Monday, May 16, 2011

The after shocks of Gingrich's remarks

The reviews and after shocks of Newt Gingrich's remarks on Meet the Press yesterday are rolling in this morning and those reviews are not good. Not good at all.

This morning Republicans are just beginning to assess the damage that former House Speaker and current presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has done to the GOP budget plan currently before Congress. On "Meet the Press" Sunday, Gingrich denounced House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan's plan to restructure Medicare, saying, "I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering. I don't think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate."

On his radio program Monday morning, former Education Secretary Bill Bennett, who knows Gingrich well but is also close to Ryan, reacted angrily to Gingrich's remarks. Referring to Ryan's Medicare plan as "right-wing social engineering" is, Bennett said, "an unforgivable mistake, in my judgment." Bennett went on to say that Gingrich "has taken himself out of serious consideration for the [2012] race." [Full disclosure: I appear on, and sometimes serve as guest host of, the Bennett program.]

Gingrich's remarks rankled for three reasons. One, they hurt the Republican plan. Two, they were particularly disdainful; Gingrich didn't just said that he disagreed with Ryan, he referred to Ryan's plan as "right-wing social engineering." And three, they contradicted what Gingrich himself has said about Ryan's budget.

Read more at the Washington Examiner:


As I previously commented, the initial news on this came out in NewsMax emails posted late last night. With the rising sun of this Monday morning, the power players in the party and the pundits are rousing and responding to Gingrich's remarks and they don't like what they heard from the man yesterday to say the least.

I said last night that this was the end for Gingrich and his campaign and this morning's reviews are a telling tale of that precise reality in my opinion. Newt is undoubtedly the most qualified and knowledgeable man of his generation. Hands down the best candidate for the office, or so I have always felt. But yesterday's remarks on the nation's premiere Sunday presser were telling to a fault in my opinion.

It was political suicide in my opinion for Gingrich to take the positions that he did on both his own health care proposals and his sudden, bizarre and condescending opposition to Representative Paul Ryan's budget plan. A plan that Gingrich himself had previously endorsed not quite a month ago and one that is the cornerstone of the party's counter to the Obama administration.

One of my comments left last night on this blog 'said put a fork in it' as it concerns Gingrich's presidential run now. I have to agree. Gingrich aborted a still born presidential run yesterday morning and all that remains now is the long and painful funeral dirge as his candidacy is buried by his own hand.

2 comments:

XtnYoda said...

I am grateful that he has shown the true colors of his flag. Now he should lower it to half-mast ... and lay his campaign to rest.

Prime said...

I think the man has lost his natural born mind. After praising the Ryan budget last month? To come out now and call it radical and assert that there is no room for radicalism?

Someone better check what was in Newt's cornflakes yesterday.

The man just pissed away any hope that he ever had for the nomination IMO.