's tally, versus nine congressional endorsements for Gingrich.
Romney supporters are inclined to point out the absurdity of a figure who spent 20 years in Congress, who profited handsomely from D.C.-based advocacy work upon leaving office, and who makes his home in one of Washington's more tony suburbs seizing the banner of an outsider.
"It's so absurd it's laughable. He is the epitome of career politicians and DC lobbyists." said Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Romney supporter who attended Gingrich's event Thursday in Florida. "Clearly people understand that Newt Gingrich is a product of Washington, D.C. And there's a reason there's a lot of us newbies in Congress want Mitt Romney: because we want someone from the outside."
Chaffetz said that his colleagues on Capitol Hill "are frightened and scared to death about having Newt Gingrich at the top of the ticket," which the Utah congressman said would mean the GOP as a whole would seem "mired in scandal" by Gingrich.
That sort of sentiment has driven the assumption that, if Gingrich were to win Florida and solidify his challenge against Romney, the Republican establishment would rally against him.
But at a time when the popularity of D.C. institutions are flirting with all-time lows -- 13 percent of Americans approve of Congress, according to the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, and 56 percent said they would vote to replace every single member of Congress if they had the option -- the perception of establishment support might not carry the heft it once did.
Romney's trump card has long been that he's the most electable conservative in the race. But that assumption was challenged in South Carolina, where Gingrich beat Romney among primary voters who said a candidate's ability to beat President Barack Obama this fall was the most important quality in choosing a candidate. Fifty-one percent of voters who named that their top priority voted for Gingrich, while 37 percent supported Romney.
And while Romney holds a slight overall advantage over Gingrich in yesterday's TIME/CNN/ORC poll, Gingrich leads, 39 to 29 percent, among self-described conservatives in the sample.
That's the reason why Gingrich's anti-establishment rhetoric is so frustrating to figures like Chaffetz, an original member of the anti-establishment minded class of conservatives. He won office by winning a 2008 conservative primary challenge to a veteran Utah congressman, and has been one of the most outspoken conservative members of the House.
"Just because he says it doesn't mean it's true," Chaffetz said of Gingrich's anti-Washington message. "I'm as Tea Party as they get. You're not going to out-Tea Party me. And I want someone new and fresh."
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It would seem everyone on the Republican side has decided they don't want Newt as their Nominee.
All in one day.
I find that odd.
Must have been the Moon Base Idea.
I really don't care, if he can't beat Obama, I don't want him either.
Republicans are once again remembering why they don't like Newton.
If rank-and-file Conservatives would stop calling him "RINO" so much they might take a moment to listen to Joe Scarborough. As he tells it, Gingrich can't claim leadership of a lot of things that he says he led Congress to do when he was Speaker.
Newt could use one of those lifestyle lifts......he's looking to much like a sad blood hound lately....
The rank & file GOP already voted him out back when he was Speaker. Geez...who would have thought that they still hate this pompous jerk.
Get Newt out ..... Police, please come and get him...
"Let's vote out the Wall St. right, and vote in the nazi reich."
Says the man who lobbied for Freddie Mac and is partly responsible for the recession.
"that people matter more than Wall Street, and that people matter more than companies"
Ok Newt, why then do GOP fight for WS and Corporations against the interest of the people?
This guy's line is just not making sense. In his tax proposal, he'll let Romney and coporations pay no taxes simply because they're job creators (appeasement) as a result, adding close a trillion to the deficit.
These guys just spew nonsense and if elected, they'll give us again, reckless economy
Nah that's not what happened. Newt saw the low ratings poll out today that the Americans don't like Congress and he's taking advantage of that poll.
Newt is about as much an insider as George Bush was President - in other words, ABSOLUTELY IS. The only idiots who don't realize that are the ones who blindly follow his words and don't actually do any thinking of thier own.
Newt's complaining about something he is and has been cemented to all of his adult life
"to defeat the power of money and prove that people matter more"
Hold on ... keep that thought ... I have a call from Tiffany's ...................
It would seem everyone on the Republican side has decided they don't want Newt as their Nominee.
All in one day.
No, it wasn't all in one day. This has been coming for quite a while. The Republican establishment will never accept either Newt Gingrich or Ron Paul. If I were a Tea Party type I'd be pretty p*ssed off about it.
More Orwellian Newtspeak from the pot as he calls the kettle black.
Imagine that... an entire party of flip-floppers...
newscover... don't forget that one of Newt's largest PAC's (oh yea, they don't coordinate... sarcasm) has recieved two $5 MILLION dollar contributions from Sheldon Adelson. Among the largest known political contributions in the US. WOW!! that is a lot of free speech.
Newt, "...the very opportunity for a citizen conservatism to defeat the power of money..."
Uuuhhhmmm.....let's have a look at the donations to your PAC Newt.
Newt is good at one thing. Figuring out the right thing to say to stir up the base. While almost ALL of it is untrue... a little facts never got in a way of a good rant for him.
I love the way he keeps splitting hairs in regards to his lobbying efforts (he says he was a "consultant" or historian... why Fannymae would need a historian for 1.5 mill is beyond me). Then when pushed on Clinton impeachment, his distinction was he was under oath... :-) Can anyone see the absolute cutzpuh this guy has????
He's been a Washington insider all his life, pandering to lobbysts and big banks while collecting big dough on speaking and book signings. Never accomplished anything reasonable despite grandiosity; a thing Reagan noticed and wrote about in his memoirs....He's nothing but an erratic divisionist with a taste for Ménage à trois
FormerMarineSgt - You have to stop comparing those of us that actually ponder over what is said by political candidates with your life in basic training. We know you weren't allowed to think for yourself but please, don't carry that military line of thinking with those of us that see things for what they are. Not everyone is as mentally regimented as you. I happen to like Newt... but it's a decision I've made because the other candidates have what I consider more egregious flaws. Im my opinion, Newt is the only candidate with the stones to beat Obama... and that may be the reason you dislike anyone supporting him.
The truly ironic thing about the problems the Republican establishment is having with Newt Gingrich is that it wouldn't even be happening if not for the Supreme Courts Citizen's United ruling.
When Bush the Lesser first ran in 2000 the GOP establishment was able to control the fund raising enough to pretty much guarantee Dubya the win before a single vote was cast. But they can't do that anymore. Gingrich should have dropped out weeks ago, but a 5 Million dollar donation to his superpac allowed him to remain competitive.
I think liberals like me are going to overdose on schadenfreude soon.
How can Gingrich get away with raging against the GOP machine when he IS the GOP machine? Like the serial marriages; if he were a redeemed Christian, his fruits would show it, and they don't. He basically went to Catholic rehab, and came out the same dick as when he went in.
It's amazing what the GOP base will buy. I'm in the wrong business. I need to change my party affiliation and start selling land to old people in Florida.
That Newt,
He's a maverick!
how can Gingrich get away with raging against the GOP machine when he IS the GOP machine?
That, my friend, is a great question. I have a possible answer: by following the teachings of, wait for it, wait for it, Saul Alinsky!
Phil Klein writes:
When he claimed victory in South Carolina on Saturday, Newt Gingrich declared that, "The centerpiece of this campaign, I believe, is American exceptionalism versus the radicalism of Saul Alinsky."
But if any candidate is using Saul Alinsky's playbook in this campaign, it's Gingrich himself.
In his seminal 1971 work, "Rules for Radicals," left-wing community organizer Alinsky laid out his method for instigating change. Many of the tactics he spoke about -- such as exploiting resentment and pitting oneself against the establishment -- have become a central part of Gingrich's strategy for securing the Republican presidential nomination.
On NBC's "Meet the Press" this past Sunday, Gingrich attributed his South Carolina victory to two things. The first was the economic pain that people were feeling. He then continued, "The second, though, which I think nobody in Washington and New York gets, is the level of anger at the national establishment."
Gingrich's clashes against the establishment are classic Alinsky.
"The job of the organizer is to maneuver and bait the establishment so that it will publicly attack him as a 'dangerous enemy,'" Alinsky wrote in "Rules for Radicals." He went on to reveal that, "Today, my notoriety and the hysterical instant reaction of the establishment not only validate my credentials of competency but also ensure automatic popular invitation."
Though Gingrich has spent several decades profiting from being part of the Washington establishment, the fact that he's been attacked by so-called "elites" has become self-validating.
And the way he scolded CNN moderator John King in last Thursday's South Carolina debate followed Alinsky's 13th tactical rule, which states: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it."
Alinsky argued that a faceless target such as City Hall, or in this case, the mainstream media, isn't as powerful of a target as individual person. And by "freeze it," he meant that whoever the target is shouldn't be allowed to pin the blame on somebody else.
King, as Fox's Juan Williams did in the prior debate, allowed Gingrich to personalize his attack on the media. And when King tried to claim that it was another network, ABC, that had aired the interview with his ex-wife that had prompted the question about whether he had ever sought an "open marriage," Gingrich froze the target.
"John, it was repeated by your network," Gingrich hollered. "You chose to start the debate with it. Don't try to blame somebody else."
After weak showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, Gingrich's campaign was on life support. So he resorted to unleashing an aggressive attack against Mitt Romney's wealth and career at private equity firm Bain Capital.
Many prominent conservatives and Republicans pounced, seeing it as an attack on capitalism itself. Even Rudy Giuliani, somebody who has had harsh words for Romney (his opponent in the 2008 GOP presidential race), likened Gingrich's tactics to Alinsky's.
But though they angered many on the right, the attacks undermined Romney's electability argument -- which had previously been his main asset in the GOP nomination battle.
Gingrich has continued his class warfare strategy in Florida, referring to Romney on Wednesday as somebody who was "liv(ing) in a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and making $20 million for no work. ..."
It may be odd for somebody claiming to be a conservative to employ the tactics of the left, but Alinsky wrote an entire chapter on the arbitrary ethics of when the ends justify the means, noting that, "generally success or failure is a mighty determinant of ethics."
GOP nomination fights are often described as battles between Rockefeller Republicans and Goldwater Republicans. In 2012, Gingrich has brought us the Alinsky Republican.
Hello, everyone. Can't stay, but I thought I would drop in with the latest news about our distinguished governor, two of whose aides have now been charged criminally for engaging in illegal campaign activities, fundraising, and other political work while they were working in Walker's office as Milwaukee County Executive.
In other words, on the people's time.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/two-more-ex-walker-aides-charged-in-john-doe-investigation/article_0d64606e-4835-11e1-b461-001871e3ce6c.html
Read 'em and weep, folks.
I don't want to hear another word about the corruption of public employee unions and the use of "taxpayer dollars" for political purposes.
Those are just wages, that belong to the employees once they have earned them. THIS, on the other hand, is the direct theft of public money.
So look to your own house, you hypocrites.
GOP "machine," indeed.
In fact, the dirt kicked up by this little Tamany Hall goes all the way to GOP chairman, Reince Preibus.
Thing about Wisconsinites is that we can tolerate a lot of stuff, but dirt like this is gonna stick.
Scott Walker, your 15 minutes of fame are UP.
Just don't resign and take away the satisfaction of recalling your sorry behind.
A BIG shout-out to GOPExtinct for leading me to this article.
Well Anna,
It couldn't happen to a nicer guy! We need to go after the rest of the koch brother clones!
Here's a little flavor from the article itself, cited above --
Yeah, Walker felt bad, all right. He felt bad that he got CAUGHT.
@ Wayne -- Agreed. Let's see how he spins this. A reasonable person with even one shred of honor and integrity, would immediately resign. Walker, on the other hand, will be blaming the unions and the media for partisan attacks before the day is through.
Wait for it ....
TO: White Collar Auto who wrote:
Nobody Republicans have can beat Obama because Obama is for the American People.
Republicans are only for the Rich, Wealthy people -- they don't even have to be American so long as they are RICH -- no Republican is for the American People. All of the Republicans want more tax cuts for the rich, and lower wages for Working Class Americans. Republicans want to steal our Social Security, and every penny they can find from every corner of this country EXCEPT for Rich folks.
Obama / Biden 2012
TO: newscover who wrote:
LOL !
White collar auto: I have to applaud you for the unusual position of being against the guy who saved the auto industry and FOR the guys who both argued that the industry should fail. Oh wait...white collar, perhaps retired? Ah, now I get the let em eat cake stuff.....
Too late.
Now that IS true.
People are not going to vote against their own incumbent representatives. They say they will, but very few actually will. Hopefully Dems will turn out in larger numbers, and Independent swing voters too, thereby throwing out the Do Nothing Teapublican obstructionists. That is the only way we will get change for the better.
And probably retired on the handsome pension that the white-collar crowd piggy-backed on to the unions' pensions by arguing that they should have the same benefits.
GOPisExtinct could probably speak to that.
This article is a crock of bull! Every Republican I know is concerned with the near 30 year seizure of the GOP by the christian conservatives. The Evangelicals have made the entire discussion about social issues: gays, abortion, marriage, etc, and turned the GOP into a massive revival meeting. I've attended one local Tea Party meeting and I thought I had entered a church with all the 'amens' and hallelujahs. Gingrich is the candidate who focuses on real problems such as the economy, the drift away from constitutional values, and has the capability of shredding O-BLA-BLA during any debate and then booting him out of office. Most of us don't trust Mitt because underneath it all he is a devout Latter Day Saint and when in office he will be influenced more by his undergarment than the will of the voters. Vote for Newt!!!
No where near retired AP.
Actually as many here on the Left have opined, it was really Bush who "saved" the Auto Industry with TARP.
I happen to disagree and believe Romney had it right. See Romney said let them go through a managed Bankruptcy.
After the government gave billions of dollars to GM and Chrysler and they blew through it, that is exactly what they did.
I wish I had the benefits that the Union has. No COLA and they are killing us with our deductibles and pricetags.
But you people who's closest connection with the Auto Industry is buying a car think you now everything so whatever.
Anna Molly, I notice lately that you have been making Walker guilty by association with his troubled former aides.
Tell me, AM, how you reconcile the relationship between John Corzine and President Obama?
Apples and Apples, eh?
gayest article title ever... RATM sings against government bullsh*t and corporate greed... the author and the editor should be ashamed of themselves, they know they are misrepresenting RATM...
Newt is a fartfacedphiladeringliarandcheat and a disgrace to his Party. Of course, the regular Republican folks were goanna wake up and tell this jerk to STFU and just go away and STAY away.
Here's a little surprise for you, White Collar. I don't.
And I'M the one calling for campaign finance reform and reforming the lobbying laws to get influence peddling OUT of government.
As for Walker, this is not merely "guilt by association." Try to pay attention. ALL of the these people, except for the guy who got caught uploading illegal pornography while using a cell phone that was connected to one of Walker's employees, were WORKING FOR HIM at the time they did these deeds. It's not a question of their being "troubled" in other ways that blew back on Walker. THEY BROKE THE LAW WHILE WORKING FOR HIM ... in his capacity as County Board Executive.
That is, in fact, the sole reason that what they were doing was illegal.
And he knew about it. And all he had to say about it is that he hoped they won't get caught AGAIN.
If that's okay with you, so be it. But it's NOT okay with me. And I doubt it's okay with the majority of Wisconsin voters.
By the way, I don't understand that the John Doe probe is done. I've always suspected that Walker himself might be a target. It ain't over till it is.
I don't think Bush passed TARP on his own. He had a little help in designing it, including some help from the same advisers President Obama uses, the presidential candidates themselves, and 535 people collectively known as CONGRESS. Don't forget that Bush needed a Democratic Congress to pass it.
Or are you telling me that Republicans would have passed it?
And if so, then shut up about it.
Newt raging against the establishment LOL ... More like a Rattlesnake committing suicide...
Newt is the Teaparty candidate, not the GOP candidate. The Republicans got into bed with these snakes and now they are complaining!!
I hope that this political cannibal takes the insane, Party of No and Bagger machines down with him.
Only, for this reason, do I want Newt to reign supreme...until we elect a reasonable and Progressive President....unfortunately, I am not sure if Obama fits that profile.
Those who know Newt best don't want him as their candidate. Seems logical to me.
Well, that's what happens in politics...strange bedfellows sometimes steal the covers and then kick you out of bed.
Republicans have courted and manipulated the religious right solely because they want their votes, so it's amusing to hear you complain about them. Now they are manipulating you. Your party needs all the fringe groups it can cobble together, Tony.
Sorry to tell you this, Tony: Newt is despised by the Puppet Masters of your party.
It is not his turn.
I love the irony of your bashing the religious right. How exactly do you think your man Newt won South Carolina??
Agree or disagree I'm consistent with my posts.The republicans will NOT nominate Gingrich. They know he has no chance against Obama. They know that the democrats have enough dirt on him to rip him a new @!$%#. No matter what forgiveness he may claim, the American electorate can see, even feel his moral bankruptcy. He can pull that "yeah, I screwed both of my first two wives, but I'm not like that anymore" crap but it's useless. We can see right through his garbage. And if he thinks the republican power structure is going to permit his nomination, no matter how much money his super pac has, well then he's been huffing too much of his mistress' hair spray. And that's super, industrial strength hair spray! So all I have to say is--Gingrich/Perry 2012!!
Newt is clearly part of the establishment. Ron Paul is the only candidate that's ACTUALLY against the GOP machine. If you don't like the establishment, vote for Paul. Vote for the Slimy Newt and you'll end up with more of the same or worse.
This 'battle royale' in the Republican Primary is proof positive that cannibalism is alive and well in the "New" Republican/TP Party. They are willing to 'eat' their own! Today's dinner: Fresh Newt!
Newt's raging against the GOP machine? He might as well rage against a vending machine.
Go home, Newt.
It is not your turn.
The way newt see's it, if he goes down he's bringing the nation with him.
The Republicans need to drop newt like a kidney stone.
It horrendously painful to get it out, but much better when its finally gone.
Mr. Gingrich's ire seems to be yet one more instance of a Republican trying to deny that he's a Republican. It seems that he's becoming as bizarre as Michell Bachmann became. What next, Newton?
" ... have what I consider more egregious flaws. ... "
WOW!
More egregious then having an affair while married to his first wife?And then leaving her when she was deathly ill for the woman he was cheating with? More egregious then that?
More egregious then having an affair while married to his SECOND wife?And then leaving her when she was deathly ill for the woman he was cheating with? More egregious then that too?
More egregious then being fined $300,000 for ethics violation while Speaker of the House by his own party? And loosing his speakership because of those same ethics violations? More egregious then that?
More egregious then his ruthless attacks on a sitting President for having sex with a woman not his wife. While having sex with a woman NOT HIS wife? More egregious then that?
So lets do a quick recap of this.
1) More egregious then having little/no ethics.
2) More egregious then having few/no morals.
3) More egregious then having not having a conscious.
So you are telling us/me that you are willing to vote for a man like this because his opponents have committed acts more egregious then all of that? MORE EGREGIOUS?
Wow that really says a lot about your morals, ethics and conscious. And about the people in your party that would/are voting for him. And NONE of it good.
And you want the rest of us to trust and believe you when you say that he is the best man for the job in the Republican Party? And you want us to trust and believe you when you say that he is better then the current man doing the job? I have just one question for you.....
Are you out of your ever loving FEAKING MIND? And I honestly mean that. Are you really that ...... that ...... that..........................
AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ha Ha HA I LOVE IT! Republicans REALLY tearing up the guts of each other ...FINALLY.
I remember the first "debate" where all these morons just badmouthed President Obama and Gingrich referred them as "his friends" ..."any of MY FRIENDS...-sic- would do a better job than Obama"-he said
With "friends" like that who needs enemies? HA HA HA HA
Keep it up Newt...You are better at self-destructing than Charlie Sheen!!!!!
Gingrich = Toast
WTF. Newt, how the hell can you claim to be a Washington outsider when you have been in it for 20 years and have actually been a part of the GOP establishment??? YOU backed Reagan, a GOP establishment (left wing liberal compared to current party). And he still follows the baseless policy of trickle down economics. The theory does work, only if the tax cuts are focused directly onto the middle class: THE TRUE JOB CREATORS.
ROT IN HELL, GOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OBAMA BIDEN 2012
Great post George,
Because he is an insane, morally bankrupt, inept, devoid of ethics, corrupt SOB.
When Newt was Speaker of the House back in the 90's, he pissed off a lot of his peers within his own party, most of them traditional Republicans, Reaganites (very unlike the current GOP Tea Partiers that consider them "too liberal" for their bigoted tastes).
These traditional, non-tea-party Republicans are afraid that if Newt gets into the White House, he will have his REVENGE against these people that charged him on 84 counts of ethics violations, of which forced Newt to resign from office.
LOL.....any Republican candidate leading the pack is going to get some really squalid verbiage from the Lefties. I wonder how far down the food chain these folks are.
And the above comments prove my point.
Just wait till the Campaigner-Community Organizer-in-Chief has to face the Republican NOMINEE. The only thing Mr. Obama has going for him right now will be the results of our Brave men and women in uniform since his domestic and International policies have FAILED (I would provide a list of references (some of which are from MSNBC), however the moderator will say I would be advertising and kick me off Newsvine for another week).
George from Wa. State....
Time for you to get out of Gregoire's closet.
Anna Molly, you certainly have changed your tone to desperate these past few months.
Shut up about it? I don't think so.
I didn't say whether I agreed with TARP or not, I simply stated that many on the left here, when attacking those on the right who complain of the Obama bailouts point out that it was actually Bush who pushed TARP.
Despite TARP, Thousands of people got laid off, again, buying a car does not make one an expert on the Auto Industry.
See, you guys want to give Obama all the credit, but trash congress, and want to give Bush all the blame, but omit congress on a regular basis.
Double standard? Of course it is, but that's par for the course for Liberals.
So you think that Corzine wasn't working for Obama when he broke the Law? Biden said he was our man on Wall Street while all that money went, errr, missing.
Can you tell me why he isn't in jail?
Matter of fact the whole thing seems to have been forgotten. At least by the media.
Too, bad you guys on the left always want to have it both ways.
...kinda' like Newt (the ant) against the Elephant....what's the ants' chances.
.....The ant is an irritant to the elephant...gotta squash it!
Ants and elephants are both annoying in this context.
Oops ther goes another rubber tree plant.......
Newt's a Catholic; he's never used a rubber yet. So one day with all that strange mileage it's goanna turn green and fall off. And that's one trick a trip to Tiffany's will not cure.
P.S. Newt - transplants doan work too good, ask Slick Willy.
Newt's not Catholic. He's merely a Catholic of convenience, mostly political convenience. He clearly understands how easily religious conservatives are manipulated by his confession of sin.
How does a Catholic marry three women and divorce two of them? Newt, give it up...you are not Henry VIII (although I'll grant you there is a physical resemblance.)
Who thinks he's sincere in his supposed 'faith'? A show of hands please.
Newt wants us to believe he's not a D. C. insider? How funny. He is a big part of the rethugli-con machine.
"It's so absurd it's laughable. he is the epitome of career politicians and DC lobbyists." said Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Romney supporter
It's so absurd it's laughable. Romney is the epitome of a career politician whose GOP policies he sided with which have sunk our country. It's so absurd it's laughable that Romney can sit back and make jokes while President Obama has to continue to clean up the messes his "corporations are people" friends made.
And it's so absurd it's laughable if Romney believes that our Nation is going to yet again sign up for policies that left people homeless and left people bankrupt. Oh yes, and who died in a war that should never have been fought to begin with. A war started by policies Romney had no problem with.
Most of these same policies made Romney so wealthy that he doesn't even have to work. And he gets to leave in trust something like $100 million to each of his kids.
Romney, you are no different from Gingrich. And you are no President Obama.
A Democrat, who once again has to stop the pain after a GOP presidency whose policies millions of Americans have still not recovered from.
Did you all see the SOTU last night. You know what struck me? It was the thousands of people working in government alongside this Administration just trying to reverse all the wrongs for the past 30 years. I was very impressed with them.
Romney does nothing except run for president, like he has the answers. He doesn't. He's part of the problem.
Please continue to educate the people.
Romney would be good for tackling our debt crisis ......Obama just asks to raise the ceiling like it has zero repercussions .....not looking at Obama's debt problem , is what you are doing...
Neither Newt or Mitt can beat the President. However, I hope Newt and Mitt keep this battle going for a long time. For every dollar they spend against each other, means one less dollar spent trashing the President. Go Newt go. Go Mitt go.
Scary thing about Romney is that all his advisors are George W. Bush retreads. Like we need them again. I wish someone would ask him whether he would personally pay for any wars he starts.
Correction, educate in you in his thinking. Pat is writing according to his opinion. It is about presenting facts to support your opinion and ignoring facts that do not and in some cases devaluing information to the contrary. Since Pat is only providing facts and opinions without the opposition facts - you need to forget about editorials, really find out the dynmics of economics are, fill in the missing information to make a judgement on whether Pat is telling the whole story, or just the way he wants you to see it - in any case like he sees it.
Right on !
It's so absurd it's laughable to elect Romney on a job creation premise when his fortune was made in the private sector by eliminating them.
What's your point Pat Boston MA.? Even the biggest idiot can tell that Romney is a career politician.
The issue is whether Newt is a liar or not when he says that he's an outsider and not the complete and total insider beltway politician, 'part of the problem of how Washington DC works' politician that he is or the fantasy creation of his campaign that shows him as an outsider.
The only ones that seem to beleive that Newt is anything other than a DC insider are the fools too stupid to look at his actions instead of his campaign talk.
Pat, you really need to slow down on the meds. The SOTU was on Tuesday night, not last night.
Oh, oh... I get it... that was a copy and paste. Did you mention the source? I know you never type in complete sentences... It should have been obvious that you are stealing something from someone else. In that regard, I'll ignore it.
I agree Sgt. Anyone who decides to run for governor, serve as governor for four years and then runs for president for six years is a career politician.
Steeler, that is scary. A flock of "W" retreads? I wonder if he has Browny on board?
Newt says, "The Republican establishment is just as much of an establishment as the Democratic establishment. And they're just as determined to stop us,"
Well, no, traditionally the Republican establishment was much stronger than the Democratic establishment. But, in an odd twist of fate, the Citizens United ruling took a lot of the power the GOP establishment had away from it. When Dubya Bush ran the first time the Republican establishment pretty much guaranteed him a win by cutting off potential donors to Bush's opponents. They can't do that anymore.
Also too, the Democratic establishment has no, and I mean NO, desire to stop Newt.
Pat, Boston -
Well, whichever night it was (lighten up, Brianb!), did you see this story about Chad Ochocinco tweeting Speaker Boehner about how bummed out he looked?
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/chad-ochocino-mocks-house-speaker-john-boehner-during-state-of-the-union-address-012512/
Steeler Fan-380417,
Well said. Especially, Glenn Hubbard, Dean of Columbia Business School, Ex-Chief Economic Advisor to President Bush II, and currently the Chief Economic Policy adviser to Mitt Romney.
Glenn Hubbard and his surrogates were the ones who advised Bush II on 2001 and 2003 tax cuts which contributed immensely to our deficits and still continues to. If Romney wins, Hubbard wants the Treasury chair and that would be a major disaster for this country.
For many of the enthusiasts who like topics in International Economics, you should listen this WSJ moderated discussion on Global Economic Forum where Larry Summers thrashes Glenn Hubbard. No wonder these guys (Mitt Romney, Glenn Hubbard, Bush, et. al.) all think alike and believe in trickle down economics.
Job1 is right, Only Ron Paul can call Obama a Liar without being called one back!
PS It doesn't take a lot of money to trash the president. He is doing a fine job himself!
Lie about getting rid of Patriot act, sign it twice then go even further by legalizing throwing American citizens in indefinite detention without Charge, Phone call or Lawyer and killing them abroad. By doing this we are now just like all the communist countries that we have demonized for decades over doing the exact same thing to THEIR citizens. Guess what we are now the worlds biggest hypocrites! Lie about ending the Iraq war, (he said he would end it as soon as he got in office) then Move all the troops from Iraq to Afghanistan so when you end the Iraq war ends it doesn't make a hill of beans of difference anyhow because they are still spending the same amount to keep all the war profiteers happy rite?
Pretty sure I can trash the president with the spare change in my pocket, and by the way I did not get the "change" from him.
Wayne---Romney also ran for Senate in Mass. against Ted Kennedy. He boasts that he made Ted Kennedy take out a mortgage on his house to beat him. Not sure if that is even true.
Oops! I forgot that one! Let's add that to his resume! It would be interesting to know if the mortgage story is true. If it is, I respect Ted even more. Ted had a rough start, but he became one of our finest public servants.
If you watched Boehner he was getting a real twitch going on the right side of his mouth. I thought him and Cantor both looked bummed out.
This is their worst nightmare, the economy improving even with all their obstruction. Look for them to kill the tax cut holiday for the middle class and working poor as a way to stop the slow growth of our economy. If it hurts President Obama who cares what it does to our country.
In the mid 1960's I lived in a town in California that did not allow blacks to live in the city limits. It was against the law to do that so all the owners of the grocery stores got together and decided that they would not sell the family food until they moved out of town. Of course the family moved and they had put the family in their place for the nerve of trying to live in their all white Coalinga, California.
The republicans in congress remind me of the grocery store owners. They can't do it legally but they can disrespect him and obstruct in congress in their attempts to put President Obama in his place for his nerve of winning the presidency. That is Newt's biggest calling card, finally someone to put President Obama in his place.
Obama/Biden 2012
Even Boehner reluctantly clapped for the middle class tax break extension. He and his party will be sent packing if they don't pass it.
Grumplestiltskin Boehner - did not look at all happy. He kept getting redder and redder (if that's possible). Is he up for re-election? Surely Ohio has someone better - actually if Ohio has anyone they will be better!
Speaking of disgruntled Republicans at the SOTU, did anyone else see this?
beninalaska,
RE: your post #3.2
First, it is not Obama's debt. It is YOUR debt and MY debt! Second, Obama did not create the debt. He did add to the debt to the extent that he was forced to rescue our financial system, destroyed, by Wall Street and their cronies and to fight two wars started, unjustly, by George Bush.(War costs $2.2 TRILLION and counting). Third, if you think that the national debt is a serious problem, try and NOT raise the debt ceiling and see just how serious, serious actually can be! To default on our debt is the same as suicide; we just cannot do that or it is check-mate for the United States Economy and much of the world economy. Got any bright ideas how to SOLVE this problem, other than critize the president?
Pat Boston- Excellent post. You'll be the target for the usual right wing trolls but you made some good points.
" ... Got any bright ideas how to SOLVE this problem, other than critize the president? ... "
No.
Well except for more of what got us into the spot that we are in.
Well, ok. The answer is still .....
NO!
I thinks its more Newt can't be trusted ..the guy is a "BUM". Plus he isn't a Conservative candidate .He has broken the vow of marriage with the painted mistress. And know his own people said just moments ago he lied about it .
But, INPS, the state with the most conservative voters so far, has voted for Gingrich, so I guess having a painted mistress is a conservative value now.
Very funny, Amy. They say it's immoral. . . until they say it's not. Such hypocrites!
These r the same people who say family value is important. Do they know what that is .
Hey, jt----Newt has family values----ask any of his 3 families.
There's a debate tonight, and a vote on the 31st. Let's see how the "establishment" does...
http://legalinsurrection.com/2012/01/nancy-reagan-1995-ronnie-turned-that-torch-over-to-newt/
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/red/sfl-reagan-romney-gingrich-gingrich-a-lot-more-like-reagan-than-romney-20120125,0,7499761,full.story
http://www.redstate.com/erick/2012/01/24/were-fighting-over-two-guys-and-neither-side-thinks-the-other-can-win/
Tonight, I really hope the audience is again advised not to make noise. I hope they are admonished not to treat these debates like high school pep rallies. When it's quiet, we can really see how little Newt is saying with his responses. These are supposed to be presidential primaries, which should demand some sort of dignity.
They better give Ron Paul lots of time to speak.
Poor little Newt, no body loves him. The media is out to get him, he said. No body loves him in the Republican party, yet he is running neck and neck with Romney in Florida and he won South Carolina. What a baby!!
He bawls when someone dares to even whisper something even slightly bad about him but has no problem thinking he is a pit bull in going after the media and his opponents. Again Newton Leroy Gingrich shows that he is a hypocrite.
I agree with everything here but I'll also say that MSNBC chose a ridiculous headline. Rage Against the Machine is most famous as the name of a leftist band which doesn't at all represent the views of the Republican party. Occupy Wall Street is raging against the machine. Newt is very much part of the machine.
Newt's strategy must be an attempt to mirror the angry right, but it seems he's taking this a bit far. At some point, doesn't he need to show a more compassionate side? Or does he believe he can ride "angry" all the way to the WH?
Angry right? What "angry right" is that? I'm a member of Tea Party Patriots, and have seen NO EVIDENCE that any position by the Tea Party iincludes being angry with the right -- just the left.
Gordon, I didn't say the right was angry with itself, but conservatives are angry, wouldn't you agree?
This is an awfully expensive exercise in vanity campaigning. It's all about Gingrich's ego, his rages, his feelings...whatever happened to talking about how one candidate would govern differently than another? I swear, the Republican candidates are so wrapped up in their personal dramas, they have completely forgotten about the voters.
Don't get me wrong, as a Democrat, I'm loving it.
When is Newt not raging? He's like a political 3-year old.
I attended the church of newt last night, you know the one where you can cheat and lie and be forgiven unconditionally, and participated in a new ritual - baptizing the dead.
Yes, you heard me, baptizing the dead!!! I stood in as proxy for Mitt Romney's campaign, as it was pretty much dead, had it baptized - replied 'mitt Romey's campaign' when asked and now am pleased to announce that Mitt Romneys campaign has not only gained a 2nd life, but has chosen to convert as well. to The the Newt 'Fly me to the moon' Gingrich Church of 2nd chances.
Expect to see Romney win Florida and go all the way ..... after all 'He is the chosen one' and represents the one and only true church!
"The ex-speaker has sought to paint Mitt Romney, by contrast, as the choice of the establishment. The former Massachusetts governor is Mike Castle to Gingrich's Christine O'Donnell"
By George, he's got it! I think he's got it! If comparing yourself to Christine O'Donnell isn't a winning strategy, then I don't know what is (Insert your own joke about witches and newts here).
P.S. - Gingrich might also want to recall that while Christine O'Donnell did, in fact, win the Republican nomination in that race, she was crushed by Democrat Chris Coons in November.
You really might want to re-think this one, Newt.....
President Obama is one of the greatest presidents we've ever had...he's saved us from a second great depression, and has turned the economy back on the right track. My only regret is that he can serve only one more term.
Dont worry, Hillary is next.
Don't forget Elizabeth Warren.
I take Hilary at her word. She's done. There's just so much one person can take (even Romney is going to put this one to bed after he loses).
There is a certain amount of justice in all of this...the Republicans encouraged all these Tea Party types when it was beneficial to them to do so..now they are coming back to bite these elephants in their collective asses..its Payback Time!!
Rumor has it that Newter has concluded that he needs a non-white wife more glamorous than Michelle to compete with Obama and has been interviewing candidates. Look out Calypso, looks like you are toast.
Just an unsubstantiated rumor.
Are you trying to say that his JC Penney mannequin is not going to be good enough to take the stage at the Inauguration? (if he was to win)! LOL
Unfortunately, he cannot divorce her until she is in the hospital, being treated for cancer. At least that seems to be his pattern.
If anything can turn a woman into a hypochondriac it's being married to Newt Gingrich.
I wonder if she got a prenup. Nah, I doubt it. If she was willing to orally pleasure Newt (just plain old icky) while Newt was conducting a witch hunt against Bill Clinton's private parts, she would probably be willing to do anything, including marrying Newt without a prenup.
@nisl,
I'm sure he would take a pass if she insisted on one. Newt has the mindset that he can always find another that will be willing to do things his way.
Detroit-Storm
You are probably right. You know my instinct is that I should feel bad for Calista, kind of like the way I feel about rats that get dropped into cages with snakes. But somehow, given Newt's history, and Calista's roll in it, I don't feel bad at all.
She knew what she was getting, I have no sympathy.
nisl,
As in, roll in the hay?
I'm sure that's subliminal on your part, and it's very funny when you think about it.
so what we have is not a contest for the candidate for president. what it really boils down to is a fight for the identity of the republican party.
i submit that neither the person/s nor the party that is embroiled in this quest for identity and form is anywhere close to what this country needs right now.
we should have zero interest in trying to combine both very important tasks in the hope that the result will be a good leader.
The Republican Party has no identity.
The Democratic party has been fairly consistent center left from the Truman days. It will sometimes shift more left (Humphrey, Dukakis, John Kerry and Al Gore) and lose power. Incumbents can be nudged right ( Kennedy, Clinton) but overall it has been driven by practicality and current events rather than by ideology. Consider Carter, labeled liberal, deregulated much of America's transportation and communications infrastructure.
The GOP has an undercurrent of rigid ideology going back to Calvin Coolidge.
" After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world." Coolidge
From the time of Nixon, the GOP has had a xenophobic streak. Nixon, a McCarthy red baiter, was a pragmatic fiscal and foreign policy conservative who opened relations with China, imposed wage and price controls (twice), ended dollar convertibility to gold and ran big budget deficits.
The GOP is committed to a bundle of "freedom" and "constitutional" issues but finds adherence to them inconvenient. Female reproductive privacy conflicts with the GOP moral code (Newet lol). Fiscal conservative Reagan tolerated huge (for the period) budget deficits as the price of starving the Federal Bureaucracy and was willing to sell arms to Iran to fund his private Colombian war. Personal liberty conflicted with Bush's war on terror.
So the fundamental problem for the GOP is that they continually follow the siren song of the "true conservative" (Nixon, John Birch, Goldwater, Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43) and then feel jilted when expediency overwhelms ideology.
Duh comment of the day -- Newt is the GOP!
Newt needs to close his mouth. All that ranting of his, is going to give Romney a first class ticket to that nomination. Believe me some that hate he is spewing is going to come back and bite him straight in the butt! In the end screaming about illegal immigration and food stamps is not going to get him re-elected.
It is the height of hypocrisy and arrogance to run against a Washington establishment that has made him wealthy and supplied his power base. Perhaps he will be able to live on the moon colony he has promised in 10 years. We could call it Gingrich City in his honor,.
he needs a rubber room
Didja notice that none of the GOP candidates (cept Paul) was able to a; get reelected or b; complete the elected term?
Senor Blingrich, the ads about you are true, you pompous dingbat!!
Maybe if you had some credibility you could actually make this case to more than just the billybobs of the country that are gullible enough to buy it!
Newt is mad at the GOP establishment because they kicked him out. His own Party forced him out as speaker and fined his ass $300,000 for ethics violations.
He was cleared of all charges except one.
Adam - not true. That's why he had to pay the $300,000. It really put a ding in his Tiffany budget.
A brokered deal under the table if there ever was one. He left Congress in complete disgrace..
No, Adam, he wasn't cleared, he took a plea bargain.
One was enough to get him fined and forced to resign in disgrace. But some in the Republican party are really big on forgiveness, they'll even forgive the sin of hypocrisy.
Will he divorce Callista when she gets sick like he did his first two wives?
Newt says that your not allowed to ask that question. Newt trumps the 1st amendment.
Remember she is there to help him win the WH. If he don't win he will realize he left his 2nd wife for a maybe.
Newt, thou doth protest too much!
Why do we always end up having to vote for the lesser of two evils? I think we would get better candidates if we drew names out of a hat.
I think we would get better candidates if we voted for the hat.
they are the only ones that were in the hat.
Agreed, take the hat. Better than the evil of two lessers.
Anybody want to make a quick buck in Florida?
Make bumper stickers that say, "NEUTER NEWT 2012"
As Bob Barker always said, "get your pets spayed and NEWTERED"
Big John
Thats why I gave up on the GOP....feels Great! TEA is caustic!