Howard Beale Leads the Republican Ticket

A quick test for my loyal readers (beat for laughs) -

You've got to say, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: "I'M MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

Was that quote from:
A) The end of a famous monologue by Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch) in the classic 1976 Sidney Lumet film Network.
B) An utterance one would expect to hear at a GOP primary rally as a candidate tries to court the conservative base.
C) All of the above
Newt Gingrich seemed to be the flavor of the week in the GOP field after an impressive win in the South Carolina Primary. In the "anyone but Mitt Romney" race to for the conservative core of the party, Gingrich has surged on a wave of fiery rhetoric.


As Trip Gabriel pointed out in her New York Times piece, "supporters say what they love is the bombastic, take-no-prisoners candidate," they see in Gingrich.


Now I am not saying that the entire Republican base is angry, or looking for a hot-headed candidate above all else. In fact, there seems to be a real personality battle amongst the voters, some liking the cool pragmatism of Romney, some liking the fury and bite of Gingrich. And some who seem to want both - they know Gingrich has too many holes to be as electable as they wish he was, but they just can't fall in love with Mitt.


Making an appearance on NPR's Morning Edition, conservative pundit David Frum spoke with host Steve Inskeep about Romney's struggles and Gingrich's success, calling it a "Deborah Tannen moment."

FRUM: There's a linguist named Deborah Tannen who says that one of the ways that men and women go wrong is that a woman will tell a man about a problem she's got, and the man will immediately begin to offer a solution. And she doesn't really want a solution. She can think of the solution herself. What she wants to hear is some kind of understanding and validation of how she feels...I think in many ways what we're having here is a Deborah Tannene moment between the Republican base and Mitt Romney.

See, silly old Mitt thinks that his crazy girlfriend (the Republican electorate, spearheaded by the conservative core) wants to hear pragmatism, policy, reason and thought from a candidate, maybe even with a hint of cautious reservation. But Mitt forgets that this is governance we are talking about. Reason, pragmatism, policy - that might be fine for Student Council or the Boy Scouts, but that stuff has no place in Washington, or better yet, on the excruciatingly long road to the capital.


No, what seems to work is fire, accusations, passion, and maybe a little bit of pandering. And they get that in spades from Newt.


As fellow NPR personality Ari Shapiro pointed out in a piece for All Things Considered:

"There's a certain segment that's in the Republican base that still really, really wants someone that's just a fire-breather to call Obama out on everything that he's done while in office. And they also frankly want someone that can match the excitement Obama seemed to bring into his election last time," said Jewett... 

....Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain and other candidates had the same talent. Gingrich just happens to be the most formidable challenger left.

This phenomenon is not unique to the Republican Party though. In 2008, I heard a lot of similar rhetoric amongst Democratic supporters of Barack Obama, particularly amongst the youthful demographic (of which I would be considered a part). There were legions who were just infuriated by the disastrous eight years of George Bush Jr., and they were grabbing onto the Democratic candidate as much for what he was as for what he wasn't. It says something about how truly criminally, god-awful Bush was that a man with as weak of a political record as Obama steamrolled a war hero, long-time Senator in the general election.


And much like those incensed voters in 2008, 2012 has produced a large swath of riled up constituents who feel the past four years have been nothing but failures, leading the country down an untenable path. You can be as qualified as they come, or you may not know "shit from Shinola," if you can't bring the heat, stay the hell out of the kitchen.


But Romney's no dummy, and Newt is not as much of a historian as he may think. As Nate Silver observed in the New York Times, Romney's faltering in South Carolina may have been due to his timidity and self-satisfaction. He did not play in the muck with his competitors, but rather acted the part of the eventual nominee. Well the Palmetto State wanted nothing of that. Gingrich showed teeth and collected a resounding win.


So now they roll down to Florida, and it is Mitt who has been the aggressor, and Gingrich, at least early, has laid back more, acting like the presumptive winner. So far, the biggest primary yet is coming up Romney.


It all would play out as rather interesting and funny theater if it weren't so damn important and consequential. And it might be wrongheaded by the Republican Party once this primary charade ends.


Despite Obama's sagging approval, he doesn't suck as much as Congress. The GOP will still need to present a strong, unified front to win the election or even compete with the Democrats in fundraising. The bickering is also providing ample fodder for the left to use in the general election. Did anyone ever think they would really see Republicans picking on each other over being SUCCESSFUL FREE MARKET CAPITALISTS.


While the conservative base may love this fierce fighting, according to a recent Wall Street Journal piece by Daniel Henniger:

"Republicans seem to think these primaries are a family fight. But independents, now perhaps 40% of the electorate, are also in the stinky marinade. The ABC-Washington Post poll just recorded Mr. Romney's unfavorable number rising 15 points in two weeks. It now matches Newt's awful unfavorables.

See just a few weeks ago, the Republican party was faced with a conundrum of backing the guy they love but moderates and independents can't get behind, or the guy those moderates and independents can support, but the conservative core just can't. Now, there is a chance that whomever they put forward, if the fighting gets too ugly, if the rhetoric gets too hot, that candidate will have lost a lot of appeal to those still undecided.


As the historian Newt could probably tell us, nearly every important election comes down to swaying as many of the moderates, independents, and undecideds over to your side as possible. (Perhaps having something better than the two-party cartel system would change that, but I digress.)


Obama will not be unscathed in this process. The fight for the presidency will no doubt be bitter, ugly and unpleasant. Unfortunately the American people will probably eat that up more than they will press for real answers, real solutions, real leadership. Obama may or may not be called to task for such things, much like the eventual GOP nominee. Hopefully the answers to those meaningful questions will carry more weight in deciding the leader of the free world than who can commiserate with the public ire the best.


As Frum may remind us:

The great politicians, the great leaders are the people who, at moments where the country has real reasons for fear and unease and resentment and anger, take those feelings and they re-channel them, redirect them in ways that can lead to solutions.

Pragmatism and cool heads will hopefully prevail, even if that prospect feels bleak right now.


Because any of us who have been there before know, empathizing with your angry girlfriend might win you popularity points, but it sure doesn't solve her problems.