"I am not a citizen of the world." - Newt Gingritch. Sure, he thought it was a shot at President Barack Obama, turns out it was also the Mythic Ronnie Reagan. Now he's fumbling around trying to fix that. He's the smart one they had speak. It isn't so much he stomped on Saint Ronnie in pursuit of teh stupid for the benefit of the money base, it is that his idea is so stupid that even Ronnie didn't go there. Yes, I said - even Ronnie.
Ronnie Reagan was an actor, his job was to present lines in a convincing manner and given his characters, an engaging manner. Nothing in President R Reagan's record previous to the Presidency or even within it points to a powerful intellect. There is plenty of evidence that he embraced poor ideas and ideas with no real factual basis, but even Reagan realized that the US is not the entire world and that any citizen of the US also resides in and is a de facto citizen of the world. What they cannot get is that the rest of the world is larger than the US and that it matters, not only in itself but to the US.
I understand the desire to devalue the Presidency of Barack Obama, it is a political reality for an opposition party that wishes to be the party in power again. It flatly doesn't matter which party is in, the "ins" must have their accomplishments minimized and their failures maximized. The problem for Republicans is that mantras of stupidity and damage to the interests of the general public minimize whatever intelligence and policy they have to offer. They have a base with no place else to go - nowhere and playing to them is not only preaching to the choir it is also a method for alienating voters with someplace else to go.
To be sure, a lot of voters who used to vote Republican aren't real happy to be voting Democratic, but they've been shoved into it and aren't being given any reason to not feel shoved away. It isn't my job to tell Republicans how to win elections, they don't pay me, couldn't pay me enough, and wouldn't listen anyhow but at some point an effective opposition is important. Since I'm a left Democrat finding a third way for them is foreign to my thinking process, but I can guarantee that intelligence and thoughtfulness will bear much more fruit than Newt's stupidity. No, Sarah Palin's tits aren't an improvement.
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It's all almost enough to make one believe in a pantheism where The Fates control the ability to frame rhetoric and are willfully witholding it from Republicans. I mean, it wasn't that many years ago when it seemed that they could do no wrong when it came to framing rhetoric. But now the blunders mount on top of blunders.
One might also describe it as... Karma.
My favorite Newtism of the week is claiming Sotomayor is faking her foot injury to gain Republican sympathy. As if she'd do that, as if she'd need their support. What a idiot that man is, truly inane beyond words.
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