Newt stumps in Short Pump
By Norman Leahy | Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 | Politics, VirginiaNewt Gingrich landed at the Hilton in Short Pump to speak at a Republican Party of Virginia fundraiser this morning. And, Newt being Newt, he managed to offer plenty of good quote for the overflow crowd.
Among the highlights — even while actively petitioning at the event, Gingrich confidently stated that his campaign would file 12-14,000 signatures by today’s 5 PM deadline. Other campaigns — like that of Michele Bachmann, and perhaps Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman — may not be so fortunate. The mystery of who is actually heading-up the Gingrich effort in Virginia was cleared somewhat with word that Mike Brown, who ran Del. John Cox’s campaign, is leading the Virginia petition effort. So, for the time being, that makes Brown the go-to guy in the state.
In his remarks, Gingrich emphasized his history professor roots, using them to defend his aggressive take on judicial overreach in the War on Terror and also to let us know that he has another book coming out next year on George Washington at Yorktown.
He also reiterated that, should he be the nominee, he will challenge the President to a series of seven, three-hour long, Lincoln/Douglas-sytle debates. If the President doesn’t accept the challenge, Gingrich intends to let the White House scheduling office dictate his own campaign’s schedule, as he promises to appear within four hours of wherever the President has been to offer a rebuttal.
On specific policy matter’s Gingrich called for zeroing out both the capital gains and death tax, cutting the corporate tax rate to an Irish-like 12 percent and making the regulatory climate more business friendly. He called for Congress to pass, before the inauguration, repeals of Obamacare, Sarbanes-Oxley, and Dodd-Frank. He wants the FDA reformed so that it speeds-up drug approvals and he wants to abolish the current EPA and replace it with an “Environmental Solutions Agency.” The biggest hiring criteria for the revamped agency? Common sense.
He’s for auditing the Federal Reserve Annually, and for publishing internal Fed memos from the bailout years so the public can know exactly who got federal aid, how much they got and why.
In a throw back to the Contract with America days, Gingrich looks forward to campaigning with Republican congressional candidates as a “team.”
And one member of that team he mentioned — twice — was George Allen (how that will square with the tea partiers who support Newt’s campaign remains to be seen).
Gingrich also made an unusual appeal in his concluding remarks. He didn’t ask people to vote for him, but to stand with him. Remarkably for modern politicians, he admitted that the problems the nation faces are too big for any president to address alone. He instead offered something akin to a dialogue — if we make mistakes, let’s talk about it and search for new solutions (he’s big on solutions).
Overall, it was a fine appearance. No histrionics, no flubs, but lots of red meat. Whether he gained any converts to his cause is debatable, but I’m sure there were more than a few.
Now all eyes turn to the clock to see whether Newt’s campaign files the requisite signatures to gain ballot status. I’m told that if a campaign files 15,000 or more signatures, line-by-line checking is unlikely to occur. But those close to the 10,000 barrier will have each and every name scrutinized.
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About the author
Norm Leahy has written about Virginia and national politics online since 2002, beginning with One Man's Trash (OMT), and continuing through Bacon's Rebellion (both the blog and the e-zine), Sic Semper Tyrannis, NBC12's Decision Virginia, Richmond.com and Tertium Quids. He is the chief blogger at "The Score" and a producer of "The Score" radio show as well as being a Washington Post contributor.
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10 Responses to "Newt stumps in Short Pump"
Gingrich has taken on an angry tone since he made the promise to stay “positive.” Campaigning in Iowa, Gingrich has repeatedly pointed to his opponents for not following Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment not to speak ill of other Republicans.
Yet on a Tuesday radio interview, Gingrich claimed that Ron Paul’s volunteer base is mainly made up of druggies.
He hit Paul not only for his volunteer base, but also for his views on 9/11 and his non-confrontational policy on Iran.
“This is a guy who basically says, if the United States were only nice, it wouldn’t have had 9/11,” Gingrich said. “He doesn’t want to blame the bad guys.”
“He dismisses the danger of an Iranian nuclear weapon and seems to be indifferent to the idea that Israel could be wiped out. And as I said, I think the key to his volunteer base is people who want to legalize drugs.”
Well, at least he recognizes Paul is in the race and making ground. In the mean time, the second tier candidates are stepping up their attacks against Gingrich in hopes of taking over a coveted third position in Iowa.
Oh, excuse me, as according to Fox News, a win in Iowa doesn’t mean much. (Unless your name is not Paul)!
There is a difference between expressing your disagreement with an opponents view point, and trashing your opponent. The quotes you mentioned above are Newt expressing why Ron Paul views are wrong. And I do think a win in Iowa for Ron Paul would be a very bid deal. Dick Morris does a good job of explaining why in this video. http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/who-will-win-iowa-dick-morris-tv-lunch-alert/
Ron Paul’s supporters are on drugs? That would certainly explain a lot.
Newt might be a former history professor, but his knowledge of Constitutional History is sadly inadequate or he simply finds the facts too inconvenient. I suspect the latter is the case.
@Wally. Newt did not call Ron Paul’s supporters “druggies.” You did. He said a lot of his supporters are in favor or legalizing drugs (mainly Marijuana), which is not a particularly new idea. That doesn’t bother me about Ron Paul. What bothers me A LOT is that he thinks Iran with nuclear bombs a really good idea. There is not enough tin foil on this planet for me to vote for him. Oh, yeah, he doesn’t remember all the RON PAUL newsletter he sent out in the 80s either. He is a very dangerous clown. And it looks likes he’s set to win Iowa on January 3rd. What ARE they smoking in the Hawkeye state these days?
Paul didn’t say “he thinks Iran with nuclear bombs a really good idea” – you did. He did say let’s leave everyone alone unless we declare war, then do it, and get it over with instead of being forever at war. If anyone need shielding with tin foil hats are those who believe the flip-flop deceit that is being spewed by the other hypocritical candidates. Call Paul a screwball and kook if you like, at least you know what he says is the truth. I personally believe the real screwballs and kooks are those that succumb to Fox News biased political analysts and entertainment talk show hosts.
Wally Erb calling a campaign “negative????”
Oh, THAT’S a laugh! Maybe Newt studied one of your tremendously negative losses, Wally.
No Brian . . . it is closely related and mirrors your run and school board defeat.
Newt has not been negative. Negative is
“Ron Paul uses drugs” Issue differential
Is “Ron Paul favors legalization” while
Stating your position.
Newt is the closest choice to Reagan well
Get in this election. In light of his
Failure to make the Virginia Ballot Santorum
Should drop out NOW and endorse Newt.
Wally, you dragged down the vote
Well, as for Newt, he is quoted as saying “I balanced the budget”. The truth is the same budget proposal that Bill Clinton submitted was the object of Newt’s rhetoric. Then when elected as Speaker of the House, he and Clinton “hammered” out the same budget Clinton originally submitted. As for Reagan, Gingrich is a power abuser and more like Richard Nixon. A failure to live up to promises and commitments. How could any patriotic vote for a candidate that supports the Patriot Act and the section 1031 of the National Defense Authorization Act (2012)?
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