Newt Gingrich Says Civil Rights Legislation ‘Destroyed’ Democrats, LBJ

[meegbear]

The former Speaker of the House says health care reform will ruin Obama much like passing civil rights laws "shattered" Lyndon Johnson and the Democratic Party in the 60's. Wow.

From the Washington Post:

But former Republican House speaker Newt Gingrich said Obama and the Democrats will regret their decision to push for comprehensive reform. Calling the bill "the most radical social experiment . . . in modern times," Gingrich said: "They will have destroyed their party much as Lyndon Johnson shattered the Democratic Party for 40 years" with the enactment of civil rights legislation in the 1960s."

Not much to add here, except that the GOP is really going for it these days.

http://gawker.com/5498806/newt-gingrich-says-civil-rights-legislation-destroyed-democrats-lbj

Whatever you say Newty :eyes:

[Bullet1987]

1. They know they're a party becoming more and more identified with radicalism

They have to embrace it because radicals are the only voters they have left. It'll be amazing to see how they plan on winning Independent voters in 2012.

[Jim__]

2. Is Gingrich saying that the Civil Rights legislation of the 60s was wrong?

Or, that political concerns should outweigh concerns of justice and morality?

[Richardo]

3. Shattered the Dems so much they retained control of the house until 1994?

I though Newt was some kind of history guy.

[Botany]

11. Newt is like Rove in that he is a bald faced liar

He used to rail against government spending but packed his district w/ pork in the
form of military spending.

[tanyev]

4. But it was the right thing to do for the country, wasn't it, Newt?

I know this is hard for you to grasp, Newton, but not everybody looks at these things simply in terms of how they affect the next election cycle. Plus, I think your analysis is utter crap.

[Luciferous]

5. Yeah, those damn civil rights.

:eyes:

[Botany]

6. He is right that Nixon's southern strategy which used white fear and ..

.... anger at the democrats helped a minority party keep more power for longer periods of time.
then the really should have had.

However w/ the dying off old time bigots and their replacement w/ a younger more
open generation those days are coming to an end. Remember Ronald Reagan early on in his
1980 run for the Presidency went to Neshoba County, Mississippi and talked about "States
Rights."

Newt is dead wrong on health care though because if it helps people it will help the
Democratic party too. Newt is also wrong with his not so subtle having civil rights
for Americans was a bad thing.

[Submariner]

7. LBJ LIED to us about Vietnam...that's what dragged him down

serial adulterer Gingrich is a festering puss bag to be ignored.

[Javaman]

9. Yup. nt

[SpiralHawk]

8. Like Newt destroyed his sick wife with his republicon 'family values'

When he visited his sick wife in the hospital to tell her he wanted a divorce to run off with his hot young secretary -- Republicon Family Values.

[MrScorpio]

10. I'm figuring that Newt has never heard of the VIETNAM WAR!

What a crack pot.

[Botany]

12. Newt was for the Vietnam war but not so much that he joined the service ..

.... and fought there. Although he did attend military schools before college.

http://a5.vox.com/6a00c225290de28e1d00c2252b4905549d-500pi

[DemoTex]

13. Newt was a history professor at West Georgia College before he ran for Congress.

You would think he would know better. OTOH, maybe he was a professor of revisionist history.

[Dappleganger]

15. Newt Gingrich is THE authority on revisionist history! nt

[TlalocW]

14. Destroyed? Democrats?

The same democrats who essentially controlled all or part of congress for 40 years after that? Even the president record barely beats us. They had Nixon who resigned giving Ford control who didn't win "re-election," Reagan, and Bush. Four guys covering five 4-year terms since Ford finished off Nixon's second. We had Johnson, Carter, and Clinton. Three guys covering four 4-year terms since 1965.

Technically, it did shatter the democratic party - the racist ones all left to join the republicans like Dixie-crat Thurmond. And if civil rights was the reason Nixon won against Humphrey (since Johnson didn't run again), it was still the right thing to do, and it changed America for the better. Could Newt name any republican willing to fight for any issue - no matter how right it is - if it meant losing his position?

TlalocW

[On the Road]

16. LBJ Agreed With Him When He Said About the Civil Rights Act:

"We have lost the South for a generation". He just thought it was worth the price.

Tells a lot about how Gingrich would operate if he were president.