This morning Glenn spoke with the always enlightening, (and in the case of New Gingrich, brilliant) best-selling author, Ann Coulter (Who they both agree should frequent GBTV more often). After mulling over the President’s disturbing State of the Union, Glenn and Ann discussed which candidates have the potential to keep America from ever having to be exposed to such an anti-Constitutional address from an American president again …and the ones who don’t.
While Glenn and Ann may have different ‘2012 favorites,’ they certainly agree on this, Newt Gingrich is the wrong choice.
Ann pointed out, even if you don’t go deep into his political ideology like his love for FDR and Woodrow Wilson, “he likes amnesty for illegals, and he took $1.6 million from Freddie Mac.” The Tea Parties in Iowa and New Hampshire have been great, but it’s hard to understand what went on in South Carolina. “It’s going to be very hard to beat Obama,” something Ann thinks “should be said over and over again.” Which she reiterated by pointing out that Republicans have only beaten incumbent’s two times in the last century.
The two delved into Newt’s history in Washington …and some recently published doodles depicting him as “a little stick figure at the center of the universe,” with a “primary mission, advocate of civilization definer of civilization, teacher of the rules of civilization.” To which Glenn points out, “I don’t think the Pope describes himself as that.”
Ann, who was working on the Senate side in Washington, D.C. at this time added, “he had notes reminding himself to smile and look cuddly. And then after, you know, it all came crashing down with the ethics investigation, which was a real problem. I mean, for him to denounce it as, oh, this was just a partisan investigation, the congress and the House of Representatives was still majority Republican and there were a lot of good right wing Republicans on that committee and something like 90% of Republicans voted to reprimand Gingrich for abuse of a 501(c)(3).”
Both Glenn and Ann agree that it is hard to understand how Gingrich is getting the results in these primaries that he is. In Stu’s latest Blog, the national polls show Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have higher national favorability ratings—shocking. According to Ann, it wasn’t much better while he was serving in office—in a CNN poll at the time 49% found Newt Gingrich off-putting, too extreme, or scary, and Glenn and Ann agree, Newt is scary.
The other disturbing part of Newt’s rise to the top is how is supporters are beginning to behave like Ron Paul supporters. Ann has worked around politics and politicians for a long time, and says she’s “never seen this behavior from Republicans. We normally associate it with Democrats.” Ann covers the topic of fanaticism over political leaders on the left in her latest book, Demonic: How the Liberal Mob is Endangering America.
