Is Newt poised to surprise?
As most of you have probably noticed, I haven’t been writing much in the past few months. The reasons are varied. I was on vacation during two weeks in December and, in addition, have been doing a lot of traveling for business. But most importantly, I just was getting bored with the election and dreading the inevitability of an Obama reelection. You see, contrary to most of the mainstream Republican Party and the limited right-wing media, I do not think Mitt Romney is electable. In fact, I see Mitt Romney as John McCain 2. I just don’t think he has what it takes to beat the Obama machine. And, for all intents and purposes, he is Obama light; a conservative, he is not.
However, I’m also in the minority right now in that I believe Newt Gingrich can beat Obama. I know Newt will destroy Obama in all debates. I know Newt can point to his accomplishments while he was Speaker of the House, including balancing the budget and major welfare reform. And, I believe Newt is the closest thing to Ronald Reagan out there right now. Notice, I said, “closest.” There is no Republican running right now even close to Ronald Reagan. Unfortunately, that is the biggest problem we will have in November. In 1980, after four dreadful years of Jimmy Carter, we had Reagan. Now, after four dreadful years of Obama, we have this slate of candidates.
This morning, things on the election trail seemed to be changing. In fact, there were two Earthquakes on the trail and they both broke within one hour of the other. But, before I discuss them, let’s take a look at some things that have happened recently. To being, John Huntsmen is officially out of the race. That happened on Monday, shortly before the Fox News Debate. Then, on Monday evening, Newt gave his best performance of the whole campaign and effectively revitalized his chances. It didn’t hurt in that Romney was viciously attacked by both Santorum and Perry at various times during the debate. And it didn’t hurt that Romney didn’t appear to handle the attacks well. In fact, when questioned on his tax returns, he was fumbling and almost started sweating in a way reminiscent of Nixon in 1960.
One is getting nervous, the other is getting angry.
That brings us to this morning: Iowa. It now appears that Romney did not win Iowa, although the Iowan Republican Party will not certify that result. In fact, it appears that Santorum won Iowa by something in the neighborhood of 34 votes. What does this mean? Abosultely nothing for Santorum because he lost the potential momentum and bragging rights when it appeared he came in second. His chance to brag was two weeks ago. But, what this does do is take the bragging rights away from Romney. He can no longer say, I am the only non-incumbent in history to win both Iowa and New Hampshire. Accordingly, his aura of inevitability is gone.
Plus, we all know he is very scared of South Carolina of which he has every reason to be afraid now because this morning’s second event may be the game changer. In a complete surprise to everyone, Rick Perry pulled out of the race. Not only did he suspend his campaign, but he came out with a glowing recommendation of Newt Gingrich. He didn’t just give Newt a backhanded endorsement as Huntsman gave Romney. He gave Newt a full endorsement saying that everyone makes mistakes in the past, but that the present and the future are what really matter:
So, the stage is now set for Saturday. Will the mainstream Republican Party get a surprise by Newt winning? If so, it is my opinion he will get the nomination. Already the right-wing pundits are saying that even if he does pull off the upset, it doesn’t matter because he doesn’t have the money or the organization to win. But, if one thing is certain, it’s that sometimes (rarely), money does not matter. It hasn’t mattered in Major League Baseball in the last few years and it didn’t matter in Iowa where Santorum won with no money at all. In fact, this time, the people want to make a statement and the statement will be they are not following what the mainstream wants. They want a real conservative and Newt may be the only one left standing.
Facebook
Twitter