Mitt's Gall, Newt's Baggage

The Two Front-Runners for GOP

There can be no argument that the 2011 incarnation of Mitt Romney, the candidate, is not a far better candidate than the version that ran in 2008, and as if to punctuate the point, Mitt's campaign has come out with the first direct salvo of the season against Obama-the-incumbent.

The surprise of the move is not in the hubristic nature of such presumptuousness --Gingrich, after all, has made it clear that the two are rivals and not "opponents" -- but in the aggressiveness of it. And it's already drawing howls of protest from Obama's camp and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) as a whole, claiming that the ad is misleading.

Romney's ad, which ran today in New Hampshire to coincide with Obama's visit, could legitimately be labelled "sleight of hand", but it nevertheless suggests a basic truth: if Obama's campaign keeps talking about the economy, he will lose. The ad uses Obama's own words from the 2008 campaign against John McCain, but Obama was quoting a McCain staffer at the time. From the Daily News:

At one point, Obama is heard saying "If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." 

Although it sounds [sic] Obama is talking about his chances of winning in 2012, the then-Senator was actually quoting an aide from Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in 2008.

How fitting it is, then, that Newt Gingrich shares the lead with Romney.

Gingrich knows a thing or two about misleading ads, himself a victim of creative editing in a time when the technology was not nearly what it is today. As Speaker of the House in 1995, Gingrich was leading the fight against the last Democrat President's attempt to inflict National health care on Americans and, as usual, the leftist sycophants struck back hard, albeit deceitfully.

As Bill Clinton was trying valiantly to implement the signature plan of his wife, First Lady Hillary Clinton, for health care reform, Gingrich was leading the opposition and gave a speech on the matter in 1995 to a Blue Cross audience. His words were selected in part and used to demonize him in what has turned out to be a most effective way. I know people to this day who still harbor a deep hatred for the man based on a lie.

It was the infamous "wither on the vine" faux-quote", in which the left allegedly caught the right wing Speaker admitting that the Republicans wanted to kill Medicare. In 1996, during the re-election campaign of Bill Clinton, the AFL-CIO ran an ad with Newt's "own words" saying, "Now we don't get rid of it in round one because we think that's politically smart and we don't think that's the right way to go through a transition. But we believe it's going to wither on the vine."

But, as I pointed out in 2009, the quote was not in the full context of Gingrich's speech. Here's what he actually said, and meant:

"What do you think the health care financing administration is? It's a centralized command bureaucracy. It's everything we're telling Boris Yeltsin to get rid of. Now we don't get rid of it in round one because we don't think that's politically smart and we don't think that's the right way to go through a transition. But we believe it's going to wither on the vine because we think people are going to voluntarily leave it. Voluntarily."

Voters will do well to remember that it wasn't Medicare that Republicans wanted to kill, it was government-run health care, much as it still is today. And as Gingrich moves closer toward the nomination, also remember this when he begins to take on that which the Democrats inflicted on us when they controlled it all. Whomever ends up with the GOP nomination, repeal of Obamacare will be a top priority, for it is that route which will cause the most immediate impact on our foul economy.

It is also pertinent to note Gingrich's use of the word "voluntarily". Think of how many of Obama's own cronies have already filed for waivers from his health care monstrosity. Even people who view this president favorably have already begun preemptively leaving it, voluntarily.

If the Democrats want to whine their way through what is slated to be a particularly nasty campaign, let them, but the Republicans must be prepared to hit them with all of Mitt's gall and the full weight of Newt's baggage.

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I Think Newt Will Run

For years Sean Hannity has been pestering Newt Gingrich about a possible run for the presidency, and for years Newt has been coy about his answers, while not actually running. I believe that Gingrich played it smart by waiting, opting to let the left take another shot at it, counting on the disaster that is now happening before our eyes.

Now, it sounds like he's ready to make his move. If that is the case, be prepared for the left to bring on the heavy artillery, along with every negative ad ever run about Gingrich being resurrected.




To my fellow bloggers, keep this piece in mind: Withering on the Vine. It may come in handy during the 2012 election season.

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Withering On The Vine

Any politically savvy reader will no doubt recall the instant notoriety bestowed upon Newt Gingrich for hoping that "Medicare would wither on the vine". Oh, how he hated old, sick people. The evil SOB. The problem is however, that it was all a cunning and effective lie propagated by Big Labor over a decade ago.

In 1995, then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich delivered a speech to Blue Cross regarding health care and the Clinton's designs on it. During the campaign for Bill Clinton's reelection, the AFL-CIO ran a television ad designed to help Clinton's campaign by demonizing the Republicans, and Gingrich was the poster boy for the union giant. In the fall of 1996, the AFL-CIO ran the ad which began with a voice-over compassionately droning, "When you're older, and you're sick, Medicare is more than health care, it's peace of mind."

The ad immediately cuts to the Blue Cross speech by Gingrich, with a partial excerpt. "Now we don't get rid of it in round one because we think that's politically smart and we don't think that's the right way to go through a transition. But we believe it's going to wither on the vine." But Gingrich wasn't doing his best impersonation of the fabled greedy, mustachioed landlord, twisting his facial hair while giddily tossing mothers and hungry children out of their homes. Here's the full context of Newt's comment on Medicare:

"What do you think the health care financing administration is? It's a centralized command bureaucracy. It's everything we're telling Boris Yeltsin to get rid of. Now we don't get rid of it in round one because we don't think that's politically smart and we don't think that's the right way to go through a transition. But we believe it's going to wither on the vine because we think people are going to voluntarily leave it. Voluntarily."

It was a very effective ploy, as I know people who still despise Gingrich to this day because of that misrepresentation. The DNC took the approach a step further during George W. Bush's administration with cartoon commercials showing the President pushing old people in wheelchairs down a flight of stairs. Charming.

Current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today peeled the wrapping off of 1,990 pages of the same poison pill that Gingrich warned us of, and House Minority Leader John Boehner promptly referred to it as "1,990 pages of bureaucracy". CNN interviewed Congressman Mike Pence for the Republican reaction, and he was equally dismayed. See the video below.



Perhaps the reason for the Democrats' unveiling of this monstrosity being closed to the public - on the West side of the Capitol which is traditionally open to the public - is the direct result of this past summer's town hall meetings, when it was mostly Democrats on the receiving end of constituents' blistering outrage.

The only good news is that there will a period of roughly a week for House members to peruse this massive tome before a vote moves to the floor. I hope the Republicans along with moderate Democrats use this time wisely and develope a serious insurgency to put a stop to its passage. If not, it won't be Medicare withering on the vine. It will be American liberty.

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