A lot of smart Democrats think Newt Gingrich may emerge as the GOP candidate of choice in the 2008 presidential race.
Ezra Klein believes Gingrich may become a “successful revolutionary” a second time. The GOP has failed to live up to the Contract with America - Klein believes the time is ripe for Newt to make the GOP base rise up.
Mark Schmitt talks about “THE GINGRICH INEVITABILITY” - saying the GOP base won’t look too hard at Gingrich’s personal behavior - and the current front runners won’t be able to win it for a variety of predictable reasons.
Rick Klau believes Gingrich is poised to be the “Howard Dean of 2008″ - with an insurgent campaign and a goal to “change the country.”
I tend to think Newt Gingrich is too damaged to be viable (and Gingrich’s campaign may not like his chances either). Electability won’t be the only GOP issue - but it may matter to enough GOP voters to make the difference. I’m wondering if someone like former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has a better shot at the insurgent role.
Comments 2
“I tend to think Newt Gingrich is too damaged to be viable…”
do you mean as opposed to being “the Howard Dean of 2008,” as Klau does? Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Dean’s campaign pretty much fall apart in IOWA? In the grand scheme of things, was he every REALLY a “viable” candidate?
You also seem to forget that Republican Party politics don’t work the same as Democratic Party politics. Name the last “front-runner,” establishment candidate that won the Dem nomination, and then went on to win the general? Conversely, name the last “insurgent” to have even a slim shot at winning the GOP nomination. McCain’s 2000 campaign was the closest thing, and even HE never thought he really had a chance.
Granted, it’s a strange year for the GOP because we DON’T have a consensus front-runner like we normally do. So perhaps this could be the year an insurgent dark-horse survives super-tuesday. But with the way big states are front-loading primaries, I doubt it. It’s going to be Mitt, McCain or Rudy.
Posted 14 Feb 2007 at 4:26 pm ¶I don’t think Newt is going to get this. If the Democrats run a weak candidate such as Obama, I will go with Mc’Cain and experience.
Robert L. Jones
Posted 07 Jul 2007 at 11:37 pm ¶Blue Dog Democrat
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[…] playing a bit of catch up here, but Grand Old Partisan took me to task (I think) for my entry on Newt Gingrich a month ago. While at times it seemed like he agreed with me, Grand Old Partisan’s basic criticism […]
[…] There are so many variables and so much luck in these things that I won’t claim there wasn’t a ton here. That said, here is my February 8, 2007 entry about Newt Gingrich’s prospects in the GOP presidential race: […]
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