Bad News About Newt

We must take a break from our holiday frivolity to talk about The Newt who’s stealing Christmas.  The Conservative pundits are having conniption fits – everyone from the leader, Glenn Beck to Ann Coulter and the more collected Charles Krauthammer – over the notion that the Tea Partiers are favoring Newt Gingrich over Mitt Romney.

Give us break, will you, and stop yelling at us.  You pundits are in the news business.  We’re just the average schlubbs trying to get whatever Conservative messages are out there to the huddled masses sitting out there with their hands over their eyes, ears, and mouths.  See no politics, hear no politics, speak no politics.

We get the message about Newt, and obviously he’s not a good choice at all.  Back in the day, when he was Speaker of the House, the main complaint about him seemed to be about his collecting speech fees.  The average American really didn’t know what the big deal about that was.  As a matter of fact, he claimed to be promoting America, which was quite all right with us.

The problem us, not many of us attended those speeches or heard what they were really about.  We didn’t know he was touting FDR (over and over again) as a great president.  Where we likely to hear about it?  The Internet was still in its infancy.  Fox News wasn’t born yet.  Glenn Beck was wherever he was.  We certainly wouldn’t have learned about his involvement in Freddie Mac from the press, since the last thing they wanted to do was advertise this scam.  All they were willing to hang on him was the speaking fees.

Remember, this was circa 1994.  But even then, Conservatives were skeptical about Republicans.  Ronald Reagan was wonderful;  George H.W. Bush, not so much.  Compared to Pres. Clinton, Gingrich did seem like our George Washington at the time.  When the Republicans bounced him after only two years, we were more suspicious of what we suspected were Liberal Republicans than perfidy in Gingrich.  We did what we always did.  Shrugged helplessly and turned away, burying our heads in the sand.

We’re a little wiser now.  The Southern New Hampshire 9/12 Project has published an excellent comparison of the 2012 Republican Primary Contenders.  Compiled by Ken Eyring, co-organizer of the project, the study lists all the major issues and where the candidates (in alpha order, Bachmann, Cain, Gingrich, Huntsman, Paul, Perry, Romney and Santorum) stand on them.

Since Gingrich and Romney are the current front runners, we’ll borrow from Mr. Eyring’s work and give you a sample of where they stand on a few issues of import to the Tea Party:

                                                                                    Gingrich                      Romney

Supports 2nd Amendment (the right to bear arms)                         Yes                                          No

Repeal the Patriot Act                                                                           No                                            No

Opposed to subjecting U.S. to International Laws                           Yes                                         Yes

Supports State’s Right                                                                           Yes                                      Yes/No

Will appoint only Conservative judges                                              Yes                                          No

Close Dept of Education                                                                       No                                            No

Close the EPA                                                                                        Yes                                           No

Reduce regulations on business                                                        Yes                                         No

Supported TARP                                                                                 Yes/No                                   Yes

Supported STIMULUS                                                                       No                                           Yes

Supports Cap & Trade                                                                       Yes                                         Yes

Oppose bank bail-outs                                                                       Yes/No/Maybe                    Yes/No

Support amnesty for illegal immigrants                                          Yes/No/Sort of                     No/Yes

Deport all illegal immigrants currently in U.S.                                No                                           No/Yes

Support in-state tuition for illegals                                                   Yes                                         No

Repeal/Defund Obamacare                                                              No/Yes                                   Repeal

Believes in man-made, climate change theory                              Yes                                         Yes/No

Anti-Abortion (except in cases of rape, etc.)                                  Yes/But                                 No/supported before 2005

English as National Language                                                          Yes                                         Yes/but ran ads in Sp.‘08

Supports Right to Work Laws                                                           Yes                                         Yes

Oil Drilling in U.S./Alaska                                                   Yes                                         Yes

Concerned about Radical Islam                                                      Yes                                         Yes

Supports UN Agenda 21                                                                    No/Yes                                   Yes

Supports Israel                                                                                     Yes                                         Yes

Eyring’s study backs up all assertions with pages of footnotes.  At the end, there is also a list of problems particular to each candidate.  They’re both decidedly un-conservative on TARP, Stimulus, Cap & Trade, and Agenda 21.  Those items alone should have put them out of the Conservative  category and caused them to be stricken from Tea Party lists.  Romney would continue to burden businesses with onerous regulations, Gingrich is a Greenie, and neither of them would close the Department of Education.

On character, Romney is obviously the more decent man.  Gingrich’s acceptance of funds from Freddie Mac should not only remove him from the ballot, but did help to remove him as Speaker of the House, and should have removed him from society in general.  Why isn’t Gingrich in jail?  Clearly, the Conservative pundits are correct when they say we can’t nominate this man as a candidate for president.

That leaves us with Romney and a pack whose credentials are poor in one way or another.  Ron Paul is an isolationist who would remove all our military bases around the world, basically making trade with other nation’s impossible in today’s violent climate.  We wouldn’t have Huntsman if you gave him to us, buddy of Obama’s that he is.  The fact that he and Romney are Mormons have nothing to do with whether Tea Partiers favor them or not.  Anyone who thinks so is confusing the average Tea Partier with fringe elements who have nothing better to do all day than troll websites and blogsites with their nonsense.

Bachmann and Santorum sound great, but their newbies.  Santorum was a  U.S. Senator at one point, at least.  Good enough for government work.  But why did he drop out?  Was it lack of funds and support from the GOP, or does he have skeletons in his closet, like the rest of them?  If someone has the information, it would be nice to know before you pundits start chewing our heads off.

Once again, we’re faced with a situation of the lesser of two evils, just as in 2008.   What do you pundits want from the Tea Party.  These candidates are who they are.  Those items you see above are what we want, in addition to a good character (which at least Romney has), from our presidential candidate.  If they can’t meet these criteria, what’s the point in even going out to vote?  We want what we want.  If someone can put up a reasonable candidate who supports our agenda, we’ll vote for them. 

We will listen, if you have information.  Otherwise, don’t yell at us, and don’t tell us we have to hold our noses.  If you think you’re all the smartest guys in the room, then prove it.  Do tell us why we should vote for someone who isn’t going to uphold America’s values.