It’s totally self-serving for Rand Paul to take to the Des Moines Register to blast Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, but he does deliver a devastating argument against them. His premise is that the Tea Party arose in reaction to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and that it became a political force because of its opposition to the Affordable Care Act and its individual mandate. Because Romney and Gingrich supported both TARP and the individual mandate, they are completely ineligible for and undeserving of any Tea Party support.
I thinks that’s an unassailable argument. I have to note that Rand Paul doesn’t mention that TARP was designed and signed into law by the Bush administration, but he’s right that Romney and Gingrich supported it. He’s right that both Romney and Gingrich have strongly endorsed the individual mandate as a “conservative” approach to health care reform. Sen. Paul dismisses Romney as a “moderate, northeastern, don’t-rock-the-boat Republican,” but he thinks everyone understands that. His main concern is that Gingrich is selling people a bill of goods.
Gingrich began his career as a Rockefeller Republican from the liberal wing of the party. And though he has often spoken and occasionally acted like he left that wing, it is clear from his flip-flops and multiple “apologies” that his heart is still there.
He blasts Gingrich for supporting the Department of Education, and for voting for gun control bills in the early 1990’s. He nails him for supporting Cap and Trade and for doing a climate change commercial with Nancy Pelosi. And he tears him apart for getting rich as an advocate for Freddie Mac.
All in all, I think Sen. Paul does an excellent job of explaining why Newt Gingrich should be seen as an enemy by the Tea Party movement. The problem is most Tea Partiers don’t give a shit about any of that stuff. They just want some white dude to talk shit about the president. And, for that, Gingrich is clearly their guy…as the polls clearly verify.
Morning Joe today had brief discussion supporting the chance of a brokered convention and the leak that George Will was going to bring up on Sunday’s talk the leaning of Paul to run as an independent and then crunch the numbers the divide it would cause.
It must be confusing to be a principled Tea Partier and not realize that all the other Tea Partiers think with their hindbrains.
The idea that Newt Gingrich started his career as a “Rockefeller Republican” seems false to me. We have a name today for Rockefeller Republicans — they’re called Democrats, so far has the country moved to the right over the last three decades. But even without considering that, Gingrich labeled himself and ran as conservative with a right-wing message that honestly should resonate with Tea Party activists from the very beginning of his career, and he nurtured and maintained the conservative iconoclast image ever since, culminating with the extremist “Contract with America.”
I’m no expert on how Gingrich campaigned in the 1980’s, but I agree that it seems a stretch to call him a Rockefeller Republican.
The Republican candidates have a huge number of flaws and self-contradictions. In addition, most of them are as aggressive as a junkyard dog and are not likely to give in, especially as there is no longer an iron hand ruling the party. The result is that they will blast each other to pieces and leave the field a smoldering ruin. As for the convention, don’t ask. I think this is a good moment to invest in popcorn futures.
Boy oh, does that try serious revisionism. Gingrich began his career as a dogwhistling racist Georgia candidate for Congress running on the issues that would propel Ronald Reagan to the White House. Gingrich was in Georgia the original anti-Carter and he won a district that never voted strongly for Carter, not for governor and not for President. To cut to the chase, Gingrich won Lester Maddox country. Once he got to DC, he was a loyal political footsoldier and opportunist for the modern conservative movement.
There was no Rockefeller liberal wing of the Republican party when Gingrich started his career.
This statement is just plain loopy from the son of plain loopy.
can someone try to explain to me in completely rational and evidential terms why Tweety et al seemed to think that Newt Gingrich will be sooooo much tougher for POTUS to debate than Romney?
So Newt’s a bomb thrower? Has Obama ever been one to “take the bait” as it were? Plus as the House GOP did last time at their retreat, you under-estimate the 1000 ninja cuts by thin blades that is Obama on a a slow day and not even trying hard.
I know, I know, SASTQ, but I am seriously just agog at this BS from Tweety et al?
They just want some white dude to talk shit about the president. And, for that, Gingrich is clearly their guy … as the polls clearly verify.
It’s not just the President. The GOP base loves when he, or anyone else, talks shit about Democrats and the issues that matter to them.