A Case For And Against Newt Gingrich.
A Case For And Against Newt Gingrich is in an article I found on the American Thinker website. Also, in the article, it explains why some Republicans in Congress are scared to have Gingrich as presidential nominee and speak out against him. The title of the article is: Gingrich and the Fear Factor by Arnold Cusmariu.
Newt Gingrich's alleged "baggage" and the attendant doubts about his electability don't fully explain why, despite his high standing in the polls, the GOP establishment has been shunning the former speaker of the House, when not showing outright hostility toward him.
The current speaker of the House, John Boehner, must be considered a prominent opponent behind the scenes so far. Boehner, it will be recalled, led the rebellion to remove Gingrich from his post as speaker back in 1998, joined in this eventually successful effort by Bill Paxon, Dick Armey, and Tom DeLay (all now out of office). The day after being re-elected to an 11th term by his Georgia constituents, Gingrich announced that he would stand down as speaker and resign his seat. As reported in the November 8, 1998 issue of the New York Times, he minced no words during a phone conference with colleagues Joe Barton of Texas, Rob Portman of Ohio, Fred Upton of Michigan, and RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson, stating, "I'm willing to lead but I'm not willing to preside over people who are cannibals." Ouch!
As a historian capable of taking the long view in politics and elsewhere, Gingrich knows full well what it means to be deposed. Luckily, in a democracy, such things result only in loss of power. Charles I, Louis XVI, and Tsar Nicholas II, to cite some famous historical examples, lost a lot more than that. A deposed leader left alive can still be targeted if seen as a threat, as Trotsky found out. Napoleon was luckier; after Waterloo, he only got relocated to St. Helena. An ousted leader who returns to power is likely to be unkind to those who kicked him out, possibly looking to return the favor, even in a democracy.
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