Newt Gingrich! for President! 2012 !
 

This means that:

a) Three-time serial adultery is now a "conservative family value"
b) Shutting down the government was a virtue, rather than an expensive disaster
c) Newt eliminated the Soviet Union.

he's the best choice as far as conservatives go. He's probably most intelligent man (at least for running a government) that will be involved in the 2012 race, both parties included.

Newt is indeed often touted as a "policy guru" for the GOP.

Trouble is, when you examine it, there's really nothing of substance here. What has he ever done? I lived through his tenure as Speaker of the House. It wasn't pretty.

I think the GOP will go through it's usual convulsions, and the final candidate will be Romney. That's how the GOP does it - you pay your dues, you get to be the nominee.

If it's Romney..he will lose.

I think he has a good shot to win the nomination, and then get obliterated by Obama in the general.

Newt? How will he win the social conservative vote? I don't see how he could gain the GOP nomination without it.

Newt started with an affair while he was a minor with his high school teacher. Married her after he came of age. Then during his entire public life, nonstop, this guy has cheated on two wives (divorced one recovering from uterine cancer and divorced one who developed multiple sclerosis at the time he was cheating on them) with multiple mistresses and one night stands - some being juggled at the same time! - (while he was hypocritically trying to impeach Clinton for Monica, btw). He's asked three women to marry him while married to the previous wife. And now he's on his third wife. He's an outrageous liar and cheat.

I can't see how that could possible gain the GOP nomination. Newt's been around since the 1970's, and he's never been wanted by the GOP for President, due to his massive and chronic adultery problems.

His biggest challenger is a Mormon. It's slim pickings and he's at least got some political 'skill'.

This is a good point. The social conservatives will take any Christian over what they view as a "cult" ** The "Mormon thing" is what sank Romney within the party his previous run for President.

(** although Glenn Beck is Mormon, and they love him. Weird)

do mormons kill their children?

Oh please. He's a moron.
And I hate that he's a fellow history Ph.D.
I actually took some small measure of pride in finishing my own graduate work and doctoral dissertation and I feel he diminishes the (already minimal) significance of the degree a bit every time he opens his stupid mouth.

So Newt is the equivalent of Bill Clinton??? Didn't seem to hurt 2 term Clinton.

Clinton can't hold a candle to Newt in the being a whore challenge. Newt is a Washington legend :tro:

Clinton can run rings around Gingrich intellectually. Gingrich never stood a chance against him. As a result, Clinton was a two-termer, and today is still on the international scene; and Gingrich has never been asked by his party, in spite of 15 years of mumbling he'd like to be President, and speaks only at conservative specialty meetings. Gingrich's political career has long been over and done.

The GOP sure as hell doesn't want Newt out there now, being a fool in public, saying his crazy Newtisms. They got rid of Trump, and now have to deal with Newt. At least it will be entertaining for a few weeks.

Poor Tim Pawlenty. Keep plugging along, T-Paw!

Deb - I miss the Kennedy's too :p

Its funny how everyone looks back on the years of surplus with Clinton and smiles... Newt was making the big decisions then.

i disagree completely. but thats fine. him and hillary would be the best if they could run against each other. I'd feel comfortable with either of them in office. something like Huckabee vs Obama ugh. but of course Obama will get the Dem nom, I wonder if Hillary challenged him if she'd have a chance.

She's been quoted several times as saying she has no interest in public office after the upcoming election so very doubtful.

We've had this (or similar discussions) many times but I still don't really have a clear picture of what you think would be so different if Hillary had won in 2008. I think the overwhelming majority of the policy decisions would have been the same. It still probably would have been Larry Summers and Tim Geithner as the chief economic advisors, for example, and Hillary and Obama just aren't that far apart ideologically. Overall I prefer Obama to Hillary, but I don't see how their administrations would have been all that different.

Same goes for the Republicans. Would a Newt administration govern in a dramatically different way than a Romney administration or a Pawlenty administration? I doubt it.

The character, intelligence, and overall makeup of an individual candidate is important, but I think most voters dramatically overemphasize the importance of these things. I thought Bill Richardson was a moron, for example. If he had actually won the nomination in '08, however, I still would have voted for him because ideologically he lines up more with me than the Republicans do. That's also why its so stupid when liberals act like the world would end if Palin became president. Why would it? Sure she's a moron, but her administration would probably not be much different than most other Republican administrations.

Somebody better tell Obama to hit the books if he's going to be debating Newt. :D

Yeah, there is probably a ton of literature available on how to cheat on your wife.

Quite easily, I'd think. That crowd is so utterly predictable it's almost boring.

If you say all the right things about Jesus, AND hate all the right people/things, then past transgressions are all too quickly swept under the rug.

Gingrich getting in good by doing that same song and dance wouldn't be the first time that's happened, or the thirty thousandth, and it won't be the last.

Everyone glossed right over this. Clinton was the weather man in San Diego telling everybody how nice it was (doesn't make you a better meteorologist) Newt was making the weather nice for him to report.

I am bemused by the context of that statement :rolleyes: Thus, I offer famous Newtisms:

“The most serious, systematic revolutionary of modern times.” Newt Gingrich on himself

“We must expect the Soviet system to survive for a very long time. There will be Soviet labor camps and Soviet torture chambers well into our grandchildren’s lives.” (except, no)

“Kill jobs and lead to a recession, force people off of work and onto unemployment and will actually increase the deficit.” Gingrich waxing prophetic regarding President Clinton’s 1993 budget bill (completely wrong on that one, weren't you, Newt?)

“Put your baby in a dumpster, that’s Okay.” Newt Gingrich explaining what liberals want when he was questioned about his plan to initiate 19th Century orphanages.

“Most People don’t realize it’s illegal to pray in school, most people somehow think that’s not true.” (Praying is allowed in public schools as long as it is not lead by government employees or so loud as to disrupt the education of others)

“Up to 25% of the White House, when they first came in, had used drugs within the past 4 or 5 years.” (Newt Gingrich just making stuff up about Clinton WH)

“On Inauguration Day, they’re breaking the law and doing drugs. Two days later, they’re in the White House. This must be the most disciplined set of addicts in the world...” (Newt Gingrich making more stuff up about Clinton WH)

“The Federal government made a Danish heart pump illegal that was used in ambulances that kept 54% of people alive who would otherwise now be dead.” (complete lie)

“Give the park police more ammo.” Newt Gingrich response to a reporter who asked what to do about the homeless a few days after the police shot a homeless man in front of the White House.

“The problem isn’t too little money in political campaigns, but not enough.” Newt Gingrich on campaign reform.

“I have enormous personal ambition. I want to shift the entire planet. And I’m doing it. I am now a famous person. I represent real power.” Newt Gingrich on Newt Gingrich

“Gingrich - Primary mission, Advocate of civilization, Definer of civilization, Teacher of the rules of civilization, Leader of the civilizing forces.” Newt Gingrich on Newt Gingrich

"A mere forty years ago, beach volleyball was just beginning. No bureaucrat would have invented it, and that's what freedom is all about."

"And my point was one I think that you'd agree with, which is there's no room in America for a black racist, a Latino racist, or a white racist, or an Asian racist, or a Native American racist. Now, we're either color blind or we're not color blind."

"Have you heard a single national figure tell you all of the crises of the recent past are not economic, they're cultural?" (must explain the GOP fixation with passing multiple abortion laws, rather than jobs bills, since January)

"I think one of the great problems we have in the Republican Party is that we don't encourage you to be nasty. We encourage you to be neat, obedient, loyal and faithful and all those Boy Scout words, which would be great around a campfire but are lousy in politics."

I'm not a natural leader. I'm too intellectual; I'm too abstract; I think too much."

"In every election in American history both parties have their cliches. The party that has the cliches that ring true wins."

"The idea that a congressman would be tainted by accepting money from private industry or private sources is essentially a socialist argument."

"What is the primary purpose of a political leader? To build a majority. If voters care about parking lots, then talk about parking lots."

"You can't trust anybody with power".

"The greatest leaders in fighting for an integrated America in the twentieth century were in the Democratic Party. The fact is, it was the liberal wing of the Democratic Party that ended segregation. The fact is that it was Franklin Delano Roosevelt who gave hope to a nation that was in despair and could have slid into dictatorship. And the fact is, every Republican has much to learn from studying what the Democrats did right."

"She isn't young enough or pretty enough to be the President's wife." - Newt Gingrich on his first wife.

"If combat means living in a ditch, females have biological problems staying in a ditch for thirty days because they get infections and they don't have upper body strength. I mean, some do, but they're relatively rare. On the other hand, men are basically little piglets, you drop them in the ditch,
they roll around in it, doesn't matter, you know. These things are very real. On the other hand, if combat means being on an Aegis-class cruiser managing the computer controls for twelve ships and their rockets, a female may be again dramatically better than a male who gets very, very frustrated sitting in a chair all the time because males are biologically driven to
go out and hunt giraffes."

And the all-time favorite Newt quote:

"It doesn't matter what I do, people need to hear what I have to say." - Newt Gingrich told his second ex-wife, on why he thinks cheating on her was okay and why she should have tolerated his affair.

exactly, the best thing that happened to Clinton's presidency was Newt becoming Speaker.

you get statements like this "I lived through his tenure as Speaker of the House. It wasn't pretty." yet the country absolutely thrived during that time.

I'll say one thing with certainty though. I lived through Nancy Pelosi's tenure as Speaker of the House. It wasn't pretty.

Well he seems like a perfect fit for presidency based on those quotes. They are all full of themselves.

Unfortunately, that wasn't due to Republican policies or Gingrich's leadership (and I did not vote for Clinton)

Gingrich gets credit for the deficit reduction and strong economy then, exactly as Bush gets credit for killing bin Laden last week. Only in their dreams. History, facts, facts, history, wishes. Not all the same.

I hope he makes it through the North Carolina primary, so you can vote for your man.

i'm not a republican so I wont be voting for anyone.

and the bolded is false. guess what.. bills and budgets get started in the house unless you didnt realize that.

Yes, and what was Newts budget? How'd that "Contract with America" work out?

Gingrich gets credit for two things from me - he has been in favor of government-mandated universal health care for all, and he worked with Clinton and the Dems.

Hey, Newt never said that there were 57 states...

Or confused "his Muslim faith" with "his Christian faith"

Or said he wants to "spread the wealth around" - wealth besides his own of course.

There are many idiotic statements that this president has made despite the media's overt action to hide his missteps and protect him.

In the debate it will be just Obama vs. Gingrich. No media to help. No prepared commercials. No orchestrated press conferences with softball questions and 20 minute long meandering answers.

It will be Newt vs. Barack. And I like Newt's odds any day.

Either did Obama. He was asked while running around on the campaign trail, about all the travel, how many states he'd visited, and he laughed and said, "All 57!" You know - as a joke?


Either did Obama. Here's the original video of that interview, where George Stephanopolous is asking about the Republicans attacking him on the campaign trail by falsely saying he's Muslim, and Obama's answer: he said John McCain hadn't talked about my "Muslim" faith, and Stephanopolis says you mean Christian, and Obama says no, I'm saying that John McCain has not talked about me being Muslim. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQqIpdBOg6I

Your income taxes are the lowest they've been since the 1950's. Thank the multiple tax cuts and incentives you've gotten from this President.

Do feel free to share them, especially as there are "many".

Have you ever heard Newt actually speak? He has a long-standing reputation similar to Joe Biden for saying redonkulous, absurd things :D

I doubt Newt will get past the first four primaries. He could win Iowa. If they are trying to kill Romney on his successful state healthcare, they will eat Newt alive for his national Socialist mandated government healthcare for all plan.

Too bad, as the Dems would salivate over getting to run against Newt, as they would against Palin.

As George W. Bush would say, it's a great strategic advantage to be "misunderestimated" :D

Advantage: Gingrich.

Primary season! And, they're off! ;)

Unfortunately I suspect a lot of folks understand Newt quite well.

He might beat Huckabee in Iowa.

This is what amuses me about this "Newt-love", because he has an education, right wing folks are climbing all over him..."Oh, he's so intelligent, a real intellectual" etc etc...now for every right wing PhD or tenured college professor, there are a half dozen (just a guess) left wing types, folks who agree about 95% of the time with my rather extreme views. These folks have been attacked by the right for decades (brainwashing our kids etc etc)...so how come an educated right winger is to be admired because he/she is just so smart while an educated left winger is demonized as the devil himself?

Because the dinosaurs that walked the earth with Adam and Eve said so be it?

If I had a nickel for every time I had to hear about how intellectual Obama is, I'd be able to afford Obama's proposed tax hikes.

The thing is, Newt really is that sharp, and I have a feeling that he's about to prove it in his debate performance, in the primary season certainly, and, possibly, as the candidate for the GOP.

we'll see...hell, I could win debates against Trump, Palin and those folks. Bush was frequently characterized as rather stupid, I never bought it, I seldom agreed with his politics but I never saw him as unintelligent.

Unlike Charlie Rangel I haven't heard anything about Gingrich not paying taxes. Pelosi's and Boxer's talk about ethics is a joke. Rangel is still in DC. What a joke the Dems are.

Newt complicates his Republican base acceptance
 

Newt on "Meet the Press" today, talking about the GOP Ryan budget proposal with Medicare changes, calling it: "Right wing social engineering". Conservatives imposing "radical change".

He's right, of course, and his position, while alienating him from the conservative Tea Party and libertarian members of the GOP, would endear him to independents and even progressives.

Independents and progressives are, however, completely offended when Newt said that you could only understand President Obama if, "only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior", then said this is "the most accurate, predictive model for his behavior." (Newt is a liar, or simply a stupid idiot, aside from being willing to use dog whistles, as the President never lived in Kenya)

In response, Paul Ryan on CNN's "State of the Union" stuck to his guns regarding his budget, including the Medicare abolishment provisions (which is strange, as the GOP via Boehner has been massively walking this back this past two weeks, based upon the angry, upset constituents at their town hall meetings telling them to keep their damn government hands off their Medicare. Forty-one freshmen Tea Party Congressmen even wrote a letter to Obama last week, whining, and asking him to intervene in the Democrats pointing out in campaign ads that the GOP voted to abolish Medicare, and ask them not to do that - LOL!).

It should be noted the CBO scored the Ryan budget as increasing our deficit.

And if nobody noticed, Huckabee is officially OUT of the running.

The only ones officially in: Gingrich, Pawlenty, Romney, Johnson, Ron Paul (there are, of course, also the usual collection of declared weirdos that run every President election)