Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
With Speaker Gingrich having won South Carolina, and now polling ahead of Gov. Romney in Florida and nationally, there is one question that keeps popping up. What is it about Newt Gingrich that conservative voters find appealing? Rush Limbaugh has at least part of the answer:
To those of you in the Republican base, this isn’t complicated. Newt is winning. He is on a momentum roll here because he can articulate conservatism, that and he’s willing to take it to Obama. I have said for the longest time that whoever does that, whoever articulates conservatism with passion, with love, cause that’s love of country, with good cheer. Conservatism is inclusive. Somebody who can articulate it happily, proudly, with good cheer cannot be beat.
Rush is right, Newt articulates conservatism. He does it very well and he rarely misses an opportunity to do so in grandiose fashion. This in and of itself isn’t that big of a deal. In all honesty, articulating conservatism isn’t all that hard, especially when our focus is leaning more and more towards conservative populism.
What makes this interesting is that Newt has managed to win by articulating conservatism while having a considerable record of apostasies. Newt isn’t an empty vessel as Rush suggests. No, he is a vessel filled to the brim with ex-wives and mistresses. Newt is a man who sat on a couch with Nancy Pelosi, who favored an individual mandate, who, for all intents and purposes, lobbied for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
So what is it about Newt that allows the conservative voter to so easily look beyond these betrayals?
I attempted to answer this question in a series of tweets last night. To my surprise, Ben Domenech gathered up my tweets and put them in this morning’s Transom. To even greater surprise, Peter Robinson then quoted me in a post here.
In “The Transom” this morning, Ben Domenech quotes Aaron Gardner, providing a big part of the answer:
From @Aaron_RS: “I think much of Newt’s appeal is that he is on a journey of redemption, and the people want to believe they are as well. His conversion, and the broader idea of Americans being able to bounce back. His story fits the mood. You add the redemption theme to Newt being able to appear confident and communicate ideas to people, and you have a result like SC. Mitt, on the other hand, has no redemption story because to repudiate any past position is to admit he was wrong. In the end, Newt is more optimistic while being honest and that goes a long way in building trust. Mitt isn’t getting that benefit.”
Romney, in other words, is the diligent older brother, the one who has behaved himself all his life and just can’t understand why he doesn’t get more credit.
Newt? Newt’s the prodigal son–a sinner like everyone else.
The idea of redemption being a compelling force in this cycle isn’t really all that far fetched. The last decade has left many people wanting redemption. Whether it is because of the war taking its toll, the economy tanking, or the less than subtle feeling that Orwell’s boot is stomping on our human faces forever; the reality is that a lot of people in America are looking for some sort of redemption, political, economic, and even spiritual. And they are getting it vicariously through Newt’s candidacy.
To be clear, Gingrich is not the redeemer, he is but one of the many seeking redemption. And that, when looked at in the right light, is humanizing and, as odd as this may sound, akin to humility. His candidacy revolves around a symbiotic relationship with the angst the voters are expressing. This was made clear last night when the audience was disallowed the opportunity to provide instantaneous feedback. Newt was thrown off his game by not being able to interact with the audience.
Add to this the fact that Newt isn’t simply seeking redemption, he is willing to fight for it by articulating conservatism, and you start to see why his likability is increasing and his negatives are dropping.
We won’t know until later whether this story ends with actual redemption, both personal and national, or if it ends with another betrayal. That said, the circumstances that exist today have made people less apprehensive towards taking this leap of faith.
As for myself, I haven’t decided whether I can support Newt, or that I could defend him for four years. But like Rush said in the transcript I linked at the beginning:
I trust the Republican base. That’s who I trust. I trust the Republican voters. I’m totally confident with them. They are the people in this audience. Why wouldn’t I trust them? They’ll figure this out. They’re not a bunch of brain-dead, mind-numbed robots. This is how democracy works. It’s how representative Republicanism works. It’s what we’re trying to hold onto, for crying out loud.
Aaron B. Gardner
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Nov '10
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
Aaron Gardner:
To be clear, Gingrich is .... seeking redemption. ...[This] is humanizing and, as odd as this may sound, akin to humility.
Aaron B. Gardner · · 2 minutes ago
Odd, indeed, in the case of Gingrich.
Also, I'm disturbed by this recent blurb, news to me:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/289158/more-details-gingrichs-freddie-mac-work-katrina-trinko
Edited on Jan 24 at 2:45pmRe: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
Thanks, David, it is useful to be reminded just how foolish Gingrich has been. Aaron, that last passage from Rush Limbaugh ought to be reposted on Ricochet every morning.
Dec '11
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
I couldn't care less about Newt's "redemption". I'm not voting for pastor of a mega-church; I'm weighing the candidates' qualifications to exercise the duties of the office the President of the United States.
Mar '11
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
Aaron Gardner:
So what is it about Newt that allows the conservative voter to so easily look beyond these betrayals?
Possibly that he is expressing conservatism better than the other candidates?
It's not easy - it would be easy if we had a conservative candidate with fewer flaws, and who is willing to actually, um, you know, run.
Jul '11
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
I'll quote my favorite pothead of all time regarding redemption. As far as Newtron goes he can either be a hero or an all time goat. Do conservative principles matter more or his own interests?
Old pirates, yes, they rob I
Sold I to the merchant ships
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit
But my hand was made strong
By the hand of the almighty
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly
Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
'Cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds
Have no fear for atomic energy
'Cause none of them can stop the time
How long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look? Ooh
Some say it's just a part of it
We've got to fullfil the book
May '10
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
I don't think Newt cares about "redemption" at all, except where it could be achieved as a side benefit of his actual objective: the ultimate ego-reinforcing prize.
Jun '10
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
I gather, you're not one of those who cries while reading the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
Nov '10
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
Well put Aaron, but you missed this statement about the matter by Gingrich himself today. I'm happy about the redemption narrative, and I don't question Newt's personal reconcilliation with the past.
However, Newt booster though I am, I cannot help but wonder to what degree he has come clean and sought forgiveness. If so, whatmotivated his ex-wife to participate in the attempted broadside on him last week? Does she feel he has not adequately sought forgiveness? He may have sought confession in the privacy of a confessional before mass, but to us evangelicals a more important question is whether he has come clean in public -- not necessarily for reasons pertaining to "salvation" (that's between him and his Lord), but for reconcilliation with the community. And, like it or not, the entire American public, or at bare minimum, the Conservative demographic, is the relevant "community" in this case.
What do Ricocheteers feel? Has he made his peace? If not, what steps should he take in order to do so?
(I'd personally love to see him visit Ricochet like Mr. Santorum. It would be a smart move, especially if Ms. Coulter would engage with him.)
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
Newt can certainly explain conservatism, but it's the tone that occasionally grates. It's not the sound of a man explaining something; it's a guy telling you that what he's saying is obvious to anyone who hasn't replaced his brain with tapioca pudding. Sometimes he almost sounds as if he'd be angrier explaining these things, except that the people making the assertion don't merit his attention. But if you insist, it's like this.
Imagine how well that tone works when he has to push an unpopular idea and his number are in the low 40s.
Of course, Romney increasingly reminds me of a set of chattering teeth wound too tight lately. Not to happy with any of them.
Apr '11
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
I wish he had articulated conservatism while he was sitting on the couch with Nancy Pelosi.
Jul '11
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
R Craigen, Newt got tortured by a crazy lady and had PTSD that made him seek attention even if it was from Pelosi. The tiny lady in Poltergeist exorcised his demons and he has returned to his contract with America.
Aug '11
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
R. Craigen:
If so, what motivated his ex-wife to participate in the attempted broadside on him last week?
Usually it's a check with a high dollar figure.
Dec '11
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
I gather, you're not one of those who cries while reading the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
The only time I cry is when my accountant delivers my tax return.
Apr '11
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
Newt Gingrich’s 156 reviews on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A27WFYW9ZJ5DN1/ref=cr_cm_rdp_pdp_see_all?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview
Question: How many other politicians have 156 reviews on Amazon?
Dec '10
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
The absolute last and never thing I care even a scintilla about is whether or not a candidate has made peace with his personal mythology.
Steyn made fine and repeated points, today, about the difference between America and elsewhere, with respect to our embodying our country in a head of state, while, at the same time, electing a person to run the mechanics of government.
I've been in many churches for many decades and I have no use for any of them. The redemption discussions are, perhaps, best left to Sundays or other Sabbaths, but I have never been comfortable in a curch or around preachy types. My cathedral is the world and the universe. Anybody that doesn't see their god there, I would suspect. As for the rest, that's man-made arcanity that lays out somebody else's path toward salvation, when those men should be looking towards their own salvation.
For the present, Gingrich is fine with me as the slinger against our Goliath government, unless a better champion steps forward. Imperfect as can be, just like me.
Edited on Jan 24 at 4:44pmApr '11
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
Amity Shlaes: The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression HarperCollins, 2007, 433pp
"This is a remarkable book which will forever change your understanding of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's role and the lessons to be learned from government intervention.
Amity Shlaes makes a compelling case that Hoover and Roosevelt actually lengthened the Depression. They did this, Shlaes argues, by following bad monetary policy, which further deflated the currency, and by raising tariff barriers, which broke up world trade and reduced economic activity everywhere.
Shlaes makes the best case I have seen that business confidence is the key to economic expansion and that each step of the New Deal was a further blow to business confidence.
She also explains the view of the pre-government control entrepreneurs and investors who had created an extraordinarily successful country prior to 1929.
This is a superb book well worth reading, studying and then thinking about for a long time. "
Newt Gingrich's review of The Forgotten Man. Not so much love for FDR here, contrary to some memes.
Dec '10
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
Viator: Newt Gingrich’s 156 reviews on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A27WFYW9ZJ5DN1/ref=cr_cm_rdp_pdp_see_all?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview
Question: How many other politicians have 156 reviews on Amazon? · 16 minutes ago
Love it, Viator! Newt "Likes" books! Just scanning over his reviews I didn't see any he rated under 4 stars. And he reads a lot of fiction! Not sure how I feel about that, but maybe it explains his, um, active imagination.
It also confirms what Dennis Prager said about Newt obviously being a reader because he knew how expert Rick Santorum is on Iran, which I originally thought was kind of a non sequitur. Apparently, Dennis' insight was correct.
I wonder what the other candidates' reading lists include.
Apr '11
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
R. Craigen: Well put Aaron, but you missed this statement about the matter by Gingrich himself today. I'm happy about the redemption narrative, and I don't question Newt's personal reconcilliation with the past.
However, Newt booster though I am, I cannot help but wonder to what degree he has come clean and sought forgiveness....
What do Ricocheteers feel? Has he made his peace? If not, what steps should he take in order to do so?
That's an interesting interview fragment. He appears to come right out and say that a reason for not voting for Santorum and Romney is because their marriages are unviolated, which reduces their ability to understand people. As part of his description of how sorry he is. Eugh.
In general, his apologies have been insincere. He apologized for promoting clean energy subsidies with Pelosi, but still promises to launch new clean energy subsidies on his campaign site today. He apologized for mandate support, but still has his "variation on" Obamacare (to use his words) as his campaign promise today.
Confession and redemption involve a change of practice as well as an apology, and do not permit bragging about the benefits.
Oct '10
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
If all his mistakes were in the [somewhat] distant past, I'd be more inclined to jump on the Newt Express, but the Bain attack on Romney was so recent and so wrong that I can't quite make the leap. Being the very smart guy that he is, he knows how wrong that was and he knew it as he spoke it.
Apr '11
Re: Conservatives, Gingrich, and Grace - Redemption Song?
James Lileks: Newt can certainly explain conservatism, but it's the tone that occasionally grates. It's not the sound of a man explaining something; it's a guy telling you that what he's saying is obvious to anyone who hasn't replaced his brain with tapioca pudding. Sometimes he almost sounds as if he'd be angrier explaining these things, except that the people making the assertion don't merit his attention. But if you insist, it's like this.
Imagine how well that tone works when he has to push an unpopular idea and his number are in the low 40s.
Of course, Romney increasingly reminds me of a set of chattering teeth wound too tight lately. Not to happy with any of them. ·
Newt can only dream of numbers in the low 40s. Over the past couple of years, he's floated between 19 and 35. He's competitive with Nixon during the impeachment trials (Nixon floated between 24 and 28). Carter never had approval ratings as low as Newt's now. Newt's best days were worse than Ford's worst. "Unpopular" doesn't cut it.
Also, he defends leftist ideas with the same vigor.