Yesterday, Newt Gingrich took a position that may well end his camapign for the GOP nomination for president. Basically, Newt came out in oppositiion to the Medicare plan in the budget passed by the House GOP. He also spoke kindly of the individual mandate even though Republicans across the board have made clear that the madate in Obamacare is unconstitutional. This is the latest "idea" from Gingrich that seems half baked and idiotic.
A few months back, Gingrich wanted to let states and cities declare bankruptcy more easily. That "plan" would have undermined the ability of states and local governments to raise money through the bond markets; it would have inflicted huge losses on the individuals who buy municipal bonds (the one investment vehicle where individual investors predominate over banks and hedge funds); and it could easily have led to a panic in the market for treasury bonds. Taking this idea together with the gems announced by Newt over the weekend, one has to conclude that Newt's purported genius for new ideas is actually a remnant of what he must have been like 15 years ago. Right now, Newt is like the crazy old uncle who comes to family dinners with new inventions that never work.
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