Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
In his latest column, Thomas Sowell takes on what he considers to be factually incorrect smears on Newt Gingrich, including the mischaracterization of this very clip, which Camp Romney has widely disseminated as of late:
What you see here, Dr. Sowell argues, is entirely ripped out of context.
On that date, Gingrich praised Reagan's grasp of the foreign policy issues of the day but later questioned whether the way the actual policies of the Reagan administration were being carried out was likely to succeed. Gingrich was not alone in making this point which such conservative stalwarts as George Will, Charles Krauthammer and others made at the time.
Since a column of my own back in the 1980s suggested that the administration's policies seemed to be to "speak loudly and carry a little stick," I can well understand the misgivings of others. But that is wholly different from saying that all who expressed misgivings were enemies of Ronald Reagan.
One can of course lift things out of context. But if you want to read the whole context, simply go on-line and get the Congressional Record for March 21, 1986. Among the other places where the smears are exposed are the Wall Street Journal of January 29th, Jeffrey Lord's article in the American Spectator's blog of January 27th, and an article by Heather Higgins in Ricochet.com of January 29th.
Unfortunately, there are likely to be far more people who will see the smears than will have time to get the facts.
Read the whole thing here. And if you missed Heather Higgins' post, you can find it here.
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Dec '11
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
I read that this morning and then I read the thread. Apparently Thomas sowell isnt allowed in the Romney Party either.
Sep '10
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
I woke up last night for no reason in particular and 2 words I haven't heard for a long time jumped into my head:
Rollo Tomasi
Dec '10
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
Saw the reference and did a little dance in my chair. Ricochet is moving the movement...
Aug '10
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
Ricochet.com, it's like political Metamucil!
Sep '10
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
Misthiocracy
Ricochet.com, it's like political Metamucil! · 1 minute ago
Tastes great. Less filling.
Aug '11
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
This is an amazing sentence by Dr. Sowell:
Mar '11
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
DrewInWisconsin: This is an amazing sentence by Dr. Sowell:
1 minute ago
Dr. Sowell has a way, doesn't he?
Edited on February 1, 2012 at 3:38amJan '11
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
I'm just curious what Dr. Sowell has to say about the mendacious film that Newt's PAC has put out and the disingenuous way Newt has attacked Mitt's work at Bain capital. I think as an economist, demonizing the efforts to turn struggling companies around while providing a return for Bain's investors would be something Sowell would frown upon and be most disappointed indeed in the slimy way Gingrich has taken the labor's line and characterized his opponent as some type of heartless, bloodsucking robber baron.
Edited on January 31, 2012 at 9:31pmJan '11
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
None of this would've mattered if Gingrich hadn't tried to puff up his own Reaganite credentials beyond what they really were. As far as I know, Huntsman was the only candidate who actually worked in the Reagan administration.
Dec '10
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
WSJ, American Spectator, and Ricochet. Sweet.
And kudos to Heather Higgins for a great post.
Aug '11
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
Blame the victim!
It's not Romney's fault that he told repeated lies about Newt! It's Newt's fault for reminding us of his conservative record! Neat-o!
Edited on January 31, 2012 at 10:22pmAug '11
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
That's called having an opinion.
What Mitt is doing is outright lying.
You can agree with Newt's characterization or not. But you can't say that Mitt's lies are true.
Dec '10
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
It bothers me that Romney is such a bald-faced liar. “He really can’t whine about negative campaigning when he launched a very negative campaign in South Carolina and when the people in Florida looked at the two campaigns and decided he was the most negative,” Romney said. Funny, it was Romney's SuperPAC that fired first in Iowa - and now he's pretending Newt started it in South Carolina. Thomas Sowell would call that "throwing the rock and hiding the hand."
Dec '10
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
Newt's "puffed up ... Reaganite credentials" are exactly how I remember the 1980's and during that time period I was alive, conscious and paying attention. It's surreal to read and hear all of these ridiculous lies and smears about Newt's political history ... Newt's not a Reagan conservative, Newt's a liberal, Newt's a socialist, Newt hates apple pie, Newt's a sociopath blah blah blah ...
Thomas Sowell described it perfectly, "Character assassination is just another form of voter fraud." And that is exactly what the GOP establishment and Romney are guilty of.
Dec '10
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
jetstream, Newt made a fundamental error in responding to attacks on his Reaganite credentials. He should simply have run an ad showing Romney in 1994 disawowing Reagan and saying he didn't want a return to Reaganism - and then showing himself, today, saying, "when Mitt Romney said that, i was in Congress, fighting as Speaker to keep Reagan's legacy going. Reagan led this nation to prosperity and strength. Hell yes, I want a return to Reaganism, and as President I will make it happen."
Nov '11
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
Gus Marvinson
DrewInWisconsin: This is an amazing sentence by Dr. Sowell:
1 minute ago
Dr, Sowell has a way, doesn't he? · 2 hours ago
Very true.. I just can´t find anybody better. He writes with surgical precision.
I also love the way he finishes with "..to punish it at the ballot box -- the only place where punishment is likely to stop the practice." Perfect.
Apr '11
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
Is anyone going to vote for or against Newt based on thin attacks on his conservative bona fides? Likewise, will primary voters run from Mitt because Bain Capital eliminated jobs and downsized companies in order to create more viable jobs at other companies and in other sectors of the economy? If so we have a much bigger problem in the party and in this country than republican candidates rabbit punching each other. Yikes!
Jun '11
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
50:50 IMO. Tying Newt's departure to the ethics witch hunt was bad form...the real story was bad enough. He was forced out, but due to the 1998 midterm and impeachment debacles. I go the other way on the Reagan flap: there's no real story there. However, Newt did try to tie himself to Reagan in a way that invited a 'gotcha'.
Dec '10
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
Stuart, your suggestion would have been an excellent response ... it's the truth and you can easily "hear" Newt saying those exact words.
Edited on January 31, 2012 at 11:23pmDec '10
Re: Thomas Sowell Weighs in on Newt Gingrich—and Proves that He Reads Ricochet
jetstream
Stuart, your suggestion would have been an excellent response ... it's the truth and you can easily "hear" Newt saying those exact words. · 4 minutes ago
Edited 3 minutes ago
Thank you. I pride myself on my ear for dialogue.