Is Newt Gingrich the Rising Star of the Republicans?

In another week or so we’ll know if Newt Gingrich is announcing his candidacy for presidency, but what remains to be seen is if the religious conservatives of the Republicans will whole-heartedly endorse him. If you’re wondering what they could possibly have against Gingrich, especially considering that his claim to fame is being Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for his role in ending 40 years of Democratic majority in the House of Representatives in 1995 and taking on the role of Speaker of the House, he has been through two divorces, and is currently married to the woman he was having a clandestine affair with even as he aired his outspoken criticism of Bill Clinton’s dalliances with Monica Lewinsky.

With the conservatives going on the overdrive when it comes to issues like marriage, abortion and the Church, will they be able to accept someone like Gingrich who has led a pretty liberal lifestyle? He was married at 19 to his much older high school Mathematics teacher, had an affair during the marriage, divorced his wife as she was recovering from cancer surgery, remarried the woman he was seeing soon after, had a second affair soon after with a staff member of the House of Representatives who was 23 years his junior, and is now married to this woman Callista Bisek.

Apparently it is Bisek’s faith that is giving Gingrich hope that he can win the hearts of the Republicans first, before turning his hopes to the nation. He has converted to Catholicism in 2009, and he and his wife have been involved in the making of a movie about Pope John Paul II and how he was a significant force in the downfall of communism in Poland. But the big question that hangs over Gingrich’s head is if his candidacy for presidency will be endorsed by the Republicans if he does announce his decision to run for the nation’s highest and perhaps the world’s most powerful office.

Will the Republicans be willing to take a risk and put forward a candidate who does not have the vocal backing and/or tacit support of the religious conservatives? Or will they have learned a lesson from John McCain’s failure and go with someone whose past is not tainted by scandal as Gingrich’s is? Are his speeches on how America is becoming a secularized society where God is being driven out of public life, enough to raise fervor in conservative minds and make them forget the indiscretions and scandals of his past? Or will there be skeptics who don’t accept his candidacy and view his recent religious views as a sham to worm his way to the presidency?

Considering that the man is a political whiz and respected by many Republicans for his intellect and knowledge of government, maybe the party will prefer him to the likes of Sarah Palin.

This guest post is contributed by Phillip Donavan, who writes on the subject of Online Political Science Degrees . Phillip can be reached at his email id: phillip.donavan[@]gmail[.]com