Did Gingrich Cross Swords with Palin or Cross the Rubicon Today?


What did New Gingrich intend to accomplish this morning? Did he merely cross swords with Sarah Palin, his potential rival for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012? Or, did he cross the Rubicon, making conflict with Reagan-Conservative Republicans in all fifty states inevitable? This morning, on a Fox morning talk-show, Gingrich arrogantly scolded Conservative Republicans for contributing money and moral support to Hoffman, NY-23, conservative candidate for Congress.

Gingrich–a Hamiltonian nationalist if there ever was one–suddenly morphed, before my very eyes, into a Tenth Amendment states’ righter, demanding that conservatives around the country keep their noses out of the business of a New York congressional election. According to Gingrich, New Yorkers chose Dede, the progressive-liberal Republican, as their candidate, the clear implication of his words being: Reagan-Conservative Republicans in American can just shut up and take a hike.

But, wait a minute, was it just New Yorkers who chose Dede? Not quite. The National Republican Party annointed Dede as its candidate of choice for NY-23 and opened up its hard little progressive heart and big money bag to Dede, an infamously liberal Republican.  

My take on Gingrich is that he is good with words and doesn’t toss them around casually. I think he deliberately chose the words he used this morning on the Fox talk-show. But what I haven’t decided yet is, what was his real objective? Was he attempting to drive Sarah Palin the Maverick Republican from the Republican herd for endorsing Hoffman? If so, that would limit his “fighting words” this morning to a battle between him and Palin for the hearts, the minds, and votes of Republicans.

Or, did Gingrich intentionally challenge Republican Party unity? Did he cross the Rubicon? Did he declare war on the conservative base of the Republican Party which is showing gritty determination to endorse true conservative Republicans running for office in all fifty states?

I don’t know how the majority of conservatives come down on Gingrich’s position on Dede, on Hoffman, and on Palin. But I do know this. I don’t know take kindly to being lectured to by a man who has just endorsed a flaming-liberal candidate, precisely the kind of Republican I don’t give a damn for and would not give a dime to support. I don’t know if Gingrich crossed the Rubicon as far as most conservatives are concerned. But he crossed the Rubicon, cast the die, as far as this Reagan-Conservative Republican is concerned.


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Gingrich is pushing himself towards irrelevance

izoneguy (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 11:15AM EST (link)

n/t

The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.

He did that the day he threw a fit about Air Force One (nt)

Neil Stevens (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 2:10PM EST (link)

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“I rejoice that America has resisted.” – William Pitt, the Elder

 
 

I'm guessing that Gingrich has stumped for other congressional candidates

6eorge Jetson (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 11:25AM EST (link)

Newt led Conservatism well in 94…But that was 15 years ago.

 

How ironic that Gingrich would scold outsiders for supporting Hoffman....

JadedByPolitics (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 11:44AM EST (link)

when he himself an OUTSIDER supported Dede….hey Mr FORMER speaker do you even hear yourself? PUTZ!

No kidding....

itsonlywords (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 2:16PM EST (link)

Last time I checked, Newt wasn’t from New York so where does he get off endorsing one candidate over the other, then trying to school conservatives that it’s inappropriate for them to do the same.

Jerk.

Tu ne cede malis sed contra audientor ito. ~Virgil
Do not give in to evil, but proceed evermore boldly against it.

 
 

Perhaps Gingrich should listen to Hoffman himself...

JadedByPolitics (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 12:18PM EST (link)

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/take_back_the_party_ASPo06GnWtIO2Wsstyd3NM

He has something to say about Conservatives taking the party BACK!

As I read Hoffman's NYP op-ed

TNJim (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 12:56PM EST (link)

I was reminded of how Newt sounded in 1994. Therefore it shows how far Newt has gone off the rails. If Newt still believes what he was all about in ’94 he would be supporting Hoffman, not Dede.

Today’s Newt Gingrich is not one I can support for much of anything.

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Newt has become "the party" which is why is irrelevent....

JadedByPolitics (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 3:04PM EST (link)

Once they succumb to the Washington way it SUCKS the very life blood of Conservatism right out of them. They FORGET how they got there and WHY they were sent there and they become the PROBLEM!

should be "why HE is irrelevent"...you know when watching football....

JadedByPolitics (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 3:07PM EST (link)
 
 
 

Gingrich would have a point

SteveLA (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 12:37PM EST (link)

IF and a very big IF there had been a primary.

There was no primary, even one that is flawed in some way, that determined who would represent the Republican party in the general election. I’m not even sure about the board that nominated Dede, are they elected or selected?

The complaint about “outsiders” and their money, fine, then as a party principle, outlaw all outside the district money in primaries, RNC, PACS, you name it. Keep it out of the primaries and let the local folks decide who they want to represent their parties in general elections.

Newt is putting party selection, even in this very bad selection process than the will of the people. If Hoffman gets a higher vote total than Dede, that will prove the point that the Republican cabal that nominated her, not the people in a primary by the way, got it wrong.

Newt is making a mistake in my view.

______________________________________

Competency over ideological purity and litmus tests

 

Gingrich has a special 2-way bridge over the Rubicon.

redneck_hippie (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 12:47PM EST (link)

He is crossing over it so often that the Roman toll authority has installed coin booths to collect his pieces of silver.

He crossed my Rubicon last cycle with his support of the global warming myth. And now he does interviews mouthing anti-energy-tax bs. Where did he think the democrats were going to take the climate change hoax, anyway?


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Newt has become a walking-talking contradiction.

Husker (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 12:53PM EST (link)

He shows up on a lefty tree hugging PSA with Pelosi dealing with so-called man-made global climate change, and then starts American Solutions with drill here, drill now, pay less as a campaign slogan.

Gingrich was on the Wilkow Majority program Oct. 21 where he was asked about his endorsement of Scozzafava: He said she signed the no tax pledge, was endorsed by the NRA, was against Obamacare, was against Cap and Tax, and is more liberal than he is. He said the local party chose her, and he didn’t think anyone from the outside should micro-manage that. Then he went into this diatribe about splitting the party, and he wouldn’t be a party to that if it means the Democrat will win the election.

This is all well and good, but in essence his endorsement and presence is in fact micro-managing the choice here as well as the NRCC injecting money into Scozzofava’s campaign.

 

A shame

ModernAgeFan (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 2:05PM EST (link)

I once admired Newt. I went to hear him speak some months back, and it was inspiring. Unfortunately he is showing his true stripes, and is becoming just one more has-been politician. I had hoped he would run for President, but as things stand now I cannot see myself supporting his potential candidacy. I hope there will be one candidate for President next time that inspires me like Ronald Reagan did. Newt is not it anymore.

 

I heard that interview this morning on Fox.

Steph C (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 5:51PM EST (link)

It was sickening to put it bluntly. When a person has to use words like ‘relatively’ to argue support for a candidate they’ve already lost the debate.

And, yes, he was telling the rest of the country to keep our noses out of it.

I can’t believe there are people out there floating his name for ’12. For what? More of the same of what has the country riled now?

“[I]f the public are bound to yield obedience to laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them.” –Candidus in the Boston Gazette, 1772
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He did make it sound like

Leopard1996 (Diary) Sunday, October 25th at 6:46PM EST (link)

Dede was actually chosen as a result as a majority of repubs wanted her over Hoffman. Which is total B.S. and the Fox and Friends folks never mentioned the fact that DeDe’s selection was a backdoor deal.

“The accumluated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout, “Save Us!”….and I’ll look down and whisper, “No”…The Watchmen