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 17, 2011 at 4:28 am
JeffC,
I agree.
Newt not only supports the right things, he is by far the most capable. The way he mobilized people as speaker was amazing. He scares the media….
As for global warming…. not so concerned with his commercial.
November 17, 2011 at 1:11 pm
The Cathholic Blogosphere wouldn't elect Jesus Christ …Hanging out with prostitutes, a long haired Occupy Wall Street kind of guy and what was with all that drinking and feasts, turning water into wine and all that.
November 17, 2011 at 4:56 pm
"Gingrich converted to Catholicism after he married the churchgoing, choir-singing Callista. After his annulment from his second wife came through, he and Callista renewed their marriage vows in the House chapel with the Catholic House chaplain, Father Daniel Coughlin." — Maureen Dowd.
Now I'm expecting that Mo has her facts straight. This means that Newt is Married to his one Catholic wife in a lifetime sacramental covenant. We Catholics believe in redemption, and the forgiveness of sins. If he's been to confession, his sins are forgiven. If his prior marriages have been validly annulled, then he's legitimately married to his final wife.
However, he still has to pay the temporal punishment for his prior misdeeds. This may mean that people won't vote for him. So be it. Actions have consequences.
My list of candidates currently reads:
1. Herman Cain
2. Michelle Bachmann
3. Newt Gingrich
4. Ron Paul
5. Rick Perry
6. Rick Santorum*
7. John Huntsman
8. Mitt Romney
I will work for them in that order in the primary. As each one drops out, I'll shift to my next dance partner until there's only one left, and I'll dance with him (or her) right into the general election.
Rabbi Lapin says that we're supposed to vote to minimize evil. In a contest between any of those candidates above and Barack Obama, they are the lesser evil. I believe those who stay home because they want to vote for a saint may be partly responsible for "the devil" being elected. We can't make the perfect the enemy of the good.
November 17, 2011 at 4:57 pm
Oh, and I *'ed Santorum because I love him to death. He, I consider, is the best *person*. But beating Obama is a requirement, and I don't think he can do it.
November 18, 2011 at 3:03 pm
some of the purists insist on principle, but then practically won't vote for an independent or third party candidate. http://www.voteforjoe.com/#!__policies-in-short/policies
Re Mr Gingrich: has he repeated his moral faults since becoming Catholic?