Marking Period 3: Monday #2

About the rise of Newt Gingrich and the fall of the Tea Party

In this column, Clarence Page writes about how Newt Gingrich's rise in popularity signals the fall of the Tea Party Movement.  Page begins noting that Gingrich has gained so much attention with the help of tea party supporters.  As a movement that formed to remove "fat cats and wheeler-dealers who line their pockets while raising taxes," that they would support Gingrich, who is known to have made millions by "advising, promoting and lobbying for big corporate and public policy interests" with companies such as Freddie Mac doesn't fit with their mission statement.  He also reminds us that Gingrich is the only Speaker of the House in history to be disciplined on ethics violations, driving home that the Tea Party is ignoring quite a bit of Gingrich's history. Why are they doing this?  Because they'd rather Gingrich rise to beat out Romney for the Republican nomination and usurp Obama, whose administration led to the founding of the Movement in the first place.

Page explains that the tea partyists want him for his confidence and understanding of what the GOP is in support.  He reasons that Gingrich's announcement of candidacy was perfectly timed because "the right was energized and the left [...] was demoralized," and Gingrich showed a decisiveness of yet Obama had not.  From there on Gingrich had to contend with the indecisiveness of Republican polls - in particular, Mitt Romney's spot as the GOP favorite.  But, with his own wit and Herman Cain's "stumbles," suddenly he was tying with or passing Romney in polls.  Page notes that although this could be an example of "the latest GOP flavor-of-the-month," it being so close to the Iowa caucuses, this surge of popularity could prove pivotal.

Connecting back to the question of the Tea Party's pull, Page wonders if the Movement is buying into Gingrich possibly beating Obama in the 2012 Election or selling out on their ideals - he decides it is probably some of both.  That they are beginning to blend in with other Republicans suggests to Page that "the name remains, but the spirit is fading."