A couple of pundit/well to do Washingtonians (Mike Barnicle and Andrea Mitchell-Greenspan) have been hearing whispers around the capitol that yesterday's lack of leadership in the Republican caucus was the result of Newt Gingrich. Why would Gincgrich do such a thing? Perhaps to cap McCain's faltering campaign in the knees and run for President in four years. Of course after hearing the chatter, Gingrich quickly berated them, raising suspicions even higher.
From ThinkProgress:
.....Speaking at the National Press Club today, Gingrich denied Mitchell’s claim, saying MSNBC is wrong and probably “deliberately wrong” because its a “stunningly dishonest network.” “I was reluctantly helping it get through,” he said.
Even throughout yesterday, Gingrich’s position was nearly impossible to pin down. On Glenn Beck’s radio show, he admitted, “I’m not sure if I were in the Congress I could vote against it” while also declaring that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson “should be fired” and that the bailout plan “is still a bad bill.” On Fox News last night, he seemed to praise the House’s rejection of the bill: “The vote today indicated that even when they’d worked for five days to try to improve what was really a pretty terrible original plan that [Paulson] sent up, it still couldn’t get a majority in the House.”
Apparently, Gingrich was against the bailout before he was for it — before he was against it again.
Gingrich is staying extra slimy throughout this situation and it raises the possibility that he wants to bring about a full circle in the GOP. The vehement denial by someone of his stature means that we should all watch out for a resurgent Gingrich. Of course, that would be absolutely hilarious, since it was his reckless behavior that ultimately screwed Republicans out of power two years ago. People are tired of his brand of thuggery (along with the rest of the GOP) and desire leadership in these trying times, not cheap political tricks. Now with that said, if he wants to help divide up what's left of the Republican caucus, then by all means, go right ahead.
|