The American Spectator

Bill| 11.15.11 @ 2:33PM

Newt Gingrich is a "likely conservative," and for him to be a solid conservative he needs to pledge on cracking down on the public sector unions (I mean SEIU), and cut the size of the government by eliminating federal departments and agencies (EPA, education, commerce, energy). He needs to reinstate the DADA policy in the military and helps ban abortion and gay-marriage. He needs to support gun rights and increase the defense budget.

Wayne| 11.16.11 @ 10:23AM

Pretty well somes it up. Add enforce immigration laws, including completing the fence, eliminate FDA (which is controlled by Big Pharma), get rid of ObamaCare, ALL Obama executive orders and csars.
I really don't care about his past marriages (Mc Cain had similar marriage history).

Doug| 11.15.11 @ 3:30PM

So Romney supporters are attacking Newt and this is news? Why don't the Romney supporters tell us why Mitt is different than George W.?

Wayne| 11.16.11 @ 10:26AM

Saw Ann Coulter, a big Romney supporter, now that she is convinced Christie is not running. What's apparent is that Coulter and Ingraham are DC insiders who favor GOP certified candidates over teapartiers. They really have only one argument - electability. And ignore what that person would do once in office. They were the one blasting the teapartiers for holding the line on raising the debt ceiling.

Dai Alanye| 11.16.11 @ 12:02PM

Wayne must be reading a different Ann Coulter from the rest of us. Her last column was a defense of Herman Cain, and I fail to remember any great enthusiasm she's shown for Romney.

Her Christie excitement is inexplicable, but Ann's a great joker, and besides - probably like most women she naturally looks up to a strong man, which in her case means a man who bad-mouths Demon-crats.

Quin| 11.15.11 @ 5:17PM

Gene Healy isn't a Romney supporter. Jen Rubin isn't a Romney supporter. I am not a Romney supporter. Who the heck are you talking about?

Dan| 11.15.11 @ 10:27PM

Come on Quin, don't get cute on us.

There's absolutely no doubt who Jen Rubin has been going to bat for, and it isn't Rick Perry, it's not Bachmann, nor is it Santorum.

So don't go affecting some political agnosticism on who Rubin is strongly backing in the GOP.

Her support for Romney is hardly more veiled than that of Hugh Hewitt, who took a significant pay check for his support under the cover of a book deal.

Simon Templar| 11.15.11 @ 5:51PM

Quin, right on que and as I predicted, congratulations.

You really ought to seriously look for work at MSNBC, they would pick you up in a second. You could sit next to one of their George Will types and pretend to be a conservative and tear the shreds out of all the republicans and conservatives all day long for some seriously big bucks.

We are beginning to think you are an Obama supporter. No, not really, we think you really do not give a damn about anything but your career and your old DC connections.

Grzmlyk| 11.15.11 @ 10:04PM

Simon, do you really believe Newt is a conservative?

Simon Templar| 11.16.11 @ 1:53AM

Grzmlyk,

The issue for me is not whether Newt is a conservative or he is not one. No one here at TAS and most on these blogs except for a few care one iota who is a conservative and who is not. That is a classic smokescreen for many.

Just look at what is actually happening and happens every 4 years in Republican politics. There is all this chest beating about who is the most conservative and in true schizoid fashion, they go through the list of conservatives running and make damn sure they destroy everyone of them in the primaries. My conservative is more conservative than yours is followed by the lamest, repeated, liberal smears about the primary enemy candidates. This passes for so-called vetting and a primary.

Of course, every mistep, every single mistake, every tiny inference is analyzed, disected, and regurgitated over and over. It is a wonder that anyone runs for office. It is not in our blood to actually defend our candidates but rather to bow down to what Miss Couric thinks about them. Heck, it does not have to be proven, allegations are just fine. We are always ready to accomodate.

The MSM runs our debates and has great fun with them setting up our candidates to look like fools and we go along with it. Then there are the pundits here at TAS waiting with bated breath for any accusation, smear, and lie thrown out by the liberal media machine so they can throw up their hands, surrender, and declare, this guy is finished.

Then Coulter and the rest march out in timely fashion and once again lecture us about how a real conservative can not win, we have to settle for the so-called "winnable guy," the grassroots better get in line, and a if we do not want another four years we better cool our jets.

The guy in the corner combing his hair usually saunters his way right up to the nomination stage.

He, as Coulter seems to imply, is somehow bullet proof, the best to debate our opponent with, looks good on TV, and of course the only one that can win. All of a sudden, the guy seems to be immune to the smears, lies, distortions, and slander that the rest of them received. Golly, that is some, boy, they got there. Super RINO, faster than a speedy smear, stronger in a debate, able to leap mountains of general election trash thrown at him by the liberal MSM!

All of a sudden conservativism is no longer an issue or who is bona fide. Odd, this generally is not an issue with the opposition. They do not give a damn if they are running a communist.

All we can expect or hope for is another progressive big government republican who essentially changes nothing.

Then we sit here and wonder why some of these guys have compromised their conservative principles at times to stay politically alive and relevant. Why not? They can damn well not expect us to back them up or fight for them. That is because we are, apparently, not activist, do not demonstrate, and believe in being nice not nasty.

Look at the many comments on these blogs. I do not even want to think of what this might sound like to an independent voter who unfortunately stumbled onto this site. Too scary!

It would not surprise me if they thought we conservatives are literally crazy. If it were not for you and others that I have named before, I could not stomach this web site. It is shameful.

Look at this idiots below. Catholics, Tiffany breakfasts, and jewelry, are just the most horrible things in the world. Such excellence in logic, reason, argument, insight, it leaves me breathless.

I think you were right a long time ago. We do not deserve a Republic, the barbarians have taken over.

Simon Templar| 11.16.11 @ 2:19AM

BTW, this evenings analysis by Krauthammer on Gingrich's surge could not have proven my point any better. He throws out the heretical charges and says nothing of Romney's heretical progressive Republicanism. Somehow we are to accept that Gingrich is no conservative and has broken serious conservative laws that he can not explain or recover from, but Romney is just immune and fine and dandy. Yeah, Romney is more conservative than Newt. Sure.

Then he goes on to slam him over the couch with Pelosi and all the other lame shit about his personal life that K says he does not want to talk about but infers and points in that direction nevertheless.

Pathetic. It is obvious as to what is going on here.
It borders on the absurd.

Wayne| 11.16.11 @ 10:31AM

This is where I give Hannity credit. He had a great interview with Gingrich, and let him make his point and do his Mea Culpas. Hannity has given in to the GOP circular firing squad that is well supported on AS.

W| 11.16.11 @ 7:28AM

Simon,
You are too pessimistic, cheer up, we are going to beat Obama, cut spending, cut regulations, and drill in Alaska for oil.
None of the candidates are perfect but they are all better than Obama.
I like Newt but he has given so many speeches and taken so many positions that he will be easy to criticize. But he is a big government conservative like GWB. They are all for big government because most people want the government to take care of them.
Who do you like?

Bob| 11.15.11 @ 6:17PM

We need to scrutinize wife #3 Callista Caddiddlehopper the jewel maven. She has a Svengali effect of her wayward husband converting him to Catholicism and running up huge bills at Tiffany's no breakfast for Newt the carpet bagging old dominion. What's up with Callista...Hmmm?

W| 11.16.11 @ 7:30AM

Great idea Bob, how about we waterboard her. Or scrutinize her like we scrutinized Obama.

Dan| 11.15.11 @ 10:24PM

Newt is likely going nowhere fast, and not because of his purported political sins.

No.

For some in the base, which is a very, very Protestant base, Gingrich's main and damning fault is that he allowed his formidable intellect to lead him all the way into the fold of the Roman Catholic Church.

Wayne| 11.16.11 @ 10:33AM

Don't get this at all.

martin j smith| 11.16.11 @ 8:14AM

Is Jennifer Rubin so concerned about Mitt Romney ? And, the question is do we want to knock all of our candidates out so that Obama is the one left standing? I am all for vetting ALL of our candidates but some Establishment Republicans play games and btw --that is why we lost in 2006 and 2008 ? Or is that what you really want ?