Why a Newt Gingrich Candidacy Would Doom the Tea Party

The Altantic ^ | 120611 | Conor Friedersdorf

[liberty or death]

Nothing can doom the Tea Party except the people involved. Media Idiots have no idea what the Tea Party is.

[dixiechick2000]

“As Jonah Goldberg puts it, “a major motivating passion of the tea-party movement was a long-delayed backlash against George W. Bush and his big-government conservatism.”

As much as I like JG, he’s not entirely right about this.

Sure, Bush’s big government ways were frustrating, but it wasn’t until TARP at the end of Bush’s admin, and the election of Obama with his promised huge stimulus package, that caused Rick Santelli to call for a Tea Party.

In fact, Santelli called, nationally, for a Tea Party after Obama’s immaculation in response to Obama’s ginormous stimulus package.

[dps.inspect]

" The Tea Party cannot support Gingrich without betraying its core principles"

Ummm... excuse me, there "corest" of all core principles is to dethrone Obama... Newt won't last for ever.

[TFMcGuire]

Oh, the Atlantic?

Are they trying to help Republicans make good choices?

And are they interested in the survival of the Tea party movement?

Who’d a thunk?

[GlockThe Vote]

I would vote for a serial killer over Obama at this point.

[freeangel]

“He will nurture the Tea Party and make it stronger as an ally.”

Gingrich would NEVER be my first pick, but I’m in the anyone but romney camp at the moment. I really miss Cain and Palin.

[redgolum]

The TEA party is a bigger threat to the GOP than the DNC. And it has been neutralized.

[A. Patriot]

The TEA party is a bigger threat to the GOP than the DNC. And it has been neutralized.

I don't think it has been neutralized. We are still out here. We haven't changed. Since it was never a centrally organized party, it will re-appear when necessary. It is truly a grass-roots movement.

If Newt becomes president and craps on conservatives, that may be the time to make the Republican party a part of history just like the Torries, Whigs, Bull Moose Party, etc.

[Ron H.]

All the more reason why TP conservatives need to be laying more foundational groundwork to form their own separate party outside of the Republican party or at least to build a more solid autonomous faction within the ranks of it free of the evil influence of the Bush styled 'compassionate' blue bloods. Either way conservatives are not going to have much of a say nor influence until they can jettison the blue bloods and be free of their crooked manipulations and influence of the rank and file.

Some have advocated to stay and fight (mainly the RINO's and left leaning moderates IMO) but the more the conservatives fight the more ground they seem to be losing in following that advice, the less influence they seem to have on the party hierarchy and races as long as the blue bloods get to keep saying who can run and who can't run for offices. It's time to be thinking about alternatives to beating your head bloody against the wall trying to change the corrupt Republican party from within. IMHO anyway.

[dervish]

“But Gingrich? He is the epitome of the Inside the Beltway insider, and not only because of his long stint in Congress. After retiring, he profited lavishly off connections he made on the taxpayer dime, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars influence-pedaling. Most famously, he got $1.6 million from Freddie Mac, the very entity that many conservatives regard as most culpable for the financial crisis. And then he had the temerity to insist that he was paid as “a historian,” an explanation so transparently farcical that it can justifiably be seen as an insult to the intelligence of GOP primary voters.”

That is how I feel about Newt. He is the anti-Tea Party candidate.

I am shocked that conservatives are taken in by his ‘talk’ after Obama.

[dervish]

“But Gingrich? He is the epitome of the Inside the Beltway insider, and not only because of his long stint in Congress. After retiring, he profited lavishly off connections he made on the taxpayer dime, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars influence-pedaling. Most famously, he got $1.6 million from Freddie Mac, the very entity that many conservatives regard as most culpable for the financial crisis. And then he had the temerity to insist that he was paid as “a historian,” an explanation so transparently farcical that it can justifiably be seen as an insult to the intelligence of GOP primary voters.”

That is how I feel about Newt. He is the anti-Tea Party candidate.

I am shocked that conservatives are taken in by his ‘talk’ after Obama.

[PALIN SMITH]

"Gingrich would NEVER be my first pick, but I’m in the anyone but romney camp at the moment. I really miss Cain and Palin."

I drove 2700 miles in early September to see Sarah Palin.

I met Newt Gingrich on July 14, 2010.

He was very supportive of the Tea Party movement. Most of Connecticut's grass roots leaders came away with mixed opinions.

There is no doubt Newt is the smartest man in the game.

[Grampa Dave]

Amen, Brother: "Newt is not my top choice, but my sole focus is beating obama."

Our country will be lucky to survive the first 4 years of Obozo. It will not survive 4 more years of Obozo and his thugs like Holder, enviralists, the Gay Mafia and other traitors.

Obozo is destroying America before al Qaeda can.

[Grampa Dave]

“I would vote for a serial killer over Obama at this point.”

BOL! Only if hesheit wasn’t a card carrying progressive liberal.

[Sun]

“A lot of those people were the ones who didn’t support, were terrified of the government shutdown,..”

You could be right, but Sen. Coburn is a strong fiscal conservative, so I feel his opinion on Newt not being a good leader should be taken more seriously than some of the others.

[Sun]

“the democrates have nothing in Obama to stand on so the only thing they can do is destroy our candidates before they get to the election, which IS their plan. ...”

I agree with that!

[Sun]

“but MORE... get voters to fight over them between ourselves so there’s no cohesion coming into the election. So far they’re succeeding if you were to go by FR.”

I strongly resent the Obama media trying to divide conservatives, and lib media has been doing that for years.

While I don’t like SOME conservatives calling each other names for criticizing THEIR candidate, I think it’s good for conservatives to bring out strengths and weaknesses of the various candidates, so we learn who is the most conservative, and vote for them in the primaries.

For instance, I have TWO first choice candidates, Bachmann and Santorum, and waver between the two, and am always studying to help me make my decision.

But what if my favorite candidates aren’t on the ballot by the time the primary reaches my state? My second choices are Newt and Perry, and I am wavering with them, and studying them.

As for the rest of the candidates, I just don’t like them, so don’t even bother, but hope for the best.

Let’s keep debatting (politely, as you are) until it’s time to vote in the primaries.

Look who the two front runners were 4 years ago today:

“23.6 Giuliani +6.8 16.8 Huckabee”

snip http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/2012_2008_gop_presidential_race_4_years_ago.html

This race is still wide open!

[Art in Idaho]

A pity Bachmann isn’t able to perform better. Is it the accent? Or did she sacrifice herself when she helped take down Perry? She seems to be the real deal on every issue. Why don’t Republicans like her?

I agree. I'm from Iowa, so what accent? : ) As I've said before, read what she writes, listen to the words she says. Most of it is conservative. Also, she is adamant about repealing Obamacare. LSM has decided she's not a contender, so we're supposed to forget about her. I still wonder what would happen if 10 Million Tea Party People just 'showed up' at the convention and demanded a conservative?

[stilloftyhenight]

Staying home is not an option. We need to take back the Senate and add to the House if nothing else.