SALT LAKE CITY, January 29, 2012—Enid Greene ran for Congress from Utah's second congressional district in 1994. She had signed the Contract With America, along with every other GOP challenger across the country that year.
The House Minority Whip made a trip to Salt Lake that fall to stump for Greene, and I was at the rally.
Newt Gingrich explained how the Declaration masterfully made the case for God-given rights, including that of "the pursuit of happiness. Not the welfare check of happiness; not the food stamp of happiness."
Yes, the phrase, "food stamp" was bandied about even then.
It was probably a stump speech that Newt gave hundreds of times as he criss-crossed the nation in support of those Republican candidates who had signed the Contract with America. I never forgot it.
I proudly went and bought a copy of TV Guide so I'd have my own Contract. I still have that original copy. The entire effort got me involved in College Republican politics.
Ninety-four was my first election, and Nightline ran the story about the "Republican Revolution" that night, bringing joy to my young Republican heart.
That year Mitt Romney lost a bid for the senate. I knew nothing about the man, other than that he was Mormon and once had a lead on Ted Kennedy. I was disappointed, only because it meant the national landslide and repudiation of Clinton wasn't bigger. Oliver North also lost that year, another disappointment.
But Newt's victory was huge and undeniable. He had engineered and executed a sweeping national victory.
I remember Time magazine running a cover story on Newt that year. Eighteen years before the infamous "Queen of Rage" Newsweek cover, the rag proclaimed Newt was "Mad as Hell." The subtitle, "The GOP's Newt Gingrich has perfected the politics of anger," was blatantly partisan and vicious.
It was an obvious hit and run on the speaker. Sour grapes.
I was disappointed to hear about his marital infidelities. But then again, the man had earlier resigned his post as Speaker because he said he didn't want to to hurt his party. I assumed that the totality of his ethical missteps played into that decision. It seemed unfair that the one who built the majority was forced out of its leadership.
But Newt had a plan. He would be fine.
Over the years, as a commentator on Fox News and author of several books, Newt has presented mostly conservative ideas with vigor. Sure, the couch moment with Nancy Pelosi struck me as strange, but every politician is allowed a misjudgment here or there, especially when he isn't governing.
In politics, undetectable ripples can grow into large waves over time. The collision of those waves are unpredictable and affect vessels on choppy political waters in different ways. It is hard to say what long-term impact Newt had on the party and on national politics.
But I can say what impact he had on me. Newt Gingrich inspired me.
Yet I cannot vote for him in the Republican primary.
As a soldier, and a student and teacher of history, I understand that the man who builds the army is not necessarily the man who is best equipped to take it into battle.
So it is with Newt. The Republican Party will forever owe him for his moxie and hard work in the 1990s.
But the party faces a new set of challenges, and as a (reemerged) majority party legitimized over the past 18 years, it has a different set of responsibilities.
I don't believe Newt is equipped to meet those challenges. I hope he can inspire conservatives, young and old, as he inspired me in 1994. I hope that inspiration will help the Republicans hold the House, take the Senate, and defeat President Obama. I just don't think Newt can do it as the standard bearer.
He has too much to overcome, not least of which are his ethics and moral indiscretions. Conservatives are forgiving, more than their opposites on the Left, but independents simply won't' hear the message because of the messenger.
Much of the venom spewed at Newt is unwarranted and unfair. The man is a genuine conservative. He is brilliant. And he is still inspiring.
This year, however, the stakes are just too high for me. In policy, there seems to be little difference between Newt and his two mainline Republican opponents. Given that I don't believe he can build a broad enough coalition of Americans to defeat the sitting president, I am inclined to say, "thanks you for your service Mr. Speaker," and cast my vote elsewhere.
Many of Newt's supporters, of course, make the same argument in his favor. They think he alone has the skills and the vigor to defeat Obama. I respectfully disagree. Still other conservatives, many of them deeply religious, say that they believe in redemption as a cover to support him over Romney.
To adequately and genuinely forgive a man, one does not need to make him the president.
The Left has overplayed its hand since November of 2008. Let us conservatives not make the same mistake.
I like Newt. A lot.
But he shouldn't be the Republican nominee.
Learn more about the author at Rich-Stowell.com
Rich is a teacher and a soldier. In addition to writing the "Rich Like Me" political column at the Washington Times Communities, he is the author of Nine Weeks: A Teacher’s Education in Army Basic Training; Tunnel Club; and Not Another Boring Textbook: A High School Students’ Guide to their Inner Conservative, which you can follow on Facebook.
This article is the copyrighted property of the writer and Communities @ WashingtonTimes.com. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media. REPRINTING TWTC CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION AND/OR PAYMENT IS THEFT AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.
