Seems noteworthy that Newt ran to Romney’s left on immigration & Bain; not clearly more conservative on anything else.
— mattyglesias (@mattyglesias) January 22, 2012
I’ve seen this sentiment a few times these past few days as people try to shoehorn Newt’s victory into a narrative. If you are going to claim South Carolina’s GOP primary voters went for the most progressive candidate, I’ve got a statehouse with a Confederate flag on top with a great “Buy Now” price.
Pretty much everything you need to know about Gingrich’s victory is captured in the last panel of this Pollak cartoon, but publishing it everywhere and giving credit to a cartoonist would undermine the arrangement pundits have of being paid a lot of money to say nothing.
It’s not that anyone would call Newt progressive, it’s just that it’s not obvious how he’s “more conservative” than Romney, although everyone seems to accept that this is so.
Of course it’s doubtful whether Romney has any fixed principles, which complicates the question.
Pollak has also pointed out that Republican candidates seem to be chosen on the basis of how badly they will annoy liberals. In a race to annoy liberals held between Romney and Gingrich, the victor is clear.