“What a jackass! He’s pompous, arrogant, and hypocritical, and he sucks at day in, day out business.”

So goes one school of thought on Newt Gingrich.

“He’s a genius. His stores of knowledge and insight are near-bottomless, and he’s an outstanding crisis manager.”

So goes the other.

I agree with both.

I believe that Newt is far too damaged to ever win public office again, which is exactly why I think he’s poised to be more valuable to the country at large than he’s ever been before. He is saying some wonderful things right now on the nature of politics and government, and we should listen.

He wrote a great piece on National Review Online today called Can Do, about how broken the government is when it comes to solving problems. Among his points:

• The transcontinental railroad was completed in six years. Today, it takes twenty-three years to add a runway to the Atlanta airport.
• Chicago, San Francisco, and Galveston were rapidly rebuilt largely with private money after turn of the century disasters devastated the cities. Today, much of New Orleans looks not altogether different than it did immediately after the flood waters receded despite billions of taxpayer dollars spent.
• The 1.1. mile Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel in Zion National Park was completed in less than three years. The so-called “Big Dig” in Boston took so long that soon after it was completed, it already needed repairs.

These are not failures of Republicans or Democrats, ladies and gentlemen. They are failures of bureaucracy. They are failures of entitlement creep. They are failures of a culture of helplessness. It makes no difference what team is in the White House or the Capitol. We’ve got to shake off this all-too-pervasive notion that only government is capable enough to solve our problems, because frankly, that statement is usually 180 out.

Do you know what I want from the government? I want only that which the government is demonstrably better than the private sector at providing. Do you know what’s on that list, in my view? National defense, rights protection, and nearly nothing else. If the government sucks at something, they ought not do it. If the government has no authority in the Constitution to do something, they ought not do it. Both of these lists are depressingly long.

I remember discussing/debating government’s proper role with my friend Russ in high school. He said “well, what do you want from the government then?” I replied “Interstates and missiles.”

Newt needs a substantial audience for what he’s saying, because it’s critically important. I am ready for him to end the ridiculous speculation that he’s going to run for president, and make an unambiguous statement along the lines of “Hey, I’m not speaking to you as a Republican or a conservative. I’m speaking to you as a concerned American.”

We have regulated and politicked ourselves into near-total paralysis on too many things that ought to be well within the capabilities of the greatest nation the world has ever known. Think before you say “there oughta be a law!” Think really hard before taking seriously someone who wants to win your vote by promising to grow the government. Ask yourself “to what end?”

The answer is generally that there is no end, and oh by the way, this critical government service without which all of us would surely perish, mediocre though it is, is going to cost a little more this year than it did last year.

Thanks to cornellcollege.edu for the image.