Bob McCarty Writes

“Conservative no longer?”

“Is he being politically shrewd?”

“What is Newt Gingrich thinking?”

While the headline of this post injects some “natural” humor into the mix, the questions above are likely more popular around the political water-cooler today. Why? Because the former house speaker and likely GOP presidential candidate broke with party norms and, some would say, “went green” during a global warming debate with Sen. John Kerry.

No doubt, it’s the talk of the nation’s capitol, where the debate took place. In addition to its appearance here at Bob McCarty Writes, the topic has made its way into the mainstream, including Human Events, where Amanda B. Carpenter wrote about the “heavily-hyped debate — one that environmentalist Democrats hoped would be a ‘smack down’ on Republicans” and added, “former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich disappointed them and conservatives alike when he declared that human activity was causing the Earth to warm.”

What!? A Republican “buying into Gore’s brand of global warming hype? Apparently, but…maybe not. Carpenter noted that “Gingrich’s concession was expected in many news circles as part of his long-shot strategy to run for President in 2008″ before highlighting many of the other strategic moves Gingrich has made in recent weeks.

I agree with Carpenter in thinking this is a move by Newt that’s designed to take an issue away from the Democrats — and, for that matter, Republican — opponents on election day. And it might work.

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