Politics & Government

Gingrich Campaign on the Rise

But one blogger suggests that "what works in East Cobb will not work on a grander scale" for the former House Speaker.

Just a few weeks after he became the Speaker of the House following the 1994 Republican Congressional sweep, Newt Gingrich held a town hall meeting in his East Cobb district. 

The auditorium at filled up quickly with many white, middle-aged men sporting polo shirts and khakis.

They had a political rock star in Gingrich, who served up the red meat many of his constituents wanted to hear about small government and his remarks about the cultural state of the nation.

Find out what's happening in East Cobbwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

That auditorium indeed rocked during that Saturday town hall, as he basked in the glory of an historic election on home ground.

For it got brutal in a hurry as Gingrich got a taste of what governing is like, especially from Democrats relegated to the House minority for the first time in 40 years. 

Find out what's happening in East Cobbwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The past week might have been Gingrich's most rousing political moment since then, with his seemingly dead presidential campaign ramping up. 

He's been surging as to Mitt Romney, the GOP nominee favorite, as Georgian Herman Cain has become mired in allegations of sexual harassment and a longtime extramarital affair. 

Cain is now "reassessing" his campaign, with speculation that if he drops out, Gingrich would stand to pick up some of Cain's support.

On Sunday Gingrich received the endorsement of the influential conservative newspaper The Manchester Union Leader, which The Marietta Daily Journal ran verbatim today. 

With the New Hampshire primary slated for Jan. 10, the timing couldn't be better for Gingrich to take his best shot at what appears to be a longshot bid to oppose President Barack Obama next year.

Political polling ace Nate Silver of The New York Times assesses the impact of the Union-Leader's endorsement. Concord Patch, one of our sister sites, asked New Hampshire political types, including Gingrich's staff there, about  in the Granite State. 

According to Mount Pleasant Patch, two new polls have Gingrich from the Republican pack in South Carolina, where he is campaigning this week with that state's primary on Jan. 21. 

The Atlantic examines the resurgent Gingrich, claiming that despite his checkered political and personal history, he remains "overwhelmingly charming."

The Washington Post, which on Sunday published "Newt. Inc.," a lengthy report detailing Gingrich's entrepreneurial success, concluded that official Washington "has long had a soft spot for its has-beens, even those who gave up power in defeat or disgrace."

Georgia pollster and former State Rep. Matt Towery predicted during a Monday interview with WABE's Dennis O'Hayer that if Gingrich doesn't get the nomination, he'll be Romney's running mate

Towery, a longtime Gingrich political confidante, wrote recently that "the Newt I knew so very well in his prior life as an elected official and political operator hardly resembles the man I know now."

Can he make this last, or is Gingrich headed for another flameout like the one he experienced from within his own party that led to his stormy departure from Congress? 

He raised conservative hackles for his comments on illegal immigration during a GOP candidates debate last week, which didn't sit well with Cobb immigration critic D.A. King. On Monday, Gingrich appeared on The O'Reilly Factor to explain his views

His liberal political critics are having fun with all this too. Democratic Rep. Barney Frank said at his retirement announcement Monday that a Gingrich nomination "would be the best thing to happen to Democrats since Barry Goldwater."

Then there's "cabaretic" from the liberal Daily Kos group blog, who descibed East Cobb politically while declaring that Gingrich once again will become his "own worst enemy:"

"East Cobb’s insularity and bubble mentality leave it resistant to change and openly intolerant of outside viewpoints. This is an area where residents regularly reinforce the impregnable fortress by sending their children to private schools."

The blogger doesn't seem to be aware that public schools in East Cobb are among the biggest draws for families moving here.

Also missing here is any mention that one of East Cobb's most venerable political figures, former Cobb Commission Chairman and current Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, , and has a similiar moderate temperament as the former Massachusetts governor.

Gingrich, according to the Kos blogger, is also "yet to discover that what works in East Cobb will not work on a grander scale."

That the Sunbelt South cannot dictate the course of a national election is a point that professional political strategists and partisan bloggers alike have been making for years.

But Gingrich, the son of a military man who only moved into East Cobb following 1990 Congressional reapportionment and left it behind when he left Congress in 1999, has long represented more than a geographical place. 

Even his constituents who packed the Wheeler High auditorium on that weekend morning in early 1995 knew that. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from East Cobb