Not many people know that the Ragin' Man grew up in a very Republican household listening to Rush Limbaugh and sucking at the tit of the of the Republican party. I have since become staunchly independent, mostly because I feel that there is no "catch all" answer to our problems. If the economy turns south the answer is not always tax cuts for the rich, just as it is not always government spending increases. Each has its own place.
As a result of my childhood I am extremely interested in Republican politics. The "catch all" answer is actually couched in what I call "the narrative." The narrative explains how the world works in a very flowing story that involves Jesus and trickle down economics. I have identified a couple parts, but needless to say Republicans believe the narrative even if most deny it exists.
The Republican primary battle has yielded three winners in three different states largely because of the narrative. Each state had parts of the narrative that appealed to their Republicans the most. Iowa cared about Jesus, so they voted for Santorum. New Hampshire likes the capitalism that Jesus stands for, so they voted for Romney. South Carolina hates the news media more than they hate open marriages, so they voted for Gingrich.
A poll that put Gingrich at just 30% in South Carolina was conducted on Monday, but he ended up winning the race with 40% of the vote. Looking at Newt you can tell he didn't go door to door to 10% of South Carolinians who were not going to vote for him. It's reasonable to conclude that Rick Perry's 4% followed his endorsement and voted for Newt, but the key moments in the interim were the debates. Newt took on the media for daring to report on his marital infidelities and giving his ex-wife a forum to discuss their relationship's ending using language that appeals to the "liberal media" that is bent on the destruction of Republicans. This not only made Republicans like him for repeating what they believe, but it gave the appearance that the shadowy liberals who run the media want to destroy poor Newt. He even pointed out this was part of the media "protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans." Even the Blaze, Glenn Beck's website, referred to his outrage as "pious baloney" echoing an attack Gingrich had made on Romney.
Bravo Newt. Great politics, but I'm not sure it truly makes you electable to the Americans who don't have an "R" beside their name.
I'm going to watch Florida to see what the key narrative issue for those Republicans is.
