It looks like the GOP nominee will be Newt the Snarkapotamus

[stevenleser]

I have to admit that I am a bit disappointed in the GOP base. They had 9 candidates from whom to choose and at the end of all of the sound and fury, they seem to have settled on the meanest and nastiest candidate and zounds isn’t Newt both of those things in spades. Some of you out there, fellow Democrats and Progressives in particular reading this would probably admonish me and say that I should know better than to expect anything different, but I did have some hope.

From the perspective of a Democrat, except for Ron Paul, there isn’t any material difference in policies between any of the nine candidates who started out running for the GOP Presidential nomination. When Republicans seemed to be turning to Rick Santorum in Iowa, I thought, OK, channeling the perspective of someone who comes from the conservative viewpoint, that makes sense. Like all the rest of the GOP candidates, the things he stands for alternately anger and disgusts me or simply make me sad and concerned for the country, but I could understand that choice coming from voters who believe in the current American incarnation of conservatism.

I cannot understand the choice of Newt the Snarkapotamus.

Of all the people to carry the message of your point of view, why pick the meanest and nastiest person, the king of the sarcastic remark (Snark). Why pick someone who embodies the exact opposite of what you are trying to say in terms of family values. Excuse me, nearly the opposite. The only way Gingrich could have been closer to 180 degrees off from the Family values crowd would have been if the affairs he had behind the backs of both of his first two seriously ill wives would have been with men.

As a Democrat, all of what I just outlined in the above paragraph, and the rest of Newt’s copious baggage is good news. It means getting my candidate re-elected is going to be that much easier. As a plain citizen, I have to deal with an unpleasant, nasty, snarky individual on my television screen and in the rest of the news media for the next ten months. This is what we are in for:

That snark by Gingrich has nothing to do with policy, nothing to do with how someone would govern and gives you no real insight into anything about Mitt Romney. It’s a nasty and vacuous remark and frankly, a waste of the time of the audience watching.

Now, some Conservatives, like those over at Free Republic, are of the mistaken opinion that those kind of nasty remarks if delivered by Newt against President Obama, will make the electorate like him and vote for him. That is not going to work like some conservatives think it will. Throughout American history, Presidential candidates like Newt who are snarky debaters and orators never win the general election. Americans do not like that kind of person as their President. Americans like Presidents who are well mannered and with whom they would feel comfortable coming to their home and having dinner. As the trite expression goes, Americans want their President to be someone with whom they would like to have a beer.

The last thing people want to do is go out and have a beer with a snarky person because that person might get snarky with you. But that’s who Gingrich is, it has been his best weapon in Republican debates so far and the Conservative base seems to like it. Unfortunately for them, I don’t think it plays with independents and swayable moderates. The interesting part of the campaign if Newt gets the nomination will be the point where Gingrich and his campaign realize what I am talking about and that he cannot use that debate style.

If you take that away from Newt Gingrich, he has nothing.

Actually, he has worse than nothing, he has his baggage.

[jberryhill]

1. Snarkulupagus maybe

[DJ13]

2. "they seem to have settled on the meanest and nastiest candidate"

I dont know why that should be a surprise, thats representative of the true base of their party.

[susanr516]

18. +1

Who else would the meanest and nastiest voters pick?

[DeathToTheOil]

3. Newt won't be the Nom

If he wins Florida, the entire GOP establishment will come down on him like a ton of bricks.

[stevenleser]

5. I dont see the establishment as being able to stop him. He has plenty of money inflow, he has

the momentum, he has to do something stupid to lose at this point.

[RZM]

14. I actually don't agree, but even if I did

The chances of him doing something stupid aren't all that low. For all of the talk about his immense baggage train, he's made several new mistakes in this cycle as well (the Greek cruise, RW social engineering, going after Romney over Bain).

Part of Newt's appeal is that he's frank and speaks his mind. Some people see that as a welcome change from how most politicians conduct themselves. Romney is a good example of the status quo here, as he's more of a traditional politician, i.e. cautious and reserved.

Except there are reasons why the cautious types have often been more successful than the freer-speaking insurgents. The looser you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes that end up hurting you. Slow and steady really does win the race more often than not.

[Sherman A1]

6. Agreed

Newt is part of the side show in order for the media to keep it "interesting". In case no one has noticed there has been a parade of them this season.

[99Forever]

8. I think you are absolutely spot on.

The real power brokers in the GOP may be jerks, but they aren't stupid. The Angry Attack Muffin might be the perfect fit in the "red meat" primaries, but come November and the General? Not so much.

Watch for them to pull out all the dirty tricks to put the kibosh on the Kabuki Primary bid.

[rhett o rick]

4. The Newt is a bully. And his followers are bully followers. They want pres Obama out

and will support the meanest, nastiest person to get that. They would be willing to sell their soul, if they had a soul.

These people are hypocrites so why would you expect them to look for a representative that isnt a hypocrite. The Newt is their hypocrite.

[stevenleser]

9. I think you hit on something there. Bullies...bully mentality. I think that is shown today

in Newt wanting to allow audience reactions. Bullies love an audience.

[rhett o rick]

12. Authoritarians is what Robert Altmeyer calls them in his book by that name.

Free on the internets and worth much more. There are two basic types of authoritarians (bullies), the dominate bullies and the follower bullies (what you called the audience). But they are all bullies.

[stevenleser]

7. Kick for the Tuesday afternoon crowd

:kick:

[boxman15]

10. I hope Newt is the nominee

He's our best hope at progress. I think Romney and Gingrich would both lose to Obama, but with Mitt, Congress will remain divided and progress will continue to be hard to come by. Newt is such an asshole, such a hypocrite, such an unlikable and terrible human being that he would destroy the Republican Party in 2012. He will be a gigantic weight on every Republican Congressman running for re-election. Congress would likely flip back to the left and progress will be easier (but not easy) to come by.

Newt's strategy against Obama will be to no doubt destroy him personally. That's not going to work with voters. Despite some reservations independents have with the president, they still like him as a person. They think his heart is in the right place. If Newt thinks telling them Obama is a radical socialist intent on destroying your family is going to work, it's not.

Obama's team will have an unlimited amount of ads to run about Newt's assholery and serial hypocrisy. Obama will win extremely easily, and so will his party. I could see Newt fucking up so badly in the campaign, and specifically in the debates, that the GOP could be sent back a decade.

So for now, Newt 2012! Until the general election, that is.

[rhett o rick]

15. Be careful of what you wish for.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002214068

[tsuki]

11. Son asked me who took the Christ out of Christian? Answer: South Carolina.

I am being to think that the entire GOP primary is a performance art project.

[hifiguy]

13. Gingrich is and always has been a political goon

and that goes over big with the fundymentalpatients, racists and mouthbreathers that vote in their circuslike primaries.

The Repuke PTB are more than willing to let the goon stir up the animals in January and February but they are smart enough to know it won't sell in the general. There is a very real question as to whether the goon will have enough money and momentum to derail their Chosen One Mittens in the next month or two. If he does, he will lose, and historically, in November. If he doesn't, Gingrich will have handed the Democrats their playbook for finishing off Romney, who will be bleeding badly by the time he vanquishes Gingrinch, if he manages to do so.

[B2G]

16. Snarkapotamus

You need to trademark that.

[stevenleser]

17. I'll be happy if it goes viral. Spread the word. I think it really describes who he is.