Newt: The Lizard of Oz
Should there be an update of the classic film, the Wizard of Oz, I suggest that Newt Gingrich be cast as the Lizard of Oz. He is more than just a white-haired, old shyster, speaking ominously from behind a curtain surrounded by smoke and mirrors.
No, Newt is more chameleon like, ever changing to meet the situation, slithering hither and yon, running up the pant leg of frightened seniors, (“Away with your Medicare, you leeches!”); threatening children, (“Off to the workshops, you thankless little twits!”); alarming the middle class with his voo-doo, trickle down economic theories; and wreaking fear in the land with his warning of electromagnetic pulses, (EMP), that when detonated in the atmosphere would render the country powerless.
Using the story of the Wizard of Oz as an economic and political allegory is not new. Some creative minds have detected a message in the book that was written in the early 1900s. Dorothy, its been said, depicted the American people, trusting and naive. The cyclone was the coming economic revolution taking place in the battle between gold and silver coinage. The Yellow Brick Road, with all its glamor, represented the gold standard, while Dorothy’s silver slippers, (they became red for the movie version), denoted the silver interests.
The Wizard portrayed the politicians of the day, who used tricks and chicanery to fool the people. The Tin Man represented the dehumanized worker left behind by industrialization and the Cowardly Lion was a swipe at indecisive, fainthearted politicians. The Scarecrow symbolized a corrupt media and the Wicked Witches denoted the wealthy banking interests and the railroad and oil barons of the day.
Like the Wizard of Oz, the Lizard of “K” Street wants you to believe he is compassionate, clever and commanding, when he is actually weird, cruel and greedy. At least, the original wizard confesses to Dorothy, “I’m a very bad wizard.” There is no need for Newt to make such a confession, for he is, indeed, a very good lizard.
