When first examining the Republican candidates, I wasn’t all that impressed with any of them. Herman Cain had the rhetoric, but it quickly became clear that he knew little regarding foreign policy. Rick Perry had the reputation, but he could hardly form a logical sentence.
After both of these candidates failed and have since suspended their campaigns, we are left with only four Republicans vying to compete with President Obama in November. After Newt Gingrich’s overwhelming victory in South Carolina’s primary, it appears that he is a significant force in the GOP field.
As a young man that usually leans to the left on most political issues, I was somewhat interested by the Gingrich campaign. It wasn’t that long ago when the vast majority of his campaign staff suddenly left and joined other campaigns. If anything, these staffers must feel a tad bewildered for abandoning Gingrich and then watching him succeed.
Since Gingrich’s original staff jumped ship, he has continually been fighting an uphill battle. This could be where some of my admiration for him comes from. It wasn’t just the determination to continue a campaign that many told him was doomed, it was much more. When Gingrich would speak, he wasn’t focused on attacking other GOP candidates as much as he wanted to push his specific ideology.
While it is difficult for me to agree with many of his positions, his policies were big ideas that encompassed a wide array of people. Gingrich refuted Paul Ryan’s health care plan and condemned this case of right-wing social engineering. Moreover, speaker Gingrich refused to pander to GOP extremists and he refused to support the deportation of all illegal immigrants. He seemed to rise above some of the bickering, and he seemed to be the grown-up of the Republican candidates.
Well, lately, and to quote a Bob Dylan song, it seems like “things have changed.” Since Gingrich has regained some of his campaign momentum, he seems much less like a peaceful grandfather and more like the stereotypical grumpy old Republican. He bashes not only President Obama at every speaking engagement, but also everyone in his way, whether it be fellow Republicans or debate moderators.
Recently, Gingrich asked fellow Republican candidates Rick Perry and Rick Santorum to drop out in order to consolidate the conservative vote against the more moderate candidate, Mitt Romney. While his request seems logical, it is by all accounts extremely arrogant. This is not the only recent showcase of Gingrich’s arrogance.
When questioned at a recent debate about his rocky marital history, Gingrich rallied against all news media that isn’t Fox News. While I can understand that explaining two divorces and a third marriage might not be the most pleasant experience for Gingrich, these are questions he should have expected when he decided to run for the office of president. For him to rally against the moderator of the CNN debate in South Carolina last week was simply immature.
It seems that Gingrich just stomped his way to the primary victory in South Carolina by marginalizing South Carolinians and pandering to extreme Republicans. By routinely labeling President Obama as a “food stamp president” and claiming poor children have “no habits of working and nobody around them who works,” Gingrich appears as nothing more than a bigot.
I understand that Gingrich must appeal to the conservative base in order to win the nomination, but the lengths he is reaching in order to succeed are somewhat sickening. When Gingrich first caught my attention this campaign season, it was due to his compromising approaches, big ideas and his desire to work across the political aisle.
Nowadays, Gingrich is more focused on sustaining his poll numbers, momentum and his dirty tactics against anyone involved. I suppose it’s better that I discovered the real Newt Gingrich now as opposed to later. Hopefully, the rest of America will also realize the same.
— Seth Campbell is a senior in history. He can be reached at scampb42@utk.edu.
