COMMENTARY | There is a doctored Washington Post front page making the rounds on Facebook with an image of President Barack Obama laughing with the headline "Gingrich Wins S.C. Primary." Clearly this is not a real headline from The Post, but it has probably been seen by even more people than if it were.
The reason so many people are sharing this faux front page is because it mimics exactly how many Democrats felt when they heard that Newt Gingrich handily beat Mitt Romney in last week's primary in South Carolina. Seriously; do Republicans really think that Gingrich is their best option? Are the pigs flying or do these folks just have their head buried extra deep along their lovely coastline?
As a Democrat, I have watched the Republican primaries with interest. Even though I will not be participating in the vote for the Republican nominee, it is important to me to be knowledgeable regarding the candidates as one of them will be running for the office of President.
It seemed clear early on that Mitt Romney would be the most formidable opponent for President Obama. Romney is conservative, but not so conservative that he would turn off independents. With so many people concerned about the economy, Romney has a wealth of real-world business experience that would seem to make him particularly qualified to deal with economic issues and possibly lead our country down the road to prosperity. He has been married to the same woman for many years, and seems to have raised a lovely family.
So, why, oh why, are so many Republicans choosing Newt Gingrich? Are they poorly informed or just dim? Newt Gingrich claims to have strong family values, but he is currently married to his third wife, who he began relations with while still married to his second wife, who he asked to marry him while he was still married to his first wife, who was battling cancer at the time. Is this a man that people actually believe puts a priority on family values?
Based on a 1997 ethics report, Newt Gingrich was sanctioned by an overwhelming bipartisan vote which forced him to pay back $300,000 in costs due to ethics violations. Gingrich later stepped down as Speaker of the House when he was told that as many as 30 Republicans would refuse to vote for him on the floor of the House. Those were members of his own party, Republicans, who refused his leadership of the House. Yet some people think he would make a good president?
The Republicans that are working to make Newt Gingrich the Republican nominee, if successful, will be handing President Obama his second term on a silver platter. As Republican political consultant Mike Murphy said on Meet the Press this Sunday, "Newt Gingrich cannot carry a general election swing state it if was made of feathers." He's exactly right, and the heads of Republicans leaders are spinning.
The reasons Mitt Romney would appeal to many who don't vote strictly along party lines are the same reasons he isn't conservative enough for tea party Republicans. However Newt Gingrich isn't the guy they are looking for, he's just pretending to be. Gingrich is the dream Republican nominee from a Democrat's perspective. It is truly astonishing that those who are voting for him are blind to this.
"Gingrich stuns Washington by stepping aside," cnn.com
Heidi Pryzbyla, "Gingrich's Ex-Wife Says He Sought 'Open Marriage' to Keep Affair," Businessweek
January 22nd transcript, Meet the Press, NBC
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