I know there's another thread on Newt Gingrich here, but I think recent news reports on his inconsistency on a couple of issues important to conservatives need to be aired. Some of the candidates have been criticized for taking changing positions on a couple of issues, but none worse than these gigantic flip flops by Mr. Gingrich.
Shortly after the near failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Gingrich made an impassioned speech criticizing the administration and the Congress, GOP-controlled at the time, for not only failing to oversee the agencies, but also changing their lending standards resulting in their near insolvency. He has since asserted that some members of Congress should be put in jail for their too-close relationship with Fannie and Freddie. What's now become clear is that up until only a month before that speech, Gingrich was being paid a $300,000 per month retainer by Fannie Mae as part of the $1.7 million he was being paid for "strategic and historical advice".
Now, in today's
Washington Post, it's been reported that Gingrich formed a consulting firm that collected $37 million from various healthcare companies for "access to Newt Gingrich" and "direct Newt Gingrich interaction". Although Gingrich continues to assert that he has never done any lobbying, what the healthcare companies for the huge fees paid to Gingrich has never been explained. Here's a link to the article...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...2VN_story.html
It also seems to have escaped everyone's attention that Gingrich was charged with 84 separate ethics violations during his four-year term as Speaker of the House, a period when the House was controlled by his own party!. Gingrich is the only Speaker of the House to have been actually disciplined for ethics violations. On January 21, 1997, the then Republican-controlled House voted 395 to 28 to reprimand Gingrich, including a $300,000 "cost assessment" to recoup money spent on the investigation of the ethics charge for which he was convicted.
In the summer of 1997 several House Republicans, who saw Gingrich's public image as a liability, attempted to replace him as Speaker. The attempted "coup" began July 9 with a meeting between Republican conference chairman John Boehner of Ohio and Republican leadership chairman Bill Paxon of New York. According to their plan, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, Boehner and Paxon were to present Gingrich with an ultimatum: resign, or be voted out.
Gingrich refused to step down, but facing a more widespread rebellion in the Republican caucus, he announced on November 6, 1998 that he would not only stand down as Speaker, but would leave the House as well.
Now this guy is "flavor of the week" as a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination? Are you kidding me? Isn't anyone paying attention? Does
anyone believe that with this kind of record, he could win a general election for President?
There seem to be only a few primary candidates untainted by eithics or moral baggage. And only one of them appears to be able to actually beat Barack Obama in a general election. Why are we going thru this agonizing process of elevating candidates damaged in one way or another, avoiding getting behind a candidate who might actually win?