Newt Gingrich wants to send my grandson to work.

[caption id="attachment_1549" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Ready for work"]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/P1010520.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1549" title="P1010520" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/P1010520-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

Oh, I'm exaggerating a little. Lex is still more than eight months from his first birthday, and Newt will probably leave him alone until he's 3 or 4.

But then, who knows?

Gingrich has been described as a stupid person's idea of what a smart person is, and I think that's a pretty apt view. He's constantly coming up with new ideas that sound interesting until you really think about them. Things like free laptops for the homeless, or a permanent American colony on the Moon.

Then there was the one that's got me worried for my grandson. Newt was suggesting that schools should get rid of some of their janitors and have their students work part-time to keep the schools clean. He says it will give them a sense of responsibility, but of course whenever conservative Republicans talk about things like this, you can bet they are looking for ways to reduce the amount of money working people are paid.

I don't have any problem with Lex learning some manual labor skills. You never know when they might come in handy. If I ever needed to, I could perform very well sweeping floors. I learned that when I was working an overnight cleaning shift at a Jack in the Box when I was 22 years old. At first I would literally fall asleep on my feet while sweeping.

Blue collar work was never the problem. As long as people could make a decent living at it, there was nothing at all wrong with that kind of work.

The problem is, so many of those jobs have been eliminated that most of the jobs remaining in that sector are ones that don't pay well enough to support anyone.

As you can see from the shirt, Lex is getting ready to be a white-collar worker.

I'm not even sure that's the route he'll take. I'm thinking ballplayer ... or movie star ... or senator, if he's willing to embrace a life of crime.

His role model could be Newt.

&nbsp;