Why Gingrich is Bad (and Romney is Awesome): A Politico Megathread Spectacular

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Gingrich would fail to win 47% of the female vote for reasons largely unrelated to his history with women.

[Politico]

In a conference call today, former White House chief of staff John Sununu and ex-senator Jim Talent rapped the former House speaker as "anti-conservative" and "unreliable" as they defended the credentials of their guy, Romney.

"The speaker is running as a reliable and trusted conservative leader, and what we're here to say, with reluctance ... he's not a reliable and trusted conservative leader because he's not a reliable or trustworthy leader," said Talent, a Missouri senator from 2002 to 2007 and former House member.

On the call and in an e-mail, Romney's team hit on Gingrich's comments in the spring calling House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's Medicare plan "right-wing social engineering."

The comment was widely criticized by conservatives as undermining Ryan and nearly derailed Gingrich's campaign just as it began. Gingrich apologized.

Sununu, chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush and an influential voice in New Hampshire politics, says the Gingrich remark was "self-serving."

"For Newt Gingrich, in an effort of self-aggrandizing, to come out and throw a clever phrase that had no other purpose than to try and make himself a little smarter than the conservative Republican leadership, to undercut Paul Ryan is the most self-serving, anti-conservative thing one can imagine happening," Sununu said.

Source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/12/mitt-romney-newt-gingrich-attacks-john-sununu/1?csp=34news

[Politico]

This thread is for a discussion about the values of the GOP field since the GOP has made values a central part of its plank in recent decades. Feel free to bring up any values subject with regards to the current field. I think it would make sense to start off with marriage and faithfulness since the type of relationship one has with their significant other gives you a pretty good sense of what the candidate is like privately (or at least shows you that somebody can stand the SOB):

Ron Paul - married to the same person for 55 years

Mitt Romney - married to the same person for 42 years

Rick Perry - married to the same person for 40 years

Michele Bachmann - married to the same person for 35 years

Rick Santorum - married to the same person for 32 years

Jon Huntsman - married to the same person for 28 years

Newt Gingrich - married to a third wife who is younger than his daughters

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

John Sununu, of David Souter infamy, is calling Newt unreliable?!

that's like opebo calling Naso a whore-chaser.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

I can't being to tell you what the jmfcsts think of John Sununu's advice...suffice it to say, this is a HUGE boost for Newt

[RogueBeaver]

Right message, wrong messenger.

[Politico]

I can't being to tell you what the jmfcsts think of John Sununu's advice...suffice it to say, this is a HUGE boost for Newt

What about Gingrich's opposition to Ryan? What is wrong with Ryan's plan? Gingrich just wants all of the attention/glory, and cannot stand the idea of there being a brilliant Congressman who came into the House after Gingrich left.

[greenforest32]

Oh you

[RogueBeaver]

I can't being to tell you what the jmfcsts think of John Sununu's advice...suffice it to say, this is a HUGE boost for Newt

What about Gingrich's opposition to Ryan? What is wrong with Ryan's plan? Gingrich just wants all of the attention/glory, and cannot stand the idea of there being a brilliant Congressman who came into the House after Gingrich left.

Or to paraphrase the Sage of Wasilla, Gingrich retreated while Ryan reloads.

[Joe Republic]

Feel free to bring up any values subject with regards to the current field.

Okay.  Here's the subject of cruelty to animals:


Ron Paul - no known record of animal cruelty

Newt Gingrich - no known record of animal cruelty

Rick Perry - no known record of animal cruelty

Michele Bachmann - no known record of animal cruelty

Rick Santorum - no known record of animal cruelty

Jon Huntsman - no known record of animal cruelty

Mitt Romney - strapped his family dog to a roof rack and drove from Boston to Ontario, pausing to hose the dog down after it crapped itself from the distress

[Politico]

Feel free to bring up any values subject with regards to the current field.

Okay.  Here's the subject of cruelty to animals:


Ron Paul - no known record of animal cruelty

Newt Gingrich - no known record of animal cruelty

Rick Perry - no known record of animal cruelty

Michele Bachmann - no known record of animal cruelty

Rick Santorum - no known record of animal cruelty

Jon Huntsman - no known record of animal cruelty

Mitt Romney - strapped his family dog to a roof rack and drove from Boston to Ontario, pausing to hose the dog down after it crapped itself from the distress

Funny, my dog loves to feel wind blowing into her face as I drive. And a relative of my southern belle still drives his mutts around in the flatbed of his truck (only enough room in the passenger seat for one of them). Can't find a man who loves dogs more than him and I. I did not know all of that constituted animal cruelty these days.

[Joe Republic]

Your misunderstanding of the events aside, that line of attack on Romney is as accurate and politically relevant as yours on Gingrich.

[CJK]

I gotta love how all these Republican insiders, who want to force Romney down our throats and are actually to left of Paul Ryan, are attacking Newt Gingrich, a man who shut down the federal government, as being insufficiently conservative.

Hmm, maybe Newt learned during his speakership that entitlement reform is difficult and openly promising to abolish Medicare is not the best way to win votes.

[Politico]

Your misunderstanding of the events aside, that line of attack on Romney is as accurate and politically relevant as yours on Gingrich.

I have not attacked Gingrich. I have pointed out a basic fact: He is the only one in the race without a history of stability in marriage. Marriage is clearly a values issue among GOP faithful.

Anyway, let's get back to the purpose of this thread: Discussion of the values of the GOP field...

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

I'm still having trouble believing Mitt is dumb enough to have Sununu craw out from under his rock.

the fear of a repeat of the Bush41/Sununu administration is EXACTLY why the jmfcsts are against Romney...so why roll out Sununu?!

it's as if Mitt doesn't even understand why he never had a path to the nomination to being with...and he's just compounding his problem with this error

the guy is tone deaf

[Politico]

attacking Newt Gingrich, a man who shut down the federal government ...

Yeah, that proved to be a real winner in 1996 when Clinton won re-election.

[Politico]

I'm still having trouble believing Mitt is dumb enough to have Sununu craw out from under his rock.

the fear of a repeat of the Bush41/Sununu administration is EXACTLY why the jmfcsts are against Romney...so why roll out Sununu?!

it's as if Mitt doesn't even understand why he never had a path to the nomination to being with...and he's just compounding his problem with this error

the guy is tone deaf

Other than raising taxes, something Romney will never do, Bush 41 wasn't so bad. It certainly beats Bush 43, not to mention eight years of Obama.

[TomC]

Your misunderstanding of the events aside, that line of attack on Romney is as accurate and politically relevant as yours on Gingrich.

I have not attacked Gingrich.

Get real. At least have the 'nads to be honest about what you're doing.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Didnt Mike Huckabee and his son lynch a dog or something?

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

I'm still having trouble believing Mitt is dumb enough to have Sununu craw out from under his rock.

the fear of a repeat of the Bush41/Sununu administration is EXACTLY why the jmfcsts are against Romney...so why roll out Sununu?!

it's as if Mitt doesn't even understand why he never had a path to the nomination to being with...and he's just compounding his problem with this error

the guy is tone deaf

Other than raising taxes, something Romney will never do, Bush 41 wasn't so bad. It certainly beats Bush 43, not to mention eight years of Obama.

yeah, Souter has been the pride and joy of the jmfcsts

[Politico]

I'm still having trouble believing Mitt is dumb enough to have Sununu craw out from under his rock.

the fear of a repeat of the Bush41/Sununu administration is EXACTLY why the jmfcsts are against Romney...so why roll out Sununu?!

it's as if Mitt doesn't even understand why he never had a path to the nomination to being with...and he's just compounding his problem with this error

the guy is tone deaf

Other than raising taxes, something Romney will never do, Bush 41 wasn't so bad. It certainly beats Bush 43, not to mention eight years of Obama.

yeah, Souter has been the pride and joy of the jmfcsts

What did you expect after the Bork fiasco? Souter was a necessary compromise. Kennedy would not have had it any other way in 1990. While the timing of his retirement is unforgivable, along with some of his votes, we cannot blame Bush 41 and Sununu for unforeseeable events...

[TomC]

Didnt Mike Huckabee and his son lynch a dog or something?

Is Huckabee running? Cool- someone with a personality.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

What did you expect after the Bork fiasco? Souter was a necessary compromise. Kennedy would not have had it any other way in 1990. While the timing of his retirement is unforgivable, along with some of his votes, we cannot blame Bush 41 and Sununu for unforeseeable events...

yeah, I blame B41/Sununu for Souter...100% I do.

they could have went with a known entity like they did with Thomas  - both were nominated in 1990, with Souter being picked and confirmed first.

Nixon/Reagan/Bush wasted most of their SCOTUS appointments.  Bush43 is the ONLY one who passed the SCOTUS test.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

None of them have any values, other than a desire for power. They're all dead-eyed sociopaths who'd murder their own grandparents if it meant an easier path to the top. Except, I suppose, for Ron Paul, who is merely a crazy crypto-fascist with a sexual attraction to gold.

[minionofmidas]

None of them have any values, other than a desire for power. They're all dead-eyed sociopaths who'd murder their own grandparents if it meant an easier path to the top.

Don't you think at least some of them have actually done so already?