Cantor is the very embodiment of corruption. Repiglican corruption. He is totally bent over, pants down, ass checks pulled open, squeaking 'fuck me, fuck me' to every Repiglican penis that is behind him, starting with Gingriche's .. Cantor and his ilk should be treated just as Mussolini was for the good of what is left of our country

Keep up the, um, good work, Newt.

Here's why I think the loathsome Newtie continues to hold sway in the GOP: Republicans are huge consumers of bombast, and Gingrich is, well, the most bombastic man in the universe. They'll continue to be very happy together.

Where do you go when you're in trouble? You go with what you know. The GOP knows Newt even though Newt doesn't know Dick. I say this with the utmost regard.

Didn't Newt also have his tit in the wringer at one of those ad-hoc advisory committees on going into Iraq at the Pentagon?

Guy's record is perfect, isn't it?

Yeah, Newt is a Gingwretch but the "drill now" movement did work pretty well, it nudged Pelosi and the crew to allow more drilling. That's why they listen to him, he can bray up some pseudopopulist pressure.

He did help give them the success of 1994. GOP basically consolidated their gains from that victory for 12 years till there was nothing left.
I don't think they will even have the chance to duplicate the 1994 victory in 2010. Clinton was not as popular as Obama in 93-94. The economy was already in recovery in 1993. I think the Republicans have to go back to 1933 to see what is in store for them.

Well, Abramoff is still in jail and Tom Delay has his hands full. So that leaves Gingrich, Rove, Limbaugh and Norquist. And let's not forget about all those Reagan seances.

For reasons that I've never fully been able to grasp

It' s only because the people who vote for Republicans have actually heard of him, therefore he's important. Because they think he is.

It's Pavlovian. The Republican Voter Drool Factor.

Newt at least had a semi-functioning brain. Cantor is one of the biggest morons in all of Congress.

One memorable example -- he was on Hardball a year or so ago insisting that Congress had no constitutional role in declaring war, that it was solely the decision of the "Commander in Chief."

Shouldn't we make it a requirement of all those running for Congress that they at least show a third-grade mastery of American civics?

The Democrats should feature videos of Cantor in all their ads.

The televangelist hair, the sneer on his lips when he speaks, it's just a perfect distillation of what this country despises about the Republican Party.

Gingrich is very good as a bombthrower. He was at his best when the Republicans were out of power, and needed to be aggressive obstructers when the Democrats were running things. When Republicans are looking at Gingrich, they are probably thinking more of the man who brought down Jim Wright than the Gingrich who became Speaker of the House.

Taking 'advice' from Newt allows the GOP to take marching orders from Limbaugh, without appearing to pander to the junkie behind the mic. Not that Newt has that much more credibility, it's just slightly more decorous.

The Republican Party was able to re-embrace Nixon as an "elder statesman" and whitewash his crimes; bringing back Newt is a piece of cake.

it was Gingrich who helped drive GOP opposition to the first TARP package in September.

Remind me again why TARP was good?
Somebody?

Kindly recall that TARP I was the 350 billion dollar giveaway without strings that led to nothing more than mergers of bad banks and socking away a small, pointless deposit against horrific losses in these insolvent banks.

I only wish I understood why Democrats didn't see this as a really bad fracking idea.

Newt nailed TARP.
Hey, even a monkey throwing darts hits the bullseye on occasion.

If Newt tells Cantor that he should lean on religious nutjobs to let liberal Republicans win and have some say in the agenda from New England, he'll have done us some damage. That's what happened in 94.

Fortunately, the Democrats are keeping their mouths shut about conservative Dems so no conservative legislation is getting out of committee. Even if Newt gives him the one nugget of sound advice he has... it'll be much harder to deliver the goods using only that one weapon.

Here's something which should frighten you: one of the reasons that Gingrich continues to have influence is that he actually *is* demonstrably one of the most intelligent members of the GOP. This means that he has a higher IQ than a sea cucumber. That isn't much, but it puts him leagues beyond the rank-and-file GOP member.

As I said, if that doesn't scare you, it should. Either that, or you're far tougher to scare than I.

-Z

Isn't Newt in bed (on alternate Thursdays) with Rush? Want to see the pictures?
Didn't think so.

For the GOP, the only thing that matters is regaining power...and for all Newt's failures as a legislator, he did regain them control of Congress PDQ.

The Republicans are a party stuck in recycle mode. Reagan is wearing thin so return to Newt. When Newt wears thin, return to Reagan. And continue to keep up the culture wars rhetoric from 1969-70.

No original programming, just non-stop reruns.

Oh. please, B'rer Newt, please don't throw me into that briar patch!

Charles

Yes by all means turn to the Toad [oops, Newt!] for advice! Ride the Rethuglickin' party right into the dustbin of history where it belongs!!!

if her husband is taking advice from and following the lead of newtered, i hope mrs. cantor stays out of the hospital.

Conservatives see Newt a a man ahead of his time, who will be vindicated when the social safety net entirely collapses, which they believe it will. The GOP has pinned their entire future to the expectation of this collapse.

if her husband is taking advice from and following the lead of newtered [...] -- mellowjohn, @ 18:47

Cantor is singing in suspiciously reedy registers himself; could be that being "newetered" is what he has in common with the Grand Lizard of the Repub party. If so, he'd be of little use to Mrs Cantor.

"I talk to Newt on a regular basis because he was in the position that we are in: in the extreme minority," he said.

Cantor obviously has no clue what extreme minority is, but they may soon be getting a taste of it. Here, using Senate numbers (because, being based on the pre Alaska-Hawaii Senate of 96 Senators, its easier to grasp percentages), is the breakdown from 1928 through the 1936 elections;

71st Congress 1929--Comfortable R majority:
56R-39D-1Farmer-Labor

72nd Congress 1931 R majority of 1 (over a year after the market crash):
48R-47D-1FL

73d Congress 1933 FDR elected strong D majority
59D-36R-1FL

But that was not the end of it of course, with the Republican party then behaving almost exactly as the Republican leaders like Cantor are now responding, by denying the will of the people which the American public clearly sees for itself.

75th Congress 1937 (FDR's 1st reelection)
76D-17R-2FL-1 Progressive
17 Republican Senators out of 96 in just 8 years from a strong majority. I don't think the Republican leadership realizes how precarious their positions are in the country now that the country can see what real and effective leadership, provided by the President, actually looks like. An extreme majority is what they are about to hand over to the Democratic party, no strings attached. Keep it up, Eric.