Gingrich is to be credited for being right on energy over all and to be early in his opposition to Obama's energy policies. He is to be faulted for pandering to Iowa farmers in advance of the caucus. Gingrich is not perfect, and he sometimes supports rinos in congressional districts in New York, for example.
But Gingrich is a conservative, more conservative than anybody out there right now except perhaps Bockman and Palin. He is the most effective debater and speaker. He has more intellectual candlepower than all the rest of the Republican field combined. He is the closest thing in politics today to men possessed of varied and deep talents like Teddy Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
Let us assume that we take the White House in 2012 and begin changing policy in 2013, what new policies do you want to put in place? First, you must get the government out of the way so that the economy can reignite, Ronald Reagan style. Second, you must, dare I say it, "transform" the government so that it actually works. Gingrich has said that it cannot be reformed, it must be radically revised, and I think he is right. It must be massively privatized, a Gingrich idea or at least an idea that he is advancing. We need someone with his drive and powers of persuasion in the bully pulpit to force such reforms to completion. He demonstrated as speaker in shutting down the government that he would take reform to the hilt. Do you expect Romney, Pawlenty, Daniels, or Huckabee to do that? I do not.
I expect Bachmann or Palin would take reform all the way, either would be my first choice, but neither can be elected.
Gingrich is sound on foreign policy and would put the country back on a rational track. We confront threats from radical Islam, operating for now in tandem with the radical left, and the ambitions of an emergent and aggressive China. Our trade policy must be rationalized along with a tax policy, energy policy, environmental policy which are undercutting American business and exiling it to foreign jurisdictions. Gingrich possesses the breadth and depth of comprehension to work a comprehensive reform. Only Romney on his record rivals Gingrich in this respect but he is disqualified on abortion and health care.
Gingrich is not without his demerits, a zipper problem being principally among them, but on balance and compared to the rest of the herd he possesses the experience, the talents, and the conservative bona fides to deserve more respect certainly than he gets on these threads.
Now that I have quite consciously ignited a firestorm, I ask in closing, if not Newt, who?
