There’s a saying that “Politics is show business for ugly people” which more than anything else explains this year’s Republican primary season and the ascension of Newt Gingrich as a major contender.
Think of the series of primary debates as a series of nights at the movies. And think of each of these movies as ensemble pieces like New Year’s Eve but with more viewers, or Pulp Fiction but with less squeaker-rape (unless you count John King) starring four major actors.
Now, of the four, who is it that you truly anticipate seeing? Who do you absolutely know is going to light up the screen and steal the show? Who’s going to take some tired-out, MSM agenda-driven scene in a wholly unexpected, but logical direction with a little improvisational brilliance?
Be honest.
Are you beside yourself waiting for Mitt to start a-buh-buh-booing his way through another rote version of Paper Moon?
Are you just itching for another dose of Ron Paul’s hit or miss performance art antics?
I know! Perhaps, you’re on pins and needles waiting for peevish comedian, Rick Santorum, to get all hot under the collar about something.
No?
C’mon, it’s okay to admit it. Regardless of how you’d like this movie to end. The guy you’re waiting to see perform isn’t the most handsome. He isn’t the tallest, heck, let’s be honest, he’s old and fat, and you don’t agree with some of the stuff in his personal life.
Still, he’s the guy you most want to see strut his stuff.
Why?
Because he’s the only guy up there with real star power, with real stage presence, the only guy up there with vim and verve and the guts to fight. And to your surprise, that guy is- Newt Gingrich.
Still, why the surprise?
Well, because Newt’s not really anybody’s vision of a political superstar.
But, you see, his is the star power of Old School Hollywood. The star power of short, pugnacious, not-particularly good-looking guys like Humphrey Bogart or more to the point, James Cagney.
Some like the Edward Everett Horton-ish George HW Bush are shocked by Newt’s energetic pursuit of principled conservative policy goals and muscular intellectualism. Because it’s simply not done, old boy. They respond to Newt by calling him a “bomb-thrower”.
The rest of us see the exact same performance and think as Will Rodgers once said of James Cagney’s acting style-
“Every time I see him work, it looks to me like a bunch of firecrackers going off all at once.”
That is, we see someone exciting and dynamic. We see a fighter who knows what he wants and is not afraid to go after it, who is not afraid to clearly and cleanly espouse conservative principles.
What a relief that is after the politically somnambulant George W Bush and pinky-crooking, tea-sipping, butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-my-mouth-but-you-my-supporters-all-suck cowardice of John McCain. Not to mention the supine lack of response by the GOP to the creepy character assassination of Sarah Palin and her family by the MSM.
But, naturalfake, naturalfake, you say, Newt Gingrich has been divorced twice. That’s two times! He’s a womanizing womanizer who likes womanize women’s lady-parts! And, and wife numero dos, Marianne Gingrich, said some bad stuff about him!
Eh, look, it takes two to make a failed marriage. Plus, after Marrianne revealed herself as an unsupportive, back-stabbing, egotistical bitch in my opinion, I don’t have a lot of sympathy for her. Because she may have always been like that.
In fact, I’m pretty sure this home video from the last days of Newt’s marriage to Marianne completely vindicates my view of this particular situation:
Or not.
But hey, you have to like the quick-minded assessment and decisive action.
Because that’s what Newt will bring to the Oval Office when dealing with America’s enemies, whether Russian diplomats, two-faced Pakistanis, or Democrat Senators.
Sure, he’ll wheel and deal but he’s not afraid to butt heads and he’ll never lose sight of America’s interests.
Like so:
But, let us suppose the worst, gentle reader. Let’s suppose all of your fears of an unreconstructed, womanizing Newt Gingrich in the White House come true.
How would that shake out?
Probably something like this:
I’m not quite seeing the problem though. Yeah, the little woman has taken a hike, but Newt’s still hard at work on his agenda for America.
So, let’s take this little nightmare scenario of your’s even farther.
Newt’s womanizing turns the White House into the Playboy Mansion East:
Okay, still not seeing the problem. Despite the obvious charms of the hottie, Newt’s still pursuing his conservative agenda with some hard-nosed wheeling and dealing.
This is the true significance of Newt Gingrich’s star power for the Republican voter.
To repeal Obamacare, to get this country back on track and running again, will require a fighter. Someone who can give as good as he gets. Because whoever the next Republican Presidential candidate is is going to get a lot from the slavishly Obama-devoted MSM and dirty-tricks division of the Democrat party.
We’ll need someone who can roll with the punches and keep coming back.
Do you see Romney doing that? Or Paul? Or Santorum?
It’s easy to see Newt in that role.
That’s why, it’s so important that we not let his star qualities blind us until we know his exact views on a whole range of policies- especially energy and global warming.
Rejection of all global warming policy along with a rapid expansion of oil, gas, coal, and nuclear power will be the key to reversing Obama’s willful destruction of our economy and purposeful elimination of good paying jobs (see Keystone XL and the Gulf Coast).
So, while it’s easy to see Newt in the role of President of the United States of America, we need to know exactly how he plans to play that role.
