What do you do when 16 major members of your campaign staff, including your campaign manager, press secretary and several senior advisers all resign?
That’s the question Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich must be asking himself, after a virtual mutiny has rattled his hopes for the presidency. Although Gingrich was the first Republican to formally announce his run to be Commander-in-Chief, his plans have been nothing short of rocky and his bid now seems mired in a sea of turmoil.
Gingrich’s marital history and admitted infidelities have worked against him from the start. Gingrich told his 2nd wife he was having an affair with a woman (who is now his 3rd wife) and was leaving her while she was laying in a hospital bed battling cancer. Not an easy pill for voters to swallow.
Gingrich also strongly criticized the current Republican congressional plan for America, despite being the architect of the infamous “Contract With America” during his years as the Speaker of the House and recognizing the importance of party unity. His unwise critical remarks have not made him any new friends or supporters within the party and may have in fact cost him several.
But the straw that broke the camel’s back was when Gingrich and his 3rd wife recently chose to take a 2 week Mediterranean cruise right in the midst of the campaign, when his aides were begging him to stay home, stay focused, and use the time to raise much needed campaign funds instead of play off the coast of Greece. Gingrich’s failure to heed the advice of his staff caused them to make the decision en masse, that perhaps he is not serious about his bid for the presidency and that their time and reputations would best be salvaged by leaving the campaign.
Either Newt Gingrich is incredibly naive, incredibly stupid, or both. But when you lose virtually your entire campaign staff, it may be time to pull out and reconsider your entire plan. Instead, look for Gingrich in tonight’s CNN Republican Presidential Debate, hopefully (for him) with some sort of defense for his prior actions and some sensible plan for how he intends to move forward.
