Gingrich Accused Of Being Prone To "Self-Destruct"

“Newt’s hand is always six-inches from the self-destruct button,” was what one GOP lawmakers told The Huffington Post  last week, and seems to sum up the very lukewarm reception that Gingrich has had from the GOP since his resurgence to the leader’s circle. Gingrich is a fairly controversial figure in Republican politics, unpredictable yet undeniably conservative, as likely to make a brilliant policy move as to say something that could completely bankrupt his political capital. For this reason, many Republicans in Washington are leery of his chances in a general election, and are even looking to the slightly lower polling Romney as a more “stable” endorsement.

In June, right at the beginning of his primary campaign, Gingrich has a series of well-publicized gaffes and embarrassments that had many wondering whether he was going to close down his campaign. He called Republican darling Paul Ryan’s federal budget proposal “right-wing social engineering” (which he quickly retracted). He was “glitterbombed” by an LGBT activist for his comments about gay marriage. A quarter-million in debt to Tiffany Co. went public (supposedly gifts for his wife, who was formerly his mistress), and during the media fallout from this he left for a two week Mediterranean cruise. If that wasn’t enough, shortly after returning a large number of his highest paid staffers left the campaign, citing “strategy differences”.

For the past several months Gingrich had largely been staying under the public radar, using public appearances and even the GOP presidential debates to build more recognition of him and his wife’s many books, drawing criticism and jokes alike that his campaign was actually just a prolonged book tour. However, Gingrich has performed consistently well in the debates, and after a few high-profile collapses from other popular candidates, is now finding himself neck-and-neck, even ahead in some cases, of perpetual front-runner Mitt Romney.

However, a primary election is not a general election, and many in the Republican establishment are wary of Gingrich’s ability to weather the general election without imploding. Some point to his previous tenure as House Speaker twenty years ago, where as Rep. Steve LaTourette says, “everything always seemed on fire.” As Speaker, Gingrich presided over two government shutdowns. It cam out that he had been having an affair with his now-wife Callista even as he advocated for Clinton’s impeachment over infidelity. Gingrich even was made to pay a $300,000 fine by the House Ethics Committee over a book deal.  However, he also saw the national deficit dry up and passed some transformative legislation, including the Farm Act.

Given Gingrich’s track record, it’s understandable why Republicans are treating the former Speaker like a loaded gun. Whether his popularity will sustain itself through the primary will likely decide whether GOP lawmakers even need to make that tough call at all.