The delusions of Newt Gingrich...

There were two editorials in the Washington Post today that couldn't have been farther apart on the same issue.

Harold Meyerson wrote about the "downward spiral" of the Republican party. And Newt Gingrich wrote about the "rising anti-government tide."

Now, both editorials were partisan. Meyerson wrote about the stupidity of the policies that the GOP is currently pushing, as well as noting that a Pew Research poll shows that only 22% of voters identify themselves as Republicans. Pew is a respected polling group, and that number is reinforced by other polls that show Republican party ID in the 20-30% range.

Newt Gingrich's editorial was full on nonsense. I suggest you read it to see just how. He uses as evidence of his "rising anti-government tide" the Tax Day Tea Parties around the country -- protests that were based on a mis-reading of history for one, but that's a separate issue. He also boasts of the 62% of California voters who voted against the budget propositions.

I don't want to even get into the Tea Parties. A commenter on ajc.com, after seeing photos of the "protest" in Atlanta (where Sean Hannity decided to set up camp for his nightly show), stated: "It looks like they've emptied every trailer park from here to Alabama." The group that was in Athens at the University of Georgia arch was a collection of white upper-middle class college students who I doubt have ever actually paid taxes in their lives. Their parents have, I'm sure. But their NorthFace jackets and paid-for-by-the-state tuition certainly shows their current level of suffering under this burdensome tax code. Oh, how difficult it was for them, growing up in Roswell and Alpharetta.

Anyway, I'd rather focus on two other aspects of Newt's editorial. First, the supposed 62% "majority" in California. If you've read my previous post on California's budget, then you know my feelings on that issue. But I'd also like to point out that the turnout for the special election was about 23%, making it about the lowest turnout, ever. Some majority, Newt. You didn't even have a quarter of the electorate voting, and you're declaring a "rising tide."

For the rest of us, it doesn't take complicated math to realize that it was less than 15% of voters in California that voted down those initiatives. I don't know about you, but to me, 15% does not a majority make.

The second aspect of Newt's editorial that was absurd, was his contention that Detroit is a good example of how the "big government" policies that Democrats want will destroy us all. Granted, Detroit has had some of the worst governance of any city in the U.S. They've had problems with incompetence, corruption, you name it. However, I do believe the economic decline of Detroit probably has more to do with the fact that housing market nationwide has cratered, and, just maybe, times are hard in Detroit because Chrysler is in bankruptcy and General Motors is on federal life support?

Maybe?

Suffice to say, if Newt Gingrich is really the person the GOP wants to turn to (and he does appear to be one of them, him, Dick Cheney, and Rush Limbaugh), then Republicans should be getting very, very worried about the future of their party. Which is a shame, because there are plenty of good Republican ideas and values out there, but these clowns shadow over all of that with garbage arguments like the ones Newt is making here.