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DEL.ICIO.USIn the coming race for chairmanship of the RNC, the name of Newt Gingrich comes to mind
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It remains rude to discuss the topic in public, but here and elsewhere, Republicans have begun to ponder the matter of who will become the face of a GOP in exile — who will pick up the pieces of what could be the most shattering election in decades.
As they would with any blood relative in an ICU ward, Republican leaders insist to outsiders that John McCain will recover and take the White House on Nov. 4.
And if that happens, no one will be happier than Alec Poitevint of Bainbridge. Shortly after he took his oath of office, McCain would appoint a new chairman of the Republican National Committee. And Poitevint’s on the short list.
A former state GOP chairman, Poitevint was one of McCain’s earliest supporters. He once served as treasurer of the RNC. From deep southwest Georgia, Poitevint is not well-known, and is not terribly comfortable in front of reporters. But with a Republican as president, he wouldn’t need to be.
But if McCain flatlines, if Barack Obama’s lead holds up for 15 more days, then the qualifications for the job of leading a Republican party in receivership change considerably.
They could, in fact, boil down to this: Who has the skills, and the proper philosophy, to face down the first African-American president in history, a man who already displays the media talents of a Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan?
Future ambition and the presidential contest of 2012 become a factor. Sarah Palin has been mentioned as a possible candidate. So has Mitt Romney, or his stand-in. But another name is bound to come up — that of former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich, the 65-year-old former Georgia congressman.
There are abundant reasons to wonder why Republicans would turn back to the 1990s in an effort to cope with an uncertain future. But the fact is, the rebellious contingent of Republicans in the U.S. House has become the most cohesive element of the GOP — and this year Gingrich emerged as its voice, especially during debate over the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street.
“If Newt assumed the role of RNC chair in the wake of a disastrous November, he would be at home with that position,” said U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston of Savannah. “He served in the dark and dreary times inthe wake of Jimmy Carter’s election, when — particularly in Georgia — times were very bleak for the Republican party.
“One ofthe problems McCain and George Bush both have is they’re not good speakers.Obviously, Mr. Obama is. And I think Newt could go head to head with him,” Kingston said.
For obvious reasons, Gingrich won’t discuss the topic. Only last year, after much public deliberation, the former congressman declined to jump into the presidential race that is only now ending — citing the legal complications it would have for American Solutions, his self-described clearinghouse for new ideas.
“He’s got more clout where he is now,” said U.S. Rep. John Linder, who was a top lieutenant during the heady days of the Gingrich speakership.
State GOP chairman Sue Everhart, who will cast one of the 150 votes that will decide the matter, said something similar. She noted that the national job requires a talent for dealing with bureaucracy and soothing sensitive egos. “I think it would cramp his style too much. You’ve got to be nice to people whether you like them or not,” she said.
In a post-McCain world, a three-month fight for the RNC chairmanship would also be a ideological clash. On one side would be those who think the Republican party failed because it wasn’t conservative enough — because it strayed from the precepts of the Gingrich-led revolution of ’94.
A chairman Gingrich would then be another Moses, resuming command after a mass Republican flirtation with the Golden Calf.
But on the other side of the GOP gulf are those who worry who worry that the GOP has limited itself by catering too forcefully to the Christian right and other interests. This is the “narrowing” that former secretary of state Colin Powell spoke of on Sunday, just before endorsing Obama.
Everhart counts herself among those who want to broaden the GOP reach, not purify it. “[Gov.] Sonny Perdue wasn’t elected by Republicans. He was elected by Democrats and independents, too,” she said.
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Comments
By Joe the Thumber
October 19, 2008 5:02 PM | Link to this
Will you stop changing topics? I didn’t get a chance to call anyone a moron on the previous topic.
Moron. (I feel better).
By Republicans Killed America
October 19, 2008 8:24 PM | Link to this
Newt who. That pathetic little cockroach; the unfaithful temperamental hypocritical has-been that took one contract too many out on America already. He just wants someone to pay attention to him like a spoiled little baby.
By Sam1234
October 19, 2008 11:16 PM | Link to this
Obama is a sleeper Muslim. He even referenced his “Muslim faith” a couple of weeks ago on that Sunday show hosted by that midget Clinton hack. Newt is a fine leader and a man of keen intellect. Newt has some great ideas.
By Joe the Thumber
October 20, 2008 5:52 AM | Link to this
Newt is the voice of the ghost of conservatism. He too readily concedes liberal points to be trusted. He wants everybody to love him. He does express some very sophisticated insights on rountables, but he’s very careful with words. Somehow, somewhere somebody must have kicked him around some. He revels in his abandon, and stuff.
Have you noticed that?
By mark
October 20, 2008 7:32 AM | Link to this
lets see Newt the guy who wanted to impeach the president and caused tax payers big money in legal fees, distracted the whole country over sex and then turned out to be just as guilty as the president.I dont think the GOP needs that it needs new ideas and leadership that is honest
By Copyleft
October 20, 2008 7:55 AM | Link to this
Newt is a sick little loser and a public embarrassment.
He’d be PERFECT to lead the Republican Party! Go, Newt, go!
By Too narrow
October 20, 2008 8:39 AM | Link to this
The Republican party has become too narrow. Unfortunately, Georgia Congressmen like Gingrich and Linder fully represent that narrowness - they are too partisan and ideologically far right to lead.
By Too narrow
October 20, 2008 8:44 AM | Link to this
The Republican party has become too narrow. Unfortunately, Georgia Congressmen like Gingrich and Linder fully represent that narrowness - they are too partisan and ideologically far right to lead.
By Too narrow
October 20, 2008 8:45 AM | Link to this
The Republican party has become too narrow. Unfortunately, Georgia Congressmen like Gingrich and Linder fully represent that narrowness - they are too partisan and ideologically far right to lead.
By The Snark
October 20, 2008 11:12 AM | Link to this
You guys can babble all you want about what a genius Newt is, but all I see is an Emperor with no clothes on. The man contradicts himself from one minute to the next — but he always speaks with 100% certainty that he is the only person with the right answer. He has never accomplished one thing in his life. And don’t cite the 1994 elections — he didn’t create that wave, he rode it, and then he promptly squandered it.
It’s time for the GOP to stop looking for gimmicks and new marketing strategies, and develop some skill and a genuine interest in governing. If Newt becomes the GOP’s new Moses, then they can expect to wander in the wilderness for another 40 years.