{"id":6189,"date":"2011-11-19T13:46:35","date_gmt":"2011-11-19T04:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/haakondahl.com\/blog\/?p=2364"},"modified":"2011-11-19T13:46:35","modified_gmt":"2011-11-19T04:46:35","slug":"newt-not-joking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balldiamondball.com\/blog\/newt-not-joking\/","title":{"rendered":"Newt: Not Joking"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Update, 10 Apr 2012:\u00a0Here’s where I started to become a Newt convert. Believe me, I was against him early on.
\nThis was after the Tea Party had knocked down several attempts to unseat Cain, which was important, but the writing was on the wall.]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think the Tea Party is in very good shape, having demonstrated that it can and will go to bat for those who earn its protection. This message needs to be heard, among other places, in the offices of the Freshmen we sent a year ago, and those who wonder whether opposing the GOP leadership means defeat at home.<\/p>\n

My unofficial motto for the Tea Party is “I Got Your Back!”<\/p>\n

If we had already gelled behind a candidate, we would have been debased when they were smacked down. More on this later. \u00a0 Our candidates are being vetted against the MSM, by the MSM. \u00a0Some make it through, some do not.<\/p>\n

If we insist upon defining the boundaries of conservatism, rather than assembling around the rampant abuses of statism, we will be taken down in an instant.<\/p>\n

I’m voting for Cain, or Perry, or (I surprise myself here) Gingrich. I jumped on the Cain Train, sent in some cash when he was first rising and getting attacked, because I give him a pass I do not give other candidates, but I also think that Cain passes are in short supply these days. In a magnificent display of UNCOORDINATED power, the Tea Party has successfully defended Cain from one of the most focused media onslaughts ever mounted. That has taken a toll, however. We have gotten out in front and preserved for him an opportunity to mount a defense and a comeback. That is on him, however. Gingrich and Perry don’t get passes like that, because (as Perry will no doubt say) this ain’t their first rodeo. Hell, I only grudgingly offer to support Gingrich, and that’s because he has forced me to come along. That dude is a fricking fighter and a survivor, if he’s still in this race, and he has compelled me to offer some respect.<\/p>\n

I have always viewed Gingrich as unelectable, and I was furious at him for (as I put it) taking a magnificent piece of artillery from commanding heights, and getting it stuck in the mud on the valley floor–with no artillery support. Man, I was mad.
\nBut a funny thing happened on the way to flaming out–this cat is harder to kill than Rasputin, and I began to wonder–could that carry over into the general?
\nWe all know about Gingrich’s baggage, and I keep hearing that it has been de-bunked. Doesn;t sound de-bunked to me, but maybe. We ALSO know that public opinion can turn quickly, and that most people know only one, maybe two things about him. They have NOT already discounted his blistering performance at the podium, because they have never seen it.<\/p>\n

I picture a scenario in which Gingrich finally gets just one shot at Obama in a debate–he would leave communist wreckage all over that stage. They would pick up the remains of socialism with a sponge and a cup. And America has a way of taking these A-Ha! moments in a delightfully serious way.<\/p>\n

Anyway, that’s my defense of Gingrich, which believe me, a month ago, I would not have dreamed of offering.<\/p>\n

\r\n
\r\n \r\n <\/i>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/span>\r\n<\/div>
\r\n \r\n <\/i>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Update, 10 Apr 2012:\u00a0Here’s where I started to become a Newt convert. Believe me, I was against him early on.
This was after the Tea Party had knocked down several attempts to unseat Cain, which was important, but the writing was on the wall.]<\/p>\n

I think the Tea Party is in very good shape, having demonstrated that it can and will go to bat for those who earn its protection. This message needs to be heard, among other places, in the offices of the Freshmen we sent a year ago, and those who wonder whether opposing the GOP leadership means defeat at home.<\/p>\n

My unofficial motto for the Tea Party is “I Got Your Back!”<\/p>\n

If we had already gelled behind a candidate, we would have been … Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34128,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[240,254,266],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservative","category-newt-gingrich","category-tea-party"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/balldiamondball.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/balldiamondball.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/balldiamondball.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balldiamondball.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balldiamondball.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/balldiamondball.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6189\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/balldiamondball.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balldiamondball.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balldiamondball.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}