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Subscribe to RSSFormer House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday that voters are entitled to ask questions about the “mistakes” he has made in his personal life but said he’s confident that many social conservatives will back him in his 2012 presidential bid.
Gingrich, who has been married three times and has admitted to past extramarital affairs, said on NBC’s Meet the Press that Americans should look to the "strong marriage" he has with his current wife, Callista, and consider the “forgiveness” he sought from God for his personal transgressions.
“Every American has the right to ask these questions,” he said. “I have made mistakes in my life. I have had to go to God for forgiveness and to seek reconciliation. And I ask them to look at who I am today."
Watch video of clip here.
The former House Speaker said many conservative Republicans already back him despite the less squeaky-clean portions of his personal past.
“I have a large number of social conservatives who support me because, as we’ve talked this through, they’ve reached a different conclusion about what America needs and what I can bring in trying to fill that role of leader,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich announced his formal entry into the 2012 presidential race on Wednesday.
Explaining his decision to run, Gingrich said that he felt a civic obligation to throw his hat into the presidential ring. “When you look at where we are, it just seemed to me to not seek to help the country fix the problems we have would have been a failure of citizenship on my part,” he said.
Gingrich criticized the Medicare plan backed by House Budget Committee chair Paul Ryan, saying that Ryan's proposal to turn the health care plan for the elderly into a voucher system "too big a jump."
"I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering," he said after being asked about the Ryan plan. "I don't think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for free society to operate."
The onetime Georgia lawmaker bristled at accusations that some of his criticisms of President Barack Obama – including his labeling of the current commander-in-chief as a “food stamp president” – have racial undertones.
“That’s bizarre,” he responded.
“What I said is factually true,” he added, noting that one of every six Americans receives food stamps. “And to hide behind the charge of racism? I have never said anything about President Obama which is racist.”
Pressed by host David Gregory about how he believes the president views America, Gingrich doubled down on his charge that Obama does not believe that the United States is fundamentally unique among the world’s nations.
“Look, I believe he loves America. I think he has a very different vision of what America is,” Gingrich said, adding that he is ‘fairly confident’ that Obama does not believe in “American exceptionalism.”
“He’s learned recently how to say it,” he said. “But if you go back and look at the first two years of his presidency it was a real change.”
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No really? lol
Here's a little tidbit about the Newter's fiscal conservatism:
BTW - Anyone else catch Boehner blubbering at the commencement speech yesterday?
They don't call him the Weeper of the House for nothing! ;o)
Then there's these 'gems' he's dropped over the years:
Good catch, Feisty! I don't know why the pundits love to see Gingrich as any more substantial than any other Republican candidate, to me he is just another B.S politician. Heck, I could spout "ideas" on a talk show, and yammer on about history and "currents" in politics for hours, but I wouldn't make a very good administrator, and neither would Newt.
PS anybody else find it ironic Gingrich talked about the prerogative of professorial types to use looser language than a politician has, and think about Republican attacks on President Obama for being too analytical? I laughed out loud at Gingrich painting himself as an academic, on MTP, considering that is what Obama is criticized for being. The ironies just pile up
Good Sunday Morning to you Amy!
Notice the Newter snuck in the other code word(s): “American exceptionalism.”
I too laughed out loud at, Gotcha Gregory lobbing wiffleballs at him and challening him on NOTHING!
The ONLY thing missing was them holding hands & singing Kumbya, while snacking on S'More's! lol
OH - how I MISS Tim Russert...
Folks, there is no one in congress today that is above board on their own actions or in their own speachs...they all hand out what they think those hearing their talks want to hear...nothing new . The problem with this politican, as with all the others..is that they are all professional politicans and could care less about the public once elected...congress today has over 500 of them..and NONE do what they make claims of.
Hmmm. Let's see. "We should look at the strong marriage he has with his current wife.." See, Newtie, we ARE looking at that (and laughing our, well, you know, off) and we simply don't want to put you in the circumstance that patriotism causes you to STRAY again. That would be terrible of us, and I, for one, don't want any part of causing this marriage, one of many, to fail. Yep, and we appreciate the lectures you give us on OUR moral obligations to our spouses, and it is nice that God forgives you and says, "hey, it's okay Newtie, I really meant those rules for everyone but you." But, Newtie, don't jump in the race on our account. You really bring nothing that won't destroy the country.
And Newtoid, you ARE a racist.
One other thing...anyone have any idea how the Catholic "church" with it much vaunted moral stance against divorce has magically ignored Newtoid's history and admitted him into the fold? Hypocrisy much?
I was sitting here thinking the EXACT same thing NDD!
Must be because he's 'special', well, that and having a 'direct line' to God's ear! LMAO!
Or, Feisty, maybe it is simply money and influence! Have a good Sunday!
When isn't he blubbering? When he's handing out big tobacco checks to law makers on the floor of congress?
I am from Georgia and a lifelong Republican. I would not vote Newt Gingrich for dogcatcher. If this is the best the Republicans can do, Obama will get another four years.
Newt Gingrich has God's forgiveness and might have some American's forgiveness. But in the end, if one of the punishments he has to endure because of his past actions is not being given the chance to be president of the United States of America, then so be it.
While I do believe people can and do change, the repercussions of bad deeds can haunt you and last a lifetime. The job he is applying for isnt for the night manager's job at a grocery store. He is applying to be the President of the United States of America, and we Americans should make sure the candidates who are applying for this job have upheld the values they have preached. With that said, I do not believe, no matter how much I agree with his politic views or not, Mr. Gingrich belongs in the White House.
For the record, I do agree with his political views and ideas, but I cannot support a man who does not practice what he preaches in any aspect of his life, sorry.
That same logic applies to Romney and his flip flopping on his healthcare boondoggle. Yes for Massachusetts, no for America? Whats it gonna be? Cant trust him either...next!
Fiesty, i will agree with you on Russert. Probably one of the best, if not the best, journalist at being fair to all i had seen in my 25+ years of watching politics. He was equally tough on everyone regardless of party and of the highest character. Wish there were more like him.
racist bla bla bla, extremist bla bla bla, thats the only thing the left has said about all the conservatives. shmuck schumer admitted on camera that those were the 2 smear words all democrat communists were to use to slander the right, orders strait from obamas state propaganda machine. you fools are going to loose the senate and the white house in 2012 because america hates communism. your done, and a 3rd party will only replace the failed democrat party. communism will die in america. gingrich has no chance of being the conservative choice.
Makes one feel warm and fuzzy, doesn't it?
I can never understand why people think it is difficult to detect racism, racism being remarks and behavior negatively directed toward one's race, be they explicit or "coded." After hundreds of years of experience, people in this country should easily know when someone is inferring something racial and when not?
The irony is...there are plenty of issues to attack Obama on (the economy, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, financial reform, puny health reform, no public option, endless wars....), there is really no need to fire up Obama's base by attacking his race--it's stupid.
Half of Obama's 2008 base is undecided about voting for him in 2012, or even about voting at all. Why? Because he's reneged on 95% of the promises he made in 2008 and because millions of people are sinking from unemployment and being screwed by banks left and right and oil companies up and down.
It's kinda hard to vote for someone who promised hope and change and just can't resurrect that theme again for his re-election.
As for Newt, it's not the errors in judgement that bothers anyone, it's the sickening hypocrisy.
To all above, yes, Tim Russert left a big hole that Gregory cannot fill. Most disappointing interview he has done yet. Tim would have nailed Newt's butt to the wall. Newt is so in love with himself and his "ideas" that he thinks his "towering rehtoric" will snow us all with his brilliance. The man is a racist pig, and a liar. His stand on madates to purchase heathcare cannot be overlooked either, the tea baggers hate that. And yes, the Catholic church is a hypocrite, because his first two marriages were not it the Catholic church, even though he had children from them, are not "valid" marriages in the eyes of the church. So the only marriage he had that is "valid" is the one with helmet head Calista, because it was blessed by the church. ( I hate to admit, I used to teach Catholic cathecism classes years ago. ) It sickens me and if this creep can win the Rethug nomination, they deserve the beating of a lifetime, and will, hopefully drive the final nail in that party's coffin. Maybe I should "pray" for that.
WOW what set you off this morning Joe?
And Feisty anyone would do a better job than Gregory, he's terrible. They need to send him over to Fox (aka the republican network).
If Newt is the best model of "American Exceptionalism" then the we are in deep trouble as a country.
Feisty, New Day, et al... I don't know about you guys, but "American exceptionalism" sounds a LOT to me like "Aryan supremacy", and I don't think that's an accident.
Given that New Orleans' Ninth Ward was pretty exclusively black and extremely poor (many of them didn't own cars), for Newt to mock and criticize them for being "so uneducated and unprepared that they literally could not get out of the way of a hurricane" is just a breathtakingly, blatantly racist example of blame-the-victim mentality. Were there not white people who died in Katrina's devastation? Were there not white people's homes that were destroyed? How would education and preparedness have allowed the residents of the Ninth Ward to move their homes out of the way to avoid having them destroyed?
His thinking sounds very similar to those who like to infer that the Jews were partly to blame for their own destruction during the Holocaust because they didn't get out of Germany prior to the war. That particular bit of blame-the-victim ignores that there were famous examples of Jews who did try - hiring a ship that no country would then allow to dock for disembarkment. Even the United States ignored appeals to increase immigration limits, even for humanitarian reasons. Plus, escaping Germany would not have been enough, given that countries that were conquered and or occupied by the Nazis were drained of their Jews, including those often not heard mentioned, like Greece.
Dumping your wife while she's in her hospital bed fighting cancer takes a special kind of coldness, inhumanity and selfishness that the word "mistake" just doesn't quite cover. Given the evidence of those qualities, his use of clear and well-known racist 'code' words and other divisive buzz words, and his supremacy mindset, I find Newt Gingrich scarier than I find him funny.
How, in the name of Jesus Christ, would Gringrinch justify and explain Party of No "Family Values" to his potential electorate?
This is not a rhetorical question, by the way
I think the Newt misspoke. He doesn't just believe in "American exceptionalism", he believes in "Newt exceptionalism". That is how he can get away with saying don't look at my other marriages, look at this marriage! Or say with sincerity "...they will be in a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists..."; how can one be secular, atheist, and islamic all at the same time? Kind of like when the Tea Party Zombies would scream that Pres. Obama was a socialist, communist, fascist!
On second thought, maybe the Newt DOES have a chance with the loonies. Fortunately for America, the lunatic fringe only makes up about 20% of the voters.
BlackHills .....american exectionalism and aryian supremecy sound the same? seriously?
Joe, it wasn't on TV that Schumer told people to refer to all Rep. ideas as extreme. It was on a conference call he thought just his guys were on. He told what he thought was just Dems on to refer to any Rep ideas as extreme as they had decided in caucus, but there were a few conservatives on the call also that busted him. Notice they stopped using that and went to "killing grandma" as the party rant after he was busted.
Hi, BlackHIllsLaura: I agree with you completely. I simply do not understand how Newt gets away with the rhetoric he uses....except he uses multi-syllable words strung together in such a way that the far right wing has no clue what he is talking about. As to the coldness required to leave a sick wife for another woman? I have personal experience with it, since my "dad" did that to my mom who developed ALS, a woman who was a saint that he was married to for almost 60 years. He literally said almost the same thing to me "God said it was all right for me to do." I haven't spoken to him since. Could be that Newt's history just rings a little to close for me.
No really? lol
I hope you having a nice LOL weekend with all the"carnival barkers" making the rounds. Like Rachel said Friday there are only 1 democratic to 7 republicans today making theTV circuits. It must extremly diffucult to attract people to their odd jobs.
Here's a little tidbit about the Newter's fiscal conservatism:
I got some more nuggets:
Newt Gingrich's history of bigoted remarks
Gingrich compares Islamic center to Nazis erecting a sign near Holocaust Museum and to a Japanese site near Pearl Harbor.
Bilingual education teaches "the language of living in a ghetto
Gingrich smears Sotomayor as a "racist."
Poor blacks fail to acquire wealth partly because of their "habits.
Women would have trouble staying in ditches "because they get infections;" "males are biologically driven to go out and hunt giraffes."
Gingrich proposes denying welfare benefits to young mothers and instead using funds to establish orphanages.
"[T]here is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us.
It's time to "profile" and "actively discriminate based on suspicious terrorist information.
http://mediamatters.org/research/201009130054
Hail-rious, he is truly a Repubil/clown.
Folks:
For a college history professor, he sure has a short memory. Maybe that's why he keeps forgetting to be faithful to his wives.
Hmmmmm.....????.....nope, not buyin' that load o' horse apples!
Thank God he's now a Catholic, these unintentional divorces will now end, huh!
Gradually becoming a Catholic, is that like gradually going crazy? There are so many much easier faiths to latch onto, or be born again adjacent to, or of, or near, or, or, well that's getting clumsy, but I digress. So I wonder does he always suck up to the faith of his current wife, or is this a two-for-one personal transformation special deal, or what?
I'm not sure we need someone with so little fidelity to people within his intimate circle, or even his own faith leading us....we can probably do better on our own. If he can gradually become a Catholic by osmosis, then he might gradually become anything he gets close to by accident, and in Washington D.C. there are more lobbyists than there are people; or dogs; or anything, so that wouldn't be pretty! He obviously gradually got new wives by the same unusual affliction. No tellin' what will overtake him next!
Good Luck!
The comment about Food Stamps makes me wonder if this guy is in touch with whats happening in America, many Americans are on food stamps because the don't have a job for one thing secondly they are been squeezed into taking lower wages, can't afford medical, hundreds of thousands live on the street, should I go on about the Food Stamp issue, these GOP people live on another planet or are drunk or maybe on drugs, because they surely aren't in the realm of reality .......
Wow, Feisty! Remind me never to run for public office (dishonestly) and tick you off! I like my skeletons to remain where they are! Of course, they're not as Newtworthy...er...noteworthy as some candidates'! You've done a great job of reminding all of us why His Newt-ness is not worthy of our votes. Props to you!
Richie-416314
The comment about Food Stamps makes me wonder if this guy is in touch with whats happening in America, many Americans are on food stamps because the don't have a job for one thing secondly they are been squeezed into taking lower wages, can't afford medical, hundreds of thousands live on the street, should I go on about the Food Stamp issue, these GOP people live on another planet or are drunk or maybe on drugs, because they surely aren't in the realm of reality
It gets worse. Gingrich also blasted President Obama as "the most successful food stamp president in modern American history."
Well, isn't that Republicans try to do starve the economy and it's people just so they can keep their corporate master ric rich in turn for for the White House?
Gingrich says 2012 election biggest since 1860
I guess so since the carnival barkers want to take the country back to pre civil war days. I'm afraid Newt and the nutty T-baggers are not even speaking in code anymore
Great, the party of NO trys to explain that the party of HATE knocks him for it. Figures.
Good thing for Independents!
Lmao........ OoOoOo the Big "14" are here.....well except navyboy. Its good to see the "newt" can rev you guys up that much! Again......I sent my Vine blog links to all my independent friends.....which seems to be growing quite well! I know you guys are pandering to your "base" but it does not look good to the voter with an (I) next to their name. I know you hate this, and it more than likely makes you itch like you have the hives. But as was stated most of America is center right. Its your election to lose, by going to left. Pelosi and Reid are way to right. I have nothing against Mr. Obama as a man and a father. I do have an issue with the far left point of view......as I do with the far rights! I just lean further center right than center left! As do most of the people I converse with daily!
M0-681343
WOW what set you off this morning Joe?
And Feisty anyone would do a better job than Gregory, he's terrible. They need to send him over to Fox (aka the republican network).
It's also the republican Campaign Headquarters with most share owned Muslims.
How's that for Fox deceives and the steeple believe?
American exceptionalism refers to the theory that the United States is qualitatively different from other nations
Newt exceptionalism, he thinks HE is qualitatively different from other Candidates, especially Obama,
WRONG NEWT, you are the ' Weakest Link" TOO many skeletons in your closet, Obama has Morals, Values and Great Ethics.
Get a Life Newt, you are a draft dodging, liar, tax evading nut.
Lmao........ OoOoOo the Big "14" are here.....well except navyboy. Its good to see the "newt" can rev you guys up that much! Again......I sent my Vine blog links to all my independent friends.....which seems to be growing quite well! I know you guys are pandering to your "base" but it does not look good to the voter with an (I) next to their name. I know you hate this, and it more than likely makes you itch like you have the hives. But as was stated most of America is center right. Its your election to lose, by going to left. Pelosi and Reid are way to right. I have nothing against Mr. Obama as a man and a father. I do have an issue with the far left point of view......as I do with the far rights! I just lean further center right than center left! As do most of the people I converse with daily!
#1.30 - Sun May 15, 2011 12:49 PM EDT
Disco, BlueBurner! I'm part of the "half of Obama's 2008 base" that is disappointed in his all too seamless transition from a Democrat on the stump to a Republican as POTUS. He has not delivered on his promises and he continues the practices/policies of the former Bush administration while talking a whole notha game. I see 2012 and it's AIN'T gonna be good. Not ONE, not even ONE viable, votable, electable candidate in the whole bunch on the Republican side, and Obama as the only choice for the Democrats. Surely, there's someone with half a working brain out there who'll step up to the plate. . .right? Sigh. . .I'll keep hoping and not hold my breath. American is broke and BROKEN!
As to your comments about racism and it's obvious hallmarks, Disco THAT!
I have to ask, if, as you say there are 'only' 14 of us, then what's up with your obsession?
Me thinks, you're scared sh!tless of what we have to say, which is why you continually attempt to dimish our size & comments... lol
As for you 'swaying' your 'Indy' friends, all I can say is, keep on believing that, it obviously brings you some much needed comfort! ;o)
Hey folks, however you wanna look at it,
"Newt's a beaut!"
jollyoldsoul1
Lmao........ OoOoOo the Big "14" are here.....well except navyboy. Its good to see the "newt" can rev you guys up that much! Again......I sent my Vine blog links to all my independent friends.....which seems to be growing quite well! I know you guys are pandering to your "base" but it does not look good to the voter with an (I) next to their name. I know you hate this, and it more than likely makes you itch like you have the hives. But as was stated most of America is center right. Its your election to lose, by going to left. Pelosi and Reid are way to right. I have nothing against Mr. Obama as a man and a father. I do have an issue with the far left point of view......as I do with the far rights! I just lean further center right than center left! As do most of the people I converse with daily
Typical of an "I" looking for friends. Did you get to 14 yet?
Even Karl Rove realizes you're all "carnival Barkers". That's way he 's going to sit this one out.
Personally, I could care less how many wives he has had or cheated on. What I can't stand is the right's hypocrisy! They expect everyone to follow the morals they preach except themselves!
jollyoldsoul1
Who are the BIG 14?
While I don't think Newt is overtly racist, I do think he is bigoted against those who he perceives to be different than himself(less educated, less wealth, of a different religious background, and/or not "patriotic enough).
Trying to paint America(and Americans) as better than other countries/cultures, is pretty bigoted(IMO).
We(Americans) aren't better than anyone else. PERIOD.
We have plenty of overweight/lazy/ citizens, people with no morals or honor, and many with an overblown sense of selfworth/importance.
Bigotry is still very much alive and practiced here in the USA(and it's not playing a "race card" to acknowledge that fact).
The pioneers were ruggged individualists, which is something to be proud of.
Individualism must now take a backseat to teamwork and cooperation(I know it's easier said than done, being a diehard individualist myself).
First it was cool for lefties to call conservatives "racist." Then it was "bigot." Then "extremists." Now welcome to the latest new term brought to you by Obama, himself, "carnival barker." He says it once and the entire left wing incorporates it into their narrow vocabulary when looking for the flavor-of-the-day word to attack whomever does not agree with them. So predictable.
Obama's use of the term "carnival barker", fits Trump(plus the birthers and those who rant about Obama being an evil Muslim/Commie/Socialist sleeper agent) PERFECTLY.
I'll put so called "left wing" narraw vocabularies, against conservative(southern/bible thumping) vocabularies, ANY day(and I'm as dead center as one can get).
Those who attack anyone who doesn't parrot their usual "criticize/slander Obama" rhetoric, are the ones who are predictable.
I didn't vote for Obama(nor McCain), but I see Obama doing a decent job, considering the problems we face(and the many who oppose everything he tries to do).
Hey JollyOl'.
I'm here. There is really nothing I can add. They have all nailed this creep for exactly what he is: A bigoted, unfathful, deceptive, racist, creepy, slimy. pandering, big business, in the pocket of banking and oil interest politician.
Did I miss anything????
I don' t like the word "mistakes". It is called "sin". I am more concerned about the global warming agenda he bought.
Newt, didn't have these same standards when he went after Clinton for his "mistake". People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.....No Newt, we are not going to forgive and forget, you get full credit for your mistake........Have nothing against your wives, that matter you have to deal with....again,your responsibility.....
Then there's these 'gems' he's dropped over the years:
Hey Feisty Redhead,Great to see that you are on track with your comments. I love them. I was hi-jacked for 10 days by some rightwing moderator for a reply I made to some Teabagger about a comment he made about all Democrats. Being a die hard Democrat all weapons were opened for the kill. Needless to say how that came out with the Moderator. However the continuation to search for your comments are always in order. Keep them coming. I now have to be careful since there is a certain feeling of being observed.
The only reason Newt doesn't chase anymore is because he can't! With that bellly he can't see what the big deal use to be.
Good to see you back & still swinging Bob!
It's better to have a bulls-eye on your back than a boot on your neck any day! ;o))
Do the baggers & birthers appear grumpier than usual today? lol
I see I've been targeted again by the collapse cowards - guess all those votes mean people are reading and getting the message, no matter how hard the baggers work at suppressing the TRUTH! lol
Keep up the fight my friend!
Obama/Biden 2012!!! All the waaay BABY!
Noticed your comments were collapsed as well. But don't worry, I uncollapsed them on my end. Also, noticed you had a huge amount of likes in comparison to the righties (must not take that many dislikes to get you collapsed). I can't wait for President Obama's second term...he won't have to worry about his reelction and can get on with business.
Thanks, Feisty Redhead, now I WANT to vote for Newt! I didn't like the guy until I saw some of his great quotes! Haha!
ms feisty you go girl, i love everything you said. noot is a racist hatefilled bigot.
he is working for the country so you know lil noot is randy i warn all mothers to hide their daughters and family pets.
can't wait til he go the same way the other carnival barker went.
where IS trump?
laura, you just told it like it is. The Rightwing imps doesn't like Feisty Redhead because she smacks the hammer between their crying eyes. They can't stand the truth.
Awww come on collapse cowards, last time I checked we still have the First Amendment!
I know, that only applies to baggers & birthers - Keep on collapsing and I'll keep on re-posting! DEAL?
Truth stings don't it? LMAO
Then there's these 'gems' he's dropped over the years:
Feisty...thanks for posting! I can't find fault with any of his comments. Guess that Colonel Jessup is right, "You can't HANDLE the truth!" Great summary which helps shed light on the moral decline of this country the past 20 years since electing that pervert Bill Clinton to run the show.
Boy, Feisty, that didn't take long, did it. What do you supposed bothered the collapse cowards more? That Newtie said those things and people now it, or people might be reminded of it? Perhaps a collapse coward could step forward and tell us.
3 Gold Bars....do you think we are surprised that there are people filled with vile? No, we aren't. They have always been there....just look through history: Hiltler, Usama Bin Laden, etc. But luckily, they have always been taken down, because there are more of us that don't believe in that filth.
RixPolitix - you're kidding - right? Can't find fault with any of his comments? Are you his new girlfriend???
Perhaps, but highly improbable!
They aren't referred to as cowards for nuttin! LMAO
Did you happen to catch the NJ nut job chiming in below? Full of her trademark hate & envy of the Presidents family?
What a bunch of sleazy belly crawling cowards the righties are collapsing Feisty Redhead's stuff. And where the hell are the nannies? I read Feisty Redhead's posts, and the ONLY "problem" with them is the accurately quote racist sexist thuggish BS from newtie and other rightwing sleaze.
What's the matter righties, can't handle your own words being thrown back at you?
They probably won't want to be reminded of his Contract With America and the failure to enact it, either. All empty promises to get thier votes.
I haven't seen any comments reminding the People that this guy spammed doctors for $5,000 donations nor the award to a topless bar offered not once but twice.
But it never ceases to amaze me how the republican party can get thier sheep to vote for the wolf.
Bosslimo - Wasn't it a Contract ON America????
For the record, I don't even know what "collapsiing" means, but then again, this is my first (and likely last) time visiting this site.
W. Goin....No, I'm not Newt's "girl" friend but I resent your obvious ANTI-GAY SLUR you homophobe.
Darn it you beat me to it!
I love Newt. He is smarter than most, more articulate, and actually requires you to think - which clearly the posters above cannot do clearly.
I can't wait to see the posting of our lunatic president musings over the past few years - few, because that's all the history we have on this empty suit.
From the 57 states to his belief that energy costs would necessarily skyrocket under his proposals, to his world apology tour that produced nothing but laughter around the globe.
Yeah, as silly has Newt can be, he is miles ahead of the dimwit in the White House.
To the right-wing posters, especially the religious radicals (if Newt can exaggerate and call progressives secular socialists, or atheists, or...wait, here it comes, breaking Godwin's Law...Nazis, it's fair to call social conservatives religious radicals or how about "Radical Chistianists"):
1) Aren't you tired of all the sex scandals in the Republican Party? And when it's a "family values" Republican (like Newt, and more recently Ensign, both of whom attacked Clinton), doesn't their hypocrisy give cause for extra consternation?
2) Will you forgive Newt? Even though he sinned repeatedly, showing lack of true remorse? If Clinton sobbed the way Sanford did, would forgive Clinton too? Or does forgiveness only apply to "family values" Republicans?
Seriously, I don't understand you right-wing people. I am agnostic but I'm far more moral and ethical than ANY of these jagoffs. Next is the FEAR mongering from creeps like Newt about:
This is one of the biggest "Gateway" ("slippery slope") fallacious arguments (or as conservatives know it, "give them an inch" conspiracy theories) -- that gays will turn everyone into gays, and everyone will be forced to have abortions, etc. The real demise of traditional families is the financial destruction brought about by right-wing voodoo economics, but "you don't have the courage to look at the world you have created."
And Newt is still fear-mongering about radical Islamists in America in 2011? Seriously? Previous claims by others (e.g., Michele Bachmann) have been debunked, and now the world is witnessing the uprisings in the Middle East for freedom and democracy, and now radical Islamists have been given yet another blow by the execution of bin Laden. Most of all, while "social conservatives" in the US think family values are being destroyed because we don't allow prayer in schools, they don't see that prayer in school is the same thing radical Islamists would impose. Puleeze Newt.
This quote is very indicative of the whole anti-intellectualism movement among conservatives. And they wonder why math and science scores are dropping like rocks, why Americans (especially teabaggers) don't know history or the Constitution/Bill of Rights, but to say this when speaking about the Columbine shootings shows the same Glenn Beck Chalk Board lack of logic, guilt by association, and conspiracy theories so rampant among the right-wing. This is what you get people, when you make "academic" a dirty word.
Bill Clinton isn't running for President. He got a BJ from a slut, that was impressed with power, plain and simple. HE STAYED WITH HIS WIFE
Newt wasted tons of taxpayers money going after him while he was screwing around on his wife,
Newt is on #3,that's why
Awww come on collapse cowards, last time I checked we still have the First Amendment!
I know, that only applies to baggers & birthers - Keep on collapsing and I'll keep on re-posting! DEAL?
Truth stings don't it? LMAO
Then there's these 'gems' he's dropped over the years:
Heres more on your Good'ol boy
Newt Gingrich-GOP CANDIDATE-WHOOPEEEEEEEEEEEE
Mr. Family Values is amazingly similar to Bill Clinton - both are pot
smoking, draft-dodging adulterers from poor Southern families. Click on the
allegation of your choice:
Adultery:
Callista Bisek. Anne Manning. The unnamed "young
volunteer". Are we missing anyone?
Draft dodger
Dead-Beat Dad
Family Values?
Pressing Wife for Divorce in the Hospital
House Banking
Scandal: Newt Bounced 22 Checks
Book Deals: Murdoch's
$4.5 Million wasn't the first
GOPAC sleaze:
Taxpayer subsidies for his partisan campaign course.
Corporate reward:
$2,500/month to Newt's wife
Who Owns Him?
Sources:
Quotes:
Quotes:
"We had oral sex. He prefers that modus operandi because then he can
say, 'I never slept with her.'" - Anne Manning (who was also married at
the time.)
"We would have won in 1974 if we could have kept him out of the office,
screwing her [a young volunteer] on the desk." - Dot Crews, his campaign
scheduler at the time
[In the book] "Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them",
[I] "found frightening pieces that related to my own life." - Newt.
"I think you can write a psychological profile of me that says I found
a way to immerse my insecurities in a cause large enough to justify whatever I
wanted it to" - Newt, speaking to Gail Sheehy.
"She isn't young enough or pretty enough to be the President's
wife." - Newt, on his first wife.
"I don't want him to be president and I don't think he should be."
- Newt's wife Marianne.
"If the country today were to move to the left, Newt would sense it
before it started happening and lead the way." - Dot Crews, his campaign
scheduler throughout the 1970s.
Adultery:
Sex on the Desk - Oral Sex is More Easily Denied
Several newspapers are now reporting that Newt Gingrich is dating and
basically living with Callista Bisek, a "willowy blond Congressional aide
23 years his junior." Biske, 33, has been spending nights at Gingrich's
apartment near the Capitol and has her own key. In an amazing act of hypocrisy,
Gingrich was apparently dating Bisek all during Clinton-Lewinsky adultery
scandal, even as he proclaimed family values and bitterly criticized the
President for his adultery.
Reporters and other Washington
insiders have known about this relationship since 1994, even before Gingrich
became Speaker of the House, but did not have any solid proof to report. In
1995, Vanity Fair magazine described Bisek as Gingrich's "frequent breakfast
companion." Gingrich was married to Marianne Gingrich during all of that
time, and just filed for divorce in August 1999.
Newt is apparently trying to create a new hybrid form, Christian adultery.
According to MSNBC, Bisek sings in the National Shrine Choir, and Newt would
often wait for her at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, listening to her
sing while he read the Bible.
This is hardly the first time Newt has cheated, either. "It was common
knowledge that Newt was involved with other women during his [first] marriage
to Jackie. Maybe not on the level of John Kennedy. But he had girlfriends --
some serious, some trivial." -- Dot Crews, his campaign scheduler
throughout the 70s. One woman, Anne Manning, has come forward and confirmed a
relationship with him during the 1976 campaign. "We had oral sex. He
prefers that modus operandi because then he can say, 'I never slept with
her.'"
Kip Carter, his former campaign treasurer, was walking Newt's daughters back
from a football game one day and cut across a driveway where he saw a car.
"As I got to the car, I saw Newt in the passenger seat and one of the
guys' wives with her head in his lap going up and down. Newt kind of turned and
gave me this little-boy smile. Fortunately, Jackie Sue and Kathy were a lot
younger and shorter then."
Family Values? Pressing Wife for Divorce in the Hospital:
"He walked out in
the spring of 1980.... By September, I went into the hospital for my third
surgery. The two girls came to see me, and said, "Daddy is downstairs.
Could he come up?" When he got there, he wanted to discuss the terms of
the divorce while I was recovering from my surgery." - Jackie, his first
wife.
Dead-Beat
Dad:
The hospital visit
wasn't the end of it, either. Jackie had to take Newt to court to get him to
contribute for bills, as utilities were about to be cut off.
Draft
Dodger:
Though he relentlessly
pushes military spending and talks like a bigtime hawk, Gingrich avoided the
Vietnam War through a combination of student and family deferments. (He married
one of his teachers at age 19.)
Problems With Women?
Newt pressed his first wife to sign divorce papers while she
was still in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery. He also graciously
said "She isn't young enough or pretty enough to be the President's
wife." But his second marriage hasn't been that smooth either. Newt and
Marianne have been separated - "frankly", she told the Washington
Post in June 1989, "it's been on and off for some time."
Does Newt have some kind of problem with women? He has said that he read a
book called "Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them", and
"found frightening pieces that related to my own life."
Incidentally, Marianne told Gail Sheehy she doesn't want Newt to run for
President. " I told him if I'm not in agreement, fine, it's easy. I just
go on the air the next day, and I undermine everything. ... I don't want
him to be president and I don't think he should be." Newt's response?
Marianne "was just making the point hypothetically" that he would not
run unless she agreed he should.
House Banking Scandal: Newt Bounced 22 Checks
Remember the House Banking scandal, where so many
congressmen wrote rubber checks on government money? Newt hopes you don't,
because he bounced 22 himself, which almost cost him reelection in 1992. His
vote for the secret House pay raise, and the chauffeur who drove him around Washington
in a Lincoln Town Car, didn't help.
Lucrative and Questionable Book Deals: Murdoch's $4.5 Million
wasn't the first
The 1995 Murdoch
Deal --- The 1984 Book Deal
The 1995 Murdoch Deal
You probably heard something about Newt's book scandal. He
was offered first $2.5 million, then $4.5 million by Harper Collins, a
publishing company owned by Rupert Murdoch, who also owns the Fox TV network
and newspapers and TV stations around the world. Murdoch has been having
problems with a complaint by NBC that Fox is a foreign owned TV network, which
is against US
law.
In the past, Harper Collins has offered million dollar book contracts to
several conservative politicians in countries where Murdoch was having
regulatory trouble, including England (Margaret Thatcher, Jeffrey Archer) and
China (Deng Xiaoping's daughter). A week after the initial offer, Newt met with
Rupert Murdoch - and Murdoch's legislative lobbyist - to discuss politics,
including the NBC complaint. As facts about the deal were made public, and even
Republicans criticized him, Gingrich decided to give up the $4.5 million
advance for a still-lucrative deal based on royalties.
Gingrich's story kept changing through the controversy. First, Newt's
spokesman said that Murdoch knew nothing about Gingrich and the book deal. On
Friday January 13, Newt's spokesman admitted that Murdoch actually met Newt on
a park bench the week before the deal was made, but didn't talk about it. He
also said he knew nothing about Murdoch's lobbyist being at their meeting. The
next day, he admitted the lobbyist was there, but claimed he didn't say so
because no one asked.
Newt also said repeatedly that the book wasn't his idea; that a literary
agent named Lynn Chu had sought him out and proposed it. After Ms. Chu said that
Gingrich's associate Jeff Eisenach called her first on Newt's behalf, Eisenach
and Newt's spokesman admitted that was true.
The 1984 Book Deal
Murdoch's book deal wasn't the first lucrative and
controversial book deal Newt engineered. In 1983 he established a limited
partnership in Atlanta called COS Limited, which pulled together about two
dozen of his biggest campaign contributors to finance his book.
The former administrator of his congressional offices in Georgia, Dolores
Adamson, resigned over the deal. "The manuscript was put together in the
district office using office equipment," she said. "He would just
come in and say 'This is what I want to do.' I would say, 'This is not
ethical," but after a while he didn't listen." That office equipment,
of course, was paid for by US taxpayers including you.
GOPAC sleaze: Taxpayer subsidies for his partisan campaign
course.
Newt in his poltical career was the king of using tax-payer
subsidized donations for his personal and political purposes. He stooped so low
as to hijack not one but two charities for poor inner city kids and use their
donations for his personal goals.
GOPAC, Newt's longtime political action committee, was the centerpiece of a
complex network of non-profit, and mostly tax exempt organizations that Newt
has used to support himself and other conservative candidates. In an act of
incredible hypocrisy, this crusader against taxes obtained taxpayer subsidies
for his personal and political goals, by misusuing these tax-exempt groups.
For example, one GOPAC document said that its goal for the 1990s was
"to both create and disseminate the doctrine of a majority Republican
party." In another GOPAC document, titled "Key Factors in a House GOP
Majority," Gingrich wrote "It is more powerful and more effective to
develop a reform movement parallel to the official Republican party",
instead of using the party structure, because it would get more attention and
be more credible. Shortly thereafter, GOPAC paid for a television program
promoting a "grassroots" movement to reform government; publicly they
claimed it was nonpartisan, but private internal documents made its partisan
goals clear.
After it got expensive, Gingrich transferred the program to the
"Abraham Lincoln Opportunity Foundation," a tax-exempt group
controlled by a GOPAC official named Bo Callaway. It had been set up years
earlier to help inner city kids, which is why it was tax exempt. The group
spent $260,000 on the television program in 1990. That same year, Newt started
another tax-exempt group that paid poor students for reading books. He bragged
of this in many a political speech. But after the first two years, most of this
foundation's money went to Mel Steely, a former Gingrich aide who is now Newt's
official biographer.
The best known effort was a college course (titled "Renewing American
Civilization") at a third-rate college that Gingrich nakedly used to
recruit and organize conservative candidates, and to feed them his carefully
constructed ideology and political slogans.
Of course, using tax-exempt educational or charitable donations for partisan
purposes is illegal, and several ethics complaints were filed against Gingrich.
He agreed to pay a $300,000 fine for misleading the committee during the
investigation, and in the process dodged conviction on the actual charges
through a combination of finessing some legal definitions, sheer
self-confidence and raw political power (as Speaker of the House at the time of
the complaints, he appointed the ethics committee. Furthermore, GOPAC had one
ethics committee member on its roster last session, and gave money to another.)
The Ethics Committee dropped its final charges against Gingrich not long
before he resigned as speaker, despite finding that Gingrich had in fact
violated one rule by repeatedly using a political consultant paid by GOPAC to
develop the Republican political agenda, because there was no evidence he was
continuing to do so.
The IRS also started an investigation of one group, the Progress and Freedom
Foundation, for violating its tax-exempt status by donating to Gingrich's
college course. In the investigation, the special counsel found that these
activities were "substantially motivated by partisan political
goals." The IRS eventually overruled him, and found that the course "was
educational and never favored or opposed a candidate for public office.'' It
said the foundation ``did not intervene on behalf of candidates of the
Republican Party merely by promoting'' themes in the course. This extremely
narrow reading of the law basically said "so what if he used the course to
recruit, organize and groom candidates; as long as they didn't say 'Vote for
Jones', it wasn't partisan." Despite what Gingrich fans argue, this hardly
proves his innocence. The IRS has chickened out before in political cases,
notably letting the Church of Scientology
completely off the hook in its investigation of that group.
Corporate reward: $2,500/month to Newt's wife
According to the Wall Street Journal, a company hired
Marianne Gingrich (Newt's wife) for $2,500 a month plus commissions in
September 1994 after he announced support for a free trade zone in Israel
that they are trying to build. Her "job" for Israel Export
Development Co. is to find tenants for the trade zone. Gingrich's spokesman
said that since her job did not involve working with the US
government, there was no conflict of interest.
Who Owns Him?
- Rupert Murdoch (see book deal above)
- Georgia's Richards family, owners of Southwire Corporate ($1.3 billion/year)
The Richards lent and donated money and office space to Gingrich from his
earliest days in politics. They have given over $100,000, and Gingrich was the
first recipient of donations from Southwire's PAC. By
coincidence, Gingrich has changed from an environmentalist critic of Southwire
to a staunch anti-environmentalist during that time. People with ties to
Southwire were instrumental in two earlier lucrative book deals of Gingrich's
in 1977 and 1984; the latter was investigated for ethical violations.
Sources:
"Newt
Plays House With New Squeeze," by Timothy Burger and Owen Moritz, NY
Daily News, August 12, 1999
"Newt's Fooling Around
With His Girl On the Hill," by Andy Soltis, New
York Post, August
12, 1999
"The
Big One That Got Away," by David Corn, Salon Website, August 12, 1998
adulterous choir practice: "Personals", by Leah Garchik, San
Francisco Chronicle, August 17, 1999
pE12
"Gingrich Won't Answer Woman's Adultery Story," Missoula
(Montana) Missoulian, August 16,
1995page 1
"Tales About Gingrich make field level", Idaho Spokesman Review, August 16, 1995 pB6
"Gingrich Aided Export Firm That Employed His Wife", NY Times News
Service, San Francisco Chronicle, February
7, 1995 pA7
"Gingrich, Critic of 'Business as Usual,' Helps Out Special Interests
Like 'Any Member of Congress'", Phil Kuntz, Wall Street Journal, April 3,
1995 pA16
"Gingrich's political education", Jeff Gerth and Stephen Labaton
(NY Times News Service), San Francisco Examiner, February 12, 1995 pA6
"IRS
clears Gingrich donation that led to his House censure", Capitol Hill
Blue Website, February 4, 1999
Ethics
Committee Drops Last of 84 Charges Against Gingrich ,By Curt Anderson
(Associated Press), Washington
Post, October 11, 1998,
Page A13
"Use
of Tax-Exempt Groups Integral to Political Strategy", by Charles R. Babcock,
Washington Post, January 7, 1997, Page A01
"Jump-Start: How Speaker Gingrich Grabbed Power and Attention So
Quickly", Wall Street Journal, January
19, 1995 pA1
"The Inner Quest of Newt Gingrich", Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair,
September 1995 p147 "Gingrich, Murdoch reveal lobbyist's role at
meeting", Katharine Seelye (NY Times News Service), San Francisco
Examiner, pA1 "Murdoch, Gingrich Admit They Talked", San Francisco
Chronicle, January 13, 1995
"The Mysterious Mrs. Newt", Martin Fletcher (London Times News
Service), SF Examiner, January 15, 1995 pA4 "Newt's Near Misses", Ron
Curran, The Bay Guardian, January 11, 1995 p10
"Newt, Inc.", Dennis Bernstein, Bay Guardian, February 1, 1995 p19
MJL - if you don't work for the democrat party - you should. They like people that good at finding dirty laundry.
Bottom line on 2012 will be - can this person's policies bring us out of this malaise. A lot of the Right Wing thinks that he would wipe the floor with Obama in a debate - but that doesn't mean they will vote for him. Most of the Noise about him being un-electible is coming from the left. Republicans are pretty left deaf by now and more so the more they believe the left is trying to find a weak opponent to face Obama.
All that opposition research gone to waste. . .
Poor MJL. Here are the issues that voters care bout-
The economy- staggering along under Obama. Not good.
Inflation- gas and food prices are spiraling. Not good.
Unemployment- back up to 9%- not good.
So, here are th voices- an absolute economic disaster with a stable marriage, two nice kids, and a mom in law.
Somebody who seems to actually understand how to fix the economy- no matter the marital status, number of kids, or relationship with the in laws.
Guess who the voters will choose?
Here is a hint- when paying for their groceries after gassing up the car and worrying about losing a job, thinking about the latest pictures of "the perfect family" on yet another trip is NOT going to make Mr. or Mrs. Average Voter feel any more kindly about re electing the hopelessly inept.
Holy Christ there MJ, you got a DIRECT LINE to SOROS INC ????????????????????
There you go again NJNB!
As long as you brought up jobs & the economy, let's recap, shall we:
Republicans Have Spent Two Years Blocking Job-Creation Efforts
The Recovery Act Lowered The Unemployment Rate And Increased The Number Of People With Full-Time Jobs By Millions.
According to the CBO:
The Teapubicans were elected on the promise of jobs and the economy...
Do you all seriously think people are going to fall for your bullsh!t AGAIN?
Here's another dirty little secret the baggers & birthers would rather sweep under the rug:
So be it?
In other words, they GOT theirs and screw you!
While I don't think Newt is overtly racist, I do think he is bigoted against those who he perceives to be different than himself(less educated, less wealth, of a different religious background, and/or not "patriotic" enough).
Trying to paint America(and Americans) as better than other countries/cultures, is pretty bigoted(IMO).
We(Americans) aren't better than anyone else. PERIOD.
We have plenty of overweight/lazy/ citizens, people with no morals or honor, and many with an overblown sense of self worth/importance.
Bigotry is still very much alive and practiced here in the USA(and it's not playing a "race card" to acknowledge that fact).
The pioneers were ruggged individualists, which is something to be proud of.
Individualism must now take a backseat to teamwork and cooperation(I know it's easier said than done, being a diehard individualist myself).
"Obama does not believe in “American exceptionalism.” "
Actually, that seems to be true. Obama's vision for America is European style socialism at a time when Europe is trying to change because they have found it doesn't work very well economically.
Actually Roy, I'm living proof that the ARRA works (I am working because of the funding), plus I can point to places that it is helping people help themselves and providing Companies with real work, not handouts.
Real Life, not media spun propaganda...
Yep, ARRA is doing great work. Anyone who bids ARRA work can attest that it definitely throws money around. If you aren't familiar with construction, typically federal projects require a "prevailing wage rate" be paid on to employees who work on these projects. The rate is supposedly the typical wage paid to an employee in a given region. Funny thing, though. The wage rates under ARRA are HUGE compared to similar state funded projects. SO, that said, in order to complete a project under ARRA, citizens are paying huge amounts in wages with no real return. But it sure feels good.
Portion of speech given by Newt Gingrinch two months ago:
(1) “I am convinced that if we do not decisively win the struggle over the nature of America, by the time [my grandchildren are] my age they will be in a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists and with no understanding of what it once meant to be an American.” [Address to Cornerstone Church in Texas, March 2011]
So essentially, Newt is saying that all liberals are atheist socialists who will destroy the version of America worshiped by the rich White Southerners that elected him in the first place, with not a care in the world that 60% of the American electorate voted for the Democrats following the debacle that GW's Presidency was.
Perhaps it is possible that a majority of Americans do not share Newt's narrow vision for an ultra-conservative and God-fearing country? And if not, should Newt's followers wage Civil War on the rest of us, in order to try to drive the majority of us heathen Americans into the sea? It is my opinion that Newt's vision for America is dangerously out-of-touch.
America was founded to have freedom of religion, as well as freedom from religion if we so choose too. A belief system that does not include a fear for a conservative version of God does not make anyone un-American, nor does a belief system based on Islam or Buddhism either. Frankly, the vision for America that Newt so strongly believes should be our only patriotic direction is exclusionary and wealthy White-centric at best.
Roy Wilson -
You have absolutely no idea of what President Obama believes. You should stop pretending that you do, as your posts are "idiotic". Oops, I forgot you maybe a "psychic" and can see into peoples minds.
Your posts make me and other Lefties laugh - ROFLMAO
The thing that caught my eye was the fact that Mr. Gingrich has to disprove the "racist" charge. The same charge was levied at Donald Trump and now that he's not running, Gingrich receives the charge. What baloney....will every single Republican candidate also have to prove he or she is not "racist" too ???
Having to disprove that one is not racist is like having to disprove that a man doesn't beat his wife...the damage is done before one even tries.
This is cheap politics at the maximum by media figures who are supposed to be unbiased. More of the racist tag are now pinned on Mr. Trump and Mr. Gingrich than was ever pinned on Sen Ernest Hollings ...and he was a member of the Klan.
Cry us all a river Tony.
What a clever response !
I stand corrected ...the Democrat Klansman was Sen. Robert Byrd...not Ernest Hollings.
I don't want to be accused of trying to put a "racist" label on someone who doesn't deserve it.....unlike some on this site.
Dear Conservatives,
The only history you seem to pay attention to is election history. But the variables are unique this time. Of course conservatives will vote for a baby-killer if that's all they have, but even with a poor economy (which was caused by Republicans), Independents and Democrats are not going to vote for what we see in the GOP/TP field at this time. Republicans just don't have a quality front-runner. It's so poor in fact that many conservatives may stay home.
Also, Democrats are prepared for old tactics, like Swift Boating, and so is the media (who was absent during the rush to invade Iraq, and hopefully learned a lesson from not doing their job). Democrats as well as establishment Republicans are prepared for Tea Party tactics, and Tea Party numbers have already dropped dramatically (especially after Ryan Hood presented his arse-backward plan to rob from the poor and give to the rich).
Newt Gingrich was good at crunching numbers, but that's about it. Conservatives claim Glenn Beck is so smart too, based on what? His impressive academic background? Ha! Likewise with Newt--he is a legend in his own mind. Sarah Palin did pretty good in a debate, parroting talking points and looking at notes on the palm of her hand, but everyone knew she was lacking in true knowledge. Newt could do well in debates, but we would all still know that he is NOT presidential material. It's like the saying: "I may be drunk, but in the morning you'll still be ugly."
So harp all you want about unemployment or gas prices or foreclosures, it won't matter--the GOP/TP doesn't have a quality candidate or a credible platform and record to run on.
Gingrich is a perfect example of what is wrong with the right. They are slimy evil parasites not fit to walk the earth. Can we call "The Orkin Man" and have them all exterminated?
Newt has been preaching from a soapbox about family values in order to curry favor with the right wing of his party. He claims to be a defender of traditional marriage, an institution he has never treated with respect. It is sheer hypocrisy on his part,especially  when President Obama has had one marriage and a model family and has lived an exemplary life.Â
I agree with your comments on Newt. I agree with your comment that Obama has had one marriage. The exemplary life thing, not washing so well with me. I just keep remembering a lot of promises he made while campaigning that haven't been fulfilled. So the republicans tied his hands, you might want to say. Any true leader would be able to overcome such obstacles and proceed for the benefit of his country. I just don't see that happening with either/any party right now. What I do see is a bunch of lying thieves, working at our expense to fulfill their wants and needs. I feel it necessary to say that I see that in all sides/corners of politics and it makes me terribly sad.
Actually the Newtster does have a 'traditional marriage' among his ilk : Haggard, Ensign, Guiliani, Sanford, Vitter, Craig, Hyde, Thurmond, Shrock, L. Schlessinger. . .ad infinitum
yes the family values party. if they didn't have such hypocrisy people would'nt say a word, but' it's their judging of others that infuriate the masses.
you will NEVER hear the president say anything about these people's lack of morals.
Fig Newton is such a joke, Gingrich said the nation is at a crossroads and that the re-election of Democratic President Barack Obama would lead to four more years of "radical left-wing values" that would drive the nation to ruin. Are you kidding me? Obama is so freakin straight down the middle, he's like a bowling ball, he strikes out everytime. Fig Newton stick to what you know; instead of running for President in 2012, why dont you spend that time looking for your 4th baby mama! :-}
Feisty
Nice line up of Newt-onian talking points. The man is a walking talking definition of "Hubris".
You libbies just can't reconcile the reality that less than perfect people can live productive worthwhile lives.
Newt is a personal screw up. He is a genius of a politician. I don't think he is electable, but that's really too bad, since the Dems have always been comfortable with serial cheaters like Bill Clinton, Kennedy, etc... and serial liars like Nancy and Harry.
You see, family values are not a party-affiliation - democrats also believe in them. And when your clowns turn into filthy vermin like the examples above, you folks simply don't care.
The good news is that your lack of morality is rubbing off, which just might mean Newt wins after all.
Wow you are a revisionist. You forgot about that whole Monica thing didn't you and impeachment, Newt was a big part of that? I don't mind less than perfect people. I hate hypocritical liars and don't think they have a place in our government. I don't care that he's less than perfect, I care that he distracted our nation from what was important to push his own partisan agenda.
As far as morality, you need to get your own house in order before you criticize everyone else.
True that, stally and add to it Newt's predisposition to lying, hating, judging, claiming moral, ethical and ethnic superiority, double-standards, less than stellar performances in prior elections (getting no more than 10% of his own party hardliners votes), and the list goes on and on. He's simply unelectable as history as proved time and time again.
If not for Newt's self-declaration of a lifetime membership in The Holier Than Thou and Moral Majority Clubs, he would not be viewed in such a negative light. He brought it upon himself to do the dastardly, cowardly things he did AND he is reaping what he has sown. Christians understand that while forgiveness is something we all should freely give in our day to day lives, the consequences of the sin aren't promised to just go away, right? It's like the whole pro-life movement. You pick the sin of abortion and label it as "unforgivable" yet you simply don't consider your own sins like fornication, adultery, sex outside of marriage, lust, etc. as being "unforgivable" because it didn't result in a pregnancy and WHEW. . thank GOD for that! All is conveniently forgiven and FORGOTTEN. It's called Selective Morality, and it's a big fat lie. Morality can neither be legislated nor dictated. We are all Free Moral Agents walking this planet. But for those of you who DEMAND we attempt to legislate it, get your own political & spiritual house in order first, and then, maybe, someone will give you the time of day. Just walk your talk or, at least, HUMOR us. :-)
He said he asked God for forgivness. Wondering if he asked his second wife and all the people he hurt. It's the John Ensign holier than thou hypocrites that really annoy me. Forgive me...I've found God...and yes, I am running forPresident.
Newt has admitted to his mistakes . Of course Bill Clinton, John Edwards, and Gary Hart had affairs (oops I meant had mistakes too) and one of them even lied to Congress and is a disbarred lawyer , but hey its ok to be a liar and a cheat if your a lib right? I do not remember Newt being a member of the KKK, unlike Robert Byrd ,a Demopcrat (oops , that was a mistake too ).Neither party has any more morals than the other , and to think your favorite party does , is to show ignorance .
bill-765872
That sounds good on paper...
Until you realize this guy went after another guy for doing the same thing he was doing. Not just that, but ran on moral values, was elected because of his moral standing, and wizzed in the face of the christian voters.
I do not disagree, I am just pointing out that many in BOTH parties are dishonest about their personal and political lives daily. Republican, Democrat, ---different spelling(same liars and cheats) for many (not all )crooks in Congress and the Whitehouse.
And I was pointing out that Mr. Gingrich went a step further. He is also a hypocrit.
A mistake is something you do once. When you continue to do it again and again it's called your "lifestyle."
Bill - and Newt went after Clinton for his "mistake" all the while cheating on his wife. Plus, the media and both parties hounded Edwards who is not running for anything. Newt doesn't get a pass just because he represents the GOP. His family "values" are a joke - a very bad joke.
How about the lot of you get out of the sandbox and debate real issues, not the impeachment of Clinton. He was impeached for lying to Congress about his affairs, not for the act of them. The argument of "well he can't judge because he was wrong too" is the political equivalent of "are not! are to!" It's useless banter from people, who I suspect have had far greater follies than those mentioned about Gingrich's or Obama's "personal integrity", who want to argue very insignificant point because ARGUING MAKES THEM FEEL EMPOWERED. It's alot easier to debate BS than it is to solve real problems, grow up people and start working with people you don't like - that's what grown-ups have to do. Only children work with and solely agree with people they like, a true man or woman can admit when they're wrong or even when they're not sure that they're right. No one is perfect and politicians will always lie and cheat, but we as a people need to learn more humility and open-mindedness in our so-called political discourse.
Old Newt had a double standard......That is the problem... Newt wanted No one else to be excused for their mistakes, But Newt wants to be excused for his......Thanks for rolling the tapes Fiesty. The wing nuts must be out since I see they voted so much they put you on ignore......on some sighs they release a trojan....didn't work on my computer, how about yours. Any thing to shut us up......I'm marching in Obamas "Army"
Newt -- your yesterday's news and nothing more than a gasbag with an over inflated ego who was booted out of office by your own party way back in 1998.  The vast majority of the American people rejected you years ago. Your presidential campaign is going nowhere.Â
Gosh, I hope so.
Charlie,
Easy for you to blast Gingrich as a gasbag, isn't it? Takes one to know one? You and everyone needs to start arguing the issues. We need to elect someone to lead, so you need to start talking about their ideas and ability to lead. And for you to just say he is a racist doesn't make it so. It's too easy to dismiss anyone who challenges Obama as a racist, but it's a ridiculous argument, and those who try to use it are making it obvious that they do not know the issues.
Mari, Newt convicts himself as a racist, based on his words he has publicly spoken. Read up, and be enlightened.
"It's too easy to dismiss anyone who challenges Obama as a racist,"
I said NOTHING abut race. I said Newt is a gasbag and I'll stick by that. He doesn't discuss issues. He makes up non issues such as this is the most important election since the civil war or Susan Smith's murdering her children was due to immorality practiced by liberals. (Ignoring the fact that he was boinking his secretary at the time) Again -- Newt is yesterday's news. He was tossed out of office by his own people 13 years ago.
No where in his statement do I see the word racist! Mari, you sure you don't want to vote for healthcare reform. Might cover some glasses for you.
I immediately refuse to believe anyone once they scream the "race" card. I live in down town Detroit and served in our military under NATO command and I know racism when it rears its ugly head! I get tired of people pulling the "card" out early and often..... MICHELLE!
Sheesh. . calm down, Not So Jolly Anymore! Your view of racism is your view, be it ever so finite. Just because YOU don't see racism as being a factor or "rearing its ugly head" doesn't mean it isn't "rearing it's ugly head." What you choose to see and believe is NOT representative of what I choose to see and believe. I see and I believe that America is full of racists and I cannot be convinced otherwise. I see and believe that President Obama is under constant attack by the politicians and political pundits using overtly racists terminology and nick names. It's not even remotely veiled. . .it is out there in the open for everyone to hear and see, and it's as plain as the noses on our faces. But, HEY! Don't stop believing in your own paradigms, Dawg! Just keep your head buried in that hole in the sand and everything will just be peachy keen! NEXT!
"I get tired of people pulling the "card" out early and often."
The STOP pulling out the race card yourself. Believe me -- the least of Newt's problems is race. How about hypocrisy, his temper, his nastiness, his big yap, his off the wall comments, his history, his lack of accomplishments, his off the chart negatives --- it's a LONG list.
Charlie-1915998
The STOP pulling out the race card yourself. Believe me -- the least of Newt's problems is race. How about hypocrisy, his temper, his nastiness, his big yap, his off the wall comments, his history, his lack of accomplishments, his off the chart negatives --- it's a LONG list.
I find it psychotic Newti makes racists statement in addition to doing document racist things.
Like I said before and I repeat...
Newt Gingrich has a history of bigoted remarks.
Gingrich compares Islamic center to Nazis erecting a sign near Holocaust Museum and to a Japanese site near Pearl Harbor.
Bilingual education teaches "the language of living in a ghetto
Gingrich smears Sotomayor as a "racist."
Poor blacks fail to acquire wealth partly because of their "habits.
Women would have trouble staying in ditches "because they get infections;" "males are biologically driven to go out and hunt giraffes."
Gingrich proposes denying welfare benefits to young mothers and instead using funds to establish orphanages.
"[T]here is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us.
It's time to "profile" and "actively discriminate based on suspicious terrorist information.
http://mediamatters.org/research/201009130054
Should I say Newt is not racist. He just says racist things?
Gingrich said he was ready to roll. When he threw his hat in the ring it was full of condoms.
Red White & Blue no doubt!
You know how they LOVE to wrap themselves up in the flag! ;o)
asknreceive1- You hit the nail on the head! This country was built from the foundation up on racism, and nothing has changed. Elite, white, republicans are not in touch with what America needs.
Yeah, everyone's a racist except for you.
I can't wait for 2012 - it's gonna be a hoot!
Paul, it's not going to be a hoot, it's going to be a full on beat down of epic proportions, for the Republicans, that is. If the musings of Karl Rove fail to fully resonate with the people on the right side of the aisle, I'm not sure they're even conscious at this point. Karl is doing his part to thin the herd of Republican candidates, and he's a Republican who should be throwing everything he has, including his bulbous arse, at it and embracing anyone who is electable and spewing forth Rove's own frothing at the mouth vitriol like The Donald, for instance. The Donald spouts off on the exact same note as Ole Karl, yet Ole Karl doesn't like The Donald for some odd reason. I would surmise that something more important than the well being of America is on Ole Karl's mind. . .his CAREER and that all too elusive spotlight is much to precious to share with anyone, ESPECIALLY someone like The Donald. Let The Donald get his OWN spotlight. Oh wait! He's OWNS his own spotlight. My bad!
It is unfortunate that there will be no match this time around. . .just a TKO. Well, they say Karma is a !@#$ and, clearly, Karma is coming back around for the 2000 POTUS election which was stolen in plain sight. Don't get mad at me. . take it up with the Universe. . .it's HER rule, ya know.
Paul, why do you keep playing the reverse racism card? Do you not understand the issues, or are you just too afraid to debate without a right-wing rhetorical net?
The Republicans are the most racist party to ever govern this country. But we are all sick of listening to the conservative Christian Hypocritical talking points. If they came right out and said what they were about, no one would vote for them. As long as the end justifies the means the Republicans will greet you with a smile.
Another Presidental candidate who will bite the dust in the not too distant future. Just like Donald Trump the carnival barker.
Newt is just another politician marketing himself for the bigots and idiots amongst us. Thats right Newt, tell em what they want to hear.
While I do not necessarily agree the food stamp statement was racist since poverty knows no color - nor does being a bum and Im a liberal dem.
I do think the rest of his statements were laughable - especially about his marital affairs.
..and since the majority of people receiving food stamps are white.
You know Mike it is not that Newt had several affairs, or that those affairs eventually resulted in several marriages going bust, Ronald Reagan was in his second marriage and people loved him, it is the complete disconnect he has between what his views(which are mostly hateful/judgemental) and his personal life . He does not practice what he preaches. Him having several affairs and him being the driving force behind the impeachment of President Clinton when he was actively involved in the same thing as Clinton. He also left the speakers position under the most shadiest conditions. The complete lack of understanding at what the American people want(remember contract with America debacle?) is a pretty uniform problem with the Republicans, a total misread of the November elections and the constant harranging of personal social issues that the American people find offensive will make any Republican candidate a laughing stock to independents and dems who's support is needed by the Republicans to get to the white house. That is why so many Reps have not announced and one of the reasons why I think huckabee dropped out.
and since the majority of people receiving food stamps are white.
And southern.
Leave it to Newt to call Islam Athiests. The right-wing patriots will probably tell me that it was a tactic to convince me to believe he was racist so he coud get at Ghaddafi.
How would his islamic views help him in the Middle East quagmire?
Joe - you oversimplify. Clinton was having sex on the job, in the oval office, with staff. This is a very specific thing, which in private industry would more than likely produce a job loss, especially with a top executive.
Newt is like the majority of men and women in America, in that he cheated on his wives. His personal life is much like many very powerful people - scummy. If you think this is going to sink him, think again.
If you actually listen and study what he says, he's right in the vast majority of issues. He does speak to issues.
What kills me is the lunatics who screech at the top of their lungs like 2nd graders, like any of us take them seriously. People like the red head. We get it. You're liberal, and are blind to discussion.
You aren't going to vote for any conservative, so your thoughts aren't relevant.
It is the vast majority that vote who matter - and many of these folks are over 50, and know the difference between childish rants and things that matter - like our economy.
Those in the middle matter most, and it looks like the empty suit is losing their vote slowly but surely.
Paul, but you apparently aren't aware (in which case get your facts straight) or are conveniently ignoring the fact that the first time Newt played around it was when he was in high school, with his high school teacher, seven years his senior. The next time he cheated was with one of his staffers when he was in the House of Representatives. To paraphrase your words, "Gingrich was having sex on the job, in the House, with staff. Can you spell H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E? Now do you get it?
Bah you don't get it Raven. Do as I say, not as I do! That's Newts Mantra.
The fact that Ol' Naughty Newtie was boinking little Callista- the 23-years-his-junior staffer- has apparently eluded you, eh?
Revisionist History is ALWAYS fun to learn, isn't it? Paul thinks he's good at it which makes it even more fun. Oh, DO share more irretrievably ignorant statements and faux-factoids with us, Grasshoppa Paul!
So, according to Paul, libs oversimplify the issues. Yet Paul doesn't debate the issues, he asserts dubious facts then barates anyone who disagrees with his perspective.
I say "dubious" because where exactly did you get your facts on infidelity in marriage, Paul? You say a majority of American men and women cheat...show me the data, dude.
You also state, Paul, that Gingrich's is right on a majority of issues. Which ones would that be; could you even name five isses Newt's supposedly right about? Can you name five issues that Newt's supposedly right about THAT HE DIDN'T REVERSE HIS POSITION ON OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS?
When you are capable enough to debate with the big kids you will be allowed to sit at the big kids' table. Till then, sit at the Fox News card table with all the other spoon-fed preemies, and let the grownups talk.
Let's give Paul a break. . after all he'll need some time to consult the latest edition of Cosmopolitan to gain access to the latest, greatest, rock solid, scientifically indisputable poll results on infidelity. It may not even be available until next month's issue! OH, THE IONY! LOL!
Have any national demographic data on the race, gender and age of food stamp recipient?
I just have to say, kudos to the make up/ lighting geniuses on Meet The Press who made Peggy Noonan look like a teenager this week! I loved the way the cameras caught the NYT's Mr Bai staring at her in disbelief, but I'm not sure if he was transfixed by her sudden youthfulness or the content of her comments.
Message to Newt: I don't care about anything other than what have you done for me in the past and so far, I see nothing. Get out of the game, just go away PLEASE! Oh, and take the rest of the pocket liners, both democrat and republican with you!
You can take Obummer with him. I don't see the transparency in government he promised. It took him over two years to start addressing the social issues. He is only now begining to "look into" the oil cost problems, Finally, after much pressure, he has reluctantly begun to allow for oil exploration. He needs to allow for domestic oil production now. His whole timing is strictly political - on time for his re-election. Where was he two years ago? Where was he last year when the prices for gasoline went up to record highs? The fact is that the timing wasn't right to use the re-election campaign as a motivation and attention getter. He's just another typical politician. So we've had our fill of Obummer. Gingrich may have better ideas and the influence to get the job done where Obummer has failed to produce.
Well George, at least he is getting to it. Unlike Newt's empty promises which were never addressed. I haven't had my fill of Obama, not when the alternatives are so much worse.
The presidency is a choice between bad or worse. One decides which one they can tolerate the most. So far, every republican potential candidate is worse. The current president has enacted more legislation that addresses main street issues than any other president prior. At least I can stop sweating bank molestations and health insurance robbery now.
Washington Post fact-checker gave Newt 4 Pinocchios for his roll-out video; Politifact gave it a "false". Typical Newt.
There are indeed many reasons that I don't like Newt, but the one thing that he did in which I will never trust nor respect him as a man was when he talked to his third wife about getting a divorce while she was in the hospital being treated for cancer. This is despicable!
If I am not mistaken, Gingrich served his FIRST wife with divorce papers while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery. He served his SECOND wife with divorce papers shortly after she was diagnosed with MS. He is a BUZZARD.
He has his work cut out for him to get the women's vote!!
Newt The Grinch isn't getting this woman's vote, and it's not just because he is a walking billboard for amoral behavior. He is a hypocrite, a liar, a failure, a double-standard kinda guy, and a complete joke in the political arena. He cannot make a single sound argument or statement, for that matter, and he is so far off base with respect to the issues facing this country that is is downright disturbing. He's talking "food stamps" when we're in the midst of a "recession" (yeah, let's call it that) that rivals The Great Depression? Are you freakin' KIDDING ME? Yeah. . . I'm SO sure all those people living below the poverty line and who are now jobless, homeless, car-less and sick dearly LOVE their new lifestyles, Newt. Yep, I'm SO not buying into that load of bat guano What a MORON and a self-righteous one at that!
By all means, never let the facts get in the way of your slander
http://www.creators.com/conservative/jackie-gingrich-cushman/setting-the-record-straight.html
Any of you "born again" liberals ever hear of the eighth commandment?
So, who should people believe- a woman who had an affair with her high school student that ended in their marriage- and divorce-
Or the child of that marriage who was 13 years old at the time, presumeably loves her mother, and has an excellent memory of the time?
I am not thinking 'c'- whatever liberals sling out.
Whatmis absolutely, crystal clear to me is that you are terrified of what Gingrich will say on the campaign trail. He will bring up unemployment, the debt, inflation, and a foreign policy that is a disaster with the notable exception that even Obama is not dumb enough not to give the order to take out bin Laden.
Seems to me that with milk at $6 a gallon, and gas at $4 a gallon, people are going to be a little more interested in Gingrich's solutions, and less in Obama- even though Obama is given to taking lots of trips with the wife, mom in law, and daughters.
Those nice family vacations cost the taxpayers a bundle, and we are pretty sick and tired of paying for them.
There was a pretty interesting poll taken just before the mid terms- seems that, given a choice between a politician who supported a voter's social values, and one who supported that same voter's fiscal values, fiscal values won, hands down, every time.
Goes. a long way toward explaining the historic, unprecedented, outcome of the mid terms.
Also spells doom for Obama's re election chances.
no joe, no bo, nj
By all means, never let the facts get in the way of your slander
Any of you "born again" liberals ever hear of the eighth commandment?
Oh my freaking Gawd
Is this woman trying to come out of the darkness into the light?
Goes. a long way toward explaining the historic, unprecedented, outcome of the mid terms.
Also spells doom for Obama's re election chances.
No Jo, I believe you got religions confused Newt is a Catholic Convert not a Mayan. Humanity is not coming to doom in this May 2012, Obama got Bid laden. Remember, of course, with out Bush's help.
Speaking of bad times, how many people in Newt's audience do think are are on food stamps?
Since they are mostly ole and pale I'd say mostly all of them.
What's your point other than the Obama's are the epitome of a loving, nurturing family?
On second thought, given the field of flawed serial adulterers, I can totally understand your envy! ;o)
Quite the enigma, ain't IT! LMFAO
no jo-- Shrub (that is a little Bush) took many a trip. Did HE pay for them? NO he didn't pay for them without our money being in his wallet. He took his wife with him-- his kids were older than President Obama's two kids so they didn't need to travel with mommy dearest and daddy. Or should President Obama left the kids "home alone"? Oh that's right, her mother was living with them-- so make the kids and Mama stay home? His kids are learning about the world and learning how to respect others-- not getting drunk at some bar in Austin, TX.
And no joe, no bo, nj what would Newt bring up lies half truths and spin. Take your unAmerican self and move to a nice dictator run state I think you would like it.
So we are still in the midst of the worst recession in decades and 17% of Americans are on food stamps, AND Obama saved us and the economy is looking good?
You little libbies crack me up - you may however want to pick one of these outcomes as campaign time is creeping up, and he is either going to save us from this terrible time or he already has.
The FACT is you know the economy is not roaring back, because there is nothing to cause this to happen. So you are stuck with stagnation. Housing is still falling, there are too many fake dollars in the economy driving a false economy in the stock market, the only jobs being created are government and minimum wage, and millions are out of work with no prospects.
Big O will have nearly doubled the debt in 4 years, so by the time the election rolls around, he will have the biggest pile of debt ever, the biggest annual deficit ever, and no solutions. Yeah, let's all vote for him.
Rediculous statement at best. If the president failed to take his family anywhere, you'd be harping about what a lousy father he is. You know good and well that whatever the president does, conservatives would infatically denounce. If he walked on water, conservatives would say he was afraid to get wet.
So, G.W. spending a few years out of his 8 on vacation is o.k. in your book?
Q: Why can George W Bush run for a third term as
president?
A: Because the Supreme Court said if you count his vacation time, he's barely
served one."
what a dumb ass comment MJL-3. Do you realize that BHO has golfed more than the last 4 presidents in total in the past two years. Between all his vactions, bringing rappers to the WH, all you can do is come up with this and base GWB? You libs are so bias it's pathetic.
I can't believe you went THERE dumbass!
You're entitled to your own opinion but, not you're own facts!
In the meantime, you might want to watch who you call pathetic! lol
Then there's the Weeper of the House PAC spending 83K...
GB-497162
what a dumb ass comment MJL-3. Do you realize that BHO has golfed more than the last 4 presidents in total in the past two years. Between all his vactions, bringing rappers to the WH, all you can do is come up with this and base GWB? You libs are so bias it's pathetic
Actually you are WRONG, Bush took more vaccations than most other Presidents, try looking it up before you INSULT people.
GB-487162
FACT:
George W. Bush took 977 days of vacation while he was in office. He took 96 days off his first 18 months
Now YOU owe ME an appology.
www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-suzanne...would-like-you-to-know-bush-vacationed-more-than-obama
GB-487162
Read slowly and absorb the information
While the president of the United States is never completely on vacation,
most commanders-in-chief manage to enjoy a respite from the daily grind
during their stay the White House. George W. Bush seems to have taken this to
the extreme early in his tenure as president. A humorous, fake resume for Bush
suggests that he set the record for most days on vacation by any president in
U.S. history -- a bit of an
exaggeration, but still cause for some teasing.
According to an August 2003
article in the Washington Post, President Bush has spent all or part
of 166 days during his presidency at his Crawford, Texas, ranch or en route. Add the time
spent at or en route to the presidential retreat of Camp David and at the Bush family estate in Kennebunkport, Maine, and Bush has taken 250
days off as of August 2003. That's 27% of his presidency spent on
vacation. Although to be fair, much of this time is classified as a
"working vacation."
Bush isn't the first president to get away
from his work. George Bush Sr. took all or part of 543 vacation days at Camp David and in Kennebunkport. Ronald Reagan spent 335 days at
or en route to his Santa Barbara, California, ranch during his eight years in
office. Of recent presidents, Jimmy Carter took the least days off -- only 79
days, which he usually spent at his home in Georgia. That's less than three weeks a
year, which is closer to the average American's paid time off of 13 days
per year.
What about Clinton? As of December 1999, President
Bill Clinton had spent only 152
days on holiday during his two terms, according to CBS News. A former staffer noted Clinton was such a workaholic that "it
almost killed Clinton to take one-week vacations during
August." In 2000, Clinton cut his summer vacation short to
just three
days, so he and his wife could concentrate on her Senate race and
fundraising for Democrats. While we couldn't find the exact tally for Clinton's last year in office, it's
reasonable to expect he didn't increase his vacation rate. And in barely three
years in office, George W. Bush has already taken more vacation than Clinton did in seven years.
166
250
416 total
Bush on track to become the
vacation president," Julie Mason headlined in the August 9, 2007, edition
of the Houston Chronicle:[1]
"On Thursday, Bush left for a weekend in Kennebunkport, Maine, and his
family's summer compound, Walker's
Point. On Monday, he heads to his Crawford retreat, where he has spent all or
part of 418 days of his presidency, according to Mark Knoller, a CBS News White
House correspondent and meticulous record-keeper.
"...The presidential vacation-time record holder is the late Ronald Reagan, who tallied 436 days in his two terms. At 418 days, and with 17 months to go in
his presidency, Bush is going to beat that easily."
"I guess you could look at
it this way -- the more he's on vacation, the less damage he can do to the
country," Pam Spaulding wrote August 12, 2007.[2]
August
2006
"Bush has spent more than a year of his presidency" at his ranch in
Crawford, Texas. On August 19, 2005, "he
broke Ronald Reagan's record of 335 days for America's most
vacationed president and went on to take the longest presidential vacation in
36 years," Dale McFeatters wrote August 8, 2006, in a
ScrippsNews editorial.
"Everyone deserves a
vacation. I myself took two weeks off in July," Ann Sullivan wrote
August 10, 2006, in The Ithica Journal. "Still, there is a time and
place for everything. George Bush is
spending at least 10 days in Crawford, clearing brush and riding his bike while
the Middle East is in flames and American service men struggle to quell a civil war in Iraq. Even Tony
Blair postponed his August vacation to work for a settlement in the Middle
East. What kind of a dilettante do we have (when he chooses to be) in the White
House?"
President Obama has spent all or part
of 26 days "on vacation" during his first year as president,
according to CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller.
Knoller, who has
covered every president since Gerald Ford and is known for keeping detailed
records on presidential travel, counts
the following among President Obama’s "vacations" in 2009:
holiday weekend in Chicago in February where the president played some
basketball and treated First Lady Michelle Obama to a Valentine’s Day
dinner date.
family at a rented house on
Martha’s Vineyard in August.
out west to the U.S.
states of Montana, Wyoming,
Colorado and Arizona
that combined both business and pleasure. The president held town hall
meetings on health care during the trip. And he went fly fishing and took
trips to Yellowstone National
Park and the Grand Canyon
with his wife and two daughters.
stay in Hawaii where the president and his family celebrated Christmas
and New Year’s Eve.
Some of the president’s recent predecessors, however, have spent more days —
either entirely or partially — away from the White House "on
vacation" during their first year in office.
President Reagan, in 1981, spent
all or part of 42 days away from the White House "on
vacation" at his home in Santa Barbara, Calif,
according to Knoller. President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, also spent three or
four days around New Year’s Day each year in Palm Springs,
Calif., at the home of philanthropist
Walter Annenberg. (In 1993 the late Mr. Annenberg founded the nonpartisan Annenberg
Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, which is
FactCheck.org’s parent organization.)
President George W. Bush spent even
more time away from the presidential mansion in the nation’s capital than
Reagan. Of the 77 total
"vacation" trips the former president made to his Texas ranch while
in office, nine of them — all
or part of 69 days — came during his first year as president in 2001,
according to Knoller.
Bush’s father, President George H.W. Bush, spent less time "on
vacation" during his first year than his son, but spent more days than
President Obama. According to travel records provided to FactCheck.org by the
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, the former president took six
trips — spanning all or part of 40 days — to the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport,
Maine, in 1989. The archivist at Bush’s
presidential library told us she didn’t have a list of all vacations but did
have the Kennebunkport visits.
But at least two recent presidents — by Knoller’s count — took less
"vacation" time during their first year than President Obama —
Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
According to Knoller, Carter spent
just 19 days "on vacation" in 1977. Most of that time, Knoller
says, the former president spent at his home in Plains, Ga. President Clinton
took all or part of 174 days of vacation during his eight years as president —
most of that "vacation" time was during the summer, according to
Knoller. But Knoller says Clinton
only took 21 "vacation" days during his first year.
It’s worth mentioning that President
Obama has also made 11 trips — all or part of 27 days — to Camp David, the
presidential retreat in Frederick County, Md. Knoller, however, says he doesn’t
count trips to Camp David as part of any presidents’
"vacation" time. But for the
sake of comparison, President George W. Bush, made more trips to that country
residence than Obama. According to Knoller, Bush made 25 trips — a
total of 78 days — to Camp
David in 2001.
But no matter how much time a president actually spends away from the
official residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,
Knoller says that the commander in chief is never really off the clock. "I
have long held the view that a US
president is never really on vacation," Knoller told FactCheck.org in an
e-mail. "The job – and its awesome powers and responsibilities – is his wherever
he is and whatever he’s doing."
Can't believe the efforts put into presidential travel and vacation time, in a thread about Newt Gingrich's candidacy.
When there's an article on the MSN site about "presidential travel and vacation time"....Newsvine may simply explode from writer input.
Typical religious fake conservative HYPOCRITE. Does the GOP produce anything but hypocrites. Ensign, Suder, Vitter, Jim West, Bob Livingston, SC governer, whatever that freaks name was, republican Floridan congressman who solicited pages, whatever that freaks name is. As I always say to my republican friends, democrats commit adultery and pedophelia and corruption just like Repub. Big difference is that they don't preach the holier than thou BS. You religious conservatives have lost me the party you guys are the worst hypocrites I have experienced in my lifetime with the possible exception of calling Islam a religion of peace. Newt, give me some truth, you're incapable
So you're saying he's the perfect liberal?
If democrat especially Obama did A B & C, right wingers (not soccer players) would cry, complain, turn it into a negative and blame. A republican then does the same things, twice as bad, then right wingers see nothing wrong with it.
The entire recession recovery debacle is most reminiscent of when, in 1937, the conservatives (both GOP and Democrats) banded together to circumvent FDR's New Deal; stopping food programs for the starving and work programs for the unemployed, as they felt that it was simply too much of a stretch for the gov't to help individuals as opposed to aiding large corporations. If not for the 'fortuitous' advent of WWII, our then-fragile and not-yet-recovered economy may very well have been tanked by individuals pushing their own self-interest fueled agendas of business first and citizens last as they had managed to convince a goodly percentage of the voting public that the gov't had done all that it should, private enterprise needed more of our tax money to finish the job 'correctly' and that all of those who were still in need somehow deserved their desperate plight. Does this sound familiar to anyone? It should, since those who do not learn from history are certainly doomed to repeat it- apparently endlessly.
Good stuff, QuiteContrary. I'm going to have to share your comments with a few others who "know everything already." Thanks!
The Right Wing has always been complicit in the lying of their candidatges, because they are racist and anybody white is better than an honest decent intelligent black. Is that news to anybody who has a brain? All lying cheating Republican husbands when caught make a call to God to save them...that is all it takes for these Bullcrappy folks to get their get out of jail card. Druggie Beck smoking weed for 14 years decides to get a life and goes conservative to ease the pain of reentry. Cause conservatives will forgive an errant white boy anything as long as he uses the word GOD as his remedy for salvation. Racism pure and simple... is and has always been...ask Strom Thurmond.
Not news to me, anghiari. As an African-American who came of age during the late 60's/early 70's, I remember an expression we often heard. "If you're white, you must be all right; if you're black, step back; if you're brown, don't stick around". How elso do you explain why President Obama was the first President forced (long after the vetting process that determined his eligibility to run for president) to produce a long-form birth certificate to prove he was a natural-born American. I may be wrong or my memory short but I don't remember any white president being harrased into producing the long form of his birth certificate? Only the black one was forced "to show his papers". Even the man President Obama ran against, John McCain, was not forced to show his long-form birth certificate and he was born in the Panama Canal Zone. But...I know...he's white...so he must be all right.
Secondly, I can't be the only person who cringes everytime I hear the Right Wingers demand that we refer back to the intentions of our "founding fathers' when interpreting the Constitution. If you are white and don't own property, you should be afraid; if you're a woman, you should be afraid; if you are a minority, you should really be afraid; if you are between the ages of 18-21, you should be afraid. Even though our founding fathers talked a good game about "all men being created equal', "one man, one vote", "no taxation without representation", none of the above groups were granted voting rights or allowed to participate in the political process when the Constitution was ratified in June 1788. So, when I hear talk of going back to the "good ole days", I can't help but cringe. I know that the "good ole days" were only good for the "good ole boys" or white men who owned property and paid taxes.
A scary guy in sheeps clothing. He may talk conservative but he's all about the bigger government and his personal moral compass is too far off for my comfort.
cshells - you mean he HAS a moral compass????
It is sheer hypocrisy for Newt Gingrich to pontificate about family values and the sanctity of marriage. President Obama is living the American dream. He and Michelle have created a model family, and the President should be praised as a role model and Newt should be ashamed of himself,
Amen!!
ps "Freedomman... Hate much?
Only the haters. Like Newts bible says, an eye for an eye. Cshells, believe it or not I was a loyal New England repub before the party became southernized and all the holier than thou's jumped aboard. It was a party that truly wanted limited government, not only in your fiscal life but also your persoanl life. True conservatives, Eisenhower, Goldwater, Gary Johnson, William F. Buckley were never interested in your religion or anything else about your private affairs. As the Freedoman says, hate much? Only hate people that want to limit my freedom like the current crop of fake republican false conservatives. It ain't only limited regulations, it's limited government in your entire life. Probably too much freedom for you Cshells
you had me until you started slamming me (lol) I'm trying to show people that there are no 2 parties and the us vs them is not Dem and Rep, it's the American people vs the government.
You might get farther educating others if you let your bitterness go and focus on the issues. 1. All politicians are corrupt. 2. All large companies are corrupt. 3. All lobbyists are corrupt. but the most important... 4. We as Americans need to figure out if we're a Republic or a socialist country. As long as we war among ourselves we're vulnerable to media sound bites and non-issues :)
Didn't mean to slam you, misunderstood. But a socialist country, I think not. Bitterness I have to apologize for but the love of my country made me do it, (lol). White supremecy groups that hate Obama and his policies call themselves the national socialist movements. And these neo nazi's are the last people who would help the poor, yet they call themselves a socialist movement so what's in a name. True conservatives let the individual control his or her own destiny, free from government intrusion into their life. Liberals believe government should be an advocate on behalf of the individual, that the individual can't go it alone. He needs the help of government. Fake conservatives do the same thing. They want to use government as an advocate of the individual, they just want government to advocate on different issues than liberals. But they still want government to advocate. The latest repub contract with America advocated a return to traditional values. How do you suppose government will do that. Appoint a values Czar. Get rid of the department of energy but create the department of values. It's the same BS. We have to decide if we truly want to be a limited government nation and I don't believe the current crop of Repubs with the exception of Gary Johnson will fill that role
Like I said, I agree. My latest laugh was cali trying to decide if government was going to demand flat sheets or fitted sheets. lmao. Talk about micro-managing the little bits.
Newt, you and the GOP/TP candidates for 2012 really should give the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Report a good solid read.
Then, turn to the report of yesterday showing that the 10 states with soaring increases in food stamp usage are all "southern" "right to work" GOP/TP-led states.
Then, learn about racism in this country and its history so you stop trying to tie a multi-raci
al President who did not cause the financial crisis to food stamps, and start tying the all white governors in those 10 states, who are members of the GOP/TP that did cause the financial crisis, to food stamps.
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- 10:41pm
Jump to Report: The Commission concluded that "the crisis was avoidable and was caused by: Widespread failures in financial regulation, including the ...
en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Crisis_Inquiry_Commission - Cached - Similar
10 States That Rely The Most On Food Stamps: USDA
May 13, 2011 ... And use of food stamps still varies widely by state. ... Below are the ten states with the highest percentage of population using food ...
www.huffingtonpost.com/.../10-states-with-the-greatest-food-stamps_n_860233.html
Look, I'm no fan of Newt to say the least, but let's at least keep the rhetoric factual.
Your link is as busted as your statement, unless you consider Maine, West Virginia, New Mexico and Oregon "southern" right to work states.
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/141394/20110504/top-states-food-stamps.htm
Personally, I'm with most TP folks I have met so far, and believe the professional politicians on BOTH sides have become a patrician class, and cannot be trusted further than we can throw them (especially Newt).
http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/us_20th_century_chart.html
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Reality is staring us in the face, and all we seem to be good at is "picking sides" and throwing mud at the other.
Newt rally need to get somewhere and sit his old cheating azz down. I cannot get it out of my head how he cheated on his first wife and then cheated on the second wife. I figure his third wife just hasn't caught him, yet or is turning a blind eye to his actions. Newt, your actions speaks way louder than anything coming from that lying mouth. He should pull all of Cobb County votes, because they know if he did become Prez they would really hit the jackpot this time. Finally, if he told his wife it didn't matter what he did because he had something important to say...well, I'm still waiting.
Actually I saw Newt and his third wife at the White House correspondents Dinner....is she a Stepford Wife or what?....that searingly white blonde hair was a hairsprayed within an inch of its life. Absolutely no movement in the hairs on that head....said so much about her and THE NEWT...step back from the hair...
She's only in her mid 40"s too. instead of him having a young trophy wife it looks like she is trying to get her AARP card and be more like him. lol
Over my lifetime I have found that Racism requires the believer to be infused with an inferiority complex that demands that he/she find a way to feel “better about themselves”. Putting other people down to convince oneself that you are worth living is the root of all racism. If people would accept the fact that God simply did not make one person less than or better than another person and simply believe that they are “OK” racism would evaporate from the face of the earth. Most racist people ( black or white) I have encountered are the most intellectually insecure people I have ever laid eyes on. They seem to struggle with feelings of inferiority that would shock and awe the average person. That said: Newt Gingrich is one of the most blatant obvious racist this country has ever produced and allow a public platform. He may as well just put his sheet and stupid pointed cap on and join the rest of them on national TV!
dhampton1000, so true. It is also why Obama is hated so profoundly. It's a touch of the following. "How did this man of color suceed so much, when I am WHITE, with all the advantages and yet failed so miserably?"
dhampton1000, is that your way of stating your intellectual superiority over common folk or your claim of insecurity? Or are you making the claim that one person is no less than or better than one person in the eyes of God. I am not sure, help me to understand.
 None of the Gingrich comments posted appear biased or racist to me. His "secular socialist" blatherings are a bit offensive, as I adamantly support a definite seperation of church and state, making me a "secularist" I suppose, yet firmly believe in and trust the U.S. Constitution to be the only document needed to get this country back on track. So, does this make me a "secular democracist", Mr. Gingrich, or a "secular Constitutionalist", perhaps? I'll wear eithr title proudly, and abhore the republican party's attempts to tie a love of country to the belief of Christianity and insistence of it's intrusion into our government. Keep church and state seperate for the betterment of both, or do we not remember the religion infested empire we broke away from some 230 years ago?
It was the oppression and persecution, of the certain group called the "Pilgrims", that bravely broke away; so they could live their religion in peace without persecution by the Church of England/King of England.
Actually the group you refer were Puritans not Pilgrams. Google it.
Amazing how tea-birthers claim such an affinity for American history but know so little about it.
 None of the Gingrich comments posted appear biased or racist to me. His "secular socialist" blatherings are a bit offensive, as I adamantly support a definite seperation of church and state, making me a "secularist" I suppose, yet firmly believe in and trust the U.S. Constitution to be the only document needed to get this country back on track. So, does this make me a "secular democracist", Mr. Gingrich, or a "secular Constitutionalist", perhaps? I'll wear eithr title proudly, and abhore the republican party's attempts to tie a love of country to the belief of Christianity and insistence of it's intrusion into our government. Keep church and state seperate for the betterment of both, or do we not remember the religion infested empire we broke away from some 230 years ago?
newt's racism is encoded in his choice of words. Saying Obama wants all of america to be like "Detroit" was carefully chosen. It's dog-whistle racism and it's sickening and cowardly. This pig has no value to anyone except maybe that whore he calls a wife.
He disgust me! During the 90's he and Ensign both persecuted Bill Clinton for infidelity and at the same time Newt was having an affair, I'm assuming, with his present wife. Now take a look at Ensign and his disgrace. He's disgusting too!!! These people are the worst of the worst hypocrites I've ever seen!!!!!!!!!
I love these faux Christian neoconservatives. They basically just do whatever the hell they want, trumpeting religion and family values all the while, then when they get caught being naughty, they invoke "God" and "forgiveness" and call their serial transgressions "mistakes." What a load.
And here's a fun tidbit:
"We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto." -- Newt Gingrich, 2007
But no, he's not racist at all.
As far as morality, how do we explain him to our children?
you don't, just wait soon he will go the way of the other carnival barker.
if you want to show a young decent american family introduce your children to the first family of the united states of america.
I have no trouble explaining to children what a hypocrite is and that's the only issue here. Hypocrisy is what makes one homosexual ex-senator from Wyoming a loathsome outcast who can't hold his head up in public and another homosexual congressman from Massachusetts beloved and respected.
The problem with you right wing tea-birther family values bigots is that you never learned the meaning of, let alone the consequences of, HYPOCRISY.
So the hypocrite believes by "explaining his mistakes," he should be President. Here's a another hypocritical republican who was all over impeaching President Clinton because he had a little fun with a SINGLE woman, while this hypocrite was whore-mongering with married women, while he was married.
..and to mention the fact that he asked his wife for a divorce while she was trying to survive CANCER, in the HOSPITAL!
At least Hilary was healthy to DEFEND herself.... Newt is Not worthy of anything but a get out of town card!
Strider44
the government does not act in the people's interest it acts in its own, and so it must be eliminated...
=================================
Ahhhh, a real live Ron Paul Libertarian. Yep, do away with the Constitution and the Union and become a Confederation again...that failed miserably in the 1780's..., and perhaps even degenarate into anarchy. You know, for a man who who hates government, Ron Paul made a very nice living in Congress for 31 years and now his son has joined the family business. If you want to eliminate government why be part of the growing entity it"s become and one that you vote to keep and expand on a regular basis.. Why run for President of the Executive branch you want to eliminate. Have the states decide which remaining federal laws they chose to obey. You want the States to decide and perhaps move the country forward to 1755 or earlier. You sir are a fool.
Clinton had an affair with a SINGLE woman? You can't be serious.
As for Gingrich, when his story gets circulated nationally, he will leap over John Edwards as THE mosted hated politician in America. The man has no morals, ethics or character as many posters have already described. He has already proven he is a hypocrite and a liar. His comments on Fox when he was an analyst were borderline racist. He knows how to walk that fine line. He was fined $300,000 for ethics violations by the House Ethics Committee when he was Speaker, the first time in American history that has ever happened. There is NO enthusiansm for this guy. His rhetoric and policies are stuck in the 80"s and 90's and he has no vision to move America forward. If he has the audacity to run on values or character, that would be laughable. He says we can change America...it's his kind of change that scares the hell out most sane, clear thinking Americans.
Monica Lewinsky was an unmarried woman. Whatever President Clinton's peccadilloes, they are and remain the business of President Clinton and Hilary Clinton.
Those jokes are so last millennium.
Nobody here is defending Clinton or Edwards.....They made bad choise and they still have it on their record.....They have better since than to try and defend it as OK......In a position of authority, much like a parent....you have to set a good example at all times.
What if Barrack Obama had uttered these words? Or Reagan? The point is this is the most poignant and pertinent comment in the whole Newt bashing article. Something I would imagine most of us on this vine would agree with. So instead of finding a common theme that we Americans can rally behind, the typical left wing tripe is trotted out as something new when it is the same old attack, racism, too flawed, too whatever.
Many of you liberals in in for a rude awakening when our business as usual, Lazy Fair (intentionally misspelled) Society, continues to implode financially. Best of luck feeding yourselves when the welfare state dies.
He may be Newton, but he ain't Isaac.
More like Fig
Trufax.
It's hard to remember a weaker field of candidates for president from the Republican party.