First, I must dispense with the formality of a few disclosures. I am a conservative work in progress and leaning farther right all the time. Therefore, it is probably impossible to find a candidate that would make me completely happy.
More, I am a (hopefully) recovering political masochist of sorts. In the worst of times I forced myself to sit alone on a yearly basis and watch every Clinton State of the Union speech. That kind of character building continued through the end of the Obama victory speech on November 4, 2008. At that point, I realized the entirety of the American political class is beneath me. As a result, I have devoted less than five cumulative minutes to these so-called debates this time around and have largely tuned out all of the detailed coverage…I get highlights only. This long awaited and highly coveted endorsement comes from the gut.
The Set-Up
In the final hours before the most embarrassingly thin resume gained election to the world’s highest office with the support of 48% of voting Catholics (1)…and not long after we were all subjected to an insulting thirty minute infomercial in support of that candidate…a wise RedStater posted this:
“…until I heard about Mr. Obama, in his former life as a state legislator, not being able to find a reason to support something called the Born Alive Infants Protection Act.
…
Although the passage of a few seconds or minutes makes any attempted distinction meaningless, this is specifically NOT ABOUT ABORTION. This is about LIFE. This is about a man…a father…who can somehow reconcile such a vote during his work day against even attempting to save such a baby with his Christian faith and his comfortable home life that evening with his lovely daughters laughing, playing, hugging, crying…and LIVING.
Whether this was an act based on pure conviction or nothing but a cold, calculated political maneuver, I can only conclude that it points to some very dark places in his heart.
So spare me the overproduced infomercial featuring the financially stressed yet over manicured single mom from a battleground state to show me how much you care about real people. Don’t tell me that you want the keys to the castle to enact some amazing plan…one that you failed to introduce in any form during your current tenure in the U.S. Senate…that will magically help struggling families buy more milk when you couldn’t care enough to vote in the affirmative on a bill to protect helpless, living children…a vote that should have been as reflexive as a New York City firefighter running into a burning building.
I’m not naïve enough to think that the United States will not have pro-choice/pro-abortion Presidents in the future but this man is simply too extreme for mainstream American voters to accept…if only issues like this had been given proper exposure during the campaign. While every recent Presidential election seemed to have focused too much on abortion politics to the detriment of much more important issues, this campaign season seems to have barely touched the issue leaving Mr. Obama’s wicked policy expansion largely hidden from his sycophantic herd.
I cannot tell you how disgusted I am by any American that would vote for this man while having full knowledge of this issue. Unfortunately, whether he is successful or not on Tuesday, there is a not-so-insignificant segment of half the American electorate that falls into that category. (Contemplate those numbers as you are mingling with fellow Americans at you[r] local market or taking a mental accounting of those around you with fading ‘CHANGE’ bumper stickers over the next four years.)
As for me, I am embarrassed for the people of Illinois for electing this man to high office. I am embarrassed for the Democrat party for nominating him for the highest office and for the American press for providing the cover needed to secure that position. And finally, I’m truly depressed with the irresponsible direction it seems the people of this country are choosing to head.” (2)
Nearly forty months later, the contempt is still intact.
The Endorsement
I have been intrigued by…if not a fan of…Newt Gingrich since I first became aware of him in late 1994 but, always in the back of my mind, I realized that that man…Speaker Gingrich…was not quite Presidential material.
This week we saw yet another devastating roundhouse from Candidate Gingrich with his quip at both the press and Mr. Obama regarding the former’s spinelessness with respect to protecting babies alive outside the womb. As they say, he fights. But this really is not new.
What is new is a (maybe) subtle but not insignificant change in character. Maybe it’s an aging that brings wisdom and perspective and a sharper focus. There is obviously a past…a record…and some dirt…accumulated over a life within the walls of power, temptation, and corrosiveness. Occasional modern missteps continue to make me cringe. However, it is this older Newt…Grandpa Newt…that still retains this fighting spirit and, dare I say, mean streak that draws my attention and my support. I want this type of fight in the man to support his Supreme Court nominees against Borkian attacks and every manufactured Abu Ghraib / domestic spying / Valerie Plame –type scandal.
No, I don’t doubt there is similar character in both Misters Santorum and Romney but I sense both would be more calculating in their expenditures of political capital than the Grandpa Newt I see on this campaign trail. Any of the three would be a huge step up from the coward skewered by Mr. Gingrich’s debate comments but I sense a “leave it all out on the field” mentality coming from the man with the fortitude to put that on the table in such a big way.
So there you have it…however thinly supported or misinformed it is…the official 2012 Ntrepid endorsement for the Republican nomination for the office of President of the United States: Grandpa Newt.
Ntrepid
Proud Redstate Member since April 2006…?
PS. Sorry Senator Santorum but I have a long memory…the robbery that was Nebraska vs. Penn State 1982 still requires points to be deducted. Keep fighting…that stain may yet fade.
(1) http://www.redstate.com/ntrepid/2009/05/17/fifty-four-percent/
(2) http://www.redstate.com/ntrepid/2008/11/02/community-organizer-refuted/
Moe Lane
Dan Spencer
Dan McLaughlin
Jeff Emanuel
Newt, if he lost, would leave future value
Viet71 (Diary) Sunday, February 26th at 4:23PM EDT (link)to conservatives and to the Republican Party.
Not so Romney, in my estimation.
Santorum, if he lost, could leave negative future value Could, not necessarily would.
The money bets are on Obama. Time to look to 2016 and think about which candidate would leave behind the most value for that election.
Like your diary.
That's the point I've hit too, Ntrepid...big time!!
lineholder (Diary) Sunday, February 26th at 4:34PM EDT (link)At the beginning of the primary process, I didn’t even like Newt Gingrich. The man made me want to cringe. Then someone a bit older and wiser than me made a few comments that caught my attention…mostly comments about redemption, about unwise choices people can make and how they can learn hard life lessons through those experiences, about how a person’s mindset can drastically change and how this changes their actions…and about how those changes serve a positive purpose.
I was still extremely reluctant to consider Mr. Gingrich, and balked against it for a good while. I think the man is remarkably intelligent regarding policy. I like the way he thinks outside the box on things. I hoped he’d find a position in the next admin somewhere. But to have him in the top role, to be the leader of that next admin??? Well, I still cringed a bit.
So what changed my mind? It wasn’t the circumstances of other people withdrawing from the race. It was taking at long hard look at what we’re up against, what lies ahead, and then comparing that against the plans, positions and personalities of the candidates.
I believe Newt is the one we need. It’s as simple as that.
Agree
Common_Cents (Diary) Sunday, February 26th at 8:29PM EDT (link)I think people are being intimidated into not supporting Gingrich, using the electability crap and old baggage. There will be public smears but in the privacy of the voting booth, people won’t hesitate in pulling the lever for Newt, especially in the general w/ the alternative being obama. The man stands head and shoulders beyond obama. It’s just that simple. He has the right approach, tone, tools, to beat Obama.
Gingrich will have an easier time winning in the general than winning the nomination.
“Fathom the hypocrisy of a Government
that requires every citizen to prove
they are insured…. but not everyone
must prove they are a citizen.” -Ben Stein
“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”[especially in DC] – Friedrich Nietzsche
I agree.
falconrap Sunday, February 26th at 9:18PM EDT (link)If Santorum goes on to win the nomination, it will be like putting GWB against Obama. Santorum is more a social than fiscal conservative, but he has just enough to at least slow the march of death down to a crawl, and would be welcome over Obama. But Newt is our Churchill. For many, he may not be the most likable guy (I don’t know why, as I don’t personally feel this way about him), but he is the guy that we all know, if he got elected, would just get things done.
Reagan was down 25 points to Carter, some 7 months before the general. He was demonized constantly, and it took the debates and lots of campaign stops to get people to realize that the media caricature was wrong. With Newt, it would be the same. People need to realize that anyone we put up will get demonized and slandered beyond all belief. Not one of these candidates is safe. Not remotely. The difference is that Newt is the one guy who can overcome the media because he knows how to fight back and turn the media’s spin around. Santorum struggles with this, and Mitt isn’t any better.
Win or lose, I would rather have a shot at getting the guy that can turn this around in office, rather than settling for someone who probably won’t.
Yep
Common_Cents (Diary) Monday, February 27th at 3:15PM EDT (link)Santorum comes across as whiny and as a martyr many times. He doesn’t have the goods to back up his rhetoric like Gingrich can.
What’s ironic is there is big pent up support for Gingrich, many people want to support him, but they wait for others for confirmation. Romney’s campaign has painted him as a “safe” candidate to pick and that has power but it’s very hollow.
Gingrich has Alinsky tactics down to a science, using the left’s weapon against them. Ridicule and simple choices, (food stamp president vs. jobs president.)
Mitt is the 2nd coming of McCain. Mitts best chance was last round but I think the establishment got to him and said it wasn’t his turn.
“Fathom the hypocrisy of a Government
that requires every citizen to prove
they are insured…. but not everyone
must prove they are a citizen.” -Ben Stein
“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”[especially in DC] – Friedrich Nietzsche
I Just Fired My Editor
ntrepid (Diary) Sunday, February 26th at 5:43PM EDT (link)CORRECTIONS: That should be “54% of voting Catholics” in the first sentence of The Set-Up and “the latter’s spinelessness with respect to protecting babies alive outside the womb” in the second paragraph of The Endorsement.
Ntrepid
Proud Redstate Member since April 2006…?
“Everybody has an agenda. Except for me.” – Michael Crichton, State of Fear.
ntrepid, did you intend to perform a head-fake with your headline?
texasref (Diary) Monday, February 27th at 12:36AM EDT (link)I kinda like it.
Thank you for an honest, conflicted, non-candibot perspective on why you support the best of our four remaining alternatives.
“The medical director who performed the autopsy on Trayvon Martin found only two injuries on his body: the gunshot wound and broken skin on his knuckles. Welcome to the Duke lacrosse case all over again.”–Rush Limbaugh, 5-16-12
Next Step: Docket Sounding on 8-8-12
Final Step: Verdict of Not Guilty
Newt is the Worst of the 4 Candidates (warning: head-fake)
Rudy (Diary) Monday, February 27th at 5:05AM EDT (link)And by Worst I mean mean Best.
Since we are being honest and NOT “candibots” I would like to add…
The truth is none of the 4 candidates is a perfect candidate. Each is severely flawed.
What we need is Captain Planet. Their Powers Combined! LOL
Imagine with me for a moment…
What if Ron Paul was president for questions of the constitution, the FED, and Budgetary concerns… What if Santorum dealt with foreign policies and faith issues… What if Romney handled the financing and message of the general campaign and then just went around the world taking pictures with foreign leaders (he IS easier on the eyes after all)… And What if Newt was leading and negotiating with the congress and getting things signed and passed and then made the media look stupid all day long… WOW… Wouldn’t that be awesome!
But that’s not possible, unfortunately.
All these candidates are flawed.
But of all the flaws, I hold to the fact that Newt’s flaws have nothing to do with his conservative history. His new contract is just what the country needs. It’s not Newt’s conservatism that scares people away. It’s mostly his personal Baggage. I understand people have serious issues with that. I work at a church. I’ve heard it all.
However(!), Obama has a spotless family. He is THE family man. So I ask, where did that get us?
Where I am with Politics right now… I DON’T CARE IF NEWT GETS ELECTED AND HAS 20 MORE WIVES! I don’t care if he becomes mormon and marries ALL of them. None of those personal sins are going to affect me and my family and the future of this country.
I want the most conservative president available right now that can FIX this country (without worrying about my family being wiped out by an Iranian nuclear bomb). That’s where I’m at. Newt is the one I see that can do that. Period.
And please spare me the electability argument. I voted for Perot. TWICE! I don’t mind going down swinging.
I’m tired of Washington. I think maybe I read it here once on RS. Someone said, “Anyone that can piss off that many Democrats AND Republicans has my vote.” AMEN!
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Newt! There it is !!!
Something
Viet71 (Diary) Monday, February 27th at 8:00AM EDT (link)in your comment, in your writing style, reminds me of krish.
No, I’m not above a Cheap, Over Exaggerated Head-Fake…
ntrepid (Diary) Monday, February 27th at 8:09AM EDT (link)…but, in the end, it was also intended to highlight the differences between the mentality and actions of a younger man operating with laser-like focus on a high legislative position and the older, wiser man with a sense of duty…Speaker Gingrich vs. Grandpa Gingrich.
Something else that may prove interesting…and, while intended to be just a subtle inclusion, the effect was really lost with by 48% vs. 54% typing error…is the fact that it is now Grandpa Gingrich the Catholic. Obviously, Americans don’t vote on Sunday morning…this applies to Catholics as well as most solid Democrat voting blocs…but, if 54% will vote for the unknown-unknowns of the 2008 version of Mr. Obama, how many will vote for the known-knowns of the 2012 version? How many would vote for an honest recent convert over the pusher of the birth control mandate? How many would understand the question?
Given the known quantity of the incumbent, this election will put many such voting blocks to the test. I would hope that any Republican candidate could count on at least 54% of the Catholic vote this time around. I don’t know if that alone would swing the outcome but similar shifts among women, senior citizens, other (fill in the blank)…all reasonable to expect…should limit “Hope and Change” to one term.
If not, we get what we deserve.
Thanks for your comment and recommendation.
Ntrepid
Proud Redstate Member since April 2006…?
“Everybody has an agenda. Except for me.” – Michael Crichton, State of Fear.
I think, ntrepid, that you've nailed this. And ..
acat (Diary) Monday, February 27th at 11:37PM EDT (link)that it needed the head-fake. Newt circa 2012 has the same fire as Newt circa 1994 .. same idea-factory mentality .. but .. I think there are two key changes.
First, Newt has stopped pulling his punches, perhaps because he intends this to be his last fight. He’s 68 years old, he’ll be 69 at the next inauguration, and I don’t see him running again in 2016. You say he’s leaving it all on the field .. I say he recognizes his mission and anything ancillary to it is getting left behind.
Second, Newt has found a posse. I don’t think, back in June 2011, he intended to be here… I think he intended to be working hard to elect Rick Perry. (Newt wrote the forward for Perry’s campaign book, they traded campaign staff like kids trade Pokemon cards)
Along the way, though, Perry didn’t stay afire, and the other alternatives are pretty much .. meh. That, I think, is the catalyst… Gingrich didn’t intend to be here, but he’s not going to back away from a fight. This explains the early missteps .. and the hardening of resolve since Iowa, and especially since Romney decided to go hammer-and-tongs at Gingrich in FL.
Gingrich has a lot of old scores to settle, and now some new ones as well… and I wish him the best of luck in doing so.
Mew
——
Caveat Suffragator
Exactly acat
ntrepid (Diary) Monday, February 27th at 11:57PM EDT (link)I’ve commented before that I attended a Perry / Gingrich book signing at the local Barnes and Noble in mid-2010. (Just weeks before the Tea Party mid-term revolution…should have been easy pickin’s for an aspiring candidate.)
I, not being a fan of my Governor and very biased in the matter, could not have been the only one who noticed the obvious: only one man (besides me) in that room was Presidential material and he is still in the race. (He also has an enormous head.)
Perry’s fiery worded speech fell flat and was uncomfortably out of place…Gingrich’s talk was methodical, educational, and inspiring. It was the natural order of things and has played out exactly that way over the last six months.
Thanks for commenting.
Ntrepid
Proud Redstate Member since April 2006…?
“Everybody has an agenda. Except for me.” – Michael Crichton, State of Fear.
The older, wiser Gingrich would give Americans a choice.
Viet71 (Diary) Monday, February 27th at 8:40AM EDT (link)He’d be a good opponent, IMO, for the shifty, shallow, unreliable Obama. He’d pick up indie votes here in the Northeast and even some Dem votes nationwide. He’d have a chance with women. The media couldn’t portray him as a Neanderthal. He’d do well.
Newt admitting defeat in Afghanistan... How can anyone count on this guy?
Creedo Tuesday, February 28th at 4:41AM EDT (link)Newt has taken to legitimizing Paul’s position on Afghanistan by admitting defeat:
http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/gingrich-sees-impossible-task-1364582.html
What’s he thinking? He’s going to put Romney and Santorum on the defense on Afghanistan? Newt is in this for his own ego and he’s raising the stakes to levels well past dangerous.
How can anybody count on this guy for anything?
The Know-Nothing party was disbanded long ago.
xymbaline Tuesday, February 28th at 12:36PM EDT (link)However, Creedo, it would probably welcome you if it started again.
How many States does Newt have to finish below the Ron Paul Mendoza line before he gets the picture?
Creedo Wednesday, February 29th at 1:33AM EDT (link)Ginchrich has lost to Ron Paul in the following states:
Iowa
New Hampshire
Missouri
Minnesota
Maine
Michigan
That’s 6 of 11 states where Newt can’t beat even Paul. Where are people getting this idea that Newt has ANY shot to beat Obama in a national election if he can’t even beat Paul in a REPUBLICAN PRIMARY?
Santorum still hasn't won a big and contested primary state
tomrt (Diary) Wednesday, February 29th at 2:16AM EDT (link)He failed to win MI even though he had plenty of money, momentum and favorable position in polls, help from Christian conservative groups, as well as monkey business Democratic vote (which he actively sought.)
Newt won a resounding victory in the large and contested primary state of SC (a conservative state), even though he was outspent 2-1 there.
Also,RCP’s Popular Vote tracker currently has:
Romney: 1,746,046
Gingrich: 977,272
Santorum: 929,807
Paul: 462,187
including the returns thus far from MI and AZ.
That works out to: Romney 42.43%, Gingrich 23.75%, Santorum 22.59%, Paul 11.23%
Gingrich+Santorum = 46.34% > Romney’s 42.43%.
Therefore, if Santorum doesn’t score a big win by super Tuesday and if Gingrich wins Georgia, Rick should dropout endorsing Newt and then campaign extensively for him to help defeat Romney and his bags of cash.
Help Newt: Donate. Volunteer
That doesn't answer the question: Newt consistently finishes below Ron Paul
Creedo Wednesday, February 29th at 2:26PM EDT (link)Ginchrich has lost to Ron Paul in the following states:
Iowa
New Hampshire
Missouri
Minnesota
Maine
Michigan
That’s 6 of 11 states where Newt can’t beat even Paul. Where are people getting this idea that Newt has ANY shot to beat Obama in a national election if he can’t even beat Paul in a REPUBLICAN PRIMARY?
Also... If Santorum drops out I'm voting for Romney
Creedo Wednesday, February 29th at 2:29PM EDT (link)Newt is not even an option for me. I’ll vote for him if he’s the last man standing, but I don’t expect that someone who loses to Ron Paul in half the states will ever be the last man standing. If Santorum drops, I’ll vote for Romney as the presumtive nominee and tune out until November. I have no interest in seeing Newt suffer a blow-out loss to Obama. Newt is toxic.
xyz
tomrt (Diary) Wednesday, February 29th at 6:56PM EDT (link)‘If Santorum drops out I’m voting for Romney’
Fine. You’re fully entitled to your voting preferences. But do you have to be trollish about it and keep posting the same thought over and over? Try to be an adult about expressing yourself.
‘I have no interest in seeing Newt suffer a blow-out loss to Obama.’
Newt is the only candidate in the running who has the experience of running a winning national campaign, i.e. the campaign to return the GOP to majority in the house of reps. Santorum was a prime beneficiary of Newt’s work with GOPAC, contract w/ American and the 1994 election victory.
‘Newt is toxic.’
Santorum’s last 2-3 weeks in the limelight weren’t a walk in park, was it? Most Americans now know that this guy is against contraception, dabbles in Satan-talk, is against the aspiration of advanced/college education being an option to all kids (while he wants his own kids to get a college degree), makes crappy comments like wanting to “throw up” at Kennedy’s important speech (which helped a Catholic to win the presidency for the first time ever), that he doesn’t believe in the separation of church and state, etc. That’s just the tip of the iceberg of what will prove to be Santorum’s toxicity, should he be nominated (or even hang around as a contender long enough.)
Newt has been on the frontline at the national level for a long long time (20+ active, 14 since), pushing major changes and reforms (with delivered significant conservative results), and such an effort earns some adversaries both on the left and the right.
While Newt has always been a leader, Santorum has always been a follower, and the country needs a leader, not a follower.
Help Newt: Donate. Volunteer
FYI,
tomrt (Diary) Wednesday, February 29th at 6:36PM EDT (link)Santorum polled less than Paul in NH, NV and ME. If not losing to Paul is the yardstick, then Santorum also fails the test.
‘but Gingrich has lost 6 of 11 states to Ron Paul.’
All the states in which Gingrich polled less than Paul were either too small, or ones in which Gingrich didn’t compete.
Gingrich > Santorum > Paul: SC, FL (the two largest states so far)
Gingrich > Paul > Santorum state: NV
Paul > Gingrich ~= Santorum: NH
Santorum > Paul > Gingrich held in: IA, MN, MI, ME and beauty contest MO primary.
Newt didn’t contest in MN, MI ME, and MO (all of the M-states so far.)
Iowa ended up the way it did because Romney spent $5m pulverizing Gingrich, and Newt tried his best, with noble intentions, to remain positive as much as possible. In fact, part of the reason Santorum won was because Newt’s loss of support due to Romney’s attack ads leaked towards Santorum. In other words, many of Santorum’s IA votes an his win were ill-gotten gains. He shoul give those delegates back to Newt
Help Newt: Donate. Volunteer
Attended Newt's Speech at CA GOP Convention
mikefrey (Diary) Wednesday, February 29th at 3:39PM EDT (link)last weekend, and added a reason to vote for him to the one I had already:
- He is the only one with “shoot in his eyes” regarding the overreach of Govt. RP “knows” but still is not fired up like Newt. As someone said above, he gives the impression that he is going to play full-on, leaving it all on the field. This I knew.
- He makes important points in a way that the middle will hear over the din of the MSM. I think people I know that never get past the MSM message will hear his. This is new revelation for me.
He has faults, but I’m leaning strongly toward “shoot in his eyes” as THE defining characteristic.
Placer County Republican Central Committee
Delegate – California Republican Convention
“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent” – Thomas Jefferson