Of all the people I've observed in public life over the past forty years or so, Newt Gingrich is possibly the most loathsome, the most puerile, the most creepy and repugnant, the most odious and reprehensible.
Only Richard Nixon rivals him for venality. In Nixon's case, however, one could occasionally detect a flicker of human kindness--inept and fumbling, to be sure, and only a flicker, but still at least some evidence of humanity. Not so Gingrich.
He's not stupid though. So why, one wonders, would Gingrich go out of his way to say that hispanics who have been here a long time and have roots here should be able to stay? Rick Perry touched the issue a couple of months ago and promptly sank in the polls. Why would Gingrich go there, and to what purpose?
He understands that demographics are moving away from the GOP and that the GOP needs to get a greater share of the minority vote or it's doomed to electoral oblivion. If the demographic make-up of the electorate in 2008 had been the same as it was in 1996, McCain would have won. That demographic trend is only going to get worse for the GOP.
He was also smart enough to base his approach on "family values." Where Perry told them they didn't have a heart, which conservatives absolutely hate hearing, Gingrich told them they should agree with him because of their focus on family values. You want to remove (good church-going) families who have roots in the community?
Newt is making a move. He figures that the mantle of "anti-Romney" has fallen to him--this happened pretty much by default, i.e. everybody else imploded. Whatever the case, the attention of the GOP has turned to him and he wanted to make the most of the opportunity.
He's the new "it boy" for conservatives and he must figure that his "street cred" is strong enough with conservatives that he can get away with a deviation from orthodoxy in the larger service of undermining one of Romney's chief assets.
The best thing Romney has going for him is the perception that only he can win the general election. His argument is: "Sure, I might not be as rabidly conservative as you'd like, but I can beat Obama and nobody else can."
By opening a door to hispanics, Gingrich puts the general election question into play. Make inroads with hispanics and Gingrich might be as formidable a general election candidate as Romney--maybe more so. His position on immigration thus undercuts one of Romney's best arguments.
It's a definite risk. He's betting that conservatives trust him enough to let him go wobbly on one of their most hot-button issues. He's betting that conservatives will let him get away with it. That's not a safe bet.
Excellent collection of adjectives, John!
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Posted by: Prada Outlet | November 25, 2011 at 06:56 PM
I'd have come up with more, but I was in a rush.
Posted by: John Petty | November 28, 2011 at 09:34 AM