# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/142 "2011-12-03T13:59:06Z")
I am puzzled that the supporters that jumped from Bachmann to Perry to Cain have apparently now jumped to Gingrich. Bachmann/Perry/Cain are pretty much interchangeable Tea Party clones, but Newt is a Washington insider with a lot of baggage, both personal and professional. He has never been a big favorite with the Teahadists until now. So do they just have short memories, or are their principles just not that important in light of “anyone but Mitt” and “beat Obama” ? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/143 "2011-12-03T16:09:54Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > I suspect Newt dates back to a time when politicians still occasionally worked together to compromise rather than the knee jerk obstructionism that the current generation has been brought up to. Absolutely wrong. Gingrich was the central figure in \*creating \*this period of childishness. [Check](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOPAC#GOPAC_memo) [this](http://web.utk.edu/~glenn/GopacMemo.html) [out.](http://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/2008/09/21) > [@](#): > > As you know, one of the key points in the GOPAC tapes is that “language matters.” In the video “We are a Majority,” Language is listed as a key mechanism of control used by a majority party, along with Agenda, Rules, Attitude and Learning. As the tapes have been used in training sessions across the country and mailed to candidates we have heard a plaintive plea: “I wish I could speak like Newt.” > … > > Often we search hard for words to define our opponents. Sometimes we are hesitant to use contrast. Remember that creating a difference helps you. These are powerful words that can create a clear and easily understood contrast. Apply these to the opponent, their record, proposals and their party. > > abuse of power > anti- (issue): flag, family, child, jobs > betray > bizarre > bosses > bureaucracy > cheat > coercion > “compassion” is not enough > collapse(ing) > consequences > corrupt > corruption > criminal rights > crisis > cynicism > decay > deeper > destroy > destructive > devour > disgrace > endanger > excuses > failure (fail) > greed > hypocrisy > ideological > impose > incompetent > insecure > insensitive > intolerant > liberal > lie > limit(s) > machine > mandate(s) > obsolete > pathetic > patronage > permissive attitude > pessimistic > punish (poor …) > radical > red tape > self-serving > selfish > sensationalists > shallow > shame > sick > spend(ing) > stagnation > status quo > steal > taxes > they/them > threaten > traitors > unionized > urgent (cy) > waste > welfare Get the picture? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/144 "2011-12-03T17:10:03Z")
If he appears in _Doonesbury_ cartoons, I wonder if Trudeau will use the same icon that he gave Newt in the 90s… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/145 "2011-12-03T17:13:49Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > If he appears in _Doonesbury_ cartoons, I wonder if Trudeau will use the same icon that he gave Newt in the 90s… That was the bomb, wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/146 "2011-12-03T18:07:23Z")
Look, Gingrich really does project everything America hates about the GOP, all the very worst nastiness of it – in fact, he probably will remind people of Cheney and Rove, whose memories are yet fresh, and sore – and if the American people are given a choice between embracing that and rejecting it, a majority will reject it. Newt couldn’t beat Lyndon LaRouche. Romney’s really the Pubs’ best hope. At least he doesn’t inspire visceral revulsion (nor much of anything else) in all warm-blooded vertebrates. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/147 "2011-12-03T18:10:04Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Romney’s really the Pubs’ best hope. At least he doesn’t inspire visceral revulsion (nor much of anything else) in all warm-blooded vertebrates. Except dogs. They remember. Theeeey remember… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/148 "2011-12-03T23:40:33Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > If he appears in _Doonesbury_ cartoons, I wonder if Trudeau will use the same icon that he gave Newt in the 90s… > [@jayjay](#): > > That was the bomb, wasn’t it? Yup. Maybe he’ll draw Newt as a a fizzled-out firecracker. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/149 "2011-12-05T13:58:03Z")
Newt Gingrich is much like what Churchill said about John Foster Dulles: “He is the only bull I know who carries his own china shop around with him.” ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/150 "2011-12-05T15:31:46Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Get the picture? Yes, we see.\* TPM reporter [Eric Kleefeld had a brilliant tweet](http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2011/12/eric-kleefeld-is-cruel.html): > [@](#): > > Just got tip that a woman who had affair with Newt is going to surface — Callista is hitting the campaign trail. - ETA: bonus points for getting the reference. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/151 "2011-12-05T15:37:27Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Newt Gingrich is much like what Churchill said about John Foster Dulles: “He is the only bull I know who carries his own china shop around with him.” _[Please keep your bull outside the china shop, no bulls allowed, that’s where they stop.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYoxNh4D1J8)_ ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/152 "2011-12-05T15:39:55Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Yes, we see.\* > > - ETA: bonus points for getting the reference. My folks were always putting him down… (down, down)… ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/153 "2011-12-05T16:58:32Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Absolutely wrong. Gingrich was the central figure in \*creating \*this period of childishness. [Check](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOPAC#GOPAC_memo) [this](http://web.utk.edu/~glenn/GopacMemo.html) [out.](http://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/2008/09/21)Get the picture? Speculation withdrawn, then. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/154 "2011-12-07T20:19:46Z")
A smoking gun [from The Smoking Gun](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/backstage/politicians/newt-gingrich) (emphasis added): > [@](#): > > The standard Gingrich “contract addendum” stipulates that a client has to provide the politician with a “non-smoking one-bedroom suite.” It also notes that the Gingrich accommodation should be outfitted “ **preferably with two bathrooms**.” :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/155 "2011-12-07T21:10:34Z")
Eh. So he and his wife don’t like to share a bathroom if they don’t have to. …His wife _does_ travel with him, right? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/156 "2011-12-08T10:18:45Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > My folks were always putting him down… (down, down)… They said he came from the wrong side of town (he came from the wrong side of town) … That’s when the GOP fell for this month’s Leader of the Pack. (vroom, vroom) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/157 "2011-12-08T23:33:21Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > …His wife _does_ travel with him, right? Does she scream at him “Look out! Look out! Look out!”? Orr does she feel so helpless, what can she do? And I’m pretty sure it’s “Leader of the PAC” in his case, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/158 "2011-12-09T16:25:36Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Orr does she feel so helpless, what can she do? Nah, she’ll save that for when he eventually divorces her for Wife #4. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/159 "2011-12-09T16:36:09Z")
Newt’s wives are like city buses- don’t like the looks of one, don’t worry cause another will be along shortly. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/160 "2011-12-10T16:13:43Z")
Here’s some fodder for the foreign policy debate. > [@Gingrich](#): > > "Remember, there was no Palestine as a state — (it was) part of the Ottoman Empire. I think we have an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs and historically part of the Arab community and they had the chance to go many places [source](http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-12-10/Palestine-Gingrich/51781624/1) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898/161 "2011-12-10T16:30:43Z")
Diplomacy, motherf’er! Do. You. Speak it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gingrich-we-hardly-knew-ye/584898.md?page=9)