Posted on 11/16/2011 5:17:26 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
If everything works out, the Buddy Roemer boomlet should be perfectly timed to sweep him to victory in the Iowa caucus and make him the Republican nominee for president. OK, I'm kidding (and in case you were wondering, Buddy Roemer is a former Louisiana governor and congressman who is running for president, but for some reason, he's considered "fringe" and ignored while a half-dozen equally clownish candidates are allowed to participate in the debates). But watching the Newt Gingrich surge—he's now leading the Republican field in some polls—you could almost believe that every candidate, including Roemer, will eventually get their day atop the field. I haven't gone back and checked (my personal awareness only dates back to 1988), but has there ever been a presidential primary race that has cycled through this many front-runners? We've had Romney, Trump, Bachmann, Perry, Cain, and now Gingrich atop at least some poll at some time or another. I think our old friend Sarah Palin (remember her?) may have led at one point, too.
Just as remarkable as the volatility is the fact that only two of these candidates, Romney and Perry, are remotely plausible nominees. No one who knows a thing about politics actually believed that Donald Trump could mount a serious campaign, or that Michele Bachmann could, or that Herman Cain could. And clear-eyed Republicans view the idea of Gingrich as the GOP nominee with horror. There's a reason Gingrich is so unpopular. He's personally unlikeable, a self-important blowhard whose default mode is sneering contempt for everyone around him. He's reckless and unpredictable. He's got a private history of despicable behavior, cheating on two wives and then dumping them for younger models. His record of flip-flops puts Mitt Romney's to shame. Even if the economy fails to accelerate before next November, there is simply no way Newt Gingrich could beat Barack Obama.
So what's behind his current surge? Little more than a process of elimination. Once Herman Cain turned out to be not such a great idea, they had to turn somewhere, and their remaining non-Romney, highly conservative choices basically come down to Newt and Rick Santorum. But there's still no evidence that Gingrich is mounting anything resembling an actual campaign. So he'll peter out before long.
Which, I'm guessing, is just fine with him. Since he left Congress in the mid-90s, Gingrich has managed to create an empire of personality unmatched among formerly influential politicians, a veritable GloboNewtCorp. He's got multiple "nonprofit" organizations whose goal appears to be little more than promoting Newt. He publishes books written "with" ghostwriters, he makes documentary films, he gets invited on the Sunday shows to give his opinions. He convinces groups to give him large amounts of money for basically nothing—like the way Freddie Mac paid him at least $1.6 million to have a couple of chats with top executives and give a speech (Newt hilariously claims that he was offering his services as "a historian").
GloboNewtCorp will be greatly enhanced by this presidential race. As will Herman Cain's motivational-speaking business, as will Michele Bachmann's position as a leader of the unhinged right. It turns out that running for president is a shrewd business move, so long as you aren't actually trying to become president.
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Paul Waldman is a contributing editor for the Prospect and the author of Being Right is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn From Conservative Success.
I cannot believe that Sarah decided not to run...
What, they have given up on Huntsman and are using Perry in his place now?
The should be careful of what they wish for however those on the left have never been know as the sharpest knives in the drawer.
After seeing her hold Trigger on the MSN home page, I believe she did not run because of her young children.
It may have been nothing more than that.
I am seriously starting to get depressed about this. Every Conservative worthy of the Oval Office is staying away from the race for it by a country mile. They know that they will be slandered, lied about, accused of racism, sexism and every other kind of ism there is. No one is left. This is EXACTLY how 0bama will win again, and then we are truly f$*&ed. I realize that there is no such thing as a perfect candidate, but with the media in this country you have to be one to make it through the gauntlet of their scrutiny. Unless, of course, you are the media’s candidate. We are ridiculed constantly for our beliefs, that we are some kind of backward neanderthals for believing that abortion is murder, but at the same time we are considered as making war on mothers and children because we wish to arm ourselves with more than rhetoric. Sorry for the downer of a post, its just how I feel about things right now.
That even a lefty understands that there aren’t many candidates who are actually credible as Candidates is not the same as them WANTING those candidates.
Perry’s biggest selling point is that he IS a credible candidate for the Presidency, whether you want him to be president or not. Romney isn’t nearly as credible as a candidate, having nothing more than 4 years as a governor of a small liberal state. They can joke about Roemer, but he has more experience in leadership than Romney does.
Pawlenty was another candidate who was a credible candidate. Totally uninteresting to the voters, so he dropped out. But credible.
I still think there is a solid subset of the left that is upset that Cain seems to have been derailed. There was no indication from the left that they were targetting him, until Politico ran their one story and a minor matter got blown up into a multi-week allegation-fest.
And I’m still not convinced Gingrich is a credible candidate. He’s a great debater, and smart as a whip. But I do think once everybody remembers everything about Gingrich, they won’t be as excited by him.
We went to the laundromat today and the owner’s Down Syndrome adult daughter was there. It can be quite a challenge for the parents.
I cannot believe that Sarah decided not to run...
Can she change her mind? I don’t care if she can’t get on the ballot. We can write her in. I am serious. Going for Newt is like a complete and utter suicide. We must convince her to run. She is our only hope. Funny that we have been saying that for years!!!! I wish I was a personal friend of her because I would pay her a visit TONIGHT. Someone in her inner circle needs to do something ASAP. Certainly Sarah must be watching this comedy of errors. She is brilliant and I can’t believe she is happy about this. Sarah 2012.
I hear what you are saying Mac. Forty seven days! I am becoming embarrassed for my fellow members.
For those of you who have never contributed, why? I really would like to know. Use the private reply if you don’t want everyone to hear.
Respectfully
W W SMITH
We handed the current GOP leadership a win last November, and how has this helped us? This historic win by the GOP has garnered us a “Super Committee.”
I was a huge Palin supporter, but completely rejected this notion that somehow she'd be just as effective in the conservative movement as a “private citizen.” Sorry, but as much as I love Sarah, she WILL NOT have the same clout as she would've had she decided to run. She garnered support on her Tweets, interviews and speeches because most people thought she was going to run. While I respect her choice not to run; the Dems see her decision to not run as a victory.
We're eating our own on the GOP side. We have weak “leaders” like Boehner, McConnell, and Cantor. Barak has gotten everything he's wanted since his election. I see no reason to be optimistic. The Left has gone after Cain, and the GOP bit; The Left is going after Newt, and the GOP are once again biting.
Sorry to be negative, but I'm beginning to believe we're doomed, and we're responsible for this.
Second only to The Nation in its devotion to the ideas of Karl Marx, this magazine should not be confused with the excellent Brtish periodical with the similar name.
I hear you. But, seriously consider Newt. While not the “Perfect” conservative, he is staunchly pro-life, has a track record of balanced budgets and passing agendas. We will need to make sure those are the right agendas.
But perhaps most importantly, in light of your post, Newt is a fighter who won’t take the media or liberal crap lying down. Maybe what we need most right now is a fighter.
Is the author talking about Gingrich or Obama?
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