Jennifer Rubin, who carries water as a hard right commentator in the WashPost, says Gingrich will betray the right if he should get into the White House. She cites a series of statements and actions over the years that bring into question Gingrich’s dedication, or ability, to stick with the hard right line. Rubin sees him as a man who wants, more than anything else, to be accepted and to make history in the process.

“...if you dreamed up a portrait of a “Republican likely to go native” €� you’d be hard pressed to do better (worse?) than Gingrich. Actually, Gingrich doesn’t need to “go”€� native since he’s the quintessential insider. He’s not simply comfortable in the Washington scene. He didn’t merely serve as the sherpa for unconservative special interests. He craves acceptance by the liberal establishment. If conservatives saw such a character coming up on a short list for Supreme Court justices, they’d scream bloody murder. So why should they be willing to take this man as their presidential nominee?”

“Go native”, by the way, is Washington speak for someone who forgets where he is from and joins the local crowd. It derives from those in foreign service who spend so long away that they tend to act  like, dress like and think like the native born. They go native.  In this case, Rubin means to imply that Gingrich would join the moderate to liberal establishment in DC. 

  Photography from Guatemala, Maryland, Italy and elsewhere by Doug Terry

BIKE TRAILS IN THE DC AREA