Ruben Navarrette: Everything's coming up Newt

NewsOK ^ | 11-19-2011 | Ruben Navarette

[TitansAFC]

SAN DIEGO — Newt Gingrich got his new spot atop the GOP presidential field the old-fashioned way: He earned it.

You have to give him credit. And you have to respect his remarkable climb to the upper tier of GOP candidates.

After all, this is a candidate whose campaign was, just a few months ago, running on empty. Political experts all pronounced the Gingrich campaign over and done with.

But the ace up Gingrich's sleeve is that he rarely has a problem saying exactly what is on his mind, and — as someone whom Republican constituents and political pundits alike often describe as the smartest person in this race — he has a lot on his mind. The former House speaker is a master communicator, and Republican voters are hungry for someone who can express his views well.

Add to that a series of strong debates. While political observers say Rick Perry and Herman Cain have hurt their campaigns with poor performances, the opposite is true for Gingrich. Lately, whenever he debates his poll numbers go up. Part of this might be that many Republicans say they would love for Gingrich to be the party's nominee if for no other reason than to see him go one-on-one with Barack Obama. Now the second look that Gingrich is getting from voters has led him to first place.

A Fox News poll shows that Gingrich's support among GOP primary voters has doubled in the last three weeks — from 12 percent to 23 percent. Perry and Cain have lost support, and much of it seems to have found its way to Gingrich. Mitt Romney is stuck at 22 percent.

And, among those conservative voters who are part of the influential tea party movement, Gingrich is the top pick of 35 percent while Cain has the support of 20 percent and Romney is backed by just 15 percent. Not all the news is positive, however. Gingrich is still saddled with enough personal baggage to fill an airplane hangar.

There is the personal; both of his earlier marriages ended because of his infidelity, something he later tried to shrug off by telling an interviewer that he had made mistakes in his married life because he was working too hard. And the professional; Gingrich is currently fending off reporters' questions about his relationship with Freddie Mac. His consulting outfit, the Gingrich Group, was paid between $1.6 million and $1.8 million to offer what Gingrich claims was “strategic advice over a long period of time” to the government-backed mortgage lender.

There may still be more skeletons in this closet. But in the end, GOP primary voters might not care. In a struggling economy plagued with a flood of foreclosures and high unemployment, they might conclude that they're not as worried about a candidate's finances nearly as much as they are their own. And they may resent the media for trying to tell them that they should feel otherwise, and appreciate even more the fact that

Gingrich is so good at putting reporters in their place.

What makes his surge so impressive is that Gingrich has done it not through a massive infusion of funding, or with a national organization that comes from having run for president before, or by being the darling of the media. He has done it on perseverance and determination, and by showcasing his strengths. He has earned his new standing in the polls and his return to the spotlight through something as simple as talent and hard work. That's the way it ought to be.

There is no doubt that Gingrich is a divisive and polarizing figure. In fact, in that regard, he is not unlike the last three occupants of the White House.

But, as we have now learned, Gingrich is also a fighter who hits hard and doesn't give up. Come to think of it, those might not be bad qualities to have in a president.

[TitansAFC]

Good read on the heels of another poll showing Newt in first! :-)

[GeronL]

Another pro-amnesty lefty saying good things about a RINO.

[TitansAFC]

The "Newt Gingrich for President" ping list!

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To whom it may concern: If you wish to give me BREAKING news, links, information, or tidbits for the purpose of (perhaps) having me post it at FR, your confidentiality WILL be kept by yours truly. I will tell NOBODY the source of my information.



Conservatism, experience, results, eloquence, statesmanship, knowledge.
SERIOUS solutions to SERIOUS problems!
The Conservative who practices Capitalism and gets hated for it!

---Newt Gingrich 2012.

[DJ MacWoW]

Did You Know?

The Current FReepathon Pays For The Current Quarters Expenses?

Now That You Do, Donate And Keep FR Running

[tumblindice]

Reuben Navarette: No way Jose.

[TitansAFC]

Ah, yes....the ever-malleable and now effectively meaningless “RINO” tag.

BTW - that “pro-amnesty” left was selling us Herman Cain a short while ago.

[TitansAFC]

Ping!

[CainConservative]

? ? ?

[GeronL]

Ruben Navarrett (or however its spelled), this writer, has never been on our side.

[onyx]

There is no doubt that Gingrich is a divisive and polarizing figure.

Yep, that's a real compliment...LOL.

[ken21]

Newt Gingrich got his new spot atop the GOP presidential field the old-fashioned way: He earned it.

__________________________________________________________________________________

excuse me...i’ve got to puke.

[sanjuanbob]

Are you finished?

[Semper911]

There is nothing the left would love more than another cranky old has-been on the ticket.

See also: Bob Dole and John McCain.

I don't care how smart he is -- the country isn't going to get behind him. It is the media who is propping him up in recent polls.

[jonrick46]

That Newt Gingrich was paid by Freddie Mac over a $million for consultation work shows the value he commands in the Washington D.C. universe. Think of the value we will get if he were the consultation in chief as POTUS. We will get his services for pennies on the dollar and, for once, get something done for a change.

[TitansAFC]

Whatever your beliefs on electability, you lose credibility when you suggest the media is “pumping-up” Newt. A simple Google News search reveals a roughly 95% negative to 5% positive litany of stories on Newt.

The only positive thing that is reported is his poll position.

[tumblindice]

Here’s why Ruben likes him: http://2012.republican-candidates.org/Gingrich/Issues.php

On Amnesty

May 19, 2011, Iowa
“No serious citizen who’s concerned about solving this problem should get trapped into a yes/no answer in which you’re either for totally selling out protecting America or you’re for totally kicking out 20 million people in a heartless way. There are — there are humane, practical steps to solve this problem, if we can get the politicians and the news media to just deal with it honestly.”

Newt’s another “compassionate conservative” with a heart as big as Texas!

The Weekly Standard, Wall Street Journal, National Association of Green Grocers, American Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO ... they probably all love this guy.
Like Ruben Navarette, La Raza, MECHA y todos los Bund Mexicano.

[RightOnline]

Sorry, but I can’t agree with you there. To put Newt in the same category as that doddering old grandpa Dole....or that slimy “hero”..ahem..McCain....is nothing short of ridiculous. Not even close.

Think whatever you want of him, but Newt’s IQ is off the charts. He’s a Constitutional scholar and historian. He is eloquent. He understands conservatism at its core. He learned the hard way that he can’t and shouldn’t always try to be popular or liked.

The man learned a lot from his mistakes, and he did one hell of a lot right back in the ‘90’s.

I’d vote for him in a heartbeat, while I had to hold my nose to vote for Dole and McCain.

[TitansAFC]

Is that the same reason he liked Cain?

[wmfights]

We will get his services for pennies on the dollar and, for once, get something done for a change.

The question is will we get things done right.

Newt is very close to the beltway and tends to look at solutions through better mgmt of govt, not eliminating govt.

[onyx]

Think SCOTUS appointments!!