Chris Christie says Gingrich has "embarrassed" GOP

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Oh, really:

Romney surrogate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called Newt Gingrich an embarrassment to the Republican Party on Sunday, one day after the former House Speaker rode a late surge to victory in the South Carolina primary.

"I think Newt Gingrich has embarrassed the party, over time," Christie (R), who has endorsed Romney, said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Gov. Romney never has."

Never? How about all the flip-flopping he did when he decided to take his act from Massachusetts to the national stage? How about all his shameless pandering to the right in his pathetic attempt to woo the base?

Look, I'm hardly a Newt backer, even if I'm supporting him for the Republican presidential nomination (as Democrats should), but at least he's had some success, actually quite significant success, at the national level, and at least, however much of an egomaniac he may be, he has some genuine conservative ideas -- neither of which you can say about Romney, who has been a failure thus far at the national level (and who only won Massachusetts by selling himself as a progressive-friendly moderate) and whose idea of politics is to suck up to whatever specific electorate he needs to win (hence his current sucking up to the Obama-hating Republican base).

Gingrich has certainly embarrassed his party over the years, just as he has embarrassed himself, but he's hardly alone in this. Romney has done much the same, if not as a hypocritical bully and blowhard then as a shameless self-promoter who will do and say anything for votes.