Imagine that the Republican presidential nomination comes down to a final contest between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich (assuming Newt doesn't completely self-destruct through his excesses before then). We would then have a war between two men who outdo each other in changing their positions according to the expediency of the moment.
Both can be said to "have no core." The big difference, as I see it, is that Romney has an inner governor when it comes to rashness. Gingrich does not. He will say anything. I oppose many of Romney's conservative policies, but he would be steady and reliable. Gingrich would be a loose cannon.
His latest headline-grabber today: The Congressional Budget Office is "a reactionary socialist institution." Last week he said the CBO "actually constrains what people are allowed to think."
Compare this to 1995, when he was Speaker of the House and involved in budget negotiations. The L A Times reported at the time that he said the agreement to the use of CBO numbers is a significant step. At the time, he seemed to agree with the general acceptance of the CBO as a reliable source of facts and analysis. And that's when he was actually dealing with them directly as the Republican leader of the House.
In truth, the stated mission of the CBO is to provide Congress with "objective, nonpartisan, and timely analyses to aid in economic and budgetary decisions on the wide array of programs covered by the federal budget."
A former CBO Director, a Republican, called Gingrich's current claim ludicrous.
Then there is his claim that a health insurance mandate "leads to socialized medicine." In the past, he has advocated a mandate. Now he says, "I was wrong." But he doesn't exactly say what changed his thinking. So it's hard to draw any other conclusion than he's just adjusting his policy according to the voters he's trying to attract.
Ralph
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