Despite millions in PAC attacks against him, Newt is back

Screen snip from video/Newt Gingrich campaign siteThe bumper car experience is nothing new to anyone who has been part of American politics, but still, former Speaker Newt Gingrich had to feel the impact of all those attack ads launched by a PAC supporting former Governor Mitt Romney (Mass.) over the last few weeks.

Those ads, complete with half-truths and ridiculous nuances, certainly had an effect on the outcome in Iowa. Predictably a pro-Newt PAC struck back. Many in conservative media have jack-hammered Gingrich over the ads—Fox and Friends, for instance, can’t seem to get over the fact turnabout is standard play in a heated political battle.

Romney takes the position he can’t control a PAC. Obviously then, Gingrich can’t either. Enough said.

Aside from the ads, polls have been leveraged as weapons in a manner similar to legacy media’s anointment of our current president Barack Obama in 2008. I recall one recent poll involved approximately 370 likely Republican Primary voters. That’s a poll?

Despite having a smaller war chest than the GOP frontrunner, and having to deal with criticism from certain select media on both right and left, Gingrich persevered. That makes sense because the frontrunner currently has only a handful of delegates. One state has held a primary; the other has held a caucus.

By the time the audience rose on Monday night in Myrtle Beach (S.C.) for a standing ovation, one thing was obvious.

Newt is back.

The former speaker had jousted with Juan Williams over the issue of the work ethic and whether poor kids should be doing jobs like janitorial work. As someone who eked out a very meager living when I was young by doing just about any job you could think of, including a brief stint cleaning houses, I was not sympathetic to Williams’ angst over the thought of any kid doing a little hard work.

Williams asked Gingrich if his position on the matter wasn’t “particularly insulting” to black people.

Gingrich didn’t waffle or wander in the rhetorical desert.

“No,” he said. He then explained how his own daughter had such a job when she was young.

Williams persisted with the victimology, talking about all the emails he’d gotten. By that point, the crowd was actually booing the moderator.

Gingrich noted, “Only the elites despise earning money.”

Then came this from Gingrich:

“So here’s my point. I believe every American of every background has been endowed by their creator with the right to pursue happiness. And if that makes liberals unhappy, I’m going to continue to find ways to help poor people learn how to get a job, learn how to get a better job and learn some day to own the job.”

As the segment faded to a commercial break, the crowd was still standing, delivering a volley of applause. A standing ovation is rare in a presidential debate.

Newt is most definitely back.

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The Republicans back in the ring -- Monica Crowley home page

(Commentary by Kay B. Day/Jan. 17, 2012)