Conservatives Should Think Twice About Newt

Editorial - November 29th, 2011 - Washington Examiner

Gingrich's wonkish delight in industrially rationed health care may come as a shock to some on the Right, but it is entirely consistent with his long-standing enthusiasm for individual mandates in health care. In his 2005 book, "Winning the Future," Gingrich put it this way: "We need some significant changes to ensure that every American is insured, but we should make it clear that a 21st Century Intelligent System requires everyone to participate [emphasis added] in the insurance system."

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More recently, as The Examiner's Byron York noted yesterday, Gingrich has been seen as an ultimate Washington insider, as exemplified in that $1.6 million he was paid to represent Fannie and Freddie, and his work with Nancy Pelosi on behalf of cap-and-trade. Such facts make it difficult not to view Gingrich as an exemplar of Washington's professional Republican politicians who talk the talk to get elected, but often don't walk it once in office.

Gingrich's surge to the top of the polls follows Republican enthusiasm for first Donald Trump, then Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, Rick Perry and Herman Cain. There are already some who are touting the super Christian Rick Santorum as the next hot candidate. Can even the progressive John Huntsman be far behind in his turn on top?

It is clear that a number of voters are desperate for someone who is "the perfect conservative" but unwilling to actually research any of the candidates to dig out what they stand for. I have supported Rick Perry from the start, based on his strong record of conservative accomplishments that are real.

One accomplishment that many Republicans seem indifferent to is the tough battle to fix the major flaws in our court system that led to abusive judgments. To fight a battle against the entrenched power of the bar lobby was an incredible victory for conservatives. Yet many conservatives seem indifferent to Perry's accomplishment. I find that attitude bizarre.

Rick Perry also has a fantastic record on illegal immigration, having spent close to half a billion Texas dollars doing the federal job of policing the border. The ridiculous misrepresentation of his record on the Arizona law and his pragmatic position on 'in-state tuition' for a small percentage of illegal alien children have left most conservatives delusional about what his real record is. How can they not understand what he truly stands for?

I still support Rick Perry based on the research I conducted.

It frightens me that the Republican Party could have ever considered the left wing big government progressive Donald Trump a serious candidate over such a useless issue as Obama's birth certificate. Trump is the classic corrupt crony capitalist. Support for the lightweight legislative record of Michele Bachmann still concerns me too. There is no track record of executive experience in her background. What could have led to her surge in the polls? Ron Paul is probably the best candidate on some critical issues, yet despite his record of military service, I find his stands on many foreign affairs issues amateurish. The same criticism applies to the businessman Herman Cain, whose own success is far too easily explained by his riding affirmative action promotions to positions that his track record did not deserve. Cain's business successes are not that impressive either, considering that before he took over Godfather's Pizza (his main claim to fame) it was arguably the fifth largest Pizza chain in America and when he left it was about tenth, where it remains to this day. He is incompetent on most issues of foreign affairs, the most important aspect of a President's job. Gingrich is now surging despite a track record that is filled with serious concerns about his ego. He has never shown consistent support for conservative values unless they served his personal goals and many conservatives feel betrayed. He has abandoned the conservative cause when it served him. Is this history really that hard to discover?

Each Republican candidate in turn, even Rick Perry, enjoyed a surge not based on an assessment of their overall track record, but superficial enthusiasm for the hot new thing. Doesn't that sound a lot like the way America works today? The same logic applies to our entertainers and our consumer products. We buy the hot thing with little research. He (or she) is hot. He (or she) must be great. Such childish actions led to the election of Barack Obama.

Obama must go, so I will vote for whoever wins the Republican nomination. Yet the superficial process and the lack of seriousness in how a majority of the Republican voters are making their decision is truly frightening.