Josh Marshall: The Republican Establishment Flexed Its Muscles Against Newt Gingrich
Inside the Newt Smackdown:
About a month ago
I wrote that
the GOP establishment would {not} let Newt Gingrich take the nomination. Just too stupid an idea, too suicidal for the party
. {A}t the time a lot of TPM Readers wrote in to say, what Republican establishment? Who is this Republican establishment and howd they make out against Sharron Angle and Christine ODonnell in 2010? Just what levers does this establishment have access to?
First, big sums of money unleashed to hammer Gingrich and very little money available to make his case. Second, virtually every Republican of any name recognition, accomplishment or pulse coming out and pushing hard for Mitt Romney and against Newt Gingrich
. {M}ost
didnt just endorse Romney
. A bunch amounted to Im endorsing Mitt Romney because it would be absolutely Fing crazy to nominate Gingrich. Dont nominate Gingrich.
Equally powerful were a series of high-profile anti-endorsements of Newt coming out of the Movement Conservative mediasphere
. National Review
anti-endorsed Newt
devote{d} an entire issue to making the case against Newt
. Newt got the endorsement of four or five mid-tier former House Reps
. Art Laffer endorsed him and Guiliani said a few nice things about him. And that was it
no surrogates to appear on TV to mount a defense
.
What sets Newt apart is that he didnt do anything of note to trigger {his downfall}
. he was on remarkably good behavior. There was just a wall from almost everyone professional concerned with the Republican party of no. And it worked.
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2012/01/the-republican-establishment-flexed-its-muscles-against-newt-gingrich.html