Gingrich and the Revenge of the Little Guys

22 January 2012

France - Le Monde - Original Article (French)   Edited by Jes­sica Boesl   From Watching America

The Tea Party has disappeared, scattered between the chapels and candidates. In South Carolina however, Newt Gingrich has resuscitated the tea party. At the same time, Gingrich smashed Mitt Romney’s main platform, i.e.: "The electability," that is being the most competitive Republican candidate to run against Barack Obama.
"Newt Can Win" was the victory cry at the Gingrich headquarters party in Columbia, South Carolina.
In his speech, Newt Gingrich talked about his performance in the debates. He knows that many activists would love for him to run against Obama. So, Gingrich also challenged the incumbent president to participate in seven debates at three-hours each.
"And I give him permission to exercise his right in to use his teleprompter," he said amidst laughter. Who would not want use a teleprompter to defend Obamacare, better known as Medicare Reform.
The debates have been repeatedly harmful to Mitt Romney, especially considering how the presence of a voracious audience reinforces demagogue trends. (It is important to note that prior to this year, audience reactions were not considered significant.)
The race continues. In fact, it is just beginning, so to speak. But as noted in a key Republican crossover in a hotel in Charleston just before the primary, the establishment is concerned that Mitt is "deteriorating" from week to week. (In fact, Jeb Bush has refrained from supporting Romney in Florida.)
The results of the South Carolina poll have given Newt Gingrich a resounding victory with a 12 percent lead over Romney (40 percent versus 28 percent). The populist outweighed the businessman’s platform of “job creation” among almost every category of voters if one believes the exit polls: evangelicals (two-thirds of voters), Catholics, tea party ... and even women believed that Gingrich was always pursued by the vengeance of his second wife, Marianne.
Newt Gingrich has managed to channel the revolt of the "little guy" against the elite, including staging characteristic hostility against the media, accusing them of "forcing" the American people to be confused.
According to Erik Erickson of RedState.com, one of the spokespersons of the tea party, "the base is revolting because they swept the GOP back into relevance in Washington just under two years ago and they have been thanked with contempt ever since."
The contempt has to do with the particular choice of candidate. For the base, Mitt Romney is considered to be as stimulating as an "old battery," commented Erickson.

Technorati Tags: Newt Gingrich,Reublican Primaries,Politics,Current Events,An American Gothic,Watching America

Chris Christie: Gingrich Is A Disaster Waiting To Happen

By Christian Dem in NC  on Sun Jan 22, 2012      Original Post

Chris Christie was on "Meet the Press" this morning, and pretty much summed up the feelings of the Repub establishment in the wake of Newt Gingrich's massive win last night in South Carolina.  In his usual blunt style, Christie, who is backing Mitt Romney, all but called Gingrich a ticking time bomb.

MR. GREGORY: You've been more pointed when you talk about in favor of Governor Romney. You say he will never embarrass you. Do you think Newt Gingrich will embarrass the party?

GOV. CHRISTIE: I think Newt Gingrich has embarrassed the party over time. Whether he'll do it again in the future, I don't know. But Governor Romney never has.

MR. GREGORY: You say he's embarrassed the party. How and where do you worry he might do it again that makes him unelectable?

GOV. CHRISTIE: Well, listen, David, we all know the record. I mean, he was run out of the speakership by his own party. He was fined $300,000 for ethics violations. This is a guy who's had a very difficult political career at times and has been an embarrassment for the party. You remember these times, you were here. So the fact of the matter is, I don't need to regale the country with that entire list again except to say this. I'm not saying he will do it again in the future, but sometimes past is prologue.

No doubt Christie saw this week's "holy f'ing crap" moment, when Public Policy Polling showed Obama possbly beating Gingrich in Texas.  It cannot be repeated enough--if Gingrich makes Texas even potentially competitive, then he has likely been Goldwatered.

Also republished by Kos Georgia.

Technorati Tags: 2012 Elections,Republican Party,Chris Christie,Newt Gingrich,Current Events,An American Gothic

Saturday Satire: Those Darn Republicans

  Rick Perry is out of the running as is Jon Huntsman. All who remain are the Republican professional clowns, Mitten and Newtie.

Jay Leno: "Mitt Romney is coming under fire because even though he is a multimillionaire, he only paid 15 percent in taxes. That's not a tax, that's barely a tip."

"Mitt Romney, whose father was born in Mexico, is now talking up his Mexican heritage. Not to be outdone today, Newt Gingrich said he once cheated on one of his wives with a woman named Juanita."

"Sen. John McCain told Sean Hannity that choosing Sarah Palin was still the best decision he ever made. Well, today the Arizona DMV took away his driver's license."

"According to the exit polls, Mitt Romney won in every category of voter in New Hampshire, from rich to poor, from young to old, from white to really white. He won across the board."

"Researchers found a frog in new guinea that is so tiny, they believe it's the smallest vertebrate on the planet. It has the tiniest backbone of any living creature, except members of Congress."

"A new poll says 84% of Americans disapprove of Congress' job. The other 16% weren't aware Congress was doing one."

David Letterman: "Mitt Romney is quite a guy. At one point he and his wife bought a zoo and fired all the animals."

"Newt Gingrich says that on Thursday he will be releasing his tax returns. You can feel the excitement, right?"

David Letterman's "Top Ten Signs Mitt Romney Is Getting Cocky"
10. Answers all questions with, "So's your mother"
9. Offered Santorum a 10,000-vote head start in South Carolina primary
8. He's forwarding his mail to the White House — Wow, that's cocky
7. Skipping next three primaries to go on tour with Young Jeezy
6. Started selling his own commemorative presidential plates on QVC
5. Donated $50,000 to Rick Perry's campaign
4. Now spelling "Mittt" with three T's
3. Ended debate by taking out wad of bills and "making it rain"
2. Wants to rename states Mittchigan, Mittsouri, Mittsissippi, and New Mittsico
1. Offered to help Newt with his concession speech

David Letterman's "Top Ten Things People Said When They Heard Jon Huntsman Was Dropping Out Of The Presidential Race"

10. "Who's Jon Huntsman?"
9. "Is he the rich boring white guy, or the other rich boring white guy?"
8. "Seriously, who's Jon Huntsman?"
7. "You mean my tax attorney? Oh wait, that's Stan Huntsman"
6. "Does this mean we can bring Herman Cain back? That guy was hilarious"
5. "So that leaves only four viable candidates, plus Rick Perry"
4. "It's like Jon Huntsman said . . . Well, actually, I have no idea what he said"
3. "Hey honey, some guy I’ve never heard of is dropping out of the race"
2. "He should have Tebowed more"
1. "Now who's gonna lose to Obama in the general election?"

Technorati Tags: Politics,Political Humor,Late Night Talk,Jay Leno,David Letterman,Newt Gingrich,Mitt Romney,Jon Huntsman,Rick Perry,Current Events,An American Gothic

More Privatization Legislation In Florida, Republican Style

    So once again the corrupt, Republican controlled Legislature is up to it’s eyeballs in trying to hide a bill from the Florida public.

    The Republican corporate servants want to pass a bill (  SPB 7170 ) that would allow for some state agencies to be privatized in secret. 

    There is also another bill ( SPB 7172 ) which would allow the privatization of correctional facilities throughout a pretty large swath of south Florida ( 18 counties ).

Florida Today notes:

The Senate rules committee will take up the bill (PCB 7170) at today’s afternoon meeting. The bill essentially means that an agency would not have to report its privatization of a program or service until after the contract is signed.

Open government advocates say the bill would keep the public in the dark about the costs of outsourcing government services. But proponents counter that the measure requires any privatization deal to first offer “a substantial savings” to the state.

   Also, from the Orlando Sentinel:

The Senate Rules Committee, chaired by Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, gave the go ahead for the Senate to take up legislation that would privatize correctional facilities in an 18-county South Florida region and also a bill that revises requirements for the privatization process. The second piece of legislation would drop a requirement that departments looking at privatization create a business case for privatization prior to the Legislature making the decision.

   Oh yes, another attempt by the corporate legislature to put one past the residents of Florida, who really should get off of their asses and takes these crooks like Thrasher to task for fixing something which is not broken.

    In case you have not notice in the past, most of the privatization in the state of Florida or elsewhere usually ends up costing the taxpayer more money, not less. This scam will be no different.

    What happened to the open records law that Florida government is always boasting about? Telling the public after the fact is not very transparent, and this sort of shit only happens when the parties involved have something to hide.

Technorati Tags: John Thrasher,Florida,Republicans,Florida Legislature,SPB 7172,SPB 7170,Senate Rules Committee,Current Events,An American Gothic