Coup d’etat? Try Coup d’Gingrich

Like two ships passing in the night, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former CEO Herman Cain may be passing each other in the polls after a Tea Party debate in Texas.

To think: Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) believes that participating in the recent round of GOP presidential debates was a mistake. Never mind the strange political math when a late-comer candidate thinks that avoiding the debate mine field is the right thing to do. Never mind that it seems like an odd way to win a party’s presidential nomination, only to subsequently challenge an incumbent president that happens to be a rather-talented debater.

You would think he’d want all the practice he could get.

Upon further review, maybe there is some logic to this coming from the Lone Star State. The last thing a front-running candidate wants to do is actively engage some sort of measuring stick, especially if the campaign knows full well that it may show something lacking down the line.

If so then it begs the question: what is front- runner Herman Cain doing agreeing to a debate with former Speaker Newt Gingrich for a “Lincoln-Douglas” style debate on November 5?

Simply: in a feel-good campaign story that has had just as many mishaps and oddities as it has victories, this new move could be a fatal one for Mr. Cain’s presidential nomination hopes in the GOP field.

In the years building up to Tampa 2012, Cain has proven himself as both battler and survivor. After beating a cancer scare, Cain lobbies for the White House with his grandchildren as an inspiration hymn. Since beginning the campaign, he has needed to run away from questionable comments on Muslim-Americans and his convoluted stance on abortion in America.

His jaunt to the top will pretty much stop after the Texas Tea Party Patriots debate with Gingrich – that’s if the GOP field pays attention.

Factors such as Cain’s sliding in the polls as well as his second-fiddle status to Romney in recent debates come to play. His recent ad doesn’t help, either. However, Cain’s impending one-on-one debate in Houston with the tenured, highly-respected, and increasingly-in-play Gingrich may be the move that seals the fate of the Cain campaign.  Mr. Cain has been less than remarkable when confronting one-on-one attacks from his rivals on the debate stage. In the November 5 event, there will be no Romney-Perry schoolyard fight to become a wallflower to.

And just as big of a loser the front-running Cain may become as a result, the former Speaker of the House may be able to use events such as this to springboard his way into the upper echelon of candidates for 2012.

Politic365 guest contributor Princella Smith said it best: Gingrich is still the “GOP Godfather.” He is extremely well-respected among his peers and foes alike after being best-known for working with President Clinton during the surplus and feel-good years of the 1990s.

Furthermore, he understands that the turbulent presidential primary process is full of opportunities to hook one’s self to a front-runner hook and pull up by the bootstraps. Despite a horrific beginning to his presidential campaign, Gingrich’s rising in many polls and number one post in the conservative-leaning Newsmax poll indicates that not only are conservatives still looking for someone to rally around besides Mitt Romney, but that they are perhaps willing to overlook more of the past than expected.

If GOP voters are willing to overlook Mr. Cain’s campaign flubs enough to keep him within the margin of error versus Romney, it also makes the Cain-Gingrich debate an interesting, low-key opportunity for the former speaker to directly contrast himself favorably against a front-runner. If Gingrich is looking to continue his rise in the polls through debating a likable opponent in a non-hostile environment – running circles around Cain as a successful legislator and intellectual – he could not have found a better forum.

The same cannot be said for his debate opponent.  Mr. Cain’s blasé approach to the campaign trail (complete with lack of organization in key states and campaign resignation issues of his own) may be ok with the grassroots at straw polls, but it will not be a benefit when his presidential mettle is measured directly against a candidate that was once third in line of succession to the president). Why the Cain campaign would allow an inexperienced candidate debate mano-y-mano with a surging candidate showcasing decades of federal leadership experience is anyone’s guess.

That, of course, is no concern to Gingrich as he works to get the attention his political moxie deserves in the race. Then again, perhaps it is not a concern of Mr. Cain’s, either.

Lenny McAllister is a political commentator found Saturdays with host TJ Holmes and fellow pundit Maria Cardona on “CNN Saturday Morning” at 10:30 AM Eastern (9:30 Central / 7:30 AM Pacific.)

Lenny McAllister is the host of the radio show “Get Right with Lenny McAllister” found on LMGILIVE.com and often re-broadcast on Politic365. He appears weekly on “CNN Saturday Morning” with host Randi Kaye and former DNC Communications Director Maria Cardona at 10:30 AM Eastern Time. He also regularly appears weekdays on CNN's "Early Start" at 5am - 7am and "CNN Newsroom" at 12:30pm Eastern. He also appears as a political commentator on multiple outlets including Sirius-XM Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC Radio in Australia, and Chicago Public Radio. Lenny has written previously for a number of publications including Rushmore Drive, Global Grind, and The Chicago Defender. In 2009, McAllister was a panelist at the 10th Annual State of the Black Union and the CNN panel discussion Young & Black In America: Empowering the Next Generation of African American Leaders. In 2010, Lenny was featured in the Studio 360 series “American Icons” in the episode, The Autobiography of Malcolm X. He was also featured in the November 2010 Essence Magazine roundtable discussion “Race (Still) Matters” that featured the Rev. Al Sharpton, NAACP President Ben Jealous, and CNN’s Soledad O’Brien.

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5 Responses to Coup d’etat? Try Coup d’Gingrich

1. C White says:

   2:46pm October 29, 2011 at 2:46 pm

   Newt Knows exactly what he is doing, and its a very smart move on his behalf. GO NEWT!!!!!

   Reply
   • mgpthoc says:

     1:50am October 31, 2011 at 1:50 am

     NAFTA= NEWT (destroy US industry and farmers) NEWT? NOOOOOOO!

     Reply
2. KKBruno says:

   1:02am October 31, 2011 at 1:02 am

   Newt is running a steady, thoughtful campaign, determined to outlast and out-think the competition. Newt has the right ideas for the times and is the man we need in the White House.

   Reply
3. No Barak says:

   4:19am November 6, 2011 at 4:19 am

   When all of the candidates debate again, watch how they all act as others answer questions. They look down at notes or stare straight ahead except when Newt is speaking. When Newt speaks they look at him.Why, because he has answers that the others just wish they could think of. We, as republicans, need to quit worrying about past this or that with Newt and rally around the only candidate that has the intelligence, speaking ability, debate ability and so to beat Obama.

   Reply
4. Bestbooks-pdf.com says:

   7:01pm November 14, 2011 at 7:01 pm

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