Newt's 2+2=4

As Newt Gingrich prepares to make his run for the Presidency, he is touting as a political slogan a message developed in Poland as it emerged from Soviet control: 2+2=4. It’s of course the simple reminder that truth exists, and there is a point at which the people will not buy the rulers’ lies anymore. It’s also a signal that the ruling class is in danger from a grassroots revolt. As Newt pointed out, when the Poles began to rally around their simple slogan, they began to realize just how vastly the people united around truth outnumbered the rulers propped up by lies. Then things started to change for the better.

We like the slogan and the parallel. (We won’t claim Newt stole it from us, but we will point to having written of the same basic idea over 18 months ago, here. ) Americans are being fed nonsense from the political elites and media elites on a nonstop basis. They are way out in front of their elected representatives in terms of knowing what needs to be done to address the problems of the country— cutting spending, cutting public employee pension benefits, repealing Obamacare, profiling Islamic terrorists, controlling the borders, and on and on. But when the flow of nonsense continues even after the American people delivered an unmistakable message on November 2nd, their frustration is ready to go through the roof. They are losing patience with the entire process by which government is supposed to be responsive to the will of the people.

The off-again on-again tax rate extension ‘deal’ is galvanizing tea partiers (which is now most Americans) once again, and with new energy and determination. At first, the deal was portrayed as a source of relief in the country, as Obama was depicted as having reliably and pragmatically moved to the center in response to the ‘shellacking’ received on November 2nd. But thanks to the hysterical left, the deal was scuttled, which allowed more time for Americans to really understand what had been packaged into the deal—including ever more spending (including money on the complete sham that is the propped-up ethanol industry), and an unconditional 13 month extension of unemployment benefits.

This type of deal is quintessentially ‘politics as usual’—a middle finger gesture by establishment politicians on both sides of the aisle, using what they believe to be the tried-and-true method of packaging an utterly misleading headline of ‘extending the Bush tax-cuts’ as feel-good cover for the rest of the bill, which was packed with more of the abject fiscal recklessness that the people rose up against on November 2nd.

We hope the tax deal stays scuttled, and the tea party-injected Republicans who take office in January move aggressively toward a stronger approach that massively cuts government spending as a part of extending or cutting tax rates further. If Obama wants to veto it, let him.

More to Newt’s point, Americans are ready for 2+2=4 talk and action from every elected representative. They are alert and engaged as never before, and they will not be pacified or numbed-down or fooled by tactics developed for a mesmerized populace. America is a 70/30 country, and the 70 are moving inexorably to take back the country and put it on a foundation of truth. Thanks to the Poles and Newt for reminding us of how simple the rallying cry can be.

Paul Gable

December 10, 2010