 |
|
|
How Newt Gingrich Lost Everything By Rizzuto Thu Oct 22, 2009 - In a move to reassert himself as a player on the national stage, former Speaker of the House Gingrich attached himself to the National Tea Party movement. His organization, American Solutions, put their stamp on the movement, and his presence as one of its leading voices was highlighted on April 15th 2009 when he conducted a national televised interview with Sean Hannity at the well attended New York City Tax Day Tea Party. Thereafter, Gingrich’s credibility with the grassroots was established, and his visibility skyrocketed. Newt’s recent endorsement of NY-23’s Republican candidate has reversed everything he had worked to build for himself. When the background of Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava became a national issue, specifically her history of nearly orthodox Liberalism, Gingrich found himself in a position where he was forced to defend and justify his support of a candidate whose beliefs clearly ran contrary to those he had positioned himself as a champion of. Unfortunately for him, Gingrich stuck out when his justification turned out to be nothing more than a plea to pragmatism rather than a choice that was based on principle. This plea falls on deaf ears with a conservative insurgency that believes that it has been pragmatism that has led to the sorry state of affairs within not only the Republican Party, but indeed in the American Government in general. Republicans and conservatives bent on pulling the lever for New York Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman don’t see their choices in terms of Republican Party vs Conservative Party, they see their choice in terms of Pragmatism vs. Principle. This newly empowered grassroots movement has been claiming since day one that it was not a partisan movement and its rejection of the establishment’s choice for Congress in the hotly contested district speaks volumes about the truth of that claim. It seems that Gingrich however has allowed his eyes to become blurred by partisan politics. His message is no different than the establishment Republicans who have rejected grassroots candidates, from Marco Rubio in Florida to Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, and it is this; line up behind our chosen candidates because conservatives don't have a prayer. Newt has lost all credibility with those who helped catapult him back into the national spotlight. He is left with two choices; mea culpa or a return to irrelevance. The clock is ticking.
Comments : 0 Comments |
|
|
    |
del.icio.us
