# Newt will win big in SC today **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 21, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217 "2012-01-21T13:42:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/121 "2012-01-24T18:13:31Z")
No. A conversation with Gingrich would be him talking and you listening. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/122 "2012-01-24T18:40:10Z")
Dick Cheney learned his politics in the Nixon WH, and, as Veep, spent eight years fighting for Nixon’s vision of an unaccountable “Unitary Executive” Imperial Presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/123 "2012-01-24T19:04:30Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Dick Cheney learned his politics in the Nixon WH, and, as Veep, spent eight years fighting for Nixon’s vision of an unaccountable “Unitary Executive” Imperial Presidency. Would you please turn that into a Star Wars reference? ETA: You did, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/124 "2012-01-24T19:08:50Z")
Dear God, we are a nation of Jar-jar Binks! Nurse? More drugs, please. Nurse? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/125 "2012-01-24T23:57:34Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The right wing in this country seems to have come around to the belief that Newt might be the guy who can do that, only on a national stage - that if you put Newt and ‘Barry’ in a debate, Newt will turn him into chopped liver, and liberalism in America will have a stake driven through its heart. > > No, really: that’s what they’re hoping for. Perhaps it’s because they truly bought into their own myth-making, that Obama is helpless without a teleprompter. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/126 "2012-01-25T02:01:04Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > But I can’t imagine having anything like a normal conversation with Nixon. Of all people, Hunter Thompson did. 'Course, it was about football. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/127 "2012-01-25T03:52:22Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Of all people, Hunter Thompson did. 'Course, it was about football. Sheesh, I’d forgotten about that! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/128 "2012-01-25T03:55:16Z")
What about the doomed, Mr. President?! ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/129 "2012-01-25T06:48:46Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I think one could have an enjoyable conversation with Newt Gingrich. But I can’t imagine having anything like a normal conversation with Nixon. I doubt I would find having a conversation with either of them enjoyable in a normal sense. The difference for me is, as wrong as he was, I believe Nixon thought the things he was doing were necessary and in the best interests of the country. I don’t think Gingrich could give a shit about anything like that. He is motivated purely by his ego and the desire to attain power and wealth. In the end, Nixon was a pathetic, amoral man. Gingrich is a loathsome, immoral egomaniac. YMMV of course. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/130 "2012-01-25T14:41:09Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > The difference for me is, as wrong as he was, I believe Nixon thought the things he was doing were necessary and in the best interests of the country. Look, I hate to flirt with Godwin, but believing one’s doing what’s “necessary and in the best interests of the country” is not any sort of excuse. All of the great monsters of the 20th century - Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and, yes, Hitler - surely thought they were doing what was necessary and in the best interests of _their_ countries. Not to mention, I doubt it’s particularly true in Nixon’s case. Whether we’re talking about instituting economy-wide wage and price controls (yes, he did that) or creating a burglary unit, it’s hard to believe that he had anything in mind with a great number of his activities besides getting re-elected. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/131 "2012-01-25T15:13:17Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Sort of like Dewey and Truman in 1948-Romney unfortunately is just as dull as Thomas Dewey. Supposedly, Alice Roosevelt Longworth ruined Dewey by describing him as “the little man on the wedding cake.” Could someone please do us the same service by fixing Newt’s image as “the fat pindick kid in the high school locker room?” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/132 "2012-01-25T15:28:23Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Look, I hate to flirt with Godwin, but believing one’s doing what’s “necessary and in the best interests of the country” is not any sort of excuse. All of the great monsters of the 20th century - Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and, yes, Hitler - surely thought they were doing what was necessary and in the best interests of _their_ countries. > > Not to mention, I doubt it’s particularly true in Nixon’s case. Whether we’re talking about instituting economy-wide wage and price controls (yes, he did that) or creating a burglary unit, it’s hard to believe that he had anything in mind with a great number of his activities besides getting re-elected. still doesn’t change that someone who is doing it for their country is less evil than someone who is doing it for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/133 "2012-01-25T17:01:43Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > …believing one’s doing what’s “necessary and in the best interests of the country” is not any sort of excuse. I agree it is not any sort of excuse; sorry if you got the impression I was trying to offer a defense of Nixon. I was alive and vividly remember his time as President. The original point I was attempting to make was - as damaging as the Nixon Presidency was for the country, I believe a Gingrich Presidency would be _ **worse** _. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/134 "2012-01-25T17:09:26Z")
Never mind. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/135 "2012-01-25T18:03:53Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Could someone please do us the same service by fixing Newt’s image as “the fat pindick kid in the high school locker room?” How about [Dwight Schrute?](http://totallylookslike.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/rainn-wilson-totally-looks-like-newt-gingrich.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Deal_Democrat)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/136 "2012-01-26T18:43:22Z")
By the time this primary is over there will be so much bitterness between Gingrich and Romney that the Republican nomination will not be worth having. Meanwhile each will have exposed vulnerabilities in the other that Obama will exploit in the general election. I’m loving it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/137 "2012-01-27T16:32:16Z")
Lets not get too optomistic. Unemployment is high, the fed announced plans to keep interest rates low until 2014 (signalling that they believe the economy will continue to suck), Obamacare is still unpopular, we aren’t goign to get the deficit under control anytime soon. Obama can lose this to anyone that was on that stage. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/138 "2012-01-27T16:37:55Z")
> [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](#): > > By the time this primary is over there will be so much bitterness between Gingrich and Romney that the Republican nomination will not be worth having. Meanwhile each will have exposed vulnerabilities in the other that Obama will exploit in the general election. > > I’m loving it. 😃 Replace Gingrich, Romney and Obama with Obama, Clinton and McCain respectively, and this logic would have applied to 2008. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/139 "2012-01-27T17:49:01Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Replace Gingrich, Romney and Obama with Obama, Clinton and McCain respectively, and this logic would have applied to 2008. You must watching a differnet campaign if you think Obama v. Clinton was as vitriolic as Romney v. Gingrich. And we are only just getting started… ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217/140 "2012-01-27T20:00:55Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > The original point I was attempting to make was - as damaging as the Nixon Presidency was for the country, I believe a Gingrich Presidency would be _ **worse** _. Yeah, but that’s more or less a given at this point - any Republican would be worse for the country than Nixon. GWB was way worse than Nixon, and every candidate for the GOP nomination this year, quite frankly, makes Shrubby look good by comparison. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newt-will-win-big-in-sc-today/610217.md?page=6)