The Right-Wing Media is going after Newt Gingrich with a vengeance today, as if they aren't directly responsible for fostering an environment that allows the kind of disgusting politician Gingrich represents to rise to the top.
The National Review, the movement’s flagship publication for decades, came out with a stinging editorial titled “Winnowing The Field” on Wednesday in which they essentially endorsed anyone but Gingrich, warning that his nomination would be a general election disaster.
“His character flaws — his impulsiveness, his grandiosity, his weakness for half-baked (and not especially conservative) ideas — made him a poor Speaker of the House,” they wrote. “Again and again he combined incendiary rhetoric with irresolute action, bringing Republicans all the political costs of a hardline position without actually taking one.”
There's more. The National Review is devoting an entire issue to tearing down Gingrich wherein they refer to Gingrich as a "general election Hindenburg."
Might as well let it all hang out. Inside the new December 31, 2011 issue is Mark Steyn’s “The Gingrich Gestalt,” Kevin Williamson’s “How Speaker Newt Balanced the Budget, And Why President Newt Would Not,” Kris Kobach on how Gingrich’s amnesty plan would reward criminals and make the law arbitrary, and Jonathan Adler on Newt’s “longstanding love-hate relationship with environmental reform.” Plus other pieces and columns from John Yoo, Jay Nordlinger, James Lileks, Dan Foster (on Tim Tebow), Matthew Spalding, Florence King, Ross Douthat, Rob Long, and more. You’ll want to read this issue, so we heartily recommend you start your NR Digital subscription today.
While the attacks on Gingrich are reaching a crescendo, no one is reaching out to endorse any of the other candidates including Newt's closest rival Mitt Romney.
At this point, the GOP establishment has decided they would rather lose the general election by 6 or 7 points with Mitt Romney while picking up a few down-ticket seats, than lose by 11 to 15 points with Gingrich while losing the down-ticket seats. They would rather lose small than lose big.
It wouldn't have come to this point if the Right Wing Noise Machine hadn't isolated the base in a corner where debate, compromise, and empirical evidence aren't allowed. They crafted the mood of the Republican electorate, so they shouldn't feign shock-horror when the electorate chooses the worst of the worst.
The raw prejudice of conservative voters against President Obama will be overwhelmed by the enthusiasm-deflating power of the GOP nominee, whether it's Romney or Gingrich.