Historical Lessons?
A new video posted on Monday evening on Newt Gingrich’s website, and it’s an excellent re-telling of the events of 25 December, 1776. Gingrich, a historian, clearly hopes to leverage his well-known knowledge of history as part of his overall campaign for the Republican nomination for President. While it’s a timely lesson, it’s also a reminder that while Gingrich has had his share of failings, he is also plainly more conservative in his pronouncements than Mitt Romney. This is likely part of Gingrich’s appeal to constitutional conservatives and Tea Party patriots, and it certainly comes across effectively. In the end, Gingrich switches from history professor to politician, and closes by stating:
“Surely, in the most successful country in history, we can do what is necessary,we can be the spirit of General Washington and the Americans who fought for freedom. We can go out, get the vote out, make the argument, and stand up for freedom,and I believe we can have as big an impact in helping America remain free in our generation as they did in theirs.”
You can watch the video below:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3unJKrf1mk]
It’s a message that will resonate well with constitutional conservatives and Tea Party folk who tend to believe that the country has strayed far from its founding principles. What remains to be seen is if Gingrich can convince them that he’s solidly in their camp. If he does convince them, he may well give Romney a battle all the way to the convention, and may even pull off the nomination. The failure to get on the ballot in Virginia may have been the cause of a long-overdue shake-up in the Gingrich campaign, and he’ll now have a deficit to confront from the outset as a result.
