CONGRATULATIONS NEWT!!!

From MSNBC:

Gingrich wins SC GOP primary, beating Romney

Newt Gingrich has won the South Carolina Republican primary, capping off a remarkable comeback for his presidential bid that reshapes the trajectory of the battle for the GOP nomination as the race now heads to Florida and beyond.

The results mark the end of a tumultuous week in politics that saw Gingrich erase and then overcome the lead former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney had in the Palmetto State following his victory in the Jan. 10 New Hampshire primary. Gingrich came on strong in the closing days of the campaign, looking to rally under his banner the many conservatives unwilling to get behind Romney, who had sought to posture himself as the eventual nominee.

More here.

And from Slate:

A glossary of Newt Gingrich’s historical references and out-of-nowhere terminology

The moment comes, inevitably, at a key point in any Newt Gingrich speech. Members of the audience lean in and whisper: “Huh?” As speaker of the House, Gingrich was notorious (ask the Romney campaign!) for pulling ideas out of the ether. During his post-congressional wilderness years, he’s written an average of a book every nine months. We can quote the man himself: He is a “cultural teacher, with a political campaign to change a government.” A mere voter or reporter hears him mention a random concept, and gets flummoxed.

Be flummoxed no more! Below is a work-in-progress guide to the names and phrases Gingrich whips out to score extra points with conservatives. Previous Slate word watches—Bushisms, Palinisms—tracked candidates’ malapropisms. This is different. This will track and demystify the terms Gingrich tosses out to demonstrate his brain size.

Click here for the glossary of Newtisms.

I wrote this only last Thursday about Rick Perry, but it just as easily applies to Newt Gingrich:

This is, of course, a prime example of what's ailing the GOP right now in its race to get the party's presidential nomination. The Republicans have gone so far out in right field, and are so used to denying reality in order to bolster their crackpot political ideas, that only the very stupid are really able to capture the imaginations of the party's rank and file. I mean, sure, Perry's not stupid: the guy managed to make it to the governor's mansion and stay there for longer than anybody else in Texas history. But he is stupid on the issues. Really stupid. Just drooling, hare lipped, gibbering stupid. Like Gingrich, Santorum, Paul, and all the rest.

Indeed. Gingrich, too, is not stupid in that he has been smart enough to have a political career, smart enough to get an advanced degree, smart enough to make a lot of money working the corrupt lecture and lobby circuit that he helped to build when he was a House leader, smart enough to see that what was essentially a book tour pretending to be a presidential campaign had some potential as an actual campaign. Gotta give him all that. But just like his former rival Perry, Gingrich is one of the biggest morons in the world when it comes to issues.

Sometimes I'm amazed that among establishment media fixtures, the Newt's considered to be an intellectual, but then I remember that establishment media fixtures are pretty fucking stupid, too. That is, for our college educated press corps, spewing pseudo-intellectual jargon and obscure names and phrases is the same thing as being an intellectual. So Newt has a reputation as a smart guy, which just makes his victory tonight all the more funny.

I mean, seriously. Can you imagine Gingrich debating Obama? It would be like the Globetrotters versus the Generals. Really, Newt's worst enemy is his own mouth. Sure, it plays well when he's racebaiting down in South Carolina, but all most Americans hear is the gibberish and bullshit that make up his absurd rhetoric.

Then there are all the scandals, the marital infidelity, the Congressional investigation, just albatross after albatross wrapped around his big fat neck. Running him in the general election all but ensures an Obama victory, and potential disarray in the GOP for years to come. So, while I'm no supporter of Democrats, I'm well aware that Republican rule is tantamount to national suicide: congratulations to Newt Gingrich! I hope and pray for your success, which, in the end, means a few more nails in the Republican Party's coffin.

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