The nation’s leading conservative publications are lining up to bash Newt Gingrich, even while they keep their distance from his top rival Mitt Romney.
The National Review, the movement’s flagship publication for decades, came out with a stinging editorial titled “Winnowing The Field” on Wednesday in which they essentially endorsed anyone but Gingrich, warning that his nomination would be a general election disaster.
“His character flaws — his impulsiveness, his grandiosity, his weakness for half-baked (and not especially conservative) ideas — made him a poor Speaker of the House,” they wrote. “Again and again he combined incendiary rhetoric with irresolute action, bringing Republicans all the political costs of a hardline position without actually taking one.”
The editorial mentions in passing that they’re not fans of Rick Perry or Ron Paul either, but the editors barely touched on any candidate’s individual qualifications, making clear that their primary goal is simply stopping Gingrich at all costs. They even ended with a dig at his infidelity.
