gingrich

Newt Gingrich, who had staunchly defended  Dede Scozzafava’s bid for Representative of New York’s 23rd District, seems to be unaware of  the reality which has been manifesting itself all over the country with regards to the leadership of the the Republican party, which is this: THERE ISN’T ANY. We thought we sent that message loud and clear during the 2008 Presidential race which brought the most destructive Presidency in American history to Washington. We had been jacked around time after time by the same backroom deal makers that had been bringing us big government, big spending Republican ‘progressives’ since after Ronald Reagan departed the scene. The hand writing was pretty clearly on the wall for any who had eyes to see. The cries of disgust were readily apparent for any who had ears to hear. Apparently, most of the party leadership didn’t get the message…the ones who were behind the sleazy attacks on Sarah Palin for instance. She is a dynamic leader-in-waiting who can generate more excitement in one appearance than the entire leadership of the Republican party. Yet we still allow these people to attempt to craft their backroom deals with blinders and earmuffs firmly in place. I say attempt ’cause it ain’t workin’ so good any more. The whole concept of the Rockefeller wing of the party is as dead as two week old mackerel and smells about the same. There are severe doubts as to whether Michael Steele has the STEEL to pull the party together. Mitch McConnell and John Boehner should just bow out and get the hell out of the way of someone who CAN lead and isn’t afraid of an old fashioned street brawl…Mike Pence,  J.D. Hayworth, J.C. Watts and Mark Sanford are some who appear not to be infected with ‘Beltway Fever’ At least to this point they remember who (US) and what ( THE  CONSTITUTION ) they serve. Joe Wilson is another…there are others. We need  people with the courage to call Obama, Pelosi, Reid and their ilk LIARS…for liars they surely are. Dishonest and evil as well. The survival of America as we know it depends on it. We owe it to our children and their children. In a glaring example of just how far out of sync with the mood of the Conservative electorate in this country Michael Steele and folks like Newt Gingrich are, Steele issued a statement lauding Scozzafava for ‘taking one for the team’. All the while, Scozzafava was urging voters to support the Democrat Bill Owens. This is another typical RNC DUHH moment. There are rumors that Newt intends to run for President in 2012. I hope not. As brilliant as his Contract for America was, times have bypassed him and all like him. His sadly mistaken support of Dede Scozzafava proved that. It will be the Conservative movement which will carry the Republican banner forward in 2010 and on to defeat Barack Hussein Obama in 2012. “No pale pastels but BOLD COLORS”.

Semper Vigilans, Semper Fidelis

© Skip MacLure 2009

I knew there was something about Newt Gingrich that was REALLY bothering me. Don’t get me wrong, Newt is a really bright guy, but I had severe doubts about his sanity when he started to cozy up to Hillary Clinton during the 2008 presidential campaign. Some of his choices recently lead me to believe he’s lost touch with the conservative patriot movement of the party, if he in fact was ever in touch with it at all. Newt’s endorsement of  FAR LEFT LIBERAL Republican Dede Scozzafava makes as much sense as Meg Whitman’s gushy endorsement of avowed communist agitator Van Jones and will have the same inevitable result..the only difference being that Newt is not seeking to be Governor of California..but that’s a story for another time. I’ve been talking about the  “Old Guard” Country Club Republican Party. The guys that meet and predetermine our presidential candidates before district or state elections or national primaries. That they’ve been wrong time after time doesn’t seem to bother them. They see themselves as beltway movers and shakers and the all-knowing decision makers for us ordinary little people. There is a ground swell phenomenon out there called the Conservative Patriot movement that the Old Guard is having difficulty comprehending, much less coping with. It’s a movement that is insisting that American Conservative values be followed…that honesty and transparency become the by-word of the party. That small government, anti-regulation, tax reform and fiscal responsibility become the focus of  a new and revitalized Conservative Republican Party. The 23rd District race in New York may very well be a bell weather indicator for what is going to occur around the country. The Old Boy network of New York GOP political bosses decided that ultra left Dede Scozzafava, a MAXI RINO, would be the party’s pick to run in the 23rd congressional district. This didn’t sit right with the natives, who promptly rebelled with immediate and potentially national implications. Conservatives flocked to the aid and support of  patriot dark horse candidate Doug Hoffman. Including the Conservative Club for Growth and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Hoffman may turn this race into a route…which should give establishment Republicans around the country pause for severe reflection. They should be getting this message; We don’t want deal makers. We want leadership who will stand up and FIGHT for what we believe in. We don’t want a CENTRIST limp-wristed  party leadership who will be pushed around by every Democrat on the hill. BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU FIGHT FOR, FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE!!

Semper Vigilans, Semper Fidelis

© Skip MacLure 2009

I am still trying to digest what everyone agrees was an important speech by Rush Limbaugh to CPAC attendees on Saturday. It was, perhaps, the most entertaining political speech I've ever heard. But a speech that will last for decades and make an impact on the conservative movement? No one knows. But we can try and judge it based on some solid principles of what makes a good political speech.

I have often pointed to Theodore H. White's definition of what goes into the making of a good political speech - the moment in history when the speech is given, the background or "framing" of the speech, and the words themselves. In these respects, Limbaugh hit a stand up double and, with a little more effort, may have stretched it to a triple. The moment in history was ripe; conservatism at sea, rudderless, and uncertain of itself in the age of Obama. The backdrop - the CPAC convention with just about everyone who is anyone in the conservative movement present and paying attention (exceptions include some more moderate conservatives frozen out by the movement) as well as mass media coverage. But the words themselves meandered aimlessly at times as Limbaugh treated the address more like an extended monologue from his radio show rather than a well crafted, carefully thought out political speech.

Newt Gingrich also spoke to a large, enthusiastic crowd at CPAC but didn't get half the coverage of Limbaugh despite a speech that, in many ways, was even more important than Rush's tour de force. The difference in the two speeches was striking. Rush eschewed a teleprompter - to his detriment I think while Newt used the device to say exactly what he meant to say. Meanwhile, Gingrich had his ideas bubbling up from somewhere deep inside, churning and frothing on the surface until they were laid out like a picnic lunch, cogently and coherently by a master conceptualist. Limbaugh's speech was more volcanic- erupting against Obama and the Democrats emotionally while flowing effortlessly from pop culture conservatism to a more thoughtful but still generalized critique of the Obama administration.

The juvenile confrontation yesterday between Limbaugh and RNC Chairman Michael Steele, placed in the context of Limbaugh's extended remarks at CPAC, would lead one to believe that there is the possibility of a civil war erupting in the GOP between the grass roots and the elites. That may yet happen. However, I think it much more likely that war will break out between movement conservatives like Gingrich and "party men" like Limbaugh.

Who is Rush Limbaugh? And why did the only other speech of note at the conference - New Gingrich's much more thoughtful but flawed critique of conservatism - not receive the massive attention devoted to Limbaugh?

Crossposted at The Rockefeller Republican.

Cross-posted at www.rockefellerconservative.blogspot.com

It now seems clear that Mike Duncan will not be returning as Chairman of the RNC. So the question becomes, who would best represent the new face of the Republican Party? According to various sources there are two people currently vying behind the scenes to take the post, Newt Gingrich and Michael Steele. Both men have a lot to offer and the RNC members will undoubtedly carefully consider each man and what he brings to the table. However, in the end the better choice for the future of the conservative movement would be Steele.

Aside from being a quality conservative who has spoken of the party as an open tent, and being someone who has said the the Rockefeller Republicans need to be welcomed back into the center of the Party, what Steele has to offer is an inspiring life story: childhood in a poor section of Washington; college at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore; then three years studying for the priesthood at a monastery, before deciding that his call lay elsewhere. His mother earned minimum wage working in a laundry; his stepfather drove a limo. His parents weren't educated themselves, but they valued learning. This is the kind of up-from-your-bootstraps story that Republicans should honor.

Gingrich on the other hand unfortunately represents what has become the republican stereotype. Don't get me wrong; I highly respect him and feel that the Contract for America was a stroke of genius. There may be no other person in the Party today with the wealth of ideas that Gingrich brings. However, there is simply too much baggage there. Too many Americans remember him as the polarizing figure of the 90's for him to be an effective outreach agent today. He needs a seat at the table; anyone with his depth of knowledge and commitment to the conservative movement does. But he would not be the best choice as the face of the Party.

If the Republican Party is going to capitalize on the fact that this is still a center right nation, it needs to turn the page on the past and create new solutions for a new era. Steele, who has criticized the GOP for not doing enough to reach out to minorities, says times have changed and the party needs to adapt. But he said the one thing it can't do is change its principles.

 Cross-posted at www.rockefellerconservative.blogspot.com

Mark Halperin had two interesting notes from a John McCain town hall meeting today:

1.  He said that "we have to drill here and we have to drill now," which is an obvious nod to Newt Gingrich and American Solutions.  People on this site have mentioned how we need our own MoveOn and how American Solutions might be it...

2.  He also said that Obama, "should call on Congress to return from their vacation and deal with the energy problem now," which is a nod to the Guerilla Congress that is going on as we speak.

Could this be the begining of the base being fired up and/or the closing of the pesk "enthusiasm gap?" 

More importantly, where do we take it from here?

(As a side note, it's frustrating when your party is thinking of nominating a Jewish vice-president with the name "Cantor," and you have five or six "Jazz Singer" jokes that only you find funny.)