RSS Feed MenuRead Ken Silber on the lower Manhattan mosque, here.
I can understand people being discomfited or opposed to an Islamic center being located on Park Place in lower Manhattan, even though I don’t share that discomfiture or that opposition. But the hysteria, authoritarianism and outright bigotry Gingrich has displayed on this issue is detestable. May he never again wield any more political power than any other fatuous, rabble-rousing, politically impotent talking head.
Oldskool // Sep 2, 2010 at 8:27 am
Silber must live outside the USA. People like Gingrich are modern Amerkan heroes. Someone sensible like Obama is the exception to the rule.
TerryF98 // Sep 2, 2010 at 8:38 am
Grinrich really does not have any reputation to lose, except if he wishes to loose the one of being a lying multiple adulterer and egocentric all round bastard.
Kenneth Silber // Sep 2, 2010 at 8:50 am
Oldskool, indeed I do live in the USA, that part called NJ. And I know Park Place well–I happen to be married to someone who works one block away from the (not in Ground Zero) mosque.
bubba11 // Sep 2, 2010 at 8:57 am
I think Oldskool was being sarcastic, Kenneth Silber. He agrees with you, I think. He might be as baffled as I am at the fact that people in the USA admire Gingrich.
Oldskool // Sep 2, 2010 at 8:58 am
“indeed I do live in the USA, that part called NJ”
Well that explains it, living where you do. In the South (real Amerka) and the rest of the country, we like our populists to be inflammatory in the extreme. Gingrich isn’t so much different than Palin and she’s practically become a kingmaker.
Kenneth Silber // Sep 2, 2010 at 8:59 am
bubba11, I thought Oldskool was being sarcastic, too. But lacking 100% certainty, I thought better not to get into it.
Kenneth Silber // Sep 2, 2010 at 9:01 am
And now I’m 100% sure. Thanks, Oldskool.
armstp // Sep 2, 2010 at 9:31 am
Gingrich has been a complete buffoon, as usual, on this issue. The guy compares one of the great religious to nazis. He also completely misreads the history of Cordoba. It takes a Yale University student to completely pick apart Gingrich, mister history professor, reading of the history.
See this post on Cordoba by a Yale student, it really puts the whole thing into perspective.
http://gotmedieval.blogspot.com/2010/08/professor-newts-distorted-history.html
llbroo49 // Sep 2, 2010 at 9:53 am
Gingrich just overpleayed his hand. He could tell many Americans would not be in favor of building an Islamic center so close to Ground Zero, he just erred in believing how far the public would be willing to go to stop it. Americnas do have a sense of fair play- Sure they don’t like the location of the Islamic Center- but those are the rules we play by.
And can you imagine Gingrich’s frustration- he merely translated in to an articulate position what Palin was trying to say via tweets.
easton // Sep 2, 2010 at 11:09 am
Great post. Gingrich is a farce. Lets not forget that many, many Republicans have not acted like this. Hatch recently came out with a strong show of support (not for the Mosque, but for the fundamental right of the mosque to be built, which is a critical difference)
I really can’t imagine that Gingrich has any designs on running for office again. No Muslim nation in the world would have anything to do with him
Slide // Sep 2, 2010 at 11:53 am
easton // Sep 2, 2010 at 11:09 am
I really can’t imagine that Gingrich has any designs on running for office again. No Muslim nation in the world would have anything to do with him
As much as I hope you are right, I don’t think that pissing off the Muslim nations of the world would be a bad thing when it comes to Republican primaries.
easton // Sep 2, 2010 at 12:30 pm
slide, it would be amusing to see Gingrich squirm though. He would get trounced in the general. Adulterer, bigot, con man. He has said way too many intemperate things. and he is such a gas bag of a man.
CentristNYer // Sep 2, 2010 at 1:51 pm
It says something about the GOP these days that all the qualities that most endear him (or anyone for that matter) to the base are the ones you would least want in someone whose finger is on the nuclear trigger.
busboy33 // Sep 2, 2010 at 5:33 pm
What happened to Newt?
He swithched jobs from talking head to GOP politician. I think that explains what happened pretty clearly.
Gus // Sep 2, 2010 at 5:46 pm
“As much as I hope you are right, I don’t think that pissing off the Muslim nations of the world would be a bad thing when it comes to Republican primaries.”
Sadly, I don’t think it would be much of an impediment in a general election either.
anniemargret // Sep 2, 2010 at 8:43 pm
What happened to Newt has already happened to McCain and Romney… once they get ‘righteous’ it follows that their vision for America gets restricted to making ‘the base’ happy .
Once they do that, they become caricatures of themselves.
Newt, Your Ad With Pelosi Wasn’t Dumb | FrumForum // Dec 6, 2011 at 6:43 am
[...] last year ended up being one of the most widely read items ever on my blog Quicksilber, thanks to a citation by David [...]