I’m a little late to this (it came out on Tuesday), but I just read Newt Gingrich’s “Plea to Republicans: It’s Time for Real Change to Avoid Real Disaster.” It starts with a cogent analysis of just how bad things look for Republicans in this fall’s Congressional elections. “The Republican brand has been so badly damaged that if Republicans try to run an anti-Obama, anti- Reverend Wright, or (if Senator Clinton wins), anti-Clinton campaign, they are simply going to fail,” he writes.
Then Gingrich offers up “nine acts of real change” to boost the GOP before November. Now Gingrich, whatever you think of his ideology, personal life, or political tactics, is undeniably one of the great idea men of modern American politics. But maybe he’s, uh, tired or something.
Most of the list consists of retreads (declare a summer gas tax holiday! bash unions! bash liberal judges!). And then there are the two original suggestions:
5. Overhaul the census and cut its budget radically. …
6. Implement a space-based, GPS-style air traffic control system. …
WTF?!?!?! (As this is a mainstream media blog, I should point out that the F stands for Foolishness. Or maybe Fiddledeedaddle.) I’m not much for predicting elections, and I will definitely be among the first to congratulate Gingrich if census reform and space-based air traffic control put the GOP over the top in November. But somehow or other, I just don’t think this is going to do it.