Posted by
Bert Chapman on Friday, December 02, 2011 5:24:58 PM
The 2012 GOP presidential primary has been like a speed dating convention on espresso during its first few months. Michelle Bachman was the first belle of the ball winning an Iowa straw poll than fading. The candidacy of Texas Governor Rick Perry set many hearts a flutter until he tripped himself up over his liberal immigration policies and his congenital inability to be an effective debater. Ron Paul and his bizarre band of fanatic acolytes spouting their isolationist drivel, proclaiming their alleged commitment to constitutional conservatism which did not even exist in 1787 let alone in 2011, and their abject pandering to Jacksonian anti-Federal Reserve pablum will endure but have no real qualitative impact on who becomes the eventual GOP nominee. Herman Cain enjoyed a few weeks in the spotlight thanks to his congenial personality and marketing driven 999 plan. Cain torpedoed himself with the unrealistic nature and financial implausibility of 999, his abject ignorance of international affairs, and a series of what Bill Clinton's campaign managers once described as "bimbo eruptions" that have reduced him to an irrelevancy.
Newt Gingrich is now the center of the GOP dance card and has picked up a number of aspiring suitors. There is much to like about Gingrich. He is a genuinely smart man who cares about ideas in politics and the substantive consequence of those ideas. Trained as a historian, he also recognizes that past policies affect current and future political environments. He is a formidable debater and intellectually grasps the substance of the national and international challenges and opportunities facing the U.S.
Unfortunately, Gingrich's liabilities outweigh his assets. George Will has correctly said that Gingrich lacks wisdom despite his keen intelligence. Although conservatives owe Gingrich an enduring debt for capturing the House of Representatives in 1994, he was not an effective speaker. He let Bill Clinton outmaneuver him in the government shutdown and his inability to competently manage the House actually lead to a Republican attempt to oust him during the summer of 1997. His speakership included some tangible accomplishments such as welfare reform and producing balanced government budgets but also included policies which encouraged the dangerous liberalization of home ownership requirements and helped produce the housing crisis our country still struggles with. Gingrich was also subjected to an investigation and rebuked by the House Ethics Committee for concerns about outside business practices including financing for a college course he taught.
Although there is nothing inherently wrong with being a lobbyist, Gingrich destroys his credibility on housing issues by his service as a lobbyist for Fannie Mae. He was not providing this discredited agency with retrospective historical advice but with information on how to influence congressional legislation and policymaking in a favorable way. Despite his avid intellectual interests and literary accomplishments, Gingrich tends to be a Don Quixote-style "tilt at the windmills" thinker" instead of a systematically coherent strategist as evidenced by his embrace of Lean Six Sigma and corporate management theory introduced by Motorola which is like other trendy management theories like Total Quality Management which come and go with great rapidity.
He has changed his mind on numerous issues beyond normal intellectual evolution or political expediency. His denunciation of Paul Ryan's substantive budget plan was truly a brain freeze moment and alienated those of us desirous of producing credible policy alternatives to Obamanomics. He also fails to think through the policy implications and consequences of his ideas and their real world impact.
A particularly serious concern for voters should be his marital problems. We are all sinners who have fallen short of God's glory, but divorcing two women by breaking your marital vows is a serious problem that does not reflect well on your reliability or ability to adhere the oath of office. While I hope his third marriage is "the charm," a man considering marriage should get it right the first time instead of waiting to mature. The public rightfully should disdain the promises of political figures who can't keep their marital vows.
Gingrich would be a formidable debater against teleprompter dependent Barack Obama and his record of failed promises. However, Gingrich does not have the ability to attract a broad coalition of conservatives and independents to defeat Obama and promote sound governance. Mitt Romney has the intellectual credibility, moral character, and cross-partisan appeal to defeat Obama and begin the long and painful task of restoring this nation's domestic prosperity and international stature. It's time for fellow conservatives to quit looking for some chimerical illusion of ideological purity across the dance floor and formally select and commit to a principled leader with the wisdom and stature to get our country on the right track again.