13 Nov 2011

Looks Like Time For Conservatives to Get Behind Gingrich

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Herman Cain seems to have more or less survived his sexual harassment accusations, and Rick Perry failed to disgrace himself (thus doing much better) in last night’s debate at South Carolina’s Wofford College, but the evidence is clear that neither of these two likeable guys has the substantive knowledge or the communication abilities needed to be elected.

Personally, I wrote off New Gingrich back in 2007 as a possible GOP nominee in 2008 for coming out in support of Warmism. As recently as last May, Newt Gingrich was attacking the Paul Ryan budget proposal.

Michael Brendan Doughtery, just a couple of days ago, drew up a little list of Newt Gingrich’s sins, and asked How is Gingrich an improvement on Mitt Romney?

But if one accepts the viewpoint that the process is meaningful, the long series of Republican debates have seriously raised Gingrich’s status and claim to represent the viable conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. Other candidates who inspired hope have delivered disappointing performances. Mitt Romney has been polished and smooth. But only Newt Gingrich has demonstrated a superior ability to discuss issues and policies with a penetrating and original intelligence and with wit and humor. Gingrich is frequently a pleasure to listen to.

A number of serious commentators on the right, Byron York, Dorothy Rabinowitz, and now Power Line’s Steven Hayward are making arguments in favor of Gingrich.

Hayward makes the point which has occurred to me as well, that Gingrich is significantly redeeming himself precisely by the old-fashioned and unconventional way that he has chosen to seek the nomination and the presidency.

Newt is doing something interesting and maybe profound: he is trying to run for president according to an older model that stresses substance over sound bytes and gimmicky, targeted campaign strategy. … It is a bid to see whether presidential politics can still be conducted along the line of the old republic that would be more familiar to the Founders, to the style of public argument more akin to what Hamilton had in mind in talking about “refining and enlarging the public view” through “reflection and choice” in Federalist #1.

It seems increasingly evident that we are going to have to oppose Barack Obama with a lesser figure than Ronald Reagan or Barry Goldwater. We simply do not have a peerless champion of Conservatism that we can nominate. But, God knows, even a mediocre, unprincipled Republican, some would argue even a syphilitic camel would represent an enormous improvement over Barack Obama.

If push came to shove, we would have to support Mitt Romney over Obama. It seems impossible to avoid concluding that the best hope of a more seriously conservative nominee is going to be Newt Gingrich. (There. It hurts, but I said it.)

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LibertyorWhat?

I had already grudgingly come to the same conclusion. What Newt lacks in humility, which is mountainous, he makes up in an agile mind, encyclopedic knowledge and unmatched ability to speak extemporaneously in an articulate and coherent manner. I wish he was not such a pompous ass. I wish he had the good sense not to berate flight attendants on airplanes and everyone else he perceives to be beneath him, which is most of us. I wish he wasn’t so desperate for attention and approval that he would pubicly support hooey like warmism. Of what is left of the field I am still praying for Santorum to make a move. I could have supported Perry, or Cain, or even Bachmann, but I don’t think any of them would give Obama the kind of trouble Newt could. I wish I could get word to the wife-abandoning SOB that he needs to get on his knees and take stock of how much he has to be humble about. But bottom line, even if he is an SOB he is likely to be my SOB and I will get behind him 100%. What choice will we have.



hillclimber

I am vexed over his global warming statements, and his moral frailties, but he has become the conservatives standard bearer, and elder spokesman. We have no proper alternative at the moment, and time is waning. If we don’t find another Reagan, he’ll have my backing 100%.

Just too bad we have to settle for a candidate.



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