Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
Nobody who worked with Newt Gingrich back when he was Speaker will endorse him today--that's what we've been hearing, over and over again, for more than a week now.
Oh yeah? Well, Tony Blankley (a friend when we both worked in the Reagan White House) served as the Speaker's press secretary. That made Tony one of perhaps a half dozen people who worked more closely with Newt than did anyone else.
From Tony's column on RealClearPolitics:
[A]fter the GOP took back the House for the first time in 40 years (and the Senate, too, by the way), Gingrich's four years as speaker proved to be the most productive, legislative congressional years since at least 1965 to 1967, and they were led by Lyndon B. Johnson from the White House. Working against -- and with -- Democratic President Bill Clinton, we passed into law most of the Contract with America, welfare reform, telecommunications reform (which ushered in the modern cell phone and Internet age), we had the first balanced budget since before the Vietnam War, we cut taxes and lowered unemployment to under 5 percent.
Just who the heck do all these wizard political pros think managed all that? It wasn't us clever staffers or many of the now grumbling GOP K Street crowd. We helped, but Gingrich led.
Gingrich led.
The Speaker's leadership style often proved unconventional--Tony grants that. Yet one of the reasons House conservatives sometimes grew restive was simply that Gingrich was doing his job. The Speaker had to hold the Republican caucus together. In particular, Tony argues, Gingrich recognized that a dozen-and-a-half moderate Republicans from the Northeast held the balance of power. Gingrich did what he had to do to ensure that those Republicans voted with their party on the major issues.
This required a lot of maneuvering by Gingrich. Conservative members got frustrated that he did that. They called that erratic on his part. No, it was a necessary, calculated maneuver. He was actually shrewdly managing a precarious majority. If Gingrich hadn't kept the Northeastern liberals in the fold, very little would have been accomplished in those spectacular four years of legislating and leadership.
But when it came to fundamental conservative principles and the political strategies necessary to protect them, Gingrich saw the threats to them and never wavered.
This is no tepid endorsement. It is detailed and fierce--and, once again, from Tony Blankley, a man who worked with the Speaker 10 and 12 and 18 hours a day.
This matters. It matters a lot.
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Jun '10
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
Triangulating works, but it wins you no friends among political true believers, or fixers, or media hacks. When Clinton did it, it was "clever." When Newt did it, it was "erratic." That's the difference between winning on the left and winning on the right. I'm glad that Blankley can flesh out the story. Blankley is a pretty clever fellow himself.
Edited on Dec 14, 2011 at 4:25amSep '10
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
Far more was done for conservatism during Newts tenure as speaker than all of Bush's eight years. Yet, the GOP establishment has little problem with Bush, but seems to loathe Newt. This says a lot about the GOP establishment. The real question is will the conservative grassroots be able to take control of the GOP or not? I think you are seeing why Daniels and Ryan opted not to run. They were not concerned with Democrats, but with the GOP establishment.
Sep '10
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
I'll concede all of Tony's points, yet remind him that Clinton knew Gingrich's weakness: he forgets who the President is. My fear of Gingrich in the White House is he'll forget who the Congressional House leaders are, and keep on steam rollering Ryan, Boehner et al.
Clinton was many things but never came off as angry and petulant in public except when pushed up against a wall (I recall a nice Paul Johnson essay in the New Criterion to that effect) and, for all of Clinton's inherent flailing when the heat was off, he knew how to stage manage his Presidency. He was, in essence, a gifted retail pol.
After 4 years of haughty condescension from the junior senator from Illinois, I have trouble picturing the American electorate pulling the lever for 4 years of the angry badger. And, what's perhaps worse, Clinton is publicly praising Gingrich lately, which means he's getting ready to unsheath the knife. Keep your friends close, and your enemies....
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
I am glad that Tony Blankley did this. There is something unbalanced (in more than one way) about the attacks on Newt Gingrich. When he is good, he is spectacular.
Nonetheless, alas, when he is bad, he is also spectacular. He is The Wildcard.
Sep '10
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
Paul A. Rahe: I am glad that Tony Blankley did this. There is something unbalanced (in more than one way) about the attacks on Newt Gingrich. When he is good, he is spectacular.
Nonetheless, alas, when he is bad, he is also spectacular. He is The Wildcard. · Dec 14 at 6:10am
Somewhere in the archives here on Ricochet, I made a comment that I did see one chance of Gingrich not only taking the nomination, but the White House and that is if the commentariat fire all their shots early and Gingrich, rope a dope style, just keeps standing his ground (which seems to be something he's quite comfortable with) then more sympathetic pieces will start to emerge and the public sentiment will start to soften.
I'd be more confident of his success if I knew that Boehner or Ryan could walk into his White House office and taser him once in awhile like Bill Shatner in the Priceline.com commercial. The press corps could spin it as an experimental alternative energy program.
May '10
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
Well, that's one. Good. Of course, a press secretary is someone whose job it is to defend and promote a person's performance in office. This would mean more to me if it came from a colleague or deputy. But it's not nothing.
I hope there are more where that came from.
Jan '11
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
Tony Blankley offers the strongest and most persuasive evidence in Newt's favor. For all the rhetoric, antagonism against him, futuristic nonsense for him, and everything else ... Newt did deliver some conservative results.
Both Romney and Newt talk a great game. After any of their speeches in front of conservative crowds, you could take courage in their words ... but then you get discouraged when the people who said those words go off and do something liberal or even worse ... moderate.
But at least Newt delivered some conservative results. He's got it in him. Now, how do we go about getting it out of him? I still think Pseud's taser idea has some merit.
Jan '11
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
Good for Newt finding one person that will publicly support him. But as I said yesterday, Blankley lays it on pretty thick. To believe Blankley, we all have Newt to thank for people using cell phones. Blankley would probably tell us that Newt would have invented the Internet, too, if Al Gore hadn't beaten him to it.
I won't deny Newt accomplished great things as speaker, but I think his defenders give him too much credit. Clinton, for example, was already a proponent of welfare reform back from his days in the DLC. Newt didnt have twist WJCs arm on that. And the balanced budgets were due mostly to factors Newt had nothing to do with and which eventually proved problematic. The economy had picked up briskly at the end of Bush I and then kept growing at an artificial pace during the dotcom bubble. In large part we grew into balance with no help from Newt. On the spending side Newt went along with major cuts to defense which we eventually had to roll back, no great achievement there. And while the welfare reform helped get the fiscal house in order, it was a relatively small part. What's more, as I mentioned before, Clinton deserves at least as much credit for that as does Newt.
None of that is to say Newt deserves no credit for his accomplishments as speaker, but let's not get carried away.
Edited on Dec 14, 2011 at 6:51amNov '11
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
Tony Blankley was on the NRO cruise last month that I attended (my first). On stage he was patient and thoughtful as he waited his turn, and when that turn came he was impressively direct and illuminating, with precisely articulated views that were obviously shaped and fortified by a great deal of real-world experience.
Off stage he was reserved but affable, dignified, even, and appeared unencumbered by any obvious axe to grind: A very decent and wise fellow, all-in-all, it seemed.
Sure, as a past member of Newt’s team, he might be expected to be loyal and “on board” now. On the other hand, if the Newt-knockers are to be believed, to know him (Gingrich) is to hate him, so Tony gives the lie to that, which is what, as Peter Robinson points out, infuses his endorsement with special power.
My sense is there is an Occam’s razor aspect to Blankley’s comments, and I definitely agree with Robinson that they have some very specific gravity, so to speak…
Oct '10
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
Hey Tony, I can assure you that there's at least one (absentee) ballot already cast in the NH primary for the Gekko.
Nov '10
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
BThompson: Good for Newt finding one person that will publicly support him. But as I said yesterday, Blankley lays it on pretty thick. To believe Blankley, we all have Newt to thank for people using cell phones. Blankley would probably tell us that Newt would have invented the Internet, too, if Al Gore hadn't beaten him to it.
. . .
None of that is to say Newt deserves no credit for his accomplishments as speaker, but let's not get carried away.
Actually, if you don't think that the government could have prevented us from having our modern cell phone era, I think you are underestimating the power of the government to wreck things. Look back and think about the pace at which telecommunications had developed up until the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and the rate at which things have subsequently developed.
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
BThompson: I won't deny Newt accomplished great things as speaker, but I think his defenders give him too much credit. Clinton, for example, was already a proponent of welfare reform back from his days in the DLC. Newt didnt have twist WJCs arm on that. · Dec 14 at 6:50am
Edited on Dec 14 at 06:51 am
Speaker Gingrich and the Republicans in Congress had to pass welfare reform three times--three times--before President Clinton finally signed it.
Sep '10
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
Very true, though only Clinton ever gets any credit for it.
Peter Robinson
BThompson: I won't deny Newt accomplished great things as speaker, but I think his defenders give him too much credit. Clinton, for example, was already a proponent of welfare reform back from his days in the DLC. Newt didnt have twist WJCs arm on that. · Dec 14 at 6:50am
Edited on Dec 14 at 06:51 am
Speaker Gingrich and the Republicans in Congress had to pass welfare reform three times--three times--before President Clinton finally signed it. · Dec 14 at 8:09am
Jan '11
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
True, but that was because at first they tried the same approach on welfare reform as Pelosi and Reid did with healthcare reform. Namely they tried to ram it through without getting any support from the other party. They finally made enough concession to win some bipartisan support so that Clintin wasn't completely out on a limb. The fact is, though, that Clinton had campaigned on reforming welfare and it was always part of his agenda.
Clinton gets more credit for the deal because he was showing more political courage standing up to a big part of his base, and because presidents always get the lions share of credit or blame for things that happen on their watch.
Edited on Dec 14, 2011 at 11:58amSep '10
Re: Tony Blankley Comes Out For Newt
Pseudodionysius NewtWatch alert:
If elected, President Gingrich will find some role for former adversary Bill Clinton (because he's read his Lincoln....)