Newt and Rick both are not the best at the 2nd Amemdment. Heck, I was quite upset with Newt's crazy positions on AGW. The fraud of man-made Global Warming is one of the issues that I feel strongest about.
When I got serious about the field and read up on the candidates, I concluded that first and foremost our Republic must be lead by someone who wants to gut the power of D.C. It became quite apparent to me that Newt was connecting on the most important issues in a strong way.
Newt is clearly outlining a very specific, detailed platform that can indeed turn us back towards Liberty. Newt's idea of having the GOP field sign-on to a pledge to severely tackle out of control government is very, very powerful and will bring a lot of people to his side.
I reviewed Ricks Issues listing at his sight. While positive, it is not nearly as bold as Newt's. Rick doesn't have a big issue with the Dept of Education, or the Dept of Energy. He seems to want more tweaks (i.e. spending) to "improve" education.
Newt has proposed outright elimination of the Energy Dept and the EPA.