Newt was cleverly exposing the U.N., and proposing a radical idea that would increase freedom throughout the world. But a percentage of people here won’t understand that. All they hear is that Newt in some way acknowledged that, like it or not, the U.N. has some sway in what many countries do, therefore Newt is a communist. There used to be more of a thoughtful, Bill Buckley conservatism here. Now we have more of a John Birchite, knee jerk reaction to everything. If you present an idea that has any complexity to it, people won’t listen or they will read into it things that are not there.
You are absolutely right and this is a much bigger issue than Gingrich and the United Nations comments at the National Rifle Association.
Some things can be boiled down to sound bites. Most important things can't be.
Those of us who are willing to support Newt Gingrich need to remember that he's a college professor. He's written many books. He understands that speaking at two different levels — the sound bite and the book — are both important.
You can't be a conservative and not value the Constitution, and that means learning quite a bit about American history.