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Subscribe to RSSAt Thursday's debate Newt Gingrich slammed the news media for focusing on accusations by his ex-wife that he requested an "open marriage." NBC's Peter Alexander reports.
Newt Gingrich opened a pivotal Republican presidential debate with a fiery attack on the media for publishing stories regarding new allegations made against him by an ex-wife.
Gingrich assailed, in no uncertain terms, CNN moderator John King for opening the debate by asking Gingrich to answer allegations made by his ex-wife, Marianne, in an interview with ABC News, saying the then-speaker of the House asked to engage in an "open marriage," or else he would file for divorce.
"I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate with a topic like that," Gingrich said, earning wild applause from the audience. "To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary a significant question in a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine."
Gingrich disputed the allegations as "false," and his three fellow Republicans onstage resisted piling on. ("Let's get on to the real issues," former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said.)
It was a spirited opening to a debate that capped one of the most politically tumultuous days of the 2012 cycle.
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If it weren't for Gingrich, Clinton would have squandered the dot.com boom revenue of the nineties. The posters from the left are so typically hypocritical. Clinton defames the oval office having oral sex (we all know what is really is) with a subordinate and now Gingrich's divorce somehow becomes news. Disgusting liberal hypocrites.
UNREAL: Gingrich lead the charge for impeaching Clinton for lying about sex WHILE HE WAS CHEATING ON HIS WIFE WHO WAS BATTLING CANCER AT THE VERY SAME TIME.
You see nothing wrong with this picture? Can you say HYPOCRISY???
Not to worry about it,,, Newt's wife & Donald Trump share the same hair dresser every Tuesday afternoon before they dip tea bags in his room --- Revenge is a bitch!
But it does make you want to ask just what would all these manly men conservatives do to their wives if they cheated on them, doesn't it?
This is just for 2007 other years are here. http://www.dkosopedia.com/wiki/Republican_Sex_Scandals
2007
Robert "Bob" Allen, Florida state Rep. arrested in the afternoon at a Veteran's Memorial Park for solicitation of prostitution from an undercover male officer inside a restroom. According to the papers, Bob "offer[ed] to perform oral sex for $20". Bob later claimed that his offer had something to do with his being afraid of black people.[32]
John David Roy Atchison, Republican prosecutor, was arrested for soliciting sex from a 5-year old girl, then killed himself three weeks later. At the time of his arrest, Atchison was an "assistant U.S. attorney" appointed by President Bush's attorney general.[33]
E. Ozwald Balfour, chairman of the Utah Republican Black Assembly and elected to the Republican State Central Committee in 2007, even though he was awaiting trial on four felony counts of forcible sex abuse dating back to his arrest in February, 2005.[34]
John Bryan, Republican city councilman, killed himself after police began investigating allegations that he had molested three girls, including two of his adopted daughters, ages 12 and 15.[35]
Larry Craig, Republican Senator for Idaho, was arrested on July 11, 2007, by plainclothes police officer investigating complaints of lewd behavior in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport airport men's room. On August 8 in Hennepin County Municipal Court in Bloomington, Minnesota, Craig entered a guilty plea and paid a $500 fine.[36]. On September 1st, Craig subsequently announced his retirement from the Senate[37]. Five days later, Craig changed his mind, renounced his retirement and began a battle to have his guilty plea overturned.[38] Craig supported the Federal Marriage Amendment, which barred extension of rights to same-sex couples; he voted for cloture on the amendment in both 2004 and 2006, and was a cosponsor in 2008. However, in late 2006 he appeared to endorse the right of individual states to create same-sex civil unions, but said he would vote "yes" on an Idaho constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages when pressured to clarify his position by the anti-gay rights advocacy group Families for a Better Idaho. Craig voted against cloture in 2002, which would have extended the federal definition of hate crimes to cover sexual orientation.[39]
John R. Curtin, Monroe County state Republican committeeman, was convicted of molesting an underage teenage boy and sentenced to serve six to 18 months in prison.[40]
Richard Curtis, Washington State Rep., resigned from the House after reports of his sexual encounter with a male escort became public.[41] Curtis has an anti-gay rights voting record. He voted against domestic partnerships for gays and opposed a bill prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.[42]
Donald Fleischman, Brown County, WI, Republican Party Chairman, resigned his post after he was charged with two counts of child enticement, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child and a single charge of exposing himself to a child.[43]
Larry Dale Floyd, Republican Constable in Denton County, Texas Precinct Two. Arrested for allegedly crossing state lines to have sex with an 8-year old child and was charged with 7 related offenses. Age 62 at time of arrest.[44]
Ted Klaudt, former South Dakota State Rep., found guilty of four counts of second-degree rape of two teenage foster daughters.[45][46]
Ronald C. Kline, Republican Judge in Orange County, CA, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer after six years of legal wrangling. In 2002, charged with child molestation and under house arrest on federal charges of possessing child pornography, political analysts still gave him a 50-50 chance of winning the March 5 primary for the Orange County Superior Court seat. He lost the election to a write-in candidate.
Joseph M. McDade, 75, was issued a summons on a charge of exposure of sexual organs, a misdemeanor that carries up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The longtime Pennsylvania Republican congressman who served for 36 years in the House and now works for a Washington lobbying firm, has been accused of exposing his private parts to two women at a beach resort on Sanibel Island. [47]
Patrick Lee McGuire, former former Flagler County Commissioner, surrendered to police after allegedly molesting girls between the ages of 8 and 13.[48]
Jon Matthews, Republican talk show host in Houston, was indicted for indecency with a child, including exposing his genitals to a girl under the age of 17.[49]
Joseph Monteleone Jr., Elyria city councilman, was found guilty of fondling underage girls and asking them to have sex with him.[50]
Glenn Murphy Jr., chairman of the Clark County Republican Party and president of the Young Republican National Federation, resigned both posts, after the Clark County Sheriff’s Department began investigating Murphy for alleged criminal deviate conduct. A 22-year-old man claimed that Murphy performed an unwanted sex act on him while the man slept in a relative’s Jeffersonville home. During the investigation, a similar accusation from 1998 came to light.[51]
Armando Tebano, Schenectady County Republican Chairman, pleaded guilty to fondling a 14-year-old girl.[52]
David Vitter, junior Senator from Louisiana, became one of the few high-profile politicians to be implicated as a client of "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey.[53]
What a stupid, one sided post. Are any of those clowns candidates for the presidency? Man you people are stupid.
UNREAL: Nothing "Stupid" at all. Your party preaches morality and godliness incessantly and then invariably get's caught with their pants down.
When was the last time you heard a Democrat invoking the name of god or preach about sexual chastity and abstinence. Speaking of abstinence, why don't you ask Sister Sarah Palin how that worked out for her family? LOL
Mr. "Rub of the Green" has a long list of Democrats who seem to have done wrong. Why didn't he list the even longer list of Republicans? Maybe because half of them were with under age girls or men.
Anyone who defends newt is an idiot. The guy is a pimple on the butt of America.
Sara?????????Scared Libs..I can dispute everything you just said, including a personnal story of a youg girl, age 24, I got her a good job and she has benifit options but she chosse to take"OUR",( yours too!) MONEY thru Bam it thru care!
What the hell do you keep mumbling about??? You make no sense whatsoever, but then, you're clearly a crazed Reich Wing maniac.
They all suck, liars, the GOP what america is totally sick of
No. People are sick and tired of the lying incompetent fool we have in the White House. Obama: one and done.
UNREAL: Lying fool in the White House??
That bastard Obama. Promised us Mission Accomplished, told us we'd be greeted as liberators, swore the war would only cost 40 Billion, promised on the life of his mother that the Iraqi oil production would pay for the war, warned us of WMD's and huge "Mushroom Clouds, and my personal favorite, claimed Mission Accomplished and then had to be a hot dog and land on a carrier in his sexy flight suit.
That Obama is the biggest liar I have ever encountered in my life. We need a man of character like Newt Gingrich to straighen this country out.
Your post is so full of falsehoods it's not worth responding to other than to say you must be an Obama supporter with an IQ of par golf.
No, people are sick and tired of the hypocritical fools who think they can do any better, meriman.
Hey unreal, don't like the mirror put in front of you, do you?
joe, it would not be hard for anyone to do better than Obama; he has displayed total incompetence and he is destroying our democracy with his socialist policies.
Go for it real... might as well join the circus!
I don't care who the nominee is I will vote for them...President Obama has done more damage than even Bush....he likes those historic goals...
Sorry Newt. When you go hog wild with the ladies one of them is bound to speak out.
Yes, such high minded moralizing from the same sleazy, muck-raking a$$ clown who flung dirt at Bill Clinton as much as he could during the '90s by leading the House impeachment proceedings for Clinton over his own marital indiscretions. During which time, Gingrich was cheating on his own spouse and asking her for an 'open marriage.' What a lying sack of s**t he truly is. How he sleeps at night with his conscience (or utter lack of one) is a total mystery to me...
Gingrich really has serious b@lls to accuse anyone in the media of leading some kind of witch hunt against the personal lives of the conservative candidates when that's exactly what the GOP did to the democrats during the Clinton administration. What goes around comes around, Newt.
Shame on that lying, hypocritical son-of-a-b!tch....
Clinton was impeached for perjury. Clinton also lost his law license for perjury in a different court case. Clinton's so called "indiscretions" took place in the oval office while he was President; they took place with a subordinate. There is no comparison to what Gingrich's angry ex wife claims and what is documented truth, in spite of Clinton's lies, and Clinton's behavior while in office. Liberals are such disgusting hypocrites, they say that the affair with Monica was none of our business, because that was he "personal" life, although we were paying for his indiscretions, yet the liberal scum want to believe a woman scorned and rejected fifteen years ago and pronounce that as something newsworthy. Hypocrites one and all.
But hey, those are GOP "family values".
Wow! hypocrisy "the tribute that vice pays to virtue". Think about it real.
Gee RealMeridian, you don't see anything hypocritical about Gingrich persecuting someone over lying about something that he himself was doing? Whether Clinton was cheating on the job or not is irrelevant. Gingrich was speaker of the House (third in line) when he screwed around as well (puts him in the same boat as Clinton). Whether he cheated in the oval office or in the back of a limo, who gives a s**t? BOTH men lied about their affairs. Except that Gingrich tried to nail Clinton to the wall for his.
And now Gingrich is slamming CNN for dragging 'personal and painful' matters into a public forum? He's just a shady liar; counting on the short memory of the public to wipe his own dirty past clean. And as I can see from some of the above posts? It's working....
No one claims Gingrich had poor morals in the past, but compared to people like Clinton or Kennedy, his moral standing is more than sufficient to elect him President. Any of the GOP candidates would be immensely better than Obama, who is destroying our freedoms and our country.
Sebastian, Clinton lied on television to the whole country: "I did not have sex, with that woman..." Exactly which one of Clinton's affairs are you referring to, Lewinsky, Flowers, Jones (he tried), Willey, Broadrick, Wellstone, Grayson, etc., etc. There is no comparison, yet the liberal hypocrites still attempt to conceive one.
Hey unreal,how come the number of votes you have is always one? Vote for yourself much?
Ah, Real, actually a lot of people are claiming that newty had poor morals in the past. How can we be sure he's changed? Don't you see that as a problem? Obama has his problems, but infidelity is not one of them. BUT I get it. In your world Obama could sleep with all the women (or men) in the world he wanted to and as long as the economy is great and government is off our back it's okay. How come methinks you might have a problem with this??
Hey tea party little girl...how come you have zero votes? Can't yet figure out how to vote for yourself? lol
Joe, I prefer someone who cares for America and our Constitution. Obama doesn't and has to go for the sake of our country. If Gingrich is his opponent in November, I would support him all the way to the White House. Obama is destroying America and attempting to change it into another socialist state.
Uh reality check please, RM? Obama didn't eliminate your freedoms. Bush has. Under the 'patriot act' and other immoral guises, Americans have been systemically detained and wiretapped without warrants and without due process. All under the guise of protecting 'freedom.'
“Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
--Thomas Jefferson.
And yes, Clinton lied under oath. Newt lied to his wife. BOTH violated sacred trusts as I see it. At least Clinton managed to patch things up with his wife (and by leaving the country with a $3 trillion surplus, I'd say he left the presidency in good shape as well).
Newt just moved onto the next trophy wife. My guess is? He'd screw the country under (like Bush) and leave it in much the same state as his ex-wife; bitter and pi$$ed off...
He does not need to answer the questions...YOu ALL need to bring facts!!!!! Little people that critisize wrong spellings are taking up room in a fast response blog....GO AWAY!
It's"criticize". Too much "Fox Noise" causes brain damage.
Fade away, hopin(g)!
Are you getting senile?
Clintons women spoke out but thats okay for some people.He seemed to have done this the whole time he was married.The only thing that helped him was that Hillary didn't seem to care for she had her own agenda.That and she was probably in another room of the white house licking some carpet of her own.
That has zero to do with the fact that your dear Newt is morally bankrupt. Let's address that since that's what the article is about. Try to keep up ellis.
Oh please, I didn't know Bill Clinton was running for president again. Don't you GOPers remember how you persecuted Bill for his wrong doing? And who lead the charge? Newt. Hypocrisy has reached a whole new level.
Gee I thought the article was about infidelity and of course Bill Clinton isn't running for president again.I see your point it only matters if a republican does it.
Sorry, Newt... By staying in the fray, you remain - like the others - "fair game".
Let's face it, the Mob attending this GOP debate is close to low life as you can get. They applaud a man who has proven himself a total Whore over and over again!!! The Man was kicked out of Congress by his own party for having the ethic's of Bernie Madoff.
I will be happy when the primary in South Carolina is over. Then we can focus maybe on some people with some form of class and not this Southern Scrum.
I am a Democrat and have voted Democratic everytime. But I will gladly vote for Mitt Romney or even Newt Gingrich. Here in California Mayor Viaragosa only cares for his precious Illegal Aliens. Charlie Beck in Los Angeles as the police chief wants to let illegal aliens drive WIHTOUT a drivers license. Gov Jerry Brown and the 3rd world legislators give illegal aliens free college while asking American kids to pay more. It has shown the pure evil that the Democratic party can be if they only listen to their special interest. I will not reward the Democratic party until they start caring for legal Americans. While I hate the GOP I feel the pendulum of this illegal alien and hispanic pandering has gone too far and needs to be swung back to sanity.
@James
How about some proof. Sounds like a pack of lies to most of us. You know, documentation. It helps, otherwise you're just another lier.
A Pack of Lies
All the a wholes on this site criticizing Newt were the same a wholes who were backing a serial groper and assaulter, Clinton, when he was in office. Pathetic and telling of the hypocrisy on the left. This guy will mop the floor with Obama in any debate, any time.
Yes, much like the hypocrisy of Gingrich leading the persecution of president Clinton while cheating on your own wife, while she is dying of cancer.
Clinton was prosecuted for lying under oath, genius. Still don't fully comprehend it, do you?
ObamaLies--
Is that your ONLY difference between what Newt did and what Clinton did?? That Clinton lied under oath? We comprehend it, but I can't believe that you see it as the big difference that somehow makes what Newt did morally 'superior' to Clinton; because Clinton lied under oath. He wouldn't even have had to lie about an affair if Newt Gingrich and Ken Starr hadn't engaged Linda Tripp's services in wiretapping her own 'friend' Monica Lewinsky just to try to bring down a democratic president.
So now Newt thinks talking about his own morally bankrupt personal life is just media mud-slingling? Newt Gingrich was the freaking MASTER of those kinds of dirty politics. And now that pious, self-righteous, pompous bastard claims to have the moral high ground these days? After cheating on his own cancer-ridden wife?? This hypocrisy is the kind of thing the 'new' Newt is hoping won't become an issue because of voters with (thankfully, for him) short term memories. He's counting on your ignorance.
Mission accomplished, apparently....
It's amazing how much crap you can fit into a dummy named newt.
He's APPALLED is he?.....Well, I believe he talked about "Family Values" when Clinton WAS DOING HIS. I ALWAYS knew that POLITICIANS.....were the MOST HYPOCRITICAL b_st_rds that EVER was. Well, that is ONE OF THE REASONS.....the American people ARE very disenchanted with CONGRESS. Need I say more?
If OBAMA did what GINGRICH did to his wife.........Not only would he be PILLORIED at the POST......he would be LYNCHED!
Don't WORRY....GINGRICH has as much of a chance at being PRESIDENT ...as a SNOWBALL in HELL! And FURTHER MORE.......I think he loves MONEY........more than he loves GOD.
What a DIRTBAG!......OBAMA looks like a SAINT......compared to this guy!
Ralph~
They ALL love money more than God. God is like a mafia-owned business to these people; it looks good in print and keeps the public happy, but it's only a front.
And people who think Newt Gingrich is so morally superior must have either been born after 1999, or never heard of him prior to 2011, or they just have VERY short memories (or very selective ones). It looks like the GOP is so desperate to get rid of 'the black guy' that they'd vote for a Satan/Adolf Hitler ticket just to get Obama out of office.
Hypocritical sleazebag. Probably more so, but nothing less.
Leave it to the Media to bring up dead dogs to stir controversy. May be a change in the Constitution for freedom of the press. Should be modified freedom of the press to seek the truth in an nonpartisan manner. Shall-be barred from putting out lies, innuendos,s and false stories. Shall also be barred from playing politics
Then you'd put "Fox and Fiends" out of business.
Left--Newt was given the chance to put out his side. He didn't. There is nothing in this story that has been shown to be false. Stop drinking the cool aid.
Newt goes around screwing every woman he meets like a Damn Dog in Heat and you want to restrict the Press! GOP/Tea Party is equal to Moron!!
I'll give up my First Amendment when you give up your Second Amendment. In other words, never. Both are ingrained in the US Constitution and aren't going anywhere.
Yeah, Leftisreposting that's a GREAT idea; because censorship of the media is working so well in the middle east right now with that whole "Arab Spring" business. Or in the Soviet Uni--oh yeah; they don't EXIST anymore.
You are a real piece of work to want to change the Constitution and revoke freedom of the press (one of our most valued means of keeping the government accountable) just to protect some second-rate GOP candidates' a$$. Are you on Gingrich's payroll or what?
This is like a shooting gallery tonight, TeaGirl. The newtermans are so blind they are starting to get boring!
How dare John King ask a person who wants to be the Family Values party candidate anything about his family values? Newt is a good demagogue; he knows how to attack the messenger while avoiding dealing with the message.
Hey Newt - the reason this IS important is because it shows the hypocrisy of the right and their phony family values that they like to lord over everyone else. Sure Democrats are just as guilty, but the hypocrisy falls to the right because it's all you clowns like to talk about and push in people's faces. You are a hypocrite and your angry rebuttal pretty much proves your guilt.
Romney - that is an important issue for the right and for the evangelicals. No wonder you haven't won their support. Morals and family values are near the top of the list for many people on the right so don't pretend that this stuff isn't important to the people you are asking to vote for you. The hypocrisy is mind boggling; and rightly so because you make such a big deal out of it. Most of us could probably care less.
It doesn't matter if he is a Democrat, Republican, Tea Party, Green Party, Rainbow Coalition, Socialist, Communist, Anarchist, or Libertarian - and it doesn't make one bit of difference if anyone else from any of these groups past or present have done this. His behavior = slimeball - Period and end of story. And yes - I will say they same about anybody else who engages in the same behavior in any other party. You can check my voting record - I vote for members of both major parties and have voted for third party candidates.
Interesting watching the conservative family values people defend a man with no moral character. Gingrich is interested in one thing and that is Gingrich. He will lie, cheat, steal or do anything he has to to advance his cause and the conservatives are defending him.
Newt,
You dumb ass!! I told you, you were hanging around Clinton too much in the 90's.
It makes me wonder what kind of place he wants to give Palin in his administration. #4 perhaps but only if #3 would agree.
Bill, what was interesting was to watch Newt lambaste the idiot CNN moderator.