So if you had told me a month ago that a pro-life Catholic man was looking strong for the GOP nomination I would’ve thought that Santorum’s campaign caught fire or Governor Bobby Jindal entered the race.
But alas neither of those two things happened. New Gingrich is currently making a strong run in the polls.
Breitbart reports:
White House hopeful Newt Gingrich, the former US House speaker whose campaign to win the Republican nomination appeared all but over just weeks ago, has surged toward the front of the pack.
His campaign’s revival follows the rise and fall of leading rivals, most recently former Godfather’s Pizza chief executive Herman Cain who is battling a sexual harassment scandal and stumbled badly Monday in responding to a question on Libya.
The Republican Party has struggled to find the right alternative to frontrunner Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor seen by many as the most formidable challenger to President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election but who has been unable to gain support of the party’s conservative base.
While congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Texas Governor Rick Perry, two conservative party rivals, shot to the top of the heap as soon as they entered the race only to see their campaigns fizzle, Gingrich has trended in the opposite direction.
His detailed ideas to overcome such US hurdles as budget deficits coupled with his recent string of strong debate performances has helped reignite the campaign, political operatives said.
Gingrich took the lead in a Public Policy Polling survey released Monday with 28 percent support, compared with 25 percent for Cain and 18 for Romney.
A pro-life Catholic GOP nominee! But why aren’t I more excited? Wait. Why aren’t I excited at all?
What is it about Newt that makes this Anybody but Mitt Republican feel like…meh. There’s the stepping out on the wife. There’s the global warming ad with Pelosi. There’s lots. How about you?
And should we be taking this surge seriously? I mean, it seems like every two weeks we have a candidacy surge to the front and then falter back behind Romney. Will the Newt bubble be different?
But if we discard Newt, who else is there? Will the specter of Mitt force me to accept Newt?
I can’t believe there’s a pro-life Catholic that I’m not interested in for the Presidency. Sad.
November 15, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Ann here is quite emphatic and colorful in telling Romney to beat it http://divine-ripples.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-romney-must-not-get-nomination.html So, he's a no-go for me too.
As for Newt, you can see the glass as half-empty or half-full.
November 15, 2011 at 7:24 pm
I have to agree. There is just something about Gingrich that bothers me. Part of it is he's really just another politician. I'm sick of them all.
November 15, 2011 at 7:38 pm
Newt has serious personal baggage that needs to be considered and addressed. The global warming ad is just not among them. It's just a really stupid and trivial thing to be keying in on when looking for flaws.
November 15, 2011 at 7:39 pm
Newt vs Obama? Newt, of course. He has experience to know what are mistakes.
Romney vs Obama? Romney, what else can I do?
Cain vs Obama? Cain, but it is a blind game.
Perry vs Obama? Perry, but I will be in trouble trying to listen Perry.
Bachamann vs Obama? Bachamann, but who is the VP?
Santorum vs Obama? Santorum, with love. He is the best.
November 15, 2011 at 9:21 pm
You people are stupid to keep overlooking the only Republican candidate who went to the pro-life march in 2008, and is a strong pro-lifer having himself witness an abortion and that is Dr. Ron Paul, who is being ignored by CBS during their own polling. No matter what your opinion may be on his other views, he is the only candidate out there who is a military and a doctor and is capable of beating Obama next year.
November 15, 2011 at 10:09 pm
With his documentary film called Nine Days that Changed the world – a film about Pope John Paull II, Newt Gingrich has made a lasting contribution to the Catholic faith – no matter the outcome of the election, given the beat down the Catholic faith has endured in the last few years, it is inspiring to see an initiative by Newt Gingrich and his wife that reminds us of the greatness of the Catholic faith.
read
Newt Gingrich and the Greatness of the Catholic Faith at
http://www.ministryvalues.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1518&Itemid=125
November 15, 2011 at 10:41 pm
*nodding*
November 15, 2011 at 10:44 pm
Which wife would that be? There are so many to choose from.
This is the man who famously said: "It doesn't matter what I do," he answered. "People need to hear what I have to say. There's no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn't matter what I live."
That is one preachy hypocrite. And proud of it.
(Dear God, what grown man calls himself Newt?)
November 15, 2011 at 10:49 pm
I'll defend anyone on how they choose to vote. Some vote strictly on principle and others vote tactically. Thankfully, guidance from the Church does make it possible to vote both ways at times.
That being said, I think some of the more purist tones within the Catholic Blogosphere on who we should vote for is getting a bit out of hand. Yes, none of the GOP candidates is perfect. No shock in my opinion. In fact, I'm not expecting perfect Catholic rule until Christ the King comes back.
At some point, we have to engage in the secular world and at times that means voting for imperfect candidates. I didn't vote in the last Presidential election but I can certainly say that I would rather have McCain's Supreme Court picks over the current President. Some of the Catholic bloggers are a bit too prideful in their proclamations of how they aren't going to vote for any of the GOP hopefuls given said individuals can't pass their purity test. Something can be said for working to get the best man elected and then fall back on prayer.
November 16, 2011 at 12:14 am
Might be a good idea to bring in Sarah Palin? Don't shoot! I'm just asking…
November 16, 2011 at 12:20 am
I am with Stu about the Purist tones. The Catholic critics allow the main stream media to define Newt Gingrich but won't take the time to watch Gingrich's great film on Pope Paul II or at least the trailer on the website and investigate Newt on there own. One sound bite and the Catholic critics have Newt nailed. It is depressing really.
November 16, 2011 at 2:50 am
Gingrich was asked on Special Report on Fox News about the environmental kookery ad with Pelosi, and he laughed and said it was one of the stupidest things he had ever done. That's an admirable admission.
November 16, 2011 at 4:49 am
Paul is the best candidate, with Santorum and Gingrich close behind. Pro-life must be an issue in this election!
November 16, 2011 at 6:24 am
Newt Gingrich nailed himself, and the Catholic critics had nothing to do with it. They simply have eyes to see what the man does, and ears to hear what he says.
Doesn't anyone remember the name Dede Scozzafava?
Saith the Newt: "“Our best chance to put responsible and principled leaders in Washington starts here, with Dede Scozzafava.” She was so "principled" that she was pro-abortion, favored same-sex marriage, backed President Obama's economic porkulus plan, and wanted to give unions card-check power over employees.
Thank God the party rid itself of her, despite Newt fighting conservatives every step of the way. Do you really want this man picking your Supreme Court Justices? Hell to the no.
November 16, 2011 at 6:32 am
And no mention of the historically consistant PRO LIFE Dr Ron Paul, came in 2nd in the Iowa poll…. He beat Newt!
November 16, 2011 at 11:28 am
Blackrep,
If it came down to Obama picking SC justices and Gingrich picking SC justices, I would Gingrich every time.
I know what Obama has picked and will pick (Kagan and Sotomayer). With Gingrich, I have some hope of principled picks.
Now one can say they aren't going to choose between either and vote for a third party or not vote at all. That's a valid choice and I defend it. But no matter what the Catholic Purity Party proponents say, it is also a valid choice to take the lesser of two evils given the overwhelming odds that either democrat (Obama) or a republican (one of the current hopefuls) has any chance of winning.
November 16, 2011 at 11:43 am
As a Catholic victim of divorce and the certain complicity of the Catholic Church in encouraging ad supporting adultery, unjust divorce and support for infidelity and marital abandonment, I will not vote for Newt. Even if my vote were to be the deciding vote, I would not cast it for him.
He should divorce his current lover, repent of his entire history which remains scandalous, chastize openly the laxity of the Catholic Church regarding divorce and nullity and then accept the celibate life and embrace it.
Then, I might consider him a serious Catholic. Otherwise, he is just another dirtbag sucking up to the Catholic Church in America, which has for the past two generation been a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Karl
November 16, 2011 at 6:34 pm
People tend to look at orthodoxy as the ability to talk a good game. (That would include some of you.) Ah, but one must be judged by their actions. Yes, we can say that Mr Gingrich has turned over a new leaf with his third wife, that he has "put on the new man." But did he suffer any consequences for his past actions? Is there any real indication that he has changed? In other words, has he retained enough of the "old man" to give one pause?
Judgmental? Yes, it is. As a candidate for the Presidency, he is ASKING for us to judge him. Any man can say what they're going to do if you give them something. What we can be sure of, is what a man has done.
In Gingrich's case, it hasn't cost him anything, which tells me what I need to know.
November 16, 2011 at 7:01 pm
I have issues with all of the GOP presidential candidates. But any one of them would be infinitely better than Obama. If we reelect Obama, we may lose our religious liberties, and our economy will most certainly suffer. As the saying goes, let's not make the perfect the enemy of the good. I agree with Stu.
November 16, 2011 at 9:15 pm
If you listen to the Catholic Blogosphere…most of them wouldn't elect St. Augustine as president (illegitmate child, couldn't control his appetites, etc.). Gingrich might not be the best person, but he is the most electable of the GOP nominees (with all due respect to Dr. Paul).