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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Newt Watch - International Trade Edition

Nov 26th, 2011

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First of all, for the record, the fact that I am even compelled to comment on the possibility of a Newt Gingrich Presidency is proof that the Republican Party is tripping on some very serious, fucking acid.

I mean it.

His corruption in office is only dwarfed by his post-office corruption. He is nearly without peer in his status as the sleaziest and most addled sex-fiend in the history of the GOP. Unless, of course, nailing his secretary (his current wife) while delivering divorce papers to his cancer-riddled then-wife, while she was in the hospital, somehow equates to the GOP's "new family values." Oh, that's right... he did it because of his love for America.

At least he doesn't have "the gay." Or something.

Anyhoo... here we are. He is at the top of the heap.

Today, Huff Po's Ian Fletcher has taken note of the fact that this (racist) malarkey-salesman has been consistently "contemptuous of American sovereignty when it comes to trade."

NAFTA? He was for it. WTO? He was for it. Most favored status for China? He was for it.

Fletcher reminds us that, while every other GOP hopeful is trying to drum up a new version of "Yellow Fear" with regard to China, Gingrich has spent the last 2 decades arguing for the positions that got us here.

He writes:

"No concept of state capitalism at all. No concept that under state capitalism, capitalism strengthens, rather than disciplines, the state. No concept of mercantilism, or the idea that trade can be practiced by foreign nations as rivalry, with a deliberate agenda to weaken the U.S.

Gingrich doesn't seem to have wised up since, either. If one consults his current campaign website's section on jobs and the economy, there is no mention of trade issues. I guess they're just not that important, despite a $500 billion-a-year trade deficit. The closest he comes to trade issues is to suggest some policies to "strengthen the dollar." While I'm sure the use of the word "strengthen" may make some conservative hearts beat faster, a strong dollar is actually something that has been inflicted on us by Chinese currency manipulation, it is a bad thing, and we need to go in the other direction if we ever expect to balance our trade.

How did Gingrich end up with these appalling ideas? I can't plumb his personality, but one of his worst liabilities, on a personal and political level, is his astonishing pseudo-intellectualism. Intellectually pretentious politicians are a dime a dozen in, say, France, but they are quite rare here, so he stands out for this. As a PhD and former history professor, he seems to instinctively believe that his thoughts go on a higher level than other politicians.

This is a recipe for disaster."
EMPHASES HIS

Unless you are Obama.

On that note, we wholly endorse Newt as the GOP nominee. Please. Nominate him.

We couldn't have made this up if we tried.

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