# Gingrich, We Hardly Knew Ye. . **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 9, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898 "2011-06-09T19:14:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Profound\_Gibberish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Profound\_Gibberish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profound_Gibberish)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/1 "2011-06-09T19:14:26Z")
[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43343808/ns/politics-decision\_2012/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43343808/ns/politics-decision_2012/) I was going to post a thread this morning titled “Where the Hell is Gingrich,” but I had to like, work and stuff. I check the news and whammo! Is there anyone less shcocked than I that his staff is leaving him? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/2 "2011-06-09T19:22:57Z")
> [@dbx820](#): > > [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43343808/ns/politics-decision\_2012/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43343808/ns/politics-decision_2012/) > > I was going to post a thread this morning titled “Where the Hell is Gingrich,” but I had to like, work and stuff. I check the news and whammo! > > Is there anyone less shcocked than I that his staff is leaving him? Gingrich never had a chance in the first place, but once he pissed off the Tea Party he was really done. I thought his team would go through the motions a while longer though. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/3 "2011-06-09T19:43:36Z")
I didn’t get why they left from the article. Was he not crazy enough? Too crazy? Or was it clear that he didn’t really care. Going on a cruise after you announce, which is when the spotlight is on you, is just nuts. But this is good news for the McCain campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Profound\_Gibberish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Profound\_Gibberish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profound_Gibberish)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/4 "2011-06-09T19:46:54Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > But this is good news for the McCain campaign. Are you implying that McCain is going to be the White Knight of the Republican nomination 😉 😕 :eek: ---
**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:** [June 9, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/5 "2011-06-09T19:50:30Z")
Clearly, his staff just doesn’t get it. Campaigns like Newt’s only come along once or twice a century (thank Og). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/6 "2011-06-09T19:54:32Z")
I set his chances [at zero from the very beginning](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13783375&postcount=37), but even I’m astonished at how quickly Newt’s campaign has self-destructed. Almost overnight, he went from being a total joke in the eyes of some of us, to being a total joke in the eyes of pretty much everybody. Meanwhile, speaking of total jokes that nobody gives a shit about anymore and have only a marginally greater chance of winning the GOP nomination than you or I do, [Bill Kristol says Rudy 9/11 is running](http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/rudys-running_573998.html). I know the other candidates will be losing immeasurably minute amounts of sleep over the challenges that Rudy presents as a rival. ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Goliath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rex\_Goliath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Goliath)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/7 "2011-06-09T20:31:52Z")
“Fuck it, we’ll do it live!” ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/8 "2011-06-09T20:41:06Z")
How much you want to bet that Newt’s campaign staff saw the contributions weren’t going to make payroll through Friday? ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/9 "2011-06-09T20:41:53Z")
This will free Newt up to head the Weiner probe. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/10 "2011-06-09T21:00:35Z")
I wish the title of this thread were true. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/11 "2011-06-09T21:05:51Z")
> [@dbx820](#): > > Are you implying that McCain is going to be the White Knight of the Republican nomination 😉 😕 :eek: I would guess that **Voyager** ’s referencing a joke/meme from the 2008 election campaign. In response to some particularly ridiculous attempts by the McCain campaign to spin bad news, people took to proclaiming every event as “GOOD NEWS for John McCain”, especially if it was irrelevant (or even disastrous) to McCain. ---
**Author:** ![Profound\_Gibberish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Profound\_Gibberish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profound_Gibberish)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/12 "2011-06-09T21:06:29Z")
Has-been politicians are like vampires–they rise from the dead, scare the crap out of people, and then go away when light is cast upon them. Only to return, again and again. . . . . ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/13 "2011-06-09T21:55:18Z")
I don’t understand the vacation break, mentioned in the article as a Greek island cruise, and in the New York Times as a _two-week absence_ from the campaign trail. That seems like a crazy long time to step away after announcing your bid for the presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/14 "2011-06-09T22:49:24Z")
Apparently they quit because of his wife: [http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/problem-was-wife\_574027.html](http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/problem-was-wife_574027.html) (the cruise was her idea). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/15 "2011-06-09T22:54:20Z")
Well, that’s a dumb reason to quit his campaign. I’ll bet if they had just waited, there would have been a new wife. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/16 "2011-06-09T23:12:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I don’t understand the vacation break, mentioned in the article as a Greek island cruise, and in the New York Times as a _two-week absence_ from the campaign trail. That seems like a crazy long time to step away after announcing your bid for the presidency. Well, it’s not like Gingrich’s presence was actually helping his campaign. I mean, their best shot was probably to have him be on cruise until the convention, and hope that people figured that if he’d gone that long without making an ass out himself, it’s really impressive by Gingrich standards. ---
**Author:** ![JimH52](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@JimH52](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimH52)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/17 "2011-06-09T23:58:14Z")
Mister Morality has lost his staff. He is toast. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/18 "2011-06-10T00:18:01Z")
How long before Newt is looking for a 4th wife? This one struck me as a “Dragon Lady” that was in it for ambition and Tiffany’s. That has all crashed and burned. Newt is now radioactive. Let’s check back in a year or so. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/19 "2011-06-10T00:33:33Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I didn’t get why they left from the article. Was he not crazy enough? Too crazy? Or was it clear that he didn’t really care. Going on a cruise after you announce, which is when the spotlight is on you, is just nuts. > > But this is good news for the McCain campaign. They figured they get out while the other campaigns are still staffing and moving. I’m guessing Gingrich might have told them in a staff meeting that he wasn’t as serious about the run as he should be. It’s almost like he’s playing for a vice presidential nomination, and that may even be a wise goal. Romney/Gingrich marks a reunion of some of his staffers that leave and come back and help out because they’re working for Romney. Enter the drama. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/20 "2011-06-10T00:40:03Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > They figured they get out while the other campaigns are still staffing and moving. I’m guessing Gingrich might have told them in a staff meeting that he wasn’t as serious about the run as he should be. It’s almost like he’s playing for a vice presidential nomination, and that may even be a wise goal. > > Romney/Gingrich marks a reunion of some of his staffers that leave and come back and help out because they’re working for Romney. Enter the drama. Edited to add: [Newt Gingrich Top Aide Says Disagreement Over 'Time Commitments' Prompted Departures | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/09/newt-gingrich-aides-rick-tyler_n_874452.html) Really edited to add: Shit. I quoted myself. I hate the inability to edit posts at will here. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898.md?page=2)