The Gingrich political career, now at an end
“A lot of us who were around him before and didn’t think this was a good idea from the beginning were worried this was the way it was going to end. He’s in danger, I think, of becoming a laughingstock.”
– Rich Galen, former staff member for Newt Gingrich, quoted in Politico
The sense of personal destiny that has driven Newt Gingrich throughout his life, the deep and defining belief that he was fated to do great things and write his name in large letters upon the history books, has finally run aground on the sharp shoals of reality. And that is a hard thing for the former speaker and Georgia congressman to accept.
He has no money and in fact his campaign is deeply in debt. He lacks the resources to travel, let alone buy campaign ads, and the press has abandoned him, raising the age-old question: If a man utters pearls of profound wisdom, and no one is there to hear him, did he really utter them at all? Yet still he presses on, insistent against all evidence that he remains relevant. As he told Fox this week, “I have no incentive to get out because I have a set of ideas that include $2.50-a-gallon gas, etc. So I have every incentive to stay in.”
I’m sorry: “$2.50-a-gallon gas” is not an idea, it is an ill-disguised pander inconsistent with reality. Newt’s inability to distinguish between an idea and a pander betrays a lot about how he thinks, and about why he has fallen so short of his dreams.
To give the man his due, Gingrich has fashioned a political career that by most standards would be considered a huge success. He truly did shock the political world when he led a Republican revolution in 1994 that ended the Democrats’ death grip on the House of Representatives. He was enormously gifted, possessed with a clever mind and one of the sharpest tongues in American political history. And his strong sense of personal destiny insulated him against doubts that might have haunted other men.
But a clever mind is not a wise mind. A man so easily distracted by shiny intellectual objects, flitting from one idea to the next, can never attain the depth suggested by the most prominent words in the Gingrich vocabulary, such as “profound” and “fundamental.” And those who are equipped to lead heady revolutions are almost never equipped for the day-to-day drudgery required to govern and to build.
However, the fatal flaw that ensured that Gingrich would never satisfy the ambition that burned within him was his basic lack of respect for other people. The contempt that he showered upon opponents in public life was reflected in his private life as well, and also in how he treated colleagues and staff. He showed little loyalty and earned little loyalty, and in politics as in life, that makes long-term success very difficult.
– Jay Bookman
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723 comments Add your comment
Brosephus™
March 29th, 2012
5:29 pm
Towncrier
If you haven’t already figured it out, people say stupid sh*t. What makes people think the president wasn’t an American? I can’t understand the anger behind that. Do I paint all White people in that same manner because of the stupidity of a few? No. When people say something, I ask clarifying questions. Ask William about our back and forth yesterday. Unlike many, I have no problem with asking questions since that’s what I do all day long.
When you can provide a better answer than “you need to probe more deeply and refrain from assumptions” then let me know.
Dude, I CAN NOT answer for anybody other than myself. If you want to know their motivations, ask them. Contrary to popular opinion here, all Black people do not think alike. The fact that you would state something that has the appearance of inferring that much kinda pisses me off. Instead of lashing back in anger though, I’ll go say a prayer for your soul. I think that would be more beneficial to us both.
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
March 29th, 2012
5:30 pm
BURGLARLY TOOLS!?! Now you’re just LIEING to make you point valid. Just like with the Kathryn Johnstone’s case, you’re LIEING about the damn VICTIM. How pathetic is THAT?
My Party has ALL the answers. Your party is full of poopyheads! (formerly That Black Guy)
March 29th, 2012
5:31 pm
DebbieDoRight – A Do Right Woman
March 29th, 2012
4:58 pm
What makes your whole but,but,but Zimmerman SAID…..defense so ridiculous is that you won’t even ENTERTAIN the thought that Zimmerman LIED.
He shot down some kid, found that the kid didn’t have a gun on him or any other weapon then he LIED to protect himself from prosecution.
Nope, for some reason you just can’t fathom a man with a past history of violence could actually LIE about being violent……..
________________________________________________________________________________
DDR, I keep thinking the same thing.
Towncrier
March 29th, 2012
5:33 pm
“But my brother represents A LOT OF BLACK MEN who are seen as a threat FIRST; then later seen as a citizen. That is a sad state in America.”
To the extent that exists, I would agree that it is a sad state of affairs. I wish I could change that. I am not personally responsible for it, but am surprised that, in this present age of information and almost immediate exposure, it persists. How do you deal with it? If my race had this problem, I would catch people in the act with video tape. If it is that prevalent, it should be easy to do (because people are predictable). You know, find a spot that policemen like to patrol, send a black man into that area late at night and video tape it. If racist behavior is recorded, sue the city. If that happens enough times, the loss of money will deter the bad behavior if appeals to conscience will not.
It’s no better than thinking every Muslim is a terrorist.”
Towncrier aka William
March 29th, 2012
5:38 pm
“Ask William about our back and forth yesterday. Unlike many, I have no problem with asking questions since that’s what I do all day long.”
I am William. aka Towncrier. I used the former handle to suggest a sarcastic post by Shakespeare and forgot to change it back. So I just went with it. But I told everyone I was TC a week or so and JV jumped on that and made it seem that I was hiding behind names, calling me TC in his posts. So Now it will be TC aka W.
BADA BING
March 29th, 2012
5:39 pm
Spike Lee……Do the right thing!
Don't Forget
March 29th, 2012
5:43 pm
Debbie, I’ve gone around and around on taking Zimmermn at his word. It simply doesn’t register with the guy. He just keeps coming back with the same faulty reasoning. It’s a waste of time.
My Party has ALL the answers. Your party is full of poopyheads! (formerly That Black Guy)
March 29th, 2012
5:43 pm
Good day to you sir. I’m out for the evening. Going to go and TRY to get tickets to this movie (Food Games) that everyone is ranting about.
Hunger Games
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
March 29th, 2012
5:44 pm
You know, find a spot that policemen like to patrol, send a black man into that area late at night and video tape it. If racist behavior is recorded, sue the city. If that happens enough times, the loss of money will deter the bad behavior if appeals to conscience will not
Google: Johannes Mehserle and Oscar Grant. Plenty of video there from a couple of cell phones……….
Towncrier aka William
March 29th, 2012
5:46 pm
“What makes your whole but,but,but Zimmerman SAID…..defense so ridiculous is that you won’t even ENTERTAIN the thought that Zimmerman LIED.”
I can. I honestly am unsure of what happened. Hopefully they will uncover the truth.
Don't Forget
March 29th, 2012
5:46 pm
Brocephus, couldn’t agree more about asking questions. It’s critical in both our professions and bad things can happen if we don’t do it.
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
March 29th, 2012
5:47 pm
oh HUNGER games!! Welllllll it had FOOD in it!!
Thanks!
And Yes, Zimmerman knows how to play the system. I guess growing up as the Judge’s son has perks.
Brosephus™
March 29th, 2012
5:49 pm
Towncrier
Tells you how much attention I pay to the nonessential stuff.
barking frog
March 29th, 2012
5:49 pm
It’s hard to imagine
a gated HOA would
field armed guards
and not have cameras.
My Party has ALL the answers. Your party is full of poopyheads! (formerly That Black Guy)
March 29th, 2012
5:51 pm
DebbieDoRight – A Do Right Woman
March 29th, 2012
5:47 pm
oh HUNGER games!! Welllllll it had FOOD in it!! Thanks!
Towncrier aka William
March 29th, 2012
5:53 pm
“Google: Johannes Mehserle and Oscar Grant. Plenty of video there from a couple of cell phones…”
Interesting case, one which I think proves my point (though imperfectly).
Brosephus™
March 29th, 2012
5:59 pm
frog
The HOA wasn’t aware that he was carrying from what I’ve heard. Carrying isn’t advised for participants of neighborhood watch programs.
barking frog
March 29th, 2012
6:12 pm
Brosephus,
but no cameras..
Brosephus™
March 29th, 2012
6:13 pm
Not that I’ve heard of.
independent thinker
March 29th, 2012
8:21 pm
Both Zimmerman and Joran Vndersloot had immunity for murder charges on their home turf. Their dady’s were judges who knew how to manipulate the investigation. Charles Blow got it right last night – the police report supposedly prepared the night of the killing clearly identifies Trayvon by name and birthdate but we know his body laid in the morgue for three days as a John Doe.Clearly the reportwith uncorroborated witness statements of self defense and the fake report of Z. beaten and bleeding (not in the video leaked out) was fabricated several days later/ Zimmerman’s father gave an outrageous statement yesterday that Trayvon said “You are going to die tonight.” Yeah Trayvon was going to stuff that Arizona Ice Tea down his son’s throat along with the bag of Skittles. And Natalie Holloway forced Juran to have sex with her and died in the process.
At least Juran’s father died an early and untimely death.
Sheesh
March 29th, 2012
8:42 pm
I wonder how long his wife will hang around once his fingers are pried off the ledge of political life?
I bet she is not ready for a pipe and chair and quiet retirement.
What comes around goes around newt.
ld
March 29th, 2012
10:15 pm
Newt will not be disappearing as long as someone else is willing to pay the bills.
Gingrich admits Romney will ‘probably’ win but refuses to concede Dark Politicks
March 30th, 2012
6:30 pm
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