Newtmentum and the Civilization Vote
In thinking about why it's Newt now who's the race's hot anti-Mitt, I make like Gingrich himself and 'go up a couple of levels'...
when you do, you come to the substance of The Gingrich Proposition — his very own master category of thought, which he has maintained at least since 1992, when he wrote it down in a note-to-self now making the rounds on TV and the Web:
advocate of civilization, defender of civilization, teacher of the rules of civilization, arouser of those who form civilization, organizer of the pro-civilization activists, and leader “possibly” of the civilizing forces.
Yes, that’s Newt on Newt, to the howling delight of the media. [...] The Gingrich Proposition holds that this species of small-mindedness characteristically misses the point. And the point is that anyone who’s serious about playing the leadership game today in America has to take seriously the idea that leadership means taking stewardship of civilization itself.
[...] Think Herman Cain likes “bold plans”? Nothing’s bolder than The Gingrich Proposition. And nothing’s a bolder challenge to the animating principle of the Romney campaign that we have absolutely no need to think in Newt’s terms.
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Aug '10
Re: Newtmentum and the Civilization Vote
You write,
But doesn't Newt have a reputation for being something of a technocrat himself?
Aug '10
Re: Newtmentum and the Civilization Vote
Also, anybody besides me find the catchphrase "Newtmentum" clunky? How about something with a little more panache?
"Newtonian dynamics", for instance?
Re: Newtmentum and the Civilization Vote
Midget Faded Rattlesnake: You write,
But doesn't Newt have a reputation for being something of a technocrat himself?
No question. But everyone looks like a poor technocrat stood next to Mitt. And where Newt's forays into technocratic territory are typically presented as great leaps in service of civilization, Mitt's permanent residence there seems an end in itself. The intriguing, difficult thing about Newt being the anti-Romney is his claim to this status isn't that he's the polar opposite of Romney. The idea that you can be an anti-Mitt without being Mitt-antimatter, so to speak, relieves a lot of inter-Republican conceptual and ideological pressure. Which opens wide an opportunity for Newt that, without Romney in the picture, could have been very narrow indeed.
May '10
Re: Newtmentum and the Civilization Vote
As Mickey and Jennifer pointed out in the latest LC-RC, this particular "Newt Boomlet" is just one more sign of the Republican Silly Season. Watching five million activist lemmings turn on a dime every three weeks or so, and chase BachmannRyanChristiePerryCainNewtEtc reveals how much thought characterized each of these decisions. Speaking of flip-flops.....
However, I actually get a kick out of ABBA, contra Steve Hayward. Waterloo may be one of the most catchy pop tunes in history.
Apr '11
Re: Newtmentum and the Civilization Vote
What I found interesting in your article was the central conflict between being vision and competence. The question I guess is what problem do we really have. Is it one of vision or implementation. Now, we probably have both, the question is which is the bigger problem for us as a country.
As I see it if a lack of vision is our problem you want some one who not only has a vision of what America is but more importantly aught to be, and be capable of expressing it. But, without the ability to implement their vision they will come of as nothing but hot air. Thus you need some one who can also work to get their vision past the inevitable opposition.
If implementation is the problem, then you need some one that can cut deals and keep the government machinery moving. Some one who can make programs more efficient and responsive. Such people though never really have a plan, and will just leave a vacuum into which some one else's vision will flourish.
We need Visions, Charisma, and Competence, but it seems we only get to pick two, with the current field.
Jul '10
Re: Newtmentum and the Civilization Vote
Midget Faded Rattlesnake:
But doesn't Newt have a reputation for being something of a technocrat himself? · Nov 14 at 10:39am
James Poulos
Midget Faded Rattlesnake: You write,
But doesn't Newt have a reputation for being something of a technocrat himself?
No question. But everyone looks like a poor technocrat stood next to Mitt.
If you don't think the Speaker of the House does not know the intricacies of these policies, you are sadly mistaken.
That said, I think the core of your argument is not only can Newt articulate the grand challenges of our civilization, he is also quite aware of the policy details. Thus, if I read between the lines, you're saying Newt is the only one to meet the intellectual challenge of debating Mitt. And, if I may offer my opinion on that score, wins easily on points.
Aug '10
Re: Newtmentum and the Civilization Vote
James Poulos
Midget Faded Rattlesnake: But doesn't Newt have a reputation for being something of a technocrat himself?
No question. But everyone looks like a poor technocrat stood next to Mitt.
Y'know, that's not my impression at all (though maybe I'm just not plugged in enough to have an accurate impression yet).
Newt's technocratic tendencies are so... flamboyant that it's hard for me to picture them paling in comparison to Romney's. Romney's technocratic tendencies, on the other hand, are at least more nondescript.
May '10
Re: Newtmentum and the Civilization Vote
I never thought I'd experience two Goldwater elections in my lifetime. Newt is as nationally electable as Kermit the Frog.
Sadly, we don't have any of the good candidates in the running, unless there is a brokered convention.