By now, most readers have likely been to the pages of National Review to read the rejection of Gingrich. A far better appraisal can be found at Reason, in a piece by Jacob Sullum entitled “Not Newt: If you’re looking for a profligate authoritarian, Gingrich is your man.”
Whereas National Review case seems a bit thin, Sullum’s is developed in far greater detail and ends with a powerful punch:
Constitutional issues aside, Gingrich’s tendency to think government should subsidize whatever strikes his fancy, whether it’s extraterrestrial colonies, prescription drugs, or alternative energy sources, does not inspire confidence in his alleged fiscal conservatism. On that point the most damning comment I’ve seen recently came from New York Times columnist David Brooks. Last week Brooks, a “national greatness” conservative who believes “energetic government is good for its own sake,” wrote that Gingrich “has no Hayekian modesty to restrain his faith in statist endeavor” and therefore “loves government more than I do.” Yikes.
PILEUS 