Newt Gingrich, scholar of history, is asserting that Hillary Clinton cannot be defeated by the Republican Party in the 2016 presidential campaign if the party remains in its current form:
If their competitor in ’16 is going to be Hillary Clinton, supported by Bill Clinton and presumably, a still relatively popular President Barack Obama, trying to win that will be truly the Super Bowl. And the Republican Party today is incapable of competing at that level. She is married to the most popular Democrat in the country. They both think it would be good for her to be president. That makes it virtually impossible to stop (her) nomination, I think. But when I thought she was frankly going to be the nominee in ’08. And I went all through the spring of ’08 thinking she would beat [Barack] Obama.”
When asked if he would run again, Gingrich coyly replied, “I doubt that, but one never knows.”
Well, if Gingrich can be so cocksure about Clinton’s ascendancy in 2016, he ought to be pretty certain about his own involvement, wouldn’t you think?
Guess not. The question is why Gingrich would make such a statement at a time when Republicans are trying to regroup. In all likelihood, Gingrich, like Karl Rove, is seeing his star decline and this is simply one more way to remain noticed. But rather than disparaging the party, he might be more useful in helping it regain its roots, which, as a history scholar, he should know as well as anyone. But it’s always easier to simply pontificate.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.