The old Newt?
Has the whole political world been smokin’ that wacky tobaccy? Democrats have been acting like Republicans and the most Republican of Republicans disses his party and it’s policies. Or is it simply that Newt has grown up and discovered that the real world has little in common with Republican goals and ideals.
Interesting times…
Newt Gingrich was looking fit and tanned as he stood before a sea of young conservatives this morning at the Young America’s Foundation National Conservative Student Conference. The weeklong event, held at George Washington University in Washington, is billed as an “entry point into the conservative movement,” and this year’s version featured speeches by Robert Novak, Michelle Malkin and, wrapping up the event Friday night, G. Gordon Liddy. With panels titled “Standing Up to the Left in Hostile Places” and “Liberal Bias in School Textbooks,” planners may have imagined that Gingrich would give a lively rah-rah-Republican presentation. They would have been wrong.
[…]
He began benignly enough, using an anecdote about going to Disney World with his grandchildren to explain an epiphany he’d had about the value of not “thinking like a Republican.” From there Gingrich moved into waters the students surely did not expect. He cited the Detroit school system, where a black male is more likely to go to prison than graduate from high school.“How can we tolerate systems more likely to send young Americans to prison than college?” asked Gingrich. “Republicans have this maniacally dumb idea of red versus blue. They say Detroit is a blue place, so we’re not going to go there.”
And he was just getting started.
“Republican political doctrine has been a failure,” Gingrich said. “Look at New Orleans. How can you say that was a success? Look at Baghdad … We’ve been in charge for six years and I don’t think you can look around and say that was a great success.
well, I guess that settles that – Newt is not going to run for the GOP nomination. If he was intending to keep that door open, he would have hung all those things on Dubya and not conservatives more widely.
Probably wants to get back into politics and sees the writing on the wall. Good to see someone speaking common sense for a change instead of canned party rhetoric.
Sadly accurate assessment of current politics. Ironic it comes from one of the great polarizers.
I blame Newt Gingrich — more than anyone else — for the greedy, corrupt, “government for sale” status that congress became under Republican leadership.
I also blame him — along with Rove, Tom DeLay and a number of other GOPers — for the caustic, uncivil, scorched-earth, and “frankly” un-American politics that also peaked during their unchecked reign.
But I blame average Americans for not running this guy out of the country on a rail, mocking and deriding him the whole way.
I blame Newt Gingrich — more than anyone else — for the greedy, corrupt, “government for sale” status that congress became under Republican leadership.
Oh get over yourself. I sick and tired of “my party rules” cheerleaders like yourself that blame the other side for all the ill and evil in the world. Truth is politics is full of scumbags on both side of the fence. Government for hire is as old as this country is and has deep roots in both parties.
I wish he spoke out earlier… like when he was political machine.
#2. If he wants back into politics, it must be as an independent, since this sort of talk will not go over well with the GOP base, which is still attached to the ideology that Gingrich described as a failure.
And Newt cannot have missed how well “renegade” status is serving McCain …
The Salon site seems to be broken at the moment so I can’t read the whole article. I think you’re jumping the gun. I don’t see anything here where he’s endorsing any Democratic doctrine. He’s simply criticizing Republican doctrine, which is not the same thing. From what little I know of Newt, I’ll bet anyone here a whole beer he’s not moved away from conservative doctrine, he’s just criticizing the current Republican party.
I used to be a conservative GOPer. Newt is catching up to the rest of us, or at least finally publically admitting what many of us have learned. The GOP is not a conservative party. Conservatives love the constitution just as liberals do. We just believe it is not a document you can interpret in a dynamically fluid way. It means today what it mean when it was written. The GOP poops all over the Constitution just like the Democrats do. True conservatives and true liberals must band together to stop the 2 party oligarchy from destroying our freedom.
Everyone understands that Dubya has done a terrible job. A lot of Americans getting shot up for the wrong reason, not winning (biggest sin) a war, screwing up New Orleans, borrowing money rather than cutting costs, displaying terrible leadership, even though he controlled Congress for years.
George is getting thrown under the bus because he’s incompetent. It has nothing to do with being GOP, conservative or liberal. Americans hate losers.
Additionally, Gingrich recognizes the new trend in politics. Arnold in CA and Crist in FL are working both sides of the aisle and getting good things done. That’s what voters want to see.
Sadly and unexpectedly, I agree with him (at least with everything he was reported in the article to have said). It is reprehensibly stupid that so many Americans accept the status quo as “necessary.”
Ladies and gentlemen, if you truly want to understand why we as a nation do ANYTHING, make it your business to find out who profits by that action. General Eisenhower (and General Butler before him) was right: money is the real motive. And as long as the American people continue to allow these interests to pick their pockets, nothing will change. The sad part is that it’s so easy: make the people afraid and money will come pouring in. (fear of global warming; fear of terrorism, etc.) It’s pathetic how gullible we are. Look at the empires we have created in Homeland Security and the TSA. At an aiport recently, a lady actually said to me, “Better safe than sorry, right?,” as our privacy and freedoms were being trampled.
Back to the point – We are rapidly closing in on half a TRILLION dollars down the drain in Iraq. And who’s winning? Certainly not us, and most certainly not the Iraqi people. Again, find out who is profiting financially. Find out where the money’s going.
I see it as a national disgrace that we didn’t have the money to do even a half-assed recovery in New Orleans. And where is the next “structurally compromised” bridge going to collapse? There are thousands of them all over this country. Not to mention the growing legions of homeless people in our cities. By our continued apathy we are letting ourselves and our fellow citizens down in tragic fashion.
Wake up, people! They’re picking your pockets, and putting you MORE AT RISK in return. At the very least, tax return forms should have a designation section where the individual taxpayer gets to declare what he wants his taxes to go to. Of course, that assumes you trust the government to be truthful, which is a HUGE leap of faith. (In a similar aside, we should also get to prioritize our candidates, as opposed to having to pick the lesser of two evils.)
What’s the answer? Get involved. Pay attention. Get curious about the things that really matter (hint: celebrities like Paris, Lindsay and Britney don’t matter.. ) YOU, YOUR CHILDREN & THEIR CHILDREN are what really matters. Think about how what we do today will make their world better or worse, and act on what you discover. Do you really think it’s in your grandchildren’s best interest to build up such a HUGE national debt (with China, or any other nation as the repo man)? Get vocal – make others aware how you feel. Above all, VOTE from a position of awareness.
We have what we deserve, and we deserve what we get. Good or bad. Choose to make things better. Technology will help (if we don’t let the government screw that up too).