Gingrich takes step toward '08 run

[brooklynite]

Source: Politico.com

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will open a website by Monday in an effort to round up the $30 million in pledges that he says would be his ticket to entering the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

A longtime adviser, J. Randolph Evans of McKenna Long & Aldridge, will hold a press briefing at 3:30 p.m. Monday in Atlanta to describe plans for what Gingrich aides are calling a “feasibility assessment.”

Aides say Gingrich will announce his intentions by Oct. 21, ahead of a Michigan filing deadline.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0907/6077.html

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Mittens and Rudy were lucky enough to raise $20 million in a good quarter as active candidates. Newt's got a pretty high opinion of himself if he thinks he can better than in one month on the basis of a speculative campaign.

[skipos]

1. Newt would be one of the easier ones for us to beat, imo. His unfavs are even worse than Hillary's

He isn't as dumb or lazy as most of the Repub field. Not that that is saying much.

[karynnj]

19. I wouldn't be so sure

Newt has very high unfavorables, but he can sound quite reasonable. I saw Newt debate Kerry on what to do about climate change. Kerry clearly won, but Newt did a very very credible job. This is an area where Kerry has been involved since he was a member of Gore's Senate committee which had the first hearings - he had an extremely positive plan on this that was originally proposed in 2004. Any Republican who can stand on the same stage as Kerry in a debate just on this issue and not come away looking as if he didn't belong in the room is dangerous. This was a real debate - not the short answer (which can be memorized) type used in the primaries and general election - and interaction was allowed.

I also saw him debate Gore on Iraq - his position then was not good - but the intersting thing in both cases was that he quickly seized as much of the center as he could. Given that the rest of the Republican candidates have major weaknesses - he may have a chance to get the nomination - which is beyond scary as he is a horrible person - but doesn't look as evil as Cheney. He also has been talking of emulating the new French leader, who though of Chirac's party ran against Chirac as the candidate of change.

Two things scare me that the RW echo chamber is going this way are - there have been rumblings on the right claiming Bush is running the country as a liberal. (!) The other is that the last time I was watching Hardball - I think the day after the debate, he was speaking of the 1998 bill that approved regime change in Iraq (though it did NOT initiate it) as the start to the run up of this war - he was equating it to the Kyl-Leiberman bill. I know Matthews is not part of the RW, the point is that the RW has used that bill and the statements made on it to say that this is a bi-partisan war.

[ClintonTyree]

2. Just what the Pukes need....

another washed-up relic of the past. Do they even KNOW how to look forward? :shrug: The Pukes hold a morbid fascination with the past. I guess they consider them their 'glory days' and are constantly attempting to relive them. I hope the people of the United States are smart enough to not make the past, prologue. It hasn't worked for the Pukes yet, certainly not for lack of trying though.

[DavidDvorkin]

3. I'm tempted to contribute

Just to help get him into the race.

Run, Newt, run! I want to see him and Alan Keyes included in a Republican debate. Woo hoo!

[CatholicEdHead]

4. Once his "Family Values" past comes it it is all over

Between divorcing his first wife at the hospital when she had cancer to leaving the Speaker of the House in disgrace Newt has no chance.

He did win the 2006 GOP MN6-CD Convention straw poll (the same district that elected Michele Bachmann).

[FVZA_Colonel]

5. Is his candidacy even necessary at this point?

It seems the Republicans have every aspect he could offer covered by some other candidate: Huckabee on "good Christian morals," Tompson on generally being a "good, tough conservative." What else does Newt have to offer?

[dickbearton]

11. Newt has plenty to offer...

More Corrupt Republican lies, disinformation, and propaganda.
Newt is responsible for the Corrupt Republican Congress of Tom
Delay and the treason and war crimes of George Bush. Hell, why
doesn't the Criminal Tom Delay run, that would suit the
stooges in the Rethuglican Party.

[lanlady]

6. I'm confused

I thought Grandpa Fred was supposed to be the Great White Hope of the GOP. Guess that's not working out too well?

[tekisui]

8. They got nuthin. Whole lotta nuthin.

[provis99]

7. please run, Newt

I miss your venomous hatred of everything decent. You are man par excellence of the Republican Party, the beacon of its lofty ideals of evil and destruction!

[Pab Sungenis]

9. Would it be against DU rules

If we were to start donating to get him up to his $30M, just to make sure he runs?

[dickbearton]

12. No need to donate to make him run...

He should be run out of America with the rest of the fascists
in the Republican Party. 

[Sherman A1]

10. While others run for their party's nomination....

Newt, waits for the nomination to come to him.

[scarface2004]

13. gingrich-craig-2008! what a ticket!

i ll take a 1,000 bumper stickers right now! let people know i m completely wacked!!!!

[judaspriestess]

14. so he's gonna run on his contract for America crap

living in the past like ghouliani

[AnnieBW]

15. Oh, please, oh, please!

Run, Newt, run! Let's have yet another "family values" RepubliKKKan with serial marriages up against Thompson and Ghouliani!

[JerseygirlCT]

16. One word: ethics. nt

[Habibi]

17. He's not serious.

He just wants $30 million to keep him off the streets until next year.

[ovidsen]

18. he's such an idiot...

Although a singularly dangerous kind of idiot. He doesn't know how dumb he is, and his simplistic solutions to national and world problems, PLUS the way he treats ex-wives, ex-colleagues, so-called friends, etc, is a definition of the phrase "loose cannon".

My respect for this "man" knows no depths.

[defendandprotect]

20. When he first left as Speaker, he tried a new career based on "The Chinese are Coming!"--!!

Will Americans remember his Contract ON America?
Did they learn anything from it?

Do we think the MSM will remind the public of his history? Doubt it --

The GOP needs to be exposed as the party of criminals -- and the MSM is hiding that reality
while helping Bushco and GOP --

Investigations and impeachment will serve the purpose of exposing not just Bushco but the entire the GOP ---

Newt also had some odd stuff with $ going on -- Go PAC?

[Seabiscuit]

21. What, Thompson isn't the Ronald Reagan the repukes were looking for???

They're getting really desperate - with no big guns to pull out of the hat, they're dredging the sewers looking for anything that floats.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

22. GingGrinch

That's just what this country needs. :eyes: