Posted on 12/14/2011 5:05:19 AM PST by Kaslin
The media elite and the Republican ruling class are remarkably similar in their political projection for the coming year. Journalists spent the entire year savaging every fast-rising challenger to Mitt Romney. The GOPs power pundits became equally agitated at the sniff of a conservative anywhere near the top of the GOP pack. It's the odor of extremism that both the elites in the media and the GOP have detested -- always.
So here we are, on the cusp of the election year, and both these groups have one primary target: Newt Gingrich. Both are using the same ammo: Newt is too unstable, immature, flawed and arrogant. Or as power pundit Peggy Noonan put it, Newt is "a human hand grenade who walks around with his hand on the pin, saying, 'Watch this!'" The Washington Post's political cartoonist drew him as a suicide bomber.
I think they're stuck in the past. The candidate that people now see is not the self-styled "revolutionary" of the '80s and '90s. He's an older man, a wiser man, but a man that has a vision of both American history and the American future -- and that's what scares the establishment. Pundits like Noonan live to throw beanbags at conservatives on the set of "Morning Joe." Oh, how they delight their liberal chums with a taste for GOP fratricide. Ari Melber of The Nation eagerly quoted Noonan's "human hand grenade" line and mostly favorably compared Noonan to that liberal windbag Maureen Dowd of The New York Times. This is high praise in New York and Washington. The rest of the country could care less about Maureen Dowd.
It brings us back to Angelo Codevilla's piece last summer in The American Spectator titled "America's Ruling Class." What Codevilla called the "country class" -- the party of freedom, as opposed to the "ruling class," which resents the country's input -- has rarely captured the GOP flag. The GOP rulers sabotaged Barry Goldwater and were ultimately stuck with Ronald Reagan. Contrary to quaint historical rewrites, they were not in his camp. Instead, the GOP rulers bogged Reagan down with establishmentarian dealmakers and principle-shredders.
The country class is demanding the GOP choice be independent of the GOP establishment as well as confrontational with the radical left. It is why both camps are now united in their desire to tear this man down. He is a threat.
When Gingrich climbed to the top of the polls, the Newt-hating media were so predictable that they merely recycled all their liberal talking points from the mid-'90s. NBCs Lisa Myers narrated their rerun: "Gingrich shut down the government. ... At the time, Gingrich generated this headline ('Cry Baby'), after suggesting that he shut down the government because the President made him sit in the back on Air Force One. ... He became the first Speaker ever reprimanded by the House for ethics violations and was fined $300,000 for misusing tax exempt funds."
What tired old spin this is:
-- Can you believe NBC ignored crooked Jim Wright's resignation in that "first Speaker reprimanded" summary?
-- Eighty-three of 84 ethics complaints were dismissed. On the final one, Gingrich made the political equivalent of a plea deal, agreeing to a fine over the college course he was teaching while he was Speaker of the House. Big deal.
-- Myers and every other network reporter and outlet ignored the part where the Internal Revenue Service was brought in to investigate Gingrich and in 1999, cleared him unequivocally of everything.
-- Apparently, these reporters will cling to their "Gingrich shut the government down" propaganda as long as they live. That's not true. Technically, it was Clinton who shut it down. -- It's another media myth that the shutdown was some personal tantrum over airplane seating.
That's five massive distortions and falsehoods in one report.
Some attacks on Newt the "Bomb-Thrower" are coming from professional bomb-throwers. Take Chris Matthews, who said, "Ever since he appeared on the national scene, politics has been nastier, more feral (and) too often uglier." He suggested Gingrich's nomination would be a cause for "embarrassment and sadness for our republic."
This, from the man who then described Gingrich as a "political killer, a gun for hire." Republicans, he feared, "may be ready to bow down before this false god of hatred." The ruling class is losing control of its senses. Maybe, just maybe, the country class has found its champion.
I hope Bozell is not seriously claiming Newtie isn’t part of the political establishment.
I am not excited about Newt. Simply don’t trust him because of his past actions.
If he gets the Republican nomination I will vote for him.
Newt is intelligent but tainted by too long connected to DC.
It is time to DownSize DC!
Close entire agencies.
Let us again live our lives in peace without the meddling, micro managing and dictatorial garbage that clutters our lives due to DC ineptness and power.
Newt scares the RINO’s, too bad!!!
“He’s an older man, a wiser man, “
Wiser older man?
People tend to get wiser when they get older, but not necessarily.
What about his amnesty-pledge in 2011 ?
His attack against conservatives in 2011 (”radical rightwing social engineers”)?
His support for Ethanol subsidies in Iowa in 2011?
His statement in 2007 PBS interview (”I strongly support cap-and-trade”), and his couch TV ad with Nancy Pelosi in 2008?
I could forgive Fairness Doctrine ten years ago, but at some point you have to admit that the problem is the man himself. His judgement cannot be trusted.
Especially his radical amnesty plan is outright dangerous to the future of this country. Yeah, allowing CA citisen boards to legalize 100M illegals with shady “evidence” is going to end up well./s
If this amnesty freak gets into the White House, we are doomed. He may bribe enough other RINOs to finally pass some variant of amnesty bill.
Like Limbaugh and Levin have been trying to tell us—screw the static and vote for the candidate YOU want and not the one THEY say you want.
LLS
“I think they’re stuck in the past.”
I have always liked listening to Bozell. He is right on target with this article. They are definitely STUCK in the past....and trying to pull everyone else into their glue as well.
These people (Democrats and many of the Republican “establishment”) are stuck in the past. Good grief...my own perspective of the world and of politics has changed considerably since the 60’s and 70’s. And the Democrats, the media and the “establishment” want us to believe that Speaker Gingrich has not changed? Even his own daughter talks about how he has changed.
***I hope Bozell is not seriously claiming Newtie isn’t part of the political establishment.***
Voters are part of the political establishment - it’s all a matter of degree.
Yeah, agree. The GOP power brokers, i.e., Rove especially, dumped on Christine O'Donnell and Sharron Angle big time. If they had received financial help and campaign expertise from Rove and his cronies they probably would have won. But, being that they were outside of the country club they were crucified. Sooo, I'm voting for Newt...
Newt Ping!
I am not a Romney fan but I like him more than Newt.
Newt is Romney with lobbyist baggage (see Fannie Mae).
I would vote for Newt over O but I would be holding my nose as I voted.
What a shallow analysis.
Fixed it.
If Newt is our nominee - this is a great contrast in character:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2820209/posts
Compare the pitiful, excuse riddled Obama who never accepts blame for his own failures - to Newt who absorbs the slings and arrows and takes responsibility for his own mistakes.
Whining versus wisdom - IT’S A WINNER!!!!!!
Bozell’s whole argument here consists of “he’s changed” (no evidence given except for the passage of time) and “other people are worse than Newt” (Chris Matthews).
Oh, and “anyone who speaks a negative against Newt is just skeered of him.” (IOW, there’s no basis in fact for those negatives; they’re all just projections of someone’s emotional state.)
Worse than lame. This sounds like something my teen might argue in a vain attempt to get me to approve him doing something extremely dumb.
Go to your room, Brent.
“my own perspective of the world and of politics has changed considerably since the 60’s and 70’s. And the Democrats, the media and the “establishment” want us to believe that Speaker Gingrich has not changed? “
I agree. Flipflopping may be natural as we get older, but we are talking about Newt in 2007-2011. Has he changed and matured from 2011 when he was pushing individual mandate and ethanol subsidies and amnesty? Amnesty pledge was 2 weeks ago. “Radical rightwing social engineers” was when..May 2011?
I could forgive his Fairness Doctrine 10 years ago, but not his recent amnesty, individual mandate, GW, ethanol ideas.
Guess who instigated the original charges against Jim Wright.
—
Gingrich’s resignation a decade later was brought about partly by retribution from the Dems for Gingrich’s part in the Wright resignation and the in the Clinton impeachment.
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If Gingrich did happen to win the White House [I doubt he would even get as many electoral votes as McCain, as the MSM and Dems sieve through his baggage], he better stay on his knees to placate the Tea Party. If his side lost the House, the Dems would instigate impeachment proceedings against him in their first 100 minutes. Retribution and retaliation.
Wright resigned as speaker — ethics.
Gingrich oversaw the Clinton impeachment.
Gingrich resigned as speaker — ethics.
History seems to have a way of repeating itself.
I’m finding Bozell’s arguments a lot more convincing than yours. Sorry.
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