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In New York magazine, the clever Dan Amira captures the essence of Newt Gingrich‘s windbaggery–the self-promoting adverb that makes the speaker look like an intellectual. Profoundly, deeply, frankly are frequently padders of Newt’s rhetoric, but by far Newt’s favorite word–the crutch without which he cannot walk a thought past his lips–is fundamentally. Examining Gingrich’s speeches since 2007, Amira found 418 unique uses of fundamental or fundamentally.
In one 2008 address to the American Enterprise Institute, fundamentally or fundamental appeared eighteen times. As Amira’s wonderful list shows, Gingrich usually uses fundamental to smarten up some prosaic thought (“fundamentally a falsehood,” “fundamentally a lie”), but Gingrich clear uses the word so thoughtlessly that he tosses it in anywhere (“fundamentally off-base in very profound ways”.) My favorites are those in Gingrich starts to double-dip: “fundamental, profound change”; “fundamentally, profoundly change Washington”; “fundamentally, profoundly wrong”; “fundamentally profoundly ignorantly anti-American the current judicial model is”; and “fundamentally reform and overhaul the federal government — fundamentally.”
[Cross-posted at JamieMalanowski.com]
John Dillinger on December 07, 2011 2:43 PM:
I sense the basis for a drinking game.
Jose Hipants on December 08, 2011 9:22 AM:
He's also addicted to the double-very, as in "we've been working very, very hard".
Daniel Buck on December 08, 2011 7:36 PM:
JM,
Adverbs like fundamentally, frankly, profoundly, and dramatically -- four of Gingrich's favorites -- function as rhetorical silicon implants. Whenever you read a Gingrich statement, envision Anna Nicole Smith.
Dan
Brian T. Raven on December 09, 2011 10:13 PM:
Thanks Mr. Malanowski, and thanks Mr. Daniel Buck, for a pair of very, very intense belly laughs that were fundamentally profound and frankly, deeply funny.
Rochester on December 10, 2011 9:05 AM:
We've all got phrases we use too much, and it becomes more obvious the more we're exposes. For example, we could start a Steve Benen drinking game on the phase, "the mind reels".
But your point is valid with these words. It's a cheap trick to impress stupid people with your intelligence & conviction... which are two words fundamentally in conflict with one another when used to describe Newt.
Tom Marney on December 12, 2011 6:18 AM:
Gingrich is fundamentally a douchebag. Hey, this is fun! :)
Marc on December 13, 2011 1:05 PM:
So, what you are implying is that Gingrich is a Fundamentalist?
Stephen Mullany on December 15, 2011 9:53 AM:
Newt is also very fond of the word "cheerful", as when he "cheerfully agrees with his critics" or "I would cheerfully allow that tax credit to expire." In fact, cheerfulness is one of the nicer things about Newt. It sure beats being depressed all the time and it saves him from having to assure us "it is new morning in America."
Burr Deming on December 22, 2011 1:30 PM:
"Fundamentally" may be his favorite, but "model" is what gave him a false image.