Do Democrats Need Their Own Gingrich? Terry Neal Washington Post

[Coastie for Truth]

Democrats have discovered a new rallying cry: The GOP is the party of "incompetence, cronyism and corruption."

Recent headlines suggest that the mantra may prove to be an easy sell:

enumeration edited out for brevity ;)

Suddenly, Democrats are optimistic about their political future. But should they be? Back in 1994, when the Republicans took over Congress, not every Republican agreed with every piece of the revolutionary agenda laid out by Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). The party was riven then with ideological divides just as it is now. But the GOP was able to unite for the sake of political victory around a handful of leaders with a clear, concise vision for the future.

With the midterms a little more than a year away, the questions for Democrats are many. The most pressing question facing Democrats -- and the most tortured internal policy debate -- will be how to deal with Iraq, as well as the broader issue of defense, terrorism and foreign policy.

===Edited to comply with the "Reasonable Use" requirements of the Copyright Act, Title 15, US Code.

[yurbud]

1. tie those three to core GOP ideas: privatization, deregulation, low taxes

on the rich--those are not ideology but bald-faced corruption.

[bowens43]

2. Gingrich The Newt - Austin Lounge Lizards

We'd like to set the record straight by singing of the newt
For newts are open-minded;
they are flexible and cute
A newt can breathe in water and a newt can breathe on land
And if you are a different critter newts will understand

Newts are not mean-spirited; they never are unfair
Newts are not underhanded and are not afraid to share
Newts do not have bad haircuts because newts are lacking hair
But the newt called Gingrich drives all true newts to despair

Gingrich the Newt's a disgrace to the name
When true newts see him they feel so ashamed
He's the black sheep of the newt family
The one rotten fruit on the newt family tree

Newts don't prey on other newts; in that they don't believe
And you will never catch a newt with something up his sleeve
They're tolerant to different environments and so
They don't sen little newties to the orphanage to grow

What kind of newt wears a suit and a tie
And frightens small children as he rushes by?
But we admit that his suit suits him good
Much more discreet than a sheet and a hood

A newt may be cold-blooded but he won't go to extremes
And you can trust a newt to be exactly what he seems
Newts are sorry if you're sad; they're happy if you're gay
But Gingrich is perverse, and worse
He's proud to be that way

Gingrich the Newt is puffed up like a toad
So full of himself that he's bound to explode
And then we'll raise up our tails in salute
A fitting tribute
To that horse's patoot
Gingrich the Newt

[kenny blankenship]

3. Yes, DESPERATELY

the Ds need an ideological theorist and parliamentary fieldmarshal rolled up in one person--&& I don't care if that person is pudgy, pumpkinheaded and "untelegenic" like the Newtster was. The Ds need an all-around leader. They need a leader able to articulate what the Democratic Party stands for and maintain party discipline because the big thing holding them back right now is that voters don't know what the Democrats' ideas and principles are. Since they don't know what Democrats stand for from the mouths of Democrats, Republicans and their propagandists in the media CONTINUE to define Democrats for the public and furnish their idea of what Democrats stand for.