Newt Gingrich throws core GOP interest group under bus while campaigning as a populist

In When Mitt Romney came to town, he exposed the GOP's disrespect for its own ideas, I quoted Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs, who opined:

Here’s Newt Gingrich’s bizarre 28-minute video attack on Mitt Romney; bizarre not because of the subject matter (which is pretty devastating to Romney), but because of the political orientation. Gingrich is coming at Romney from a position that can only be described as “left wing” — criticizing Romney for precisely the Republican values that Newt (and every other candidate) espouses.

I don’t think I’ve seen a better demonstration of an absolutely amoral lust for power — from Gingrich and from Romney.  With this video, Gingrich is throwing the entire GOP ideology under the bus.

I wouldn't call it "throwing the entire GOP ideology under the bus," as major U.S. political parties don't have consistent ideologies. They do, however, have consistent core interest groups and Gingrich is throwing one of them, the northeastern business interests, which have been with the GOP since it formed out of the remains of the Whigs in the 1850s, under the bus. That ended up being smart in the short run, given that he was angling for the votes of Southern populists, who don't care much for the northeastern business interests and haven't since before the founding of the republic. They came through for him last Saturday when he won the South Carolina primary handily.

On the other hand, Gingrich's strategy is pissing off the GOP establishment, who are behind Romney and represent the core interest group of northeastern businessmen (and women), no end! For how that looks to one group of outsiders, the netroots progressives of Daily Kos, read The Republican civil war unleashed. For another, here's what the snarky animators over at Next Media Animation have to say about it.

Newt Gingrich's stunning victory over Mitt Romney in the South Carolina primary has breathed new life into the 2012 race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Despite a scandalous interview given by Gingrich's second ex-wife to ABC, the former speaker of the House has firmly established himself as the leading anti-Romney candidate.

Erstwhile frontrunner and shoo-in for the candidacy Mitt Romney has been dogged by one controversy after another, from having to defend his time at Bain Capital to accusations of dragging his feet over releasing his tax returns. Most importantly, many evangelical voters simply do not trust a Mormon with a moderate record as governor of Massachusetts when he says he would be faithful to their conservative agenda as president.

The only problem: If the evangelicals get their way and nominate Gingrich, they might be committing electoral suicide.

Keep the popcorn ready, folks. This will be fun to watch.