Gingrich knows GOP needs a bigger tent

I don't have much use for Newt GingrichNewt Gingrich, but I will give the man credit for one thing.

He knows that if Republicans are ever going to win another national election, they have to get off this kick of purging everyone who isn't ideologically pure. The GOP can win with people like Colin PowellColin Powell, Olympia SnoweOlympia Snowe and Susan CollinsSusan Collins, but it isn't likely to win much without its moderates.

If you listen to Fat Man, Little Boy and Rabid Annie, who also go by the names Rush LimbaughRush Limbaugh, Sean HannitySean Hannity and Ann CoulterAnn Coulter, they'll tell you that adherence to strict conservative principles is the way to go. They would purely love to return to the days of Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan.

But what they so conveniently forget is that Reagan talked a far more conservative line than he actually governed. They love to mention the hard line Reagan took with the Soviet Union, but they conveniently forget that he offered bilateral nuclear disarmament to Mikhail GorbachevMikhail Gorbachev at one of the last summits between the two.

Reagan talked a good game on things like abortion and school prayer, but he left the Religious Right bitterly disappointed that he never did much about them. In fact, Reagan governed enough to the middle that he attracted millions of Democrats to his side in both his campaigns.

The problem is, there's no Reagan today.

There's no Republican who has his charisma or his coalition-building ability. Not even close.

Who are the most prominent Republican voices right now, outside of talk radio? Well, there's Gingrich, Mike HuckabeeMike Huckabee, Sarah PalinSarah Palin and Dick CheneyDick Cheney. I doubt that any of the four of them could have done anywhere near as well against President Obama as McCain did.

In fact, the Republican Party became such a discredited brand under George W. Bush and Cheney that America -- a very moderate nation -- elected an out-and-out liberal president for the first time since FDR.

I know Gingrich wants to run for president, but he's got Bill Clinton's negatives -- adultery, etc. -- without Clinton's charm. Huckabee is too closely tied to the Religious Right, Palin is an idiot and Cheney probably couldn't win an election for National Dogcatcher.

My guess is that if Republicans feel they have a chance to win in 2012, the nominee will not be any of these people. It might be Mitt Romney or it could be an entirely new face on the national scene, someone like Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota.

If 2012 looks like a lost cause, though, it'll be Palin. I'd bet money on it. If Republicans know they're going to lose, at least they can excite their base and also get historical credit for being the first party to nominate a woman for president.

In that case, 2012 would just be a holding action, giving Gingrich and others a chance to start rebuilding the big tent for 2016.