# Documenting the downfall of Newt **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 7, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077 "2012-02-07T15:46:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/61 "2012-03-28T14:44:42Z")
I think it’s time for one more _Downfall_ parody, with Newt’s sizable face superimposed over Bruno Ganz’s. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/62 "2012-03-28T15:01:26Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Gingrich [changes campaign managers; lays off 1/3 of staff](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/28/gingrich-faults-fundraising-for-campaign-changes/?hpt=hp_t3). So what’s his plan? Hope that Mitt falls short, and then convince enough delegates to come over to his side, even though he’s running a distant third? Man, this guy is really grasping for straws here. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/63 "2012-03-28T15:09:38Z")
His plan is that he will give a brilliant speech… not from the convention hall podium because they won’t let him near that, but somewhere, and the delegates will finally recognize his destiny to change the world, and proclaim him the nominee. Palin has a similar plan – to whisper in everyone’s ears that she’s available, and when the convention becomes deadlocked, they will come to her to save the Republican party. ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/64 "2012-03-28T15:35:27Z")
The meek may inherit the earth, but they don’t win elections. Arrogance and overconfidence seem to be essential for anyone hoping to succeed in politics. Unfortunately, they also make failure that much more spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/65 "2012-03-28T15:49:11Z")
His plan is that Romney drops dead between now and August. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/66 "2012-03-28T16:33:04Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > His plan is that Romney drops dead between now and August. And that Santorum, shall we say, reveals the cause of his obsession with teh gayz. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/67 "2012-03-28T16:36:00Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > And that Santorum, shall we say, reveals the cause of his obsession with teh gayz. And that Paul . . . remains Paul. I think perhaps a lot more Pubs like him than will ever actually vote for him. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/68 "2012-03-28T17:26:34Z")
Isn’t this the second time he’s… streamlined… his campaign staff? About a year ago, IIRC, most of them quit. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/70 "2012-03-29T13:22:49Z")
> [@Rasmussener](#): > > Nah. If you feel bad about your prospects, you do not let your campaign go up in flames. Stop sooner or out of the race. If Gingrich were 2016, we hear the same thing that we need to hear - but earlier in the race, and with an additional "Are you mad, he could not beat Romney, and he is too old. "There will be 73, election day, the 2016th Romney is the favorite this year because in 2012 he (like some other candidates) really bombed, but he had time, money and connections, learn from mistakes. He was a candidate for the presidency since January 2007 (and it was really ready for it), but a break - I guess -. February to November 2008, I do not think Gingrich is the support or the stomach for this kind of thing. What is this, some kind of bot that clips bits from other posts? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/71 "2012-03-29T14:08:21Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > What is this, some kind of bot that clips bits from other posts? Yeah, there are lots of those. I guess I should be flattered, but… banned. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/72 "2012-03-29T14:19:28Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > He might have better luck doing it [the other way around](http://bestofcalvinandhobbes.com/2012/03/calvins-world-class-sales-trick-the-pitcher-of-plague/). I’d pay $1 to avoid being photographed with him. But I’d rather just leave the room than have to ante up. ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/73 "2012-04-10T16:22:07Z")
I’ve taken a break from the boards and from looking at politics for the past week, so let’s catch up on Mr. Potato Head’s continuing slide into irrelevance… April 4th: The Gingrich Group LLC, doing business as the Center for Health Transformation, [filed for bankruptcy](http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/05/11036798-gingrich-group-files-for-bankruptcy). The bankruptcy follows the same pattern of [other businesses](http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-20/politics/30537084_1_callista-gingrich-group-newt-gingrich) which Gingrich founded and then left: [ul] [li]The group uses Gingrich to leverage donations for a vague cause,[/li][li]Gingich lobbys on behalf of the group. Yes, he claims he “isn’t a lobbyist”, in the words of [Mitt Romney](http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/23/us-usa-campaign-idUSTRE80I2AT20120123) (describing Gingrich’s advocacy on behalf of Fannie Mae) “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck,”[/li][li]Gingirch extracts wealth (in the form of consulting fees, book sales, subsidies for his campaign, promissory notes, etc.),[/li][li]Gingrich eventually cuts ties with the group (because he makes another run for office, or the cause becomes unpopular with the GOP base),[/li][li]Donations dry up, group goes bankrupt.[/li][/ul] In this case Newt wasn’t fast enough to the till–his history of looting his LLC’s and the scrutiny that comes with running for president can do that. One of the assets he listed on his financial disclosure forms is a promissory note from Gingrich Group worth between $5-$25 million. Good luck with collecting on that. ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/74 "2012-04-11T22:43:30Z")
April 11th: Yesterday the [Salt Lake Tribune](http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/53886982-90/utah-romney-gingrich-campaign.html.csp) reported that the Gingrich campaign’s $500 check to the Utah State elections board–the filing fee to get on the statewide ballot–bounced. Today, Mr. Gingrich addressed the issue at a campaign stop with the following [defense](http://news.yahoo.com/gingrich-defends-utah-bounced-check-185831089--abc-news-politics.html): [QUOTE=Newt Gingrich] "This is one of those goofy things…That check was drawn in December. The account actually was closed by the time they processed it. It wasn’t a question of money. That particular bank account was closed…I went back and checked and it was entirely a technical question of the bank being closed. “It wasn’t that we didn’t have the money in the bank but that particular account had been closed as they made a transition to a different bank on January 1.” [/quote] Although I’m certain that this was nothing more than a comical oversight (one that will be a premise in every late-night hosts monologue tonight), here’s a good example of how Newt’s inability to just keep his mouth shut does him in. A simple “There was a technical error, and it’s been addressed” or a quick, self-deprecating joke would have been fine. Instead he gives the kind of rambling, guileful excuse used by every deadbeat who ever came up short for a debt. ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/75 "2012-04-13T14:55:34Z")
April 12th: You know how near the end of the movie when the villain is in trouble he starts [killing his lackeys](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/04/12/gingrich_unloads_on_fox_news_in_private_meeting___113818.html)… > [@](#): > > During a meeting with 18 Delaware Tea Party leaders here on Wednesday, Newt Gingrich lambasted FOX News Channel, accusing the cable network of having been in the tank for Mitt Romney from the beginning of the Republican presidential fight… > > “I think FOX has been for Romney all the way through…In our experience, Callista and I both believe CNN is less biased than FOX this year. We are more likely to get neutral coverage out of CNN than we are of FOX, and we’re more likely to get distortion out of FOX. That’s just a fact. On News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch: > [@](#): > > “I assume it’s because Murdoch at some point [who] said, ‘I want Romney,’ and so ‘fair and balanced’ became ‘Romney,’…And there’s no question that Fox had a lot to do with stopping my campaign because such a high percentage of our base watches FOX.” On syndicated Washington Post columnist George Will: > [@](#): > > “In the case of Will, I was on [George] Stephanopoulos on Sunday morning with him, and it was kind of a ‘You’re not allowed to run for office – I mean, if you could run for office, why am I not running for office?’…And it’s almost like they were personally offended. You know, ‘This can’t be real, and how can this guy go do that?’ I got that reaction from Will a few years back about writing a book because I’m supposed to be a politician. He’s supposed to be the writer. Well, I’ve now written 24 books, and 13 of them are New York Times bestsellers. I mean, there’s a morning when George ought to just get over it.” On the conservative media in general, and why he won’t hang at the cool kids table in the high-school cafeteria: > [@](#): > > “I don’t go to their cocktail parties. I don’t go to their Christmas parties. The only press events I go to are interesting dinners when the wife insists on it, so we’re going to go to the White House Correspondents’ dinner because she wants to. And we’re actually going to go to CNN’s table, not FOX.” Finally, on the presumed country-club elitism of the Republican Party: > [@](#): > > “The Republican Party is a managerial party that doesn’t like to fight, doesn’t like to read books…This is why the Tea Party was so horrifying. Tea Partiers were actually learning about the Declaration of Independence. They wanted to talk about the Federalist Papers. It was weird. They could be golfing.” Newt continues to vow he will take his campaign all the way to Tampa, and is focusing all of his limited resources on Delaware prior to the state’s April 24th primary. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/76 "2012-04-13T15:01:48Z")
What, you expected him to go gracefully? I do believe he doesn’t get invited to their Christmas parties. Would _you_ order an extra goose just for Newt Gingrich? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/77 "2012-04-13T15:52:33Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > What, you expected him to go gracefully? I do believe he doesn’t get invited to their Christmas parties. Would _you_ order an extra goose just for Newt Gingrich? Well, if he did show up I’d like to serve him some of the humble pie, at least. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/78 "2012-04-13T15:57:07Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > What, you expected him to go gracefully? I do believe he doesn’t get invited to their Christmas parties. Would _you_ order an extra goose just for Newt Gingrich? Only if it was his own goose I was cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/79 "2012-04-13T16:17:18Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Only if it was his own goose I was cooking. I think the Republican electorate has been attending to that quite diligently. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/80 "2012-04-13T18:20:00Z")
If you gave to Newt, brace for a flood of junk mail: > [@](#): > > [Newt Gingrich rents donor list to raise cash](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/75095.html) > > Desperate times in the Newt Gingrich camp have called for desperate measures. > > Scrambling to dig himself out of a $4.5 million hole, the former House speaker has resorted to renting his presidential campaign’s most valuable asset – its donor list – for as much as $26,000-a-pop. > > It’s a risky move for an active presidential campaign to give outsiders access to his best supporters and possibly donors who could be easily turned off — just as he says he’s trying to mount a comeback. Diminishing his best asset looks more like a sign of surrender, rather than a genuine effort to challenge Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination… I have a mental image of Newt’s donors getting spammed with boner pill ads and business opportunities from exiled Nigerian VIPs. 😛 How, pray tell, did a paragon of Fiscal Responsibilty[tm] like Newt get into this hole? Well… > [@](#): > > Campaign insiders attribute the problems partly to Gingrich and his wife Callista’s, asserting that the couple was unwilling to downgrade from private jets and security details even as the campaign floundered. Insiders say Callista Gingrich required an entourage of at least two staffers – including one who dressed in an elephant costume to promote her children’s book – and a contracted security guard who followed her even on non-campaign trips. Belt-tightening is for the little people, dontcha know. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077/81 "2012-04-17T15:41:59Z")
April 13th: Although [Mitt Romney’s tepid speech](http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/13/politics/romney-nra-speech/index.html) to the NRA (and the audience’s equally tepid-yet-resigned response) was widely reported, little attention was paid to the other current/former Republican presidential candidates who spoke to the same group that day. That’s a shame, because Newt Gingrich used his opportunity to call for [universal gun rights](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/13/newt-gingrich-calls-for-universal-right-to-bear-arms-at-nra-forum.html): > [@](#): > > “The right to bear arms comes from our creator, not our government,” Gingrich said. The NRA “has been too timid” in promoting its agenda beyond American borders. The Bill of Rights was not written only for Americans, he said. “It is a universal document.” > > “A Gingrich presidency will submit to the UN a treaty that extends the right to bear arms as a human right to every person on the planet.” Every world citizen, he said, “deserves the right to defend themselves from those who exploit, imprison, or kill them.” For his latest big idea, Gingrich earned a standing ovation from the crowd of roughly 5,000. This and the [Moon Base campaign speech](http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/26/us-usa-campaign-gingrich-space-idUSTRE80P05K20120126) he made before a Florida group of space enthusiasts illustrate the main problem with the Gingrich campaign. He’s so addicted to winning big applause from the group he’s currently standing in front of that he’ll let his pandering reach obscene and hilarious levels. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documenting-the-downfall-of-newt/612077.md?page=5)