Going After Newt's Baggage is Barking Up the Wrong Tree

How do you defeat a political opponent? You ridicule them. Alinsky 101.

And the best ridicule is the kind an opponent can't really fight; the kind that's true. When people bring up Mitt Romney's record; Romneycare, pro-choice advocation, belief in global warming, pro-gay marriage, numerous flip-flops back and forth on almost any issue, saying he's a RINO who will say whatever he thinks will get people to vote for him is not simply ridicule, it's truth. It's the kind of truth that will get him to lose the election, assuming he even gets nominated, because his strategy so far is to defend his record and still claim he's somehow a conservative; and not just a conservative, but the best one running.

Newt Gingrich also has a spotty record and questionable past. We've heard most of them ad nauseum; his divorces, particularly leaving one of his wives while she was cancer-stricken, his infidelities, his sitting down with Nancy Pelosi to talk about combatting global warming, etc. And there are more.

The fact is, though, Newt seems to be the one candidate in the Republican race who is not trying to get voters to ignore his past. He talks about it himself. He says he's made a lot of mistakes and is far from the perfect candidate. He also says he's learned from his mistakes and that his position global warming has changed, not because he suddenly realizes it has to in order for him to get elected, but because he's been made aware of new facts that caused him to doubt it.

Plus, he's shown himself to be a candidate with guts, one that can think on his feet, one who can give an intelligent, reasoned response to any question asked of him and one who knows who the real enemy is in this race. His fight is against the socialistic left, not against his fellow candidates. He (correctly) calls out the media as antagonistic against any and all conservative candidates. He stays on message. He has made no missteps in this race (and no, I don't count his amnesty statements, because it was clear what he meant and he has since clarified it further for anyone who didn't get it the first time).

Of course the mud is being slung nonetheless. Leftist media hacks are already sharpening the knives and getting ready to go after Gingrich's spotty past, but here's the problem; they won't uncover anything we don't already know. Back at the beginning of this race I thought Newt's chances were laughable because of his record and personal history, but I also figured he'd just do what all other politicians do and gloss over his past as though it didn't matter, or wasn't as bad as we think. You know, like Obama. He hasn't done that, though, and that's made all the difference.

Newt's not a Tea Party candidate, and many of us dismissed him as an old establishment type from the get-go. We were wanting a younger, fired-up Tea Party activist, even though I think we knew deep down the GOP wasn't gutsy enough to actually go for such a candidate.

However, what Newt has turned out to be is a smart, obviously capable man who is just as fired-up as any Tea Party candidate would be, and clearly knows how important it is that we not only vote out this current administration but that we repudiate their entire agenda. Romney won't do that, or at least not as full-scale as Newt is obviously prepared to do. Romney will remain as squishy as he's always been because he thinks like an establishment type; playing both sides is the key to re-election. Which of course it isn't.

Newt, who has been around long enough for the establishment to be comfortable with, and whose name is known to almost any American, has proven in this race that he thinks for himself and his line of thinking seems to echo the Tea Party, even if he still can't be called a Tea Party candidate. Some are still saying his past will hurt him in the general election, but as we've already seen with Herman Cain, if that were the case, it would be hurting him now.

Personally, I'd love to see Obama try and debate Newt. It would be a gong show. Newt would mop the floor with him. It very well could be a complete campaign-killer for Obama; the moment when any average American who isn't a die-hard leftist but who was still considering voting for him says "No, no more of that. I like the other guy."

Does this mean I'm a Gingrich supporter now? I don't know. I really don't know. Newt needs to keep doing and saying more things that prove he really has learned from his past mistakes and really isn't saying what he thinks will get him elected. But I love that he's upfront about his baggage. I love that he isn't pulling "politician" tricks. He's acting right now like a man I could support, and if it keeps up I just might.

Besides, it's not like there's anyone better currently running.