Newt Gingich is sorry. He's admitted that he cheated on his wife while he was pushing impeachment on Bill Clinton for lying about an affair. So he told right-wing crackpot James Dobson that he "sought God's forgiveness" and has "gotten on my knees."Of course, Gingrich is pushing a new book called Rediscovering God in America, and is saying he will run for the Republican presidential nomination "as a last resort." What he means is that if the front-runners for the GOP nomination aren't satisfactory to the hard-core right, he'll step in as their savior. 
Oh, and did he mention he's selling a book with "God" in the title? And that he's really, really sorry for that affair (and those three marriages)?
Oh, and did he mention he's selling a book with "God" in the title? And that he's really, really sorry for that affair (and those three marriages)? Meanwhile, Gingrich is pulling in $50,000 for every speaking appearance (he makes about 60 a year) and running a for-profit "think tank" on health care that promotes the business interests of its backers (yeah, that's a great academic exercise), according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Jan. 21. Also in January, Gingrich's new 527 group, "American Solutions for Winning the Future," got a $1 million donation from Sheldon Adelson, a casino CEO and prominent donor to the GOP. (Wow, a new group that includes the title of Gingrich's previous book! Quite a coincidence!) Fortune magazine, which disclosed Gingrich's speaking fees, said his post-Congressional career is "making him rich." 
He's also a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, the same think tank funded by Exxon that is offering reward money to any scientists or economists who are willing to dispute the U.N's report on global warming.
He's also a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, the same think tank funded by Exxon that is offering reward money to any scientists or economists who are willing to dispute the U.N's report on global warming.Gingrich claims his "American Solutions" group is bipartisan (is there any 527 group that is?), but yet the group proposes private savings accounts for Social Security, "patriotic education" in public schools and appointment of judges that understand "the centrality of God in American history." It's amazing how much stock Gingrich is taking in God these days now that he might need the right-wing religious vote if he chooses to run for president (expect an obscene amount of religious rhetoric if he does).
Calling his bid for the presidency a "last resort" (gee, are we imposing?), Gingrich said he wants to influence the race by providing both parties with "solutions" to health care, energy, education, national security and immigration issues. Lucky for us that he's set up a for-profit company to do all that.
Has there ever been a bigger political phony that Newt Gingrich? His few years of prominence in the 1990s were highlighted by mean-spirited attacks on the poor, back-handed attempts to gut environmental regulation and legendary power-grabs. He's still at it, too: At last week's Conservative Political Action Conference, Gingrich alleged that the reason disaster hit New Orleans' Ninth Ward during Hurricane Katrina is "a failure of citizenship." 
He said the people were "so uneducated and so unprepared, they literally couldn't get out of the way of a hurricane." Never mind the ineptitude of those in charge at the federal level or the lack of response or the disdain for the role of government that conservatives have which he helped establish, it's the peoples' fault!
He said the people were "so uneducated and so unprepared, they literally couldn't get out of the way of a hurricane." Never mind the ineptitude of those in charge at the federal level or the lack of response or the disdain for the role of government that conservatives have which he helped establish, it's the peoples' fault!He has skillfully played the "family values" card throughout his political career, and yet he's an admitted adulterer. He's also a draft-dodger, having avoided service in Vietnam with a combination of student and family deferments, and marrying one of his teachers when he was 19 years old. His first wife - with whom he discussed the terms of divorce when she was hospitalized - sued him for child support when utilities were going to be cut off.
He's also bounced 22 checks during the House Banking scandal, and violated House ethics rules for using taxpayer donations for his personal and political purposes. (He had, at one point or another, 84 ethics charges filed against him while in the House.) He's appeared on Fox News quite a bit - and why not, since they're politically attuned to one another? - and has even hosted specials for them. 
But is that because Rupert Murdoch owns his ass? In 1995, one of Murdoch 's publishing companies offered Gingrich $4.5 million for a book, while Murdoch was having problems with a complaint from NBC that Fox is a foreign-owned network (which is against U.S. law). Gingrich and Murdoch had several meetings (one reportedly on a park bench) but said their purpose was politics, not contracts. (Gingrich eventually took a lucrative royalty-based deal in lieu of the $4.5 million.)
But is that because Rupert Murdoch owns his ass? In 1995, one of Murdoch 's publishing companies offered Gingrich $4.5 million for a book, while Murdoch was having problems with a complaint from NBC that Fox is a foreign-owned network (which is against U.S. law). Gingrich and Murdoch had several meetings (one reportedly on a park bench) but said their purpose was politics, not contracts. (Gingrich eventually took a lucrative royalty-based deal in lieu of the $4.5 million.)By the way, news of Gingrich's affair during the impeachment period isn't new. In 1998, it was reported that he told his (second) wife that he was leaving her for a woman 23 years younger than him. The news apparently came to her when Gingrich called his mother-in-law to give her birthday wishes, and then asked to speak to his wife, who was brought to tears by the news. By that point, Gingrich had allegedly been seeing the younger woman for at least three years (she eventually became his third wife). Meanwhile, in his professional capacity, Gingrich said those who didn't support the so-called morality of his allies in the Christian Coalition were "abnormal."
Let's not forget that Gingrich recently said that free speech should be curtailed in the U.S. in order to fight terrorism. Since President Bush has told the nation that this is a war unlike any other and could last generations, Gingrich is proposing a fundamental - and for all intents and purposes, permanent - restriction of freedoms. Gingrich has - both in the past and in the present - advocated a second Constitutional Convention, at which the U.S. Constitution would be revised. This is a man who respects our national heritage? Anyone who doesn't believe in the Constitution shouldn't be running for an office where the job is to protect the Constitution.
The only thing that's new in Gingrich's "confession" to James Dobson is his penitence. All he has to do now is go to rehab and blame a bottle or a pill or bad sexual urges. Throughout his career and his personal life, Gingrich has been a hypocrite, using "family values" to motivate voters whose morality he doesn't share, while acting as an agent in the government for powerful corporate interests and enriching himself in the process. Don't dismiss him; he's as dangerous a political entity and a genuine threat to democracy and freedom as this country has ever seen.
There aren't many who could claim the title of "most despicable" from the likes of Tricky Dick Nixon (although there are several in the current Bush administration vying for the title), but Newt Gingrich qualifies for and has achieved his own grotesque stature. More info: Newt Gingrich's Skeleton Closet
