Will Coulter Be Gingrich’s Veep?

UPDATE: Today, Sat. 29 – the day Newt Gingrich has deemed “Solution’s Day” – he announced he will not be running for president in 2008 after learning that he would have to give up his lucrative gig heading his nonprofit organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future.

Today, Thursday, Sept. 27 is the genesis of the latest journey into America by the maybe-if-they-give-him-$30-million potential presidential contender Newt Gingrich. Yes, it’s his much touted “Solutions Day” – to take back America from the bureaucrats. It’s also the 13th anniversary of the day that Gingrich announced his Contract With America. In his latest outreach, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives is launching a series of “town hall meetings” – including a satellite workshop on public school reform by Democratic former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer.

Gingrich is calling his event “a genuinely bipartisan opportunity” for Americans to reform government. It’s unclear what sort of broad support he will have with his latest project, however; indeed he might have better luck if, in a mass e-mail message touting his event, he hadn’t included a plug for Ann Coulter’s new “blockbuster” book, “If Democrats Had Any Brains, They’d Be Republicans.”For the past several months Gingrich, who is currently heading an organization called “American Solutions for Winning the Future,” has been making appearances around the country touting today, Sept. 27, as D-Day.

During an early July visit to Denver, Gingrich outlined the concept to a group of supporters at the downtown Center for Performing Arts: Americans “know” their government is not working, he said, citing a poll that he conducted showed 92 percent agreed we need long-term solutions. In another question, 85 percent believe we “must help defend America.” Another 67 percent “favor moving the government into the 21st century.”

Indeed, Gingrich told the group, profound transformation in bureaucracy is what America needs. “The elite press doesn’t get it,” he said. But the 511,000 individuals who hold elected office in the U.S. must be forced to adopt a sea change.

The events that Gingrich has planned this week include the aforementioned satellite workshop with Romer, as well as other workshops on how to reduce bureaucratic bloat; creating a 21st-Century intelligent health system; and what to do about illegal immigration. Gingrich also plans to present  a virtual “briefing” on the “key principles and concepts for transforming government from the world that fails into the world that works.”

The activities will continue through this Saturday, Sept. 29. In a mass e-mail reminder of his “bipartisan” event this week – which is also being touted through the conservative Website Human Events – Gingrich addressed the issue of whether or not he may end up joining the crowd of Republicans running for president in 2008:

“You may have noticed that the media has been persistent in asking if I will run for President in 2008,” Gingrich wrote. “I have consistently said I will not even begin thinking about such a race until after the American Solutions workshops this week.

“As I detailed … American Solutions is developing a broad set of nonpartisan solutions for all 513,000 elected officials across America. Its polls are available with equal access for Democrats, Republicans and independents. And American Solutions workshops are available for free to all citizens without regard to party affiliation. Democrats, Republicans and libertarians are giving workshops on September 29.

“In short, American Solutions is not a campaign but a movement.

“Because there has been so much speculation about a possible candidacy, I have asked my friend and adviser Randy Evans to consult with people after the workshops, but not before.”

And then, after all his trumpeting about “bipartisanship,” in his mass e-mail message Gingrich included this promo for Ann Coulter’s new book, “If Democrats Had Any Brains, They’d Be Republicans.”

“Coulter wallops liberal Democrats with a full dose of unvarnished, unadulterated reality — as only she can deliver it,” reads the promo.

“Witty, sharp-tongued, outrageous, and always faithfully conservative, here is Ann Coulter at her best, running circles around liberal pundits, pols and Leftist wackos before they even know what she’s up to.”

Now that’s an interesting way to unite the masses.

Cara DeGette is a senior fellow at Colorado Confidential and a columnist and contributing editor at the Colorado Springs Independent. E-mail her at cdegette@coloradoconfidential.com

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