I linked to the transcript (below) and will give you a summary.
Newt is a Vessel: He Won South Carolina Because He Articulated Conservatism
Rush's theory is that, it's not that conservatives are choosing Gingrich as their guy, it's that they are sending a message to the "GOP establishment" that they will not let the Republican establishment tell them who their candidate will be. Conservatives will not have Romney shoved down their throats, so they are voting for a guy who knows how to articulate conservatism. Hopefully, they (the GOP establishment) will get the message.
What's going on here is the conservative base trying to send a message to the Republican establishment: "You're gonna have to have somebody who's legitimately conservative. That's the only way we're gonna be passionately behind our nominee, and that's the only way we're gonna beat Obama." This is something really big. This is not the voters saying, "We love Newt! Newt's the only guy!" That's not what's going on here. Newt's a vessel right now, and Newt would be wise to understand that, too.I think Rush makes a good point. Conservatives are tired of candidates who can not speak clearly about conservatism and sell it to the country.
But Rush warns Newt that if he strays from conservatism, as he has in the past, the whole thing is going to blow up in his face. Ripping the media will only go so far and will get old, fast. Newt not only has to "talk the talk", he has to "walk the walk".
I'm just telling you, Juan Williams, John King could have asked the same questions to any other Republican and it woulda sunk 'em, because none of them are willing to articulate conservative. Maybe not Santorum. Santorum probably coulda hung in there. Now, this presents a huge stumbling block potential for Newt. He is vulnerable on the very thing he can do better than anybody else. He had better fully embrace his conservatism and not make it a part-time thing. The days of being able to keep this momentum going by ripping on the media are over. The standing ovations for taking on the media are over, or they have a very short life span. He can't live on that anymore. Been there, done that. It's gonna get old and it's gonna look like it's been set up. There's not gonna be any drama to it, therefore there's not gonna be all that spontaneous "way to go" standing O stuff, unless it's just outrageous. You only go to the well so many times on this stuff.
Newt keeps pushing off any questions on his anti-conservative statements. And he better not. I think Newt is just as vulnerable on his anti-conservatism as Romney is on Romneycare. "What do you mean by that, Rush?" Very simple. Newt has made it plain two or three times that he's very open to the concept of manmade global warming. He can blow this by sitting on the couch with Pelosi again or something that is equivalent. Newt has in the past had some unflattering things to say about capitalism. His time at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a vulnerability. Saying that FDR is the best president, his favorite president, that doesn't jibe with being a conservative. His open support for single payer health insurance with a mandate. I'm just telling you, Newt's not out of the woods here. And Newt and his crew had better understand that he's where he is not just because of a media smackdown, not just because of debates. He's articulating conservatism when he does this stuff, and if he stops doing that or if he waters it down or if he gets caught in an example where people can be convinced he doesn't really believe this stuff...As far as I'm concerned, Rick Santorum is the most conservative GOP candidate we have to choose from at this time. On January 31st, I will be sending my message to the GOP establishment by voting for Rick Santorum in the Florida Primary. The question is...will they eventually get the message?
What do you think about Rush's theory?
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