COMMENTARY | The talk in the political arena is the Jan. 31 Florida primary, and the two-week period leading to the primary. Political pundits question whether Mitt Romney can hone his debate skills, whether Rick Santorum is stumping for a vice presidential bid, or whether Ron Paul is now a mere afterthought in the primary process. However, the main focus is the momentum Newt Gingrich gained as a result of his upset of the Republican establishment favorite Romney, in the South Carolina primary, and how the Republican establishment in Washington accepts it.
The Washington Republican establishment, who worked with Gingrich when he was speaker of the house in the mid-’90s, are his friends, but not his fans. Nevertheless, instead of trying to appease, Gingrich seems to confront them. A Jan. 23 Associated Press article quoted Newt Gingrich as saying, “I think you’re going to see the establishment go crazy in the next week or two.”
While Gingrich was Speaker of the House, his roughshod demeanor, power-hungry personality, and lack of ethics created waves, and, in disgrace, he resigned from the house in 1999. Those in today’s Republican establishment, who worked with him when he was Speaker of the House, see him as a divider, not a unifier.
But the older Republican electorate remembers his successes, such as when the Republicans took over the house in 1994, welfare reform and leading the drive to balance the budget, more than his failures.
Therein lies the dilemma. The Republican establishment does not want to back Gingrich, while, at this time anyway, the Republican electorate favors him. The rub is a 100 percent unified effort is necessary to defeat President Barrack Obama in the 2012 election. In spite of this, less than a year before the election, both Gingrich and the Republican establishment are throwing jabs at each other, while their electorate awaits a meeting of minds from their leadership.
It’s evident a compromise is necessary from both sides. It’s been 13 years since Gingrich resigned as house leader, and he admits his mistakes, both in D.C. and in his personal life. He says he asked God for forgiveness, and put that part of his personality make-up behind him. If God forgave Gingrich, shouldn’t the Republican establishment do the same?
On the other hand, though, if Gingrich came to God with an attitude of contrition, should he not approach the Republican establishment in the same manner? If he does, and the Republican establishment does, wouldn’t the electorate be appeased, and all three can concentrate on the similar mission of winning the election in November?
Source: Associated Press: Gingrich enjoying rise in fortunes, sasses ‘establishment’ backing Romney: foxnews.com