George Will’s “Farewell to Newt”

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MSM is always behind when it comes to recognizing significant stories on the center-right. Even now most of them are unaware that Newt’s campaign is in grave danger of bleeding out, though if they listened to talk radio or watched FNC’s Special Report they would have been in the know for two days.

When on Monday Newt Gingrich attacked Mitt Romney’s time at Bain, I posted the video first posted by Time’s Mark Halperin (nearly alone among the MSMers in sensing it was important) and devoted my entire show to the significance of the one-minute self-immolation. As my radio show began, so did Brett Baier’s television show and during my breaks I listened in as I usually do to see what that superbly produced program is covering, and found that the shock at Gingrich’s remarks had instantly struck two of conservatism’s most influential television presences. I thus wove into my show the audio of the critiques that occurred simultaneously from Charles Krauthammer and Brit Hume. All three of us and many in the audience had reacted the same way to Newt’s outburst: That wasn’t a “gaffe,” a 57-state $10,000 bet on naming three agencies; that was a defining moment.

Gingrich supporters called the show to protest that it wasn’t a big deal. Even yesterday pro-Newt callers gamely tried to explain the Laws of Newtonian Rhetoric and why under them the former Speaker didn’t mean what he had said. Gingrich himself released a letter promising to stay positive and exiled an Iowa staffer who had played a Mormon card in Iowa.

That pledge to stay high road won’t save Newt’s surge because the shock wasn’t at taking a swing at Romney. That’s to be expected. It is because of the substance of the attack, the adoption of class warfare rhetoric at exactly a moment when the conservative movement is sick-to-death of the OWS and the president’s serial assaults on the private sector.

Today George Will sums up the argument about the significance of the Gingrich roundhouse that hit himself.

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George Will isn’t a Gingrich fan. Oddly (for someone who also doesn’t like Newt) I find myself saying: of all the things the guy has said and done, *this* is the one you want to take him to task for? Seems like no big deal, especially for someone who is known to run his mouth.
Latest polling in Iowa not looking so good for Newt: http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/poll-dramatic-drop-gingrich-support-iowa/258131

So that article by Hugh Hewitt should be no surprise to anyone… Hewitt, whom I generally like, has been carrying the Romney water since the ’08 elections. He’s a die-hard for Mitt. No idea why anyone likes Mitt but the establishment sure is doing his work for him.

Why are so many leading Conservatives like Will,Coulter,Beck, Medved,Keene,Weyrich,O’Donnell etc. dissing Newt in favor of Mitt. Is Romney actually more of a true Conservative?

Add Nikki Haley to the list. I ask again Why is the Tea Party backing Romney? Is he the true Conservative amongst the winnable contenders.Beck questions whether Tea Partiers who support Newt are racists.Reacting?
btw. Newts #’s are now heading South.Is he finished?

It appears Iowa caucus could be won with less than 21% of the vote ‘Romney,Gingrich,Paul( in no particular order) 17-21%, Bachmann(had a great debate and a neighbor) and Santorum(hardest working pol in Iowa 12-16%.Perry and Huntsman also rans.
Because for the f irst time Repub. primaries are proportional rather than winner take all the race will be long and shifting with money needed to compete in all 50 states.
BTW Dems “proportional” primary in 2008 allowed BHO to beat HRC who would have won under previously used winner take all format.

If Paul wins Iowa I’d expect even more Conservs. to dump Gingrich for Romney.

Yes, the theory is that that’s why the media is being moderately nice to Paul at the moment rather than nuking him from orbit – it theoretically should help Romney.