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Susan Estrich: Ten Reasons Gingrich Shouldn’t Drop Out of Presidential Race
Ten reasons Newt Gingrich should not drop out of the Republican race for president:
» 10. It would be very boring. People would stop paying attention to presidential politics. Campaigns are unique learning experiences, as Professor Gingrich certainly knows.
» 9. He doesn’t need his own plane. When you’re running to make a difference, running to energize people, attract them to politics and stimulate a real debate, all you need is a plane ticket to a debate.
» 8. Without Gingrich, Mitt Romney would veer to the middle faster than you can say Massachusetts. Every time he starts winning, that’s exactly what he does. Every time he starts losing, he remembers what party he’s in. For conservatives, Gingrich is the last best hope of keeping Romney on their side.
» 7. Gingrich brings out the best in Romney. Really. Until South Carolina, passive and predictable didn’t begin to describe it. The guy is finally going off script (Romney, I mean). He’s actually learning to fight. A scripted bore is not going to hold a candle to President Barack Obama.
» 6. Gingrich brings out the worst in Romney. For example, his taxes. Imagine those coming out, say, next October. Disaster. And worse, Romney explaining that of course he deserves to pay lower taxes, because unlike the rest of us poor slobs, his income doesn’t come from working. The rule on bad news is always the sooner the better. Without an opponent, we’ll never know all the terrible things he must have done as governor of Massachusetts. Need I say the name that brings shivers to any Democrat old enough to remember? Willie Horton. Does Romney have one? Who knows?
» 5. Gingrich isn’t running for Senate. He doesn’t need the support of big-money establishment Republicans in the future. So what if they put pressure on him? They don’t have any power over him. And as for the world of talking heads, he’s already done that. The national stage commands more people than any talk-show studio. And if that’s where he wants to end up, sooner is not better.
» 4. No young person is going to go out and pound the pavement for Romney because he inspired them to believe in something, because they thought one person could make a difference, because they felt they were joining a political crusade. If anyone is going to do that, it’s Gingrich. Romney is Romney Inc. No wonder he thinks corporations are people. He is one.
» 3. Maybe he’s right about the moon. Who knows? Unless he stays in, it will stay a laugh line.
» 2. What would Saturday Night Live do?
» 1. It would be such a disappointment to all of us Democrats if he got out. Here we are, united and rooting for Newt. And with friends like us, who needs enemies?
— Best-selling author Susan Estrich is the Robert Kingsley Professor of Law and Political Science at the USC Law Center and was campaign manager for 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. Click here to contact her.
Comments
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» on 02.03.12 @ 08:43 AM
Talk about mixed messages. Not suprising considering who the author is. Unfortunately there is no clear path in this race. Romney is a Republican in name only. He is certainly not a social conservative, and only a moderate fiscal conservative. I would characterize him as slightly left of center, though some may argue that. His record undermines all arguments.
The same could be said of Gingrich, to a point. Once the flower child of the Republicans, he as often lost his way and carries a great deal of baggage. There is no doubt he is an intelligent guy who has had a few brilliant moves in his career. But he too is a moderate, albeit slightly right of center.
The only true conservative in this race is Santorum, but it appears that he still needs a few years of polishing before the Republican mainstream will accept him. Paul lives in a world all his own, and is so far out on the fringes that he can’t even reach but very few in the middle.
The path here is hazy because there is no leadership in the Republican Party. There are no Roberts’ Rules of Order that can help those looking for guidance. Will the primary race provide that for us? One could certainly hope so, but I’m going to hold my breath. Right now the candidates are being more helpful to the Democrats than they are their own party.
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» on 02.03.12 @ 03:43 PM
Nice read on the situation Socaljay. I call Romney McCain 2.0 and yes Newt is a time bomb. As for Ricky, as unpolished as he is, he is miles ahead of BO on the résumé, so he couldn’t do worse and most likely a damn site better than the president. As for his acceptance by the party or the RNC, well I am so disgusted with them right now that their tacit approval would be a huge negative in my book. At this point my wife and I have decided to leave the GOP for good. I truly believe they need to crash and burn and a new conservative party rise up to replace it. I know that is unlikely and a huge benefit for the DNC, but since the RNC is content to be the losers in second place permanently anyway, I don’t see the difference.
In November the RNC will have loser McCain 2.0 and whether he beats BO or not, it won’t change the course of the nation much. You and I and most conservatives see that a big change needs to happen. Our nation is the Titanic now. We are heading for the ice berg and you have the DNC steering us at it and the RNC timidly wants steer just a little less to the left, which of course still leads us to impact.
We need a major course correction. The path we have been on is more than 4 decades old. Skewing a little less to the left by way of Romney is not enough and most people know it. This is where conservatism is at its weakest, major course corrections, since it is our nature to take things a bit slower and resist change. The left knows this Achilles heal and uses it to its advantage by tweaking the course of the nation small tolerable steps at a time to the left. Look at where we have been and where we are now in terms of attitudes toward government control of the economy and social engineering. We got here over 4 decades, not 4 years. Why else would an inexperienced, socialist, radical with a south Chicago political style, be so popular?
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» on 02.04.12 @ 10:38 PM
AN50, If enough Conservatives take your position and give up and don’t vote in Nov. and let Obama have another 4 years, you may run out of time because by the time someone is ready to create another party the US may have already fallen off the cliff. To say that some of the Republican candidates are only marginally different than Obama is not thinking this through. Wait to you see what the Supreme Court will look like. If you think federal spending, govt regulations and tax policy will look no different under Romney than Obama, I really would question your thinking here.
Is Romney a perfect candidate: hell no; is he better than Obama: hell yes. BTW, Sen. Santorum was a one of the biggest pork barrel earmarkers during his days in Congress. He has baggage as well.
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» on 02.07.12 @ 11:12 AM
I am tired of the RNC and how it runs the GOP Lou. Sick and tired of it. We conservatives had yet another opportunity to advance our cause and the RNC cowers and shrinks back. Screw them and their dopy party. Romney will lose in November and the only ones to blame are the country club oligarchs who put him there.
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