JONATHAN CHAIT JUNE 10, 2011
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I have a contest to guess Newt's breakthrough idea, but this from the Washington Post seems to be real:
One example: Gingrich became convinced that one of the keys to his winning in Iowa was in targeting the Chinese community living in the state. Apparently, he had been told by a Chinese man at a campaign event that as many as 10,000 Chinese Americans lives in the state, one source explained.
I am trying to imagine the newspaper headlines the morning after Gingrich has improbably won the Iowa caucus by mobilizing a wave of Chinese-Americans. I mean, even if you take this number at face value, and even if they could be mobilized to attend the Iowa caucus that notoriously caters to a small cadre of motivated partisans, why would they be voting for Newt? Why not, I don't know, Mandarin Chinese-speaking Jon Huntsman?
6 comments
I think by "targeting" them, he means scapegoating them. Working up anti Chinese-American hysteria. "10,000 Chinese today, 100,000 tomorrow!!. Des Moines has become Peking on the Prairie!!! Iowa democrats are demanding a Mao license plate." It worked in the 1800s, it could work today.
- DP1024
June 10, 2011 at 5:29pm
I'm getting the distinct impression that Mr. Chait agrees that Mr. Gingrich is an idea man, but that Mr. Gingrich is just not a "good idea" man.
- Nusholtz
June 10, 2011 at 6:25pm
That is presumptive John, how the hell do you know the Chinese-Americans even speak Chinese, they might have been there since the building of the railroads, and beyond that, you even go further and assume that Mandarin speaking lends itself credibility. Good lord, don't you know most Chinese immigrants spoke Minnanhua or Cantonese? The Cantonese speakers look down at Mandarin speakers as being country bumpkins.
- blackton
June 10, 2011 at 7:15pm
Newt is as dotty as ever, perhaps dottier. While your comments are well above average, b, you can put out the clunkers with the best of them. All Jonathan meant is that J. Hunstman speaks one more Chinese dialect than any other presidential candidate does.
- liberalref
June 10, 2011 at 7:43pm
"Shock Gingrich win credited to his radical proposal to make Confucius quotes tax deductable". "It's the merging of two great powers", said Gingrich at his victory party. "They have the money, we have the tax cuts". Many commentators have expressed bewilderment and concern at the result, claiming the proposal is unworkable and even unconstitional. But a sweaty Gingrich waved these sentiments away at a raucous victory party. Held aloft by his faithful campaign team, Ms Gingrich, the former House Speaker screamed into the mic: "If ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star. Then we've transported, previously stored lunar energy into...the metaphorical night." The adoring, hiterto largely unknown, Chinese-American Iowa community stood in confused silence only briefly before resuming with their deafening chant of: "免 税 的". Gingrich had been criticised for not costing his tax giveaway but the well respected futureologist insisted that all projections have incorporated the ancient power of the Chinese zodiac and the expected astrological multiplier effect will mean a net gain for the Treasury in the Year of the Rat.
- IggyPop
June 10, 2011 at 7:44pm
I think Newt has come unhinged after the brutal battering he received for his brief moment of honesty regarding Ryan's budget. His behavior has been increasingly desparate and erratic.
- NR409654
June 11, 2011 at 1:00pm