"Churchillian" Gingrich

"You must admit, there's something Churchillian about Newt Gingrich. He may not be the most beloved politician on the national scene, but Newt always has his eye on the ball. Nobody does the issues better." That is how William Tucker began his article on The American Spectator website.

Tucker, who assisted Gingrich in the writing of To Renew America, continues:

This casts Newt in the role that Churchill played when he was an obstreperous backbencher warning about the Nazis in the 1930s -- or perhaps what Ronald Reagan did in the 1970s when he was hounding the Republican Party by running against incumbent Gerald Ford. Neither man enjoyed his present historical reputation at that point. Churchill was an aging wonder boy who had turned into a national annoyance. Reagan was still considered an overly ambitious actor trying to play the part of a politician. Only when history turned in their direction did both men emerge as the peerless leaders they eventually became.

After laying out Newt's version of a 2010 Contract with America, Tucker lists the five steps Gingrich has to promote the new Contract:

1) Concentrate on real issues that already have voter approval.

2) Present the document as a forward-looking alternative, not a backward-looking recrimination.

3) Stay positive and optimistic.

4) Keep the document a House of Representatives affair. Invite the Senate to join but don't negotiate. "The House is inherently a team institution while individual Senators have enormous power."

5) Give the deliberations plenty of publicity over the summer holidays but don't unveil the final document until after Labor Day, when people really start to focus on the campaign.

Summarizing, Tucker writes, "The Tea Party Movement is giving the Republicans enormous electoral impetus. But somebody's got to channel this energy down a useful path. I think Newt's got the right idea."

10 Health Care Ideas

In a recent op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Newt Gingrich and John C. Goodman laid out ten health care ideas that so far have been ignored in the health care debate and which -- as opposed to most of the ideas pushed in Washington -- would go a long way to solving the problem of too few insured and high prices. Among the ideas proposed were making health insurance portable and electronic.

For years, Gingrich has been one of the few Republicans who could speak intelligently about health care. He has not been afraid to engage in discussions about the issue, also unlike many in his Party. He started the Center for Health Transformation in 2003 and has written many words about the issue.

Such a high-profile piece can only help to refute the claim from liberals that the Republicans only are screaming, "No!" to everything. They can keep sticking to that position, but in light of more writings like this and Paul Ryan's "A Roadmap for America's Future," it will only look ridiculous.

Introduction

I have started this blog to promote Newt Gingrich. My hope is that he runs for President in 2012, and that this blog can help get out the word, but if he does not, being able to promote his policies and strategies is enough for me.

Most of the updates will be focused on news and commentary from and about the former Speaker as well as opinion pieces from me.

Thanks for reading.