Of my very considerable number of pro-Newt emails, this one sticks in the mind somehow. Persuasive? You be the judge. (Writer’s name reproduced by permission.)
Derb,
I have to admit, part of me just can’t help but like Newt. In most ways he’s a paleo’s nightmare candidate. His guest worker program, free trade advocacy (wasn’t he one of the chief architects of that genius NAFTA scheme? how’d that work out?), and interventionist foreign policy, are all disastrous for the country. I doubt anybody cares about the lobbyist stuff. So what’s to like really?
Well, Gingich’s imaginative space exploration ideas are far advanced over anything anyone else could offer. Indeed, the other candidates (save Ron Paul) seem to have zero imagination on this or any other issue.
I also think you hit on something in last week’s Radio Derb episode when you said that Newt has won the “bitter ex-husband” constituency. So the sanctimonious “marriage is sacred” crowd thinks Newt’s affairs are unacceptable. You have to wonder what world these people live in where they have never been in a relationship with a pain-in-the-butt female. Lots of things can happen after you commit to someone. They let themselves go, get fat, etc. These broads can drain you emotionally and physically with their endless demands and grievances. People change over time, and divorce is a messy business, especially when there’s money involved. Affairs are biologically natural, when one is separated from their mate for a significant period of time. They are even more natural for the male, whose biological goal in most respects is to impregnate as many females as possible, no? Anyway, if it weren’t for Newt’s dreadful neocon policies, he would have this misogynist’s vote hands down.
One other reason I’m inclined to root for Newt is that he just makes for such a great villain. His narcissism, grandiosity and megalomania have all the makings of a bombastic antagonist, perhaps in the mold of someone like Drax from Moonraker. Even his name, “Newt” lends itself to this narrative (a salamander?) I could easily see him as one of the Alien leaders from V — the original miniseries (1983 version, not the crappy remake.)
There you have it: if you’re into sci-fi and misogyny, and think narcissism is underrated, you’ve gotta go with Gingrich.
Sincerely,
Brandon Adamson
In one respect at least my emailer is on to something: the BEHSDA (Bitter Ex-Husbands Shafted by Divorce Attorneys) vote is big and passionate, if my email bag is any guide.
Oh I like Newt, I like a lot of what he says and how he says it, but I can say the same about Rush Limbaugh. They are both very entertaining and can fire up conservatives and tick off liberals, but I don't want either one as my President.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHow's NAFTA working out?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseGreat, thanks for asking.
One of the few bright spots in the economy.
"get fat"
Sorry but this is not a legitimate reason to break a marriage and break a family.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseEspecially in this case, where the husband also got fat!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI have a sense of humor and I may have chuckled a bit at what your e-mailer said, I think hoping he was being tongue in cheek.
But as a kind of bitter ex-wife who made a mistake (not infidelity) and was not forgiven (and dumped after just over 10 years of marriage and 2 beautiful girls), but who forgave her ex-husband for his prior mistake (infidelity), I have to say this hits a little too close to home.
She gets fat (probably from having kids and little time to work out either working and taking care of them, or just taking care of them - it is a job to be a SAHM)??!!!!
You're apart so you need the sex??!!! Or maybe you don't get it every time you want it. Oh poor little you!
She has demands (what, like you shower, and clean up after yourself? Get up off the couch and pay attention to repairs that need to be done around the house? Help with the children?)!!????
I betcha that guy is still single. My parents were married for almost 36 years before he died. They had ups and downs, weight gains and weight losses. And yet they worked it out.
That has got to be the absolute laziest reason for cheating on and/or dumping a spouse (no matter if it's a husband or wife doing the dumping) I have ever heard.
Vows mean nothing to many people, regardless of political affiliation or even religious affiliation (if any).
That is a symptom of the society we let the Progressives give us over the last 100 years. We have no integrity and honor as a nation anymore. And that is why we are failing.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"We have no integrity and honor as a nation anymore. "
I would add "shame" to that list, and then I'd move it to the front.
Sometimes in the last 50-years, shame became a human emotion that has been counseled away. We condition people to no longer feel shame, and that whatever transgression they have committed, they can only make it worse if they feel shame about it.
There is something to be said about the time in our not to distant past, when people used to feel embarrassed about receiving government aid. That no longer exists. Instead, at the first moment of discomfort - for any reason - there is an expectation that it's government's responsibility to make it all better. We really, really are an entitlement culture and I think one of the biggest reasons that we are is because shame has gone away.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMr Adamson,
What separates civilized human beings from their barnyard compatriots is the subservience of "biological goals" to the better angels of their natures.
All the best,
apl
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI have to agree, Newt's propensity to divorce is one of the few things I like about him. His policies are outside anything I could ever vote for, and his involvement with Fannie Mae leaves me with a deep feeling of disgust, but he at least was willing to bail rather than let a failed marriage drag on. In response to ladykrystyna, cheating is a natural response to long-term separation from one's spouse. It doesn't necessarily (and I would argue for men rarely does) involve any emotional connection with the third party; it's a physical interaction brought about by the long-term unavailability of a sexual partner. Sexual interaction is a key part of a healthy marriage; without it, the marriage is in trouble (and I'm definitely not speaking to your particular situation, I'm speaking in generalities).
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLots of things can happen after you commit to someone.
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That's why the vow before God is 'for better or worse', 'richer or poorer' 'sickness and health' good times and bad' until death do you part.
But I do see the writer's point. Newt's wives should not have allowed themselves to get cancer. I mean, come on, what man should have to stay by her side when she goes and does that!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSure, there are plenty of ex-husbands with these kinds of "grievances." Newt probably does benefit, in a Republican primary, from his intuitive connection to the kind of guy who feels and thinks this way.
If only women didn't vote! Then this might actually be an asset in a general election.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIs Brandon Adamson a nom ge guerre (or is that a nom de plume?) for Rich Lowrey et al?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWaah waaah she got fat I didn't get enough sex she didn't bother to put on makeup waaaah waah.
Give me a break.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCan I just say that I think Mr. Adamson's argument for the Newt spike in popularity is repugnant? I'm not saying he's wrong, mind you. He could well be right -- that there is a core of bitter ex-husbands and womanizers out there who glom on to Newt as a sort of anti-hero against those awful, pious marriage zealots. Speaking as someone who's been married almost two decades, I think I know a thing or two about the ups and downs. My first and largest good choice was in picking the right woman to begin with. I think a lot of men simply follow their hormones and don't put much effort into selecting a mate, beyond her bust size or how much of a trophy she might make in front of other men. The other, and crucial, choice I made was in electing to stick out the rough spots and not let my ego get in the way. As the old saying goes, do you want to be right, or do you want to be married? Lots of men want to be right. Lots of men then wonder why their wives turn off and pull back from them, too. Oh, and finally, the fitness/flab problem is a two-way street. Does Mr. Adamson have a muffintop problem? When is the last time his (theoretical) mate saw visible muscles on his arms or stomach or chest? Lots of guys want a hot wife, and feel no shame in growing a beer gut along the way. Yeah, good luck with that.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYour correspondent (and I'll bet he's a real prize) somehow fails to note that Gingrich himself is not exactly a runway model.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm sorry, it's not "sanctimonious" to believe three wives and two admitted extended episodes of adultery is not consistent with any claim to "conservatism." I might be willing to spot anyone one divorce from a marriage begun by someone very young. But the infidelity, no.
And who is kidding whom about Newt's second marriage and cheating on Marianne with the much younger Callista? This affair with a fetching youthful staffer commenced when Newt was 50 years old and had skyrocketed into a powerful leadership position. Rich or powerful men -- however fat and pasty faced -- can always find a sexy mistress. Naturally, he wanted an open marriage so he could avoid the political downside of a second divorce. And then there was the monumental hypocrisy of the contemporaneous attack on Clinton.
Yes, men are all tempted by better tail, but most men resist the temptation and honor their marriage vows. As far as we know, Romney did. Santorum did. Obama did. When you don't, it is a sign of weak character. Period.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHmm, guy definitely sounds like an authentic Generation X paleontologist. Edgy non-PC observational shtick about "broads"--check; James Bond reference--check; performs Euro-style folk music on I-Tunes--right there on his site. If he just starts a wine tasting blog he'll be set
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