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***azmouse*** · 03-01-2011, 05:14 PM

Quote:Newt Gingrich is poised to become the first top-tier Republican to take steps toward a presidential run, with an announcement about his future planned in his home state of Georgia this week.

Political strategists close to the former House speaker say he is primed to pursue his presidential ambitions, and that the announcement will be the formation of an exploratory committee. They say the announcement, likely to come Thursday, will be deliberately low-key.

**snip**

According to the Federal Election Commission, an exploratory committee enables prospective candidates to raise funds for "testing the waters" activities, usually trips around the country to determine if there is support for candidacy. Fundraising efforts are subject to federal limits.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-...3791.story

Good luck, Newt.

**Capn Sunshine** · 03-01-2011, 05:19 PM

Oh GOD will this be rich! :lmao:

**DFW** · 03-01-2011, 05:26 PM

A limping, 67 year old twice-divorced convert to Catholicism who has been out of office for well over a decade, and with good reason. He has gotten wealthy via a mail scam, something akin to "pay me $5000 and I'll say I like you".

Being a blow-hard on the Sunday Talk shows is now apparently qualification enough for a Republican to consider him-/herself to be presidential material. Well, come to think of it, if you're a Republican, then that DOES make you presidential material. What a sad statement on the level of political sophistication of our country.

I was going to ask who'll be VP, Frank Luntz? But I should probably shut up for fear that I'm right.

**Capn Sunshine** · 03-01-2011, 06:48 PM

VP? I think you know the answer to that question, deep in your bear spirit

**NYC Liberal** · 03-01-2011, 08:44 PM

Can you imagine a Gingrich/Palin (or Palin/Gingrich) ticket? What a joke! Please let them both run!

**jaxx** · 03-01-2011, 09:04 PM

Are pubs dumb enough to nominate him?

***There Is No Spoon*** · 03-01-2011, 09:09 PM

**Capn Sunshine** · 03-01-2011, 09:25 PM

They nominated old man MCCain and Snowbilly grifter to run against to extremely charismatic and vital opponents. Yeah, they are that dumb.

**DFLforever** · 03-01-2011, 09:55 PM

Excellent timing as well, with the government on the verge of another shutdown. Just in case there are a few who had forgotten the old Newt.

He'll make a good, catastrophic candidate for the GOP.

**Ikonoklast** · 03-03-2011, 03:03 PM

"I'm still relevant! I'm STILL relevant!! I'M STILL RELEVANT!!!!!!"

"Excuse me, old-timer, who were you again?"

**RoyGBiv** · 03-03-2011, 04:14 PM

Just remember this.

Palin was originally Newt's idea, or at the very least (meaning that which is provable with publicly available documents) he was the first to start singing her praises as a potential VP nominee. If someone, anyone, had been able to muzzle that woman for just a couple of months, she wouldn't have come across as the galatically stupid individual she is. The only error in using her as a public relations stunt that the Republicans made was in underestimating her narcissism and overestimating their own ability to keep her under wraps.

This man is above nothing in his attempt to gain power. We may scoff, but watch out.

**Cha** · 03-04-2011, 02:56 PM

(03-03-2011 04:14 PM)RoyGBiv Wrote: Just remember this.

Palin was originally Newt's idea, or at the very least (meaning that which is provable with publicly available documents) he was the first to start singing her praises as a potential VP nominee. If someone, anyone, had been able to muzzle that woman for just a couple of months, she wouldn't have come across as the galatically stupid individual she is. The only error in using her as a public relations stunt that the Republicans made was in underestimating her narcissism and overestimating their own ability to keep her under wraps.

This man is above nothing in his attempt to gain power. We may scoff, but watch out.

You may be interested in this if you haven't already seen it..

"HOW DOES ONE SCREW UP AN EXPLORATORY ANNOUNCEMENT?...."

>snip<

Aides to the former Speaker assured reporters that Gingrich would announce a presidential exploratory committee yesterday. But that's not quite what happened -- Gingrich instead told reporters that he has a website, and continues to explore whether to explore.

Everything from the false start to his site's awkward name -- NewtExplore2012.com -- has left folks wondering what on earth Gingrich is doing.

Coming from a notoriously impulsive candidate, who has repeatedly entertained and then ruled out presidential bids in the past, the whole thing came across as yet another political fake-out. [...]

After he and his aides spent days drumming up anticipation for a critical announcement, the end result was at best an incremental, nuts-and-bolts shift in the direction of running.

And at worst?

"It was a disaster," said Ed Rollins, the veteran GOP presidential strategist. "It's not something that's going to be long-lasting, but it's the first impression people have of the new Newt."

"Especially when the history is there, where he marched to the line and walked away, he really needed to make this a perfect start," Rollins said.

Read More..
—Steve Benen 1:15 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (21)
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archive...hp#1906876

According to some of the commnets on Benen's Blog..Newt isn't quite ready to give up on his "shady empire". Others noting "Maddow Nailed it last night"..and .."Maddow named it: Newt Gingrich's SCAMPAIGN."

***There Is No Spoon*** · 03-04-2011, 03:24 PM

(03-04-2011 02:56 PM)Cha Wrote: ...

According to some of the commnets on Benen's Blog..Newt isn't quite ready to give up on his "shady empire". Others noting "Maddow Nailed it last night"..and .."Maddow named it: Newt Gingrich's SCAMPAIGN."

Yeah, Newt's "campaign" is a friggin farce. What an ass hole he is. I guess that applies to 90% of all Republicans though - they're highly immoral people.

**Cha** · 03-04-2011, 03:32 PM

(03-04-2011 03:24 PM)There Is No Spoon Wrote:
(03-04-2011 02:56 PM)Cha Wrote: ...

According to some of the commnets on Benen's Blog..Newt isn't quite ready to give up on his "shady empire". Others noting "Maddow Nailed it last night"..and .."Maddow named it: Newt Gingrich's SCAMPAIGN."

Yeah, Newt's "campaign" is a friggin farce. What an ass hole he is. I guess that applies to 90% of all Republicans though - they're highly immoral people.

Actually, imv, Rachel nailed it for all the gop presidential runners.

**Capn Sunshine** · 03-05-2011, 07:21 PM

(03-03-2011 04:14 PM)RoyGBiv Wrote: Just remember this.

Palin was originally Newt's idea, or at the very least (meaning that which is provable with publicly available documents) he was the first to start singing her praises as a potential VP nominee. If someone, anyone, had been able to muzzle that woman for just a couple of months, she wouldn't have come across as the galatically stupid individual she is. The only error in using her as a public relations stunt that the Republicans made was in underestimating her narcissism and overestimating their own ability to keep her under wraps.

This man is above nothing in his attempt to gain power. We may scoff, but watch out.

This is due to a fundamental flaw in the conservative mindset: they totally invest themselves in a notion and nothing will dissuade them from it. So, they have no "plan B" as it were to accomodate things happening differently from what they insist will happen. This happened over and over when neocons ran the State Department. John Bolton is still ramrod sure about his take on things, even though every single thing he expected to happen he was wrong about. Yet he and his cadre of PNACers are just as sure today about the rightness of their philosophy as they were in 1990.

**Ikonoklast** · 03-05-2011, 11:12 AM

Newt has been making a monetary killing off the rubes, selling them $5000.00 signed certificates, books, doo-dads, etc.

He is using this as publicity to make even more money, and the rubes fall for it.

He will not run, mark my words.

He knows he has zero chance of getting nominated.

**Treestar** · 03-05-2011, 01:23 PM

Explore Newtie. You will discover that you are not all that popular.

**DFW** · 03-05-2011, 04:35 PM

For those who remember the 60s song "These Boots Were Made For Walking," there was this 2008 parody ("This Newt Was Made For Talking") which was supposed to have been about Newt's last gasp. The piece is amazingly still just as relevant now. There is a free verse that you can hear without buying the whole download of the song: http://www.thefreedomtoast.com/shoponlinepaypal.html