Beltway Hive Circles the Wagons Against Gingrich (results in SC portend well for the GOP and Newt)

1/22/2012 | Brices Crossroads

[Brices Crossroads]

Not even 24 hours passed before the Establishment hive was out in force this morning, after Newt Gingrich's stunning decimation of Mitt Romney in the South Carolina primary.

Chris Christie said that Newt has been an embarrassment to the party. His political paramour, Ann Coulter (who endorsed Romney in 2008, then Christie this cycle, and now Romney again...three liberals in a row) deemed him the "least conservative" of the current field and the least electable, among other snarky and degrading comments I will not repeat. Paradoxically, She also repeated the old liberal saw that we need to reach to the middle to get the "coveted independents". Brit Hume pronounced how frightened the GOP Congress-critters were to run for election in 2012 with Gingrich at the top of the ticket and how they would move heaven and earth to prevent his nomination.

Just as Democrats will tell you who they fear the most by attacking that candidate, so will the Beltway GOP hive. They are apoplectic in their fear of Gingrich. The ink wasn't even dry in the papers recounting his unprecedented landslide in the Palmetto state before they pulled out the long knives.

Methinks they doth protest too much. In spite of their thinly veiled contempt for the voters of South Carolina, with its supposed rigid conservatism, South Carolina is far from the most conservative of Southern states. It is much closer to a bellweather of those states across the nation which are reliably Republican in Presidential elections as well as some (like Florida and Ohio) which generally go Republican but not always. Both Iowa (whose caucus is too lightly attended to tell us much) and especially New Hampshire, one of Romney's home states are far too likely to be Democrat states for them to be reliable predicters of GOP turnout or base enthusiasm.

As I have said in may previous posts, this will be a "base election". Whoever succeeds in motivating their base the best will win. If the South Carolina results tell us anything, they tell us that the base is fired up. South Carolinians cast 427,000 votes in the 2008 GOP primary. This year, they cast 600,000. Enthusiasm is way up among the base and this portends well for the GOP as long as it nominates a conservative. If the GOP nominates the liberal (Romney), as it did in 2008, the base will stay home and there will go the old ball game.

John McCain won the South Carolina primary over Mike Huckabee, 143,000 to 128,000 in 2008. Newt Gingrich got nearly as many votes (270,000 to 243,000) as the top two finishers last time. Gingrich got substantially more than McCain and either the number three finisher (Fred Thompson, who got 67,000).

In other words, the base is fired up about the election this year. Gingrich's victory was nothing short of breathtaking and it has scared the bejabbers out of the hive. They will use all means, far and foul, to try to take him down. The same tactics were used to dispatch Pat Buchanan in 1996 after he Placed second in Iowa and won New Hampshire. Buchanan was too easy to marginalize, his victories too narrow and his experience in running a national campaign nonexistent, making him easy prey to the hive's attacks.

Not so Gingrich. Gingrich has governed before and the sky didn't fall (In fact, the budget was balanced, taxes lowered and welfare reformed). His victory in South Carolina was the most lopsided in a contested primary since 1980, which will give him a real tailwind.

And, Mr Hume, he HAS run a national campaign before. In spite of your conversations with unnamed GOP Congressmen who (you say) are afraid of an electoral donnybrook with Newt at the top of the ticket, Gingrich was the face of, and ran, the 1994 GOP House campaign which (contrary to nearly all predictions) gained 52 seats and control of the Congress for the first time in 40 years. In spite of Clinton's landslide of 1996 (powered by the lackluster base turnout generated by the top of the ticket, the Mitt Romney of 1996...Bob Dole), Gingrich preserved the GOP House majority. Again, in 1998, Gingrich successfully defended the House majority during the turbulent period of Clinton's impeachment; In fact, Gingrich's 1994 majority lasted twelve years until it foundered on the shores of the big government Bush Establishment in 2006). I honestly don't know where Hume comes up with these hypotheses, but they certainly are not based upon any historical analysis. And since he lived that very history, as did most of us, I am forced to conclude that he is peddling propaganda for the Beltway hive.

Pay no attention to the hive. Or, I should say, pay attention to them. If they aim their attacks in a certain direction, and as their noise becomes deafening, I have one piece of advice. Ride to the sound of the guns.

Go Newt!

[Chgogal]

When I googled it was all left wing outlets that were spreading the rumor so I will not stop here.

[Windflier]

He was a fighting commander whose standing order in combat was, “Ride to the sound of the guns!”

Alright, I'm dying to know. What was his name?

[Hang'emAll]

General Sheridan believed did more than any other to win the Civil War. He was a fighting commander whose standing order in combat was, “Ride to the sound of the guns!”

[Windflier]

Great piece, Brice. I think we all saw the dour reaction of the so-called conservative press after Gingrich’s stunning victory, and sensed that they’re going to come gunning for him.

I think that a huge part of their disappointment and anger has to do with the fact that Gingrich pulled off this upset despite their best efforts to undermine him, and boost the fortunes of their hand picked establishment prince, Romney.

They see this as an affront to their standing as the opinion leaders of the center-right. How DARE he?

Even worse; underlying their direct anger with Gingrich for making them look like the utter fools they are, is the horrifying realization that the people have stopped listening to them, and that they (gasp!) made up their own minds in this election!

[b9]

http://drrobertowens.com/2011/09/02/ride-to-the-sound-of-the-guns/

[Windflier]

The quote you posted says that General Sheridan believed that someone did more than any other to win the Civil War, but it doesn't say who that someone is.

I clicked your link, but it doesn't go directly to the quote.

[JohnD9207]

John McCain won the South Carolina primary over Mike Huckabee, 143,000 to 128,000 in 2008. Newt Gingrich got nearly as many votes (270,000 to 243,000) as the top two finishers last time. Gingrich got substantially more than McCain and either the number three finisher (Fred Thompson, who got 67,000).
_________________________________

How did that work out in 2008? Mccain got his butt handed to him. Newt is not evil, however he doesn’t have baggage he has freight...will see but Newt will not win refusing to answer questions no matter how much we enjoy him handling a CNN retread. I know this goes against the wisdom here lately, but I don’t give a rip about his marriages, but he kinda resigned from the house over ethics violations...bother anyone? He called FDR the greatest American President...not a usual Conservative favorite. Most of America does not get its news from thoughtful discussion, but in 60 second soundbites. I expect to see Newt and Nancy sitting on a bench pasted on the butt end of a city bus if he receives the nomination. Obama will use every thing to keep Newt off his message HOPING he implodes. This is a serious concern and people better understand it. SNL killed Sarah Palin, and this kind lady could do nothing to stop the foolishness. Wanna bet they are working on skits with Mrs Gingrich #1, #2, #3...It may not matter in a general educated political discussion, but most folks are busy watching Dancing with the Stars, Facebooking, and killing aliens on their playstations. Is Rick Santorium that bad of a choice? Way less baggage and better PR. You guys hammer it out, but this old guy is concerned...perhaps my age leaves me less than thrilled when Newt implodes...I just want an answer to a fair question. He handled Fox and Friends yesterday when they brought up his resignation, imploding that they were not being fair and balanced, as he pointed to a 900 page ethics report for people to read. Really? Think someone is going to take the week off work to read 900 pages of testimony? How about an answer newt without the theater...we get it you hate the media, so do we, but answer the question’s.
Thanks.

[Windflier]

Never mind. I found it:

"He was a fighting commander whose standing order in combat was, “Ride to the sound of the guns!” Perhaps it flowed from the fact that while at West Point George Armstrong Custer didn’t study very much, that he had only one strategy, and only one tactic. The strategy was victory, and the tactic was charge."

[combat_boots]

Wrong link, right website and author though.

It was Custer.

Most memorable thing he did was run up and away from what was to be his position. Turns out he caught up with J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry on their way to Gettysburg and slowed them down, if you’ll recall. Cut into Lee’s battle plan.

[Bobalu]

Custer

[Windflier]

Were he to be the nominee I honestly believe they would consider assassination.

Friend, I believe that with every fiber of my being. The stakes are truly that high, this time.

[Windflier]

Newt is an exceptional leader and we need to get behind him. We won’t get another one like him during this time of America’s crisis.

Master Yoda says: "There is another..."

[Pelham]

The Hive, such a great metaphor- first suggested by Joe Sobran and popularized by Tom Bethell in their description of how the Left operates.

http://www.sobran.com/hive/hum.shtml

That it can now describe the operation of the Beltway GOP is no small surprise.

[Windflier]

Thanks for the link. I used the search function at the Robert Owens site and found the answer.

[The Shrew]

I'll add to your timeline:
Dole (1996) RINO - (Tax Collector for the welfare state.)

Bush (2006) RINO - Devastating House and Senate losses.

TS

[Windflier]

...he caught up with J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry on their way to Gettysburg and slowed them down, if you’ll recall. Cut into Lee’s battle plan.

He certainly did. It was a most fortuitous accident for the Federals. That skirmish proved to be pivotal in the battle of Gettysburg.

[exit82]

Hey there, BC!

Well, this all sounds familiar—the GOP getting ready to choke out the choice of the people.

Seems like we have some experience in that, here in DE.
This is the fight we have been spoiling for.

It is time for the RINOs and Beltway crowd to stand down.

They have made a mess of things, and they are in no position to dictate to us any longer on any topic.

We reject them, their policies, their co-opting of Tea Party freshmen, their cowardly capitulation to Democrats and Obama, and their idiotic spokesman, Tokyo Rove.

In other words, the jig is up.

They can come for the ride, or be swept away by history. Their choice.

As for us, we intend to fight for our country.

[Hang'emAll]

Thanks I misread the quote.

[HalfFull]

Hi BC,

So glad you are back posting. I, like many, were disappointed when Gov. Palin decided not to run.

But Newt (warts and all) may be the one to take Zero down. He is a fighter, at least. Which reminds me of someone we both admire...

:-)

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

Just as Democrats will tell you who they fear the most by attacking that candidate, so will the Beltway GOP hive. They are apoplectic in their fear of Gingrich. The ink wasn't even dry in the papers recounting his unprecedented landslide in the Palmetto state before they pulled out the long knives.

Pay no attention to the hive. Or, I should say, pay attention to them. If they aim their attacks in a certain direction, and as their noise becomes deafening, I have one piece of advice. Ride to the sound of the guns.

Excellent article.....it's dead on.

What we are witnessing is a rerun of the Goldwater vs Rockfeller race and the Reagan Ford race. Both Goldwater and Reagan were movement conservatives that scared the hell out of the establishment.

..........................Before The Storm
"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And .....moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!" 1964 acceptance speech