Newt Gingrich sat down with Peter Robinson on Wednesday evening for a wide ranging interview:

Comments:


George Savage
JoBeth Gerrard:   Second Peter doesn't get it how private retirement savings , through the well-known mechanism of reinvestment of dividends over a lifetime, can better protect people from market fluctuations than phoney government promises and ponzi-schemes, which are subject to the whims of government "benevolence", which is simply the government's ability to tax most for the benefit of some.· 8 hours ago

JoBeth, Peter understands it all perfectly well.  It's just that he is a great interviewer, so he follows-up with the standard argument against private retirement accounts:  What happens when the market takes a dive?  The result is that we all got to see and evaluate Newt's response to what would surely be President Obama's argument in the general election.

Personally, I'd jump right on board the Robinson for President bandwagon, but he stubbornly and persistently refuses my efforts to draft him.

James Of England
Joined
Apr '11
James Of England

George Savage

 

JoBeth, Peter understands it all perfectly well.  It's just that he is a great interviewer, so he follows-up with the standard argument against private retirement accounts:  What happens when the market takes a dive?  The result is that we all got to see and evaluateNewt'sresponse to what would surely be President Obama's argument in the general election.

Personally, I'd jump right on board the Robinson for President bandwagon, but he stubbornly and persistently refuses my efforts to draft him. · 9 minutes ago

This is a particularly good example of Peter's interviewing skills. Enough depth to produce interesting statements, but moving quickly. Some pressure, but with enough comfort that Newt is thinking about policy rather than worrying about potential gotchas.

I'd have quite liked it if, when Newt talked about balancing the budget, Peter had asked if Newt would like to return the revenue side of that balance to 20.6% of gdp, for instance; I've not heard him talking about the role of the tax hikes and spending cuts he opposed in achieving balance, and that strikes me as interesting, but there are others who do that stuff.


Joined
Apr '11
JoBeth Gerrard

George Savage

JoBeth, Peter understands it all perfectly well.  It's just that he is a great interviewer, so he follows-up with the standard argument against private retirement accounts:  What happens when the market takes a dive?  The result is that we all got to see and evaluateNewt'sresponse to what would surely be President Obama's argument in the general election.

Oh I see. Peter Robinson is the Inspector Clouseau of interviewers. He only appears to be bumbling around without a clue about the real world of jobs and savings.  What can I say? He certainly made Gingrich look brilliant by comparison.  Well done.

James Of England
Joined
Apr '11
James Of England

Most of the way through until the first serious lie. Romney's plan B law was passed over his veto- it wasn't his choice whether or not to follow it. He initially took the position that a flaw in its wording allowed him to essentially ignore it, but later legal advice (as in, later in the same day) persuaded him that he was wrong. Even had he ignored his official legal advice, the legislature was already preparing to re-pass the law with the mandate made more specific. I can't find a full account of the story right now, but the Washington post has some of the details here.

In addition, the mandate applied only to the provision of Plan B to rape victims. This is specifically permitted, for the prevention of conception, under the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, which governs Catholic hospitals, that particular rule being based on a 1989 judgment. Some variations on this rule caused problems with Catholic doctrine, such as in Connecticut's version, but the Massachusetts law did not require a conscience violation, and applied only to a small number of institutions (ie. none with other rules).

James Of England
Joined
Apr '11
James Of England

If Obama is winning the annual award from the leading (mostly) Catholic campaign for religious liberty in a few years time, I'll be prepared to revise my views of his mandate. Until then, it seems pretty clear that the Catholic Church does not view as equivalent things that it accepts and things that it rejects.

Santorum, it is worth noting, is more precise in his objection; it's still false, in that it claims that it was in violation of Catholic conscience and in that it claims that it was Romney's choice, and misleading in that it fairly clearly implies a link with Romneycare, but much, much less so.

Lucy Pevensie
Joined
Nov '10
Lucy Pevensie

JoBeth Gerrard

George Savage

JoBeth, Peter understands it all perfectly well.  It's just that he is a great interviewer, so he follows-up with the standard argument against private retirement accounts:  What happens when the market takes a dive?  The result is that we all got to see and evaluateNewt'sresponse to what would surely be President Obama's argument in the general election.

Oh I see. Peter Robinson is the Inspector Clouseau of interviewers. He onlyappearsto be bumbling around without a clue about the real world of jobs and savings.  What can I say? He certainly made Gingrich look brilliant by comparison.  Well done. 

Really?  You really can't understand that interviewing technique?  A good interviewer uses it all the time.  He would be less deft and professional if every time he was, in effect, quoting someone else's ideas he said "Some critics would argue . . . "   That would sound really clunky.  It's not that he's bumbling: he's spare and elegant in style, and you seem to have missed the   between-the-lines content. 

Lucy Pevensie
Joined
Nov '10
Lucy Pevensie

By the way, the interview was fabulous, as expected. Thanks, Peter.  I don't know; every time you folks convince me that I have to pick one of the other candidates, Newt comes back and reminds me why I love him.  When he's good, he's really, really good.  

Freeven
Joined
Dec '10
Freeven

Barfly

Freeven Yeah. I could vote for this Newt. · 3 hours ago

LOL scornfully. The majority of knocks against Newt are second hand, the product of others' manufacture and your credulity. Not sayin' there's nothing valid against him, but on balance I hear way more smoke than fire. (Sorry, borken metaphor.)

A challenge: for what serious arguments againstthat otherGingrich can you find compelling evidence, of sufficient length and depth to provide independent context? Are you just hitchhiking on the bandwagon?

Jeez. I bet a lot of you people believe in anthropogenic global warming, too. No, oops, wait, bad example, ... · 23 hours ago

You assume too much here. I was on board with Newt, flaws and all, even after he embarrassed himself with his attacks on Romney's work at Bain and his feeble attempts to defend his work at Freddie Mac. I still prefer him strongly to Romney. Santorum, I think, is a better choice, however, and once he became viable my support shifted to him. If Santorum were to fall out of contention, I'd return to Newt. I just wish he were more consistently the Newt we see in the video.

R. Craigen
Joined
Nov '10
R. Craigen

The prop 8 decision was not an example of the (very real) war on religion -- it was a war on "We the people" as articulated in the founding documents.

Scott Reusser
Joined
May '10
Scott Reusser

He looked exhausted to me but was irresistable as always (and it was a great interview, also as always).

I'd like to hear him defend his Medicare reform against charges that it's unworkable. Most critiques I've seen describe it as offering a choice between a Ryan-like defined-contribution plan and our current and unaltered defined-benefit plan, with the latter continuing with its spiraling-upward funding -- a fact that would make the playing field unlevel and ensure that the status quo remains the "better" choice for seniors in perpetuity.

Since Medicare reform is our most pressing and toughest nut to crack -- yes, way more than Social Security reform -- getting a workable plan from each of the candidates is important. Romney's got one. Santorum, too. But not Newt, best I can tell. 

Larry Koler
Joined
Jun '10
Larry Koler

Kervinlee

Freeven

Kervinlee: I know all the knocks on him, but I still find him an attractive candidate in many ways. After this interview, I find myself asking: why shouldn't he be elected? · 1 hour ago

Yeah. I could vote for thisNewt. · 1 hour ago

I take your point. · Feb. 17 at 4:20pm

This is the real Newt -- no filter, no commentators. The other Newt that some people worry about is, at root, a phantasmagorical caricature created by the left. Believe your own eyes and ears. 

Larry Koler
Joined
Jun '10
Larry Koler

James Of England

This is a particularly good example of Peter's interviewing skills. Enough depth to produce interesting statements, but moving quickly. Some pressure, but with enough comfort that Newt is thinking about policy rather than worrying about potential gotchas.

...

Perfect explanation. You've got it.

Larry Koler
Joined
Jun '10
Larry Koler

Freeven

LOL scornfully. The majority of knocks against Newt are second hand, the product of others' manufacture and your credulity. Not sayin' there's nothing valid against him, but on balance I hear way more smoke than fire. (Sorry, borken metaphor.)

A challenge: for what serious arguments againstthat otherGingrich can you find compelling evidence, of sufficient length and depth to provide independent context? Are you just hitchhiking on the bandwagon?

Jeez. I bet a lot of you people believe in anthropogenic global warming, too. No, oops, wait, bad example, ... · 23 hours ago

...

Santorum, I think, is a better choice, however, and once he became viable my support shifted to him. ...

When did Santorum become viable? Did I miss something? 

It's silly to be so desperate that we try to fit Santorum into the presidency. He is not viable. He cannot win. He won't be supported when push comes to shove -- and it will come to that pushing and shoving point. 

Santorum's "viability" is a symptom of the dysfunctional state of the Republicans and the conservatives. 


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