. . . until the New Hampshire primary.
The indispensable Ron Gunzburger seems pretty sure about when Newt Gingrich will announce his candidacy:
Gingrich will announce his candidacy on September 27, 2007, the 13th anniversary of when he first unveiled the Contract with America campaign in 1994. His website even has a prominent countdown clock running towards that date.
Hmmm. If Gunzburger is right, it will be an uncharacteristic backwards look by Gingrich, who used to consider himself something of a futurist, and whose website is subtitled "Winning the Future." Gingrich has, however, updated his Contract on with America, as follows (with my commentary):
To achieve this future we will:
I.
Defend America and our allies from those who would
destroy us. To achieve security, we will develop the intelligence,
diplomatic, information, defense, and homeland security systems and
resources for success.
While this phrase seems bland enough--what Presidential candidate wouldn't want to "develop" those "systems"?--the last five words of the first sentence give the game away. It's us or them, kill or be killed, you're either with us or you're with the terrorists. Seems to me I've heard this somewhere before.
II.
Transform the Social Security system into personal
savings accounts that will enable every worker to have higher
retirement incomes from their own work and avoid the need for financial
support from their children.
Gingrich is nothing of not ambitious, seeking as he is to gut the signature program of The New Deal, greatly enrich the financial services industry, and encourage people to bank their retirement with whatever company may emerge as the Enron of the 2010's.
III.
Recenter on the Creator from Whom all our liberties
come. We will insist on a judiciary that understands the centrality of
God in American history and reasserts the legitimacy of recognizing the
Creator in public life.
Atheists need not apply for federal judgeships. Newt hopes the religious right won't give him too hard a time for his messy sex life.
IV.
Establish patriotic education for our children and
patriotic immigration for new Americans. To achieve this, we will
renew our commitment to education about American citizenship based on
American history and an understanding of the Founding Fathers and the
core values of American civilization. We will insist that both our
children and immigrants learn the key values and key facts of American
history as the foundation of their growth as citizens.
In fact, this prescription differs hardly at all from current citizenship requirements, but given the immigration hysteria the day, it will play well with the rubes who themselves don't know the key facts of American history.
V.
Meet the triple economic challenges of an explosion
in scientific and technological knowledge, an increasingly competitive
world market, and the rise of China and India by implementing:
1. A new system of civil justice to reduce the
burden of lawsuits and to incentivize young people to go into
professions other than the law.
2. A dramatically simplified tax code that favors
savings, entrepreneurship, investment, and constant modernization of
equipment and technology.
3. Math and science learning equal to any in the
world and educating enough young Americans to both discover the science
of the future and to compete successfully in national security and the
economy with other well-educated societies.
4. Investing in the scientific revolutions that are
going to transform our world—particularly in energy, space, and the
environment.
5. Transforming health care into a 21st Century
Intelligent Health System that improves our health while lowering costs
dramatically. In the process, American health care will become our
highest value export and foreign exchange earning sector.
"A new system of civil justice"; trial by jury is just soooo 18th century. And it's OK to invest in space and energy and the environment, but surely not biotech, cuz that might lead to embryonic stem cell research, cloning, and human/animal hybrids (and we surely wouldn't want that). Now this new health system: could we lower costs dramatically by eliminating for-profit health insurance? Nah . . . .
VI.
Work to include every American in a system of
patriotic stewardship so every person has a real opportunity to pursue
happiness as their Creator endowed. Prepare for the aging of the baby
boomers and their children so we can have active healthy aging with the
best quality of life, the longest period of independent living, and the
greatest prosperity. We will:
1. Develop a system in which those who wish to stay
economically active are encouraged and incentivized to do so because
active people live longer and healthier, have a greater opportunity to
pursue happiness, and are less of a burden on their fellow citizens;
2. Develop a system of independent living and
assisted living that increases the years in which people can be on
their own and in most cases enables people to live their entire lives
with freedom and dignity;
3. Develop a new model of quality long-term care in
which both the care and the quality of life are compatible with a
twenty-first century American expectation of progress and innovation;
4. Use the new technologies and new scientific
knowledge to turn disabilities into capabilities and change government
regulations and programs to help every American achieve the fullest
possible ability to pursue happiness.
No more retirement for you, grandpa. You'll work til you're 80 regardless of the state of your health, and like it.
VII.
Change the mindset of big government in Washington
by replacing bureaucratic public administration with Entrepreneurial
Public Management so government can operate with the speed,
effectiveness, and efficiency of the information age.
Oh boy. Government just like FEMA and the VA.
VIII.
Balance the federal budget and insist on a lean
government, low tax, low interest rate economy to maximize growth in a
competitive world.
So lemme see: we're going to balance the budget but not raise taxes. Guess that means we cut spending. I'd love to see him say how.
IX.
Insist on congressional reform to make the legislative branch responsive to the needs of the 21st century.
Gotta get rid of that pesky oversight function that just introduces inefficiencies into government operations.
X.
Ensure an election process that is honest,
accountable, accurate, and free from the threat of illegal votes or
subsequent litigation.
Translation: disenfranchised voters will have no recourse to the courts.
Seriously, what kind of mind produces a declaration like that? Clearly, a mind not living any kind of recognizable reality. "Beset" is a word that means attacked on all sides, hemmed in, assailed, surrounded. Almost six years ago, the United States was attacked by suicidal terrorists, some of whom had overstayed their visas. It was a horrific event--but does that really suggest to any rational person that in 2007 we are beset by suicidal maniacs? 
