Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

June 10, 2011 By Fausta

Newt, newtered UPDATED

The big story on Memeorandum this morning is the resignation en masse of Newt Gingrich’s top campaign staff over Newt’s decision to what amounts to wanting to campaign part-time. Fred Barnes says that Callista was the problem,

The last straw for the campaign staff was Gingrich’s decision to go on a two-week cruise in the Mediterranean, from which he returned on Tuesday. His advisers urged him not to go and take so much time from a campaign that was already in trouble. But his wife wanted him to go and she won the argument.

As a result, the morale of the Gingrich staff fell sharply. And fundraising declined as well with Gingrich absent from the day-to-day media coverage of the campaign.

While Gingrich was away, his aides talked among themselves about the course of the campaign. They wanted him to commit to seeking the Republican nomination on a full-time basis, including time spent in personal fundraising by Gingrich himself. Gingrich balked at this. His wife wanted him to pursue the presidency at less strenuous clip.

The problem is not Callista. The problem is Newt, who today sent emails saying “he’ll run a citizen-driven campaign focused strongly on the economy.”

As long as it doesn’t interfere with his vacation schedule.

UPDATE:
Betsy:

When I read analysts a few days ago speculating that Rick Perry would get in the campaign but noting he faced problems because some of his key aides were working for Newt Gingrich. At the time I thought, “Hey, those aides aren’t indentured servants. If they want to work for Perry, they’ll find a way to leave the Gingrich campaign.” Little did I realize that they were indeed meeting together to jump ship en masse sticking a shiv into Newt and his wife on their way out. My question about the assumption that now Perry gotten the band back together and how great that will be for Perry is this: if these aides are so savvy, why were they working for Newt in the first place? Everyone else knew how lame a candidate Gingrich would be; did they actually think he had a chance?

To me Gingrich is a politician for the 20th Century.

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Filed Under: news, politics, Republicans Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Newt Grinrich

May 20, 2011 By Fausta

Mixed metaphor toss salad, and roundup

Out of the purple prose and mixed metaphors, errant insults and flattery of the boss, emerged Newt Gingrich — oral action hero: Newt Grinrich’s press secretary wins this week’s award for the most mixed metaphors. James Taranto explains,

Woolly Bully
The Puffington Host, whose founder was an early proponent of a Newt Gingrich presidential run, quotes a response from Gingrich’s press secretary Rick Tyler to a query about media coverage of the kerfuffle we discussed above:

“The literati sent out their minions to do their bidding,” Tyler wrote. “Washington cannot tolerate threats from outsiders who might disrupt their comfortable world. The firefight started when the cowardly sensed weakness. They fired timidly at first, then the sheep not wanting to be dropped from the establishment’s cocktail party invite list unloaded their entire clip, firing without taking aim their distortions and falsehoods. Now they are left exposed by their bylines and handles. But surely they had killed him off. This is the way it always worked. A lesser person could not have survived the first few minutes of the onslaught. But out of the billowing smoke and dust of tweets and trivia emerged Gingrich, once again ready to lead those who won’t be intimated by the political elite and are ready to take on the challenges America faces.”

This thing goes bad with the second word. If we’re discussing sheep, the word is not “literati” but “critterati.” And the ovine partygoers are sipping cocktails and emptying their clips, exposed by their handles amid dust of tweets? There is only one man alive who can write this badly: Thomas Friedman.

On the other hand, Tyler, or whoever actually wrote this, has a point about sheep at cocktail parties. They’re really baaad conversationalists, and it’s awkward as hell when the waiter comes around with those delicious lamb-chop lollipops.

One time we went to a cocktail party at a Washington establishment and the place was filled with sheep. What’s more, the ratio was terrible–of the few humans in attendance, almost all were guys. It was so bad, we complained to the proprietor. To his credit, he was apologetic. “There will be many other nights like this,” he promised. “But there will never be another ewe.”

LATIN AMERICA
Silvio Canto celebrates Happy Cuba Independence Day

I came across an Argentinian talk radio station, and it’s fascinating (if you understand Spanish): Radio El Mundo.

Sending a message with a mass killing in Guatemala (subscription only)

Corruption: Why Texas is Not Mexico

WORLD
BREAKING: Ayman al-Zawahiri is Al Qaeda’s New ‘Emir’

THE END IS NEAR!
At least the kids have perspective: Make My Bed? But You Say the World’s Ending At least Ronald McDonald gets to keep his job.

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Filed Under: al-Qaeda, Cuba, Mexico Tagged With: Ayman al-Zawahiri, Fausta's blog, Newt Grinrich

May 16, 2011 By Fausta

Newt the Loser

Betsy explains why.

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Filed Under: politics, Republicans Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Newt Grinrich

February 27, 2009 By Fausta

At #CPAC: American Solutions

newt
LIVEBLOG
At the American Solutions breakfast, Newt Ginrich speaking:

“This is a country who believes in the work ethic, who believes in success, who believes that you have the right to fail… Americans have always historically been brave enough to believe in success.”

“It’s not our job to be the opposition party; it’s our job to be the better solutions party.”

“There is no reason to believe that the bureaucracy can save the free market.”

“Americans should decide.” There’s a cultural difference between those who believe government should decide, or Americans should decide.

“We meet world competition. If you want jobs, you need job creators.
Lower capital gains – match the Chinese rate for capital gains
Match the Irish rate for corporate tax.”

“Meeting environmental challenges we can come up with better solutions that work than the bureaucrats and the lawyers.
This means drilling for oil and drilling for coal.
Cap & trade is an energy tax.”

“Pres Obama has given us the great privilege of being the most leftist president. He has given us the opportunity of giving us a debate. Let’s have that debate.”

“To win you have to have ideas that are popular and that work. To govern you have to have ideas that actually work and are popular.”

“There is no single fight more important this year there is an alternative to the left, there is an alternative to big government, you should make 2010 the most consequential election in history.”

Saul Anuzis:
“We need to educate the public on how card check is going to take away the secret ballot, and this will mean to American families, American jobs and workers’ rights.”

Rick Berman:
“This is not just another issue, [card check] the unions are on a course to get this done. The unions are not talking about taking away the secret ballot, they’re talking about ‘higher wages, better benefits’. There is no conversation on the downside.”

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Filed Under: CPAC, Republicans Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Newt Grinrich, Saul Anuzis

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