Gingrich’s Dukakis allusion: “Governors of Massachusetts don’t always make good presidential candidates”
posted at 7:15 pm on January 7, 2012 by Tina Korbe
Cheap or clever? I’ll let you be the judge. But it’s clear Gingrich isn’t above a snide allusion or well-timed punchline or two. According to CNN’s Political Ticker, the former Speaker delivered an exceptionally “muscular” performance at a town hall today — and his jolly punching bag was Mr. Romney.
Speaking at a WWII museum in Wolfeboro, the historian and Republican presidential candidate made reference to another former governor of Massachusetts who ran for president.
“From a political standpoint I look at this tank lovingly because I remember Michael Dukakis,” said Gingrich of the Democratic presidential nominee who lost to President George H.W. Bush in 1988. “And it’s just a reminder that governors of Massachusetts don’t always make good presidential candidates.”
The well-choreographed event set up the perfect punch line for Gingrich, who is struggling in the polls and trying to draw stark contrast between his record and that of frontrunner Mitt Romney.
Yet for all that he evidently delighted to deliver a snarky insubstantial barb, Gingrich says he’ll keep it friendly at tonight’s debate.
An unusually sunny Newt Gingrich pledged to be a happy warrior at tonight’s debate, contrasting Mitt Romney’s record with his own but not attacking him.
“I’m not going to go after Mitt Romney. I may define the reality of a Reagan conservative and a Massachusetts moderate,” Gingrich told reporters, saying he would talk about their track records on issues such as taxes and abortion. “I don’t get this ‘go after’ stuff. You don’t need to do that if your case is good.”
The former House speaker and candidate for much of the race declined opportunities to disparage his GOP rivals, saying that doing so only divided Republicans and helped President Obama. But after a barrage of attack ads sank Gingrich in the polls, he has gone on the offensive against Romney. He said he did not fear a voter backlash.
“I don’t think telling the truth in a happy, pleasant way comes across as negative,” he said. “It may come across as the truth.”
It’ll be a surprise to me, though, if his gloves really don’t come off. As was not the case even just a few weeks ago, Gingrich has nothing to lose — not even a lead in South Carolina. Why not try to weaken Romney as much as possible in the hopes of creating any kind of an opening — for himself or for someone else? Those who don’t like Mitt would love it and those who do wouldn’t be voting Gingrich anytime soon, anyway. Gingrich has presented enough ideas and stayed civil long enough to avoid the Michele Bachmann curse: He won’t be branded an idea-less attack dog no matter how nuclear he goes on Mitt tonight. Again, why not?
Either way, Gingrich also claims he’ll aim to be “slower, shorter, clearer” in his answers tonight. Does that mean we’ll hear fewer “fundamentally”s and “profoundly”s? Better rewrite the drinking game rules!
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ahahaha I cheated on my wife, humiliated my family, stole taxpayer money, and lied to my constituents. ahahahahhahahaahahahahahahaha IT’S FUNNY WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT.
Jeddite on March 29, 2013 at 8:59 AM
Maybe Sanford can win this election, but I’m still not convinced he can. I think he’s a very poor choice, but typical of what the Vichy Republicans are running.
I don’t know how we’ll replace those Country Club types with real, honest conservatives, but it has to be done or the Constitution will be dead.
TKindred on March 29, 2013 at 9:05 AM
I’m not a big fan of the idea that Sanford is uniquely qualified for Congress because of his fall from grace. How does abandoning your job and family to chase tail in South America teach you anything you can apply to getting our fiscal house in order?
Happy Nomad on March 29, 2013 at 9:05 AM
It may be too late. To revive the GOP, that is. We have a Zombie Republican Party on our hands.
Myron Falwell on March 29, 2013 at 9:08 AM
The problem I have with Sanford is not any failing in his personal life. Plenty of politicians have those. It’s that he failed in his professional life. Going AWOL the way he did is a disqualifier IMO. It’s not like South Carolina Republicans don’t have an alternative in this race. Bostic may have his alleged skeletons, but nothing like Sanford’s. Why risk it?
Doughboy on March 29, 2013 at 9:15 AM
Politics is no place for penance.
If Mr Sanford had any humility and respect for the electorate, he would have demurred on any opportunity to run for public office.
Now like many others have done recently, he’s put personal ambitions and desires above common sense and honest conclusions.
In the end it will hurt the very people Mr. Sanford states he has a desire to allegedly help.
Mr. Sanford has actually unwittingly revealed to us that nothing has changed. Past is indeed prologue.
Marcus Traianus on March 29, 2013 at 9:20 AM
*gag*
bazil9 on March 29, 2013 at 9:21 AM
I wish Sanford would have just stepped down and gone away! The man is a hypocrite. he rebuked Clinton for his infidelity and his lies, declaring Clinton should have stepped down as President. when Sanford did it, he abandoned his position & left the state to meet his mistress, lied, committed adultry, then fought to remain in office, defending what he did and what Clinton had done was somehow different.
He has demonstrated he is self-serving and his morals, ethics, and honesty have an ‘on’/'off’ switch. While he has proven with those qualities he belongs in Washington, if we ever hope to change things there we have to make sure people like him never make it there…or ever hold office again.
easyt65 on March 29, 2013 at 9:32 AM
Yeah I guess this should be the point when we finally stop making our party the butt of every political joke.
Go away Sanford!
Valkyriepundit on March 29, 2013 at 9:43 AM
The commenters here are FULL OF HOTAIR! Sanford is the right choice, he is a proven fighter in the US Congress and as Governor he took on the worst bunch of Good Old Boy Republicans in the country! Bostic is a tool and has never seen a spending bill he would refuse to support. Bostic would also lose big to the DRat!
el Vaquero on March 29, 2013 at 9:44 AM
Somewhere it says…..”let he without sin cast the first stone”.
Right now I mostly care about fiscal matters, so I think Sandford would be the best choice.
I believe his ex wife supports him, so obviously she has put their differences (his infidelity, her lack of warmth which was probably why he strayed in the first place; it doesn’t appear that he is a serial adulterer like Clinton, Kennedy, etc.) so it shouldn’t be a deal breaker. I believe his four sons support him too.
And as for stealing taxpayer money, I am not sure if that is correct. It is my understanding that he met her while at a business conference for the state; since he was having an affair, and someone made a ruckus, he paid back the money spent on the trip.
And as for not telling his staff where he was when he was with his
girlfriend? You have to be kidding me. He was always available via cell phone. They could get in touch with him if they wanted.
Their announcing that they couldn’t find him was political.
Amjean on March 29, 2013 at 10:21 AM
Wow! I’m stunned with your post. Apparently lack of integrity, ethics, and morality don’t matter in your world.
How is this election about the redemption of Mark Sanford?
Fair enough. So for you integrity doesn’t matter so long as the candidate says all the right stuff about fiscal matters? How does that make you any different than one of the parasitic single-issue voters that supported the rat-eared devil?
So….. It really isn’t adultery if you only do it once and the family doesn’t completely disown you afterwards?
So….. It really isn’t stealing if you pay back public money when somebody makes a ruckus?
So…. It really isn’t being derelict in your responsibilities as Governor if you have your cell phone on? There are some really easy ways to know if you are failing as a leader. One of them is if you have your staff lying for you.
Happy Nomad on March 29, 2013 at 10:33 AM
It’s bad enough cheating on your wife. But going AWOL. lying to the people of his state and misappropriating funds to finance his romance should disqualify this dirtbag from holding office ever again.
bw222 on March 29, 2013 at 10:48 AM
After watching Republicans lose race after race when it seemed they couldn’t, from the two yokels babbling about how rape doesn’t get you pregnant (remember, one of them made his remark while the other remark was still blazing its way around the web), to Christine O’Donnell, to Linda McMahon, to trying to find someone to run against an incumbent empty suit with a blank resume with the economy in the toilet and FAILING, now this imbecile running in SC and leading, I’m convinced that the national Republican party is throwing elections on purpose. To what end, I don’t know, but I can’t believe a party can be this inept.
Russ in OR on March 29, 2013 at 10:51 AM
“Hey, my cheating/stealing/humiliating my family is SOOOOOO 2009. Let’s focus on how I can fail in 2014.”
-Disgraced Governor & Appalachia Trail hiker Mark Sanford
portlandon on March 29, 2013 at 10:58 AM
I will always suspect that his girlfriend was a DNC swallow.
slickwillie2001 on March 29, 2013 at 11:17 AM
Wow…. his defense boils down to “greatness choosing the man”. If my eyes roll any further, I’ll be able to see out the back of my head.
Murf76 on March 29, 2013 at 12:49 PM
All I know about him is he’ll screw over other people and break promises/oaths for personal benefit without serious concern for his actions; because he’s already done so.
I’m not saying put him to death “throw the first stone” I’m saying accept that he’s got a history of not being trustworthy, maybe don’t trust him.
Do you give your money to robbers instead of banks for safe-keeping? I mean maybe he won’t do the same thing this time he’s done in the past… right?
How is looking at what someone does and considering that a template for what they’re willing to do offensive to you? Do you find learning form history offensive as well?
People may change, but they usually don’t. Why should we start with the assumption he’ll never do again what he’s already done and put himself above his job, his promises, and everything else?
gekkobear on March 29, 2013 at 1:24 PM
The simple answer is to get informed about the candidates who are running, during the Primary election and then support the candidates who convince you that they are “real, honest conservatives.”
Running for Congress is a huge and expensive project that takes a massive amount of time away from family and career. A candidate and their family also lose almost all of their privacy during the campaign.
Good conservative candidates will only be willing to run if they know they can count on support from their fellow Conservatives.
wren on March 29, 2013 at 5:53 PM
Thank you for posting the video of the highlights from the Bostic vs. Sanford debate, Ed! The special run-off election on Tuesday (April 2) is an important one, so the more people who are informed about the race the better!
I watched the whole debate via the web yesterday and while both men did well, I was most impressed by Curtis Bostic.
Curtis Bostic was articulate, confident and a strong proponent of Conservative values.
Both men talked about the importance of developing “relationships” in order to get things done in Washington, several times during the debate. Mark Sanford may have had a head start in developing political relationships a few years ago. But any relationships that Sanford had in the past must have been seriously damaged by his embarrassing lack of judgement and integrity when he went AWOL to visit his mistress in Argentina. Why would anybody trust Mark Sanford again after he so publicly demonstrated that he was not worthy of trust?
Curtis Bostic is a strong candidate for the Republican nomination for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, and selecting him on Tuesday is the best way to prevent having to listen to Democrats make jokes about Republican family values in Argentina for the next several years.
You can learn more about Curtis Bostic at his campaign website:
http://www.stopspending.com/
Integrity matters!
wren on March 29, 2013 at 6:12 PM
People, especially the kind of people that Sanford panders to, love a good mea culpa. Even more so, they love a good redemption story.
He’s still a joke, though. There’s a difference between “mistakes” and what he did. After what he did and the public shaming that followed, trying to return to office is simply pathological power-seeking by someone without the conscience or moral clarity to realize his own urges.
mintycrys on March 29, 2013 at 7:14 PM