Hey, Reporters!

So, if I recall correctly Newt Gingrich gave a behind-closed-doors talk to House GOP frosh some six weeks ago. I have to wonder: is there anything Newt said then that some disgruntled Member of the House might want to share more widely now? If I was a Capitol Hill reporter, I might ask a few questions.

Meanwhile, I wrote over at Greg's place yesterday that Republicans have only themselves to blame for Newt -- but I see now that Andrew Sullivan made exactly the same points, only his was a couple of hours earlier. And more concise.

One more point -- hey, have I called him Tom P. Baxter lately? The guy is a total fraud, you know -- I'm wondering whether NBC's First Read is correct that Paul Ryan's VoucherCare is now a litmus test for presidential candidates (via Goddard). I'm not really sure that's right. I don't think that you can attack it using intemperate language, but that's not the same as saying that you need to sign up and jump over the cliff with the House Republicans. I'm pretty sure a presidential candidate could finesse this one by (1) praising the House Republicans for their courage, and then (2) trotting out his own plan to save Medicare, which would involve some fictional "savings" but no actual cuts or mechanism for enforcing the savings.