Sunday, December 18, 2011

Does Newt Gingrich Believe in Limited Government?

I'll admit I haven't been watching the presidential campaign very closely, having skipped all but a few minutes of the so-called debates and mostly skimming news articles.  But it feels like I woke up from a long Rip van Winkle nap and heard Newt Gingrich was leading in the polls.  What the heck?

I've already skewered Mitt Romney on these pages during his prior run, for flip-flopping and for stealing the Aqua-Fresh logo, and blasted Rick Santorum for his big government policies and for then claiming he would have been fiscally conservative if the Tea Party had his back.  So now let me turn my ire to Newt Gingrich:

  • Gingrich famously attacked the Paul Ryan plan to reform Medicare, calling it "right-wing social engineering" (though maybe that was really a compliment, Gingrich seems to appreciate right-wing social engineering). Less famously, he lobbied for Medicare Part D, a multi-trillion expansion of taxpayers' entitlement liabilities.
In my review of his book, I noted Gingrich is generally committed to "efficient" government and bringing new technology into government, rather than a commitment to limited government.  I found nothing in his record to make me change my mind.

As I mentioned in a Twitter conversation, I understand that there is not "perfect candidate," but there's a difference between having a "purity" test and demanding a candidate who will expand liberty, not government.  Newt Gingrich is not that candidate.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

All true (except the "Right-wing social engineering", which was a VERY inartful way of of talking about the political strategy, not the policy itself, something Gingrich needs to studiously avoid if he wants to be President). So who do we vote for? I wish Bachmann was at the top, but she is not.

Nathan Benefield said...

If the PA primary were today, I'd vote for Ron Paul, as I think he is most strongly committed to smaller government. But I'm not pleased with his defense of earmarks, or the "cult of personality" that seems to follow him, and am troubled by "the company he keeps" (See: http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/company-ron-paul-keeps_613474.html).

What I do recommend: focus on the Senate and some House races, get a conservative Congress, and then handcuff the president, whoever he or she is.