American Press Fascinated by “Newtzilla” Gingrich

Despite his Playmobil style haircut and aging baby doll face, Newt Gingrich’s carnivorous smile doesn’t fool anyone. Responsible for the House of Representatives swinging toward the conservatives’ side in 1994 after 40 years of Democratic hegemony, the former Speaker of the same chamber during Clinton’s second term remains a more-than-controversial character. He was even fired in 1999 following the discovery of his marital infiedlity, although he positioned himself as the nation’s sanctimonious one during the Lewinsky affair.

However, in the past several weeks, he seems to have achieved what columnists call a “momentum,” a sort of “state of grace.”

Product of a System

According to a Public Policy Polling poll published on Tuesday, December 13, Newt Gingrich leads his competitors in the key state of Iowa, with 22 percent of the likely Republican vote, followed by Ron Paul, who takes 21 percent, and former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney, who brought in 16 percent.

This is more than a buzz; it’s a real tidal wave. “Newtzilla” is working, foresees a columnist from the Los Angeles Times. “The (Republicans) worry about the fact that (Michelle) Bachmann and (Rick) Perry might not be crafty enough or might be incapable of beating Obama. The anti-Newts, for their parts, have no doubts about Gingrich’s intelligence.”* By default, this former university professor scares them. His opponents see an old veteran in him, ground down by the intrigues of Washington and corrupted by the system.

It’s a possible point of attack for his rivals, explains the Christian Science Monitor, which evokes a campaign launched by Ron Paul, whose popularity is very strong in certain states, in order to caricaturize Gingrich: “The campaign depicts the former president of the chamber as an ‘insider’ (…) who has benefited well from his movement to government.” He wasn’t only successful as a politician: Gingrich was equally accused of profiting from the economic crisis, pocketing the modest sum of $1.2 million (1.2 million Euros) in consulting fees for Freddie Mac, the American reinsurer, whose costly losses were directly financed by the taxpayer.

The Fiscal Question at the Heart of the Debates

Logically, because of his past of consultancy and the morose economic climate, Gingrich’s economic program is very well-received. Although Republicans and Democrats labored to agree on the budget and the government still risks a “shutdown” (in other words, an inability to pay) once a week, the political debate crystallizes more and more around the fiscal issues. In this domain, Gingrich’s propositions do not shine for their originality. The fiscal section of his project has just been scrutinized by the very respected Tax Policy Center, as were those of his adversaries Rick Perry and Herman Cain. Basically: less taxes. That’s about it.

The Tax Center report, cited by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, highlighted that the strongest fiscal reductions envisaged by Gingrich would benefit the richest: “People earning $1 million or more per year would benefit from a fiscal abatement of $614,000 in 2015 (…), their tax rate going from 31.6 percent to 11.9 percent.” The goal set by Gingrich: to reinforce the attractiveness of the American territory in terms of investment. In order to do this, he also relies on lowering company taxation, from 35 percent to 12.5 percent.

If one parts from the principle that the average tax rate in the United States has not ceased to go down since the Reagan era, and that Washington has not managed to tighten its budget and must constantly have alternatives to expedients in order to not close its offices, this plan seems unrealistic at best and demagogic at worst. It would mean, in effect, a projected loss of $1.28 trillion in 2015, highlights the Tax Center report.

Crafty Gingrich has resorted to a well-known dodge so that nobody reproaches him to pay more taxes if he is elected, explains the progressive newspaper Mother Jones: “Allowing tax payers to choose between the current and the new tax code.”

Pressured to show his bills, Newt Gingrich has additionally proposed, at the end of November, that Americans who enter the work force may not be any longer affiliated with Social Security; they could plan for their retirement by placing their savings on the financial markets, with guarantees to prevent a brutal drop in stock from eating into these investments. Here again, the idea went stale: It had already been put on the table by George Bush in 2004, reminds the Huffington Post, but was met with opposition from Democrats and certain Republicans.

The Hunt Is Already Open

“Newtzilla” Gingrich’s economic program seem, therefore, pretty light for the moment, but not forcibly more than that of his adversaries. Herman Cain, forced to “interrupt” his campaign following accusations of sexual harassment, had made a sensation by proposing a fiscal plan based on the three nines: nine percent VAT over the whole American territory, nine percent tax rate on companies and nine percent tax rate on revenue. Criticized for its simplicity, the plan seemed to have fallen into oblivion during the same time which Herman Cain disappeared from television screens.

Regarding Rick Perry’s propositions, they are based around one principle: Proposing to tax payers a single tax rate of 20 percent and leaving the existing fiscal structure in place. Nothing revolutionary, and above all nothing which allows candidates to distinguish themselves. But it is not on this terrain which Gingrich seeks to distinguish himself: Elected by a huge majority for his experience and good knowledge of Washington, as well as for his abilities to reassemble the Republicans, he can already prepare himself to campaign in the court of the greats. It’s a tough job: Currently, he only benefits from a reduced campaign team and above all, his funds are meager.

And his adversaries are not going to miss him. The hunt is already open: In ridicule mode, The New Yorker has organized a call-out for contributions in order to compile a list of the “40 nicest things which one could say about Newt Gingrich.” Number one of this true-false competition of kindness: “Gingrich is the one to thank when Obama is be re-elected.”

*Editor’s Note: This quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.