Candidate News Thread - Newt Gingrich

[Valin]

[Valin]

That is a great video of Newt from Tulane, with Carville no less. I watched it a couple months ago. Where was THAT class when I went to college?

 

 

This is what I love about the Net. There is so much really good stuff out here.

 

Example:

MagisterJacobs Channel

 

All these conferences/panels/speeches we never got to see...its all out there now.

[Valin]

Power Line: The New Newt, and Other Observations

Steven Hayward

11/19/11

 

(Snip)

Okay, you can see where this is going. The chief focus of Newt News over these last 72 hours has been his business dealings, involving $1.6 million in consulting fees from Freddie Mac, and something like $37 million from the health care industry for his Center for Health Transformation. All of this buttresses the case that Newt is a “Washington insider.” And this is indeed a problem for him in the abstract, given that voters almost always prefer outsiders who can plausibly promise to “clean up the mess in Washington.” Even Obama was able to affect this pose to some extent in 2008, though he surely can’t now, which may vitiate the weight of Newt’s DC ways.

 

But there is one observation to make about Newt’s business dealings: Like everything else about Newt, he conducted his post-congressional career entirely different from everyone else. In other words, he’s the Frank Sinatra of out of office politicians—he did it his way.

 

Typically senators and congressmen, if they are lawyers and sometimes even when they are not, join big law firms, where they pull down seven-figure salaries not as lobbyists, but as “advisors,” and, let’s be candid, as rainmakers for the firms. Bob Dole joined Alston and Bird; Tom Daschle (whose wife, recall, was a huge lobbyist while he was Senate majority leader) joined DLA Piper. Think any of these ex-congress critters do much actual legal work commensurate with their hefty salaries? Me neither. (Nixon, by contrast, actually argued a case before the Supreme Court in the mid-1960s during his long comeback as a Wall Street lawyer.)

 

The point is: no one ever sees or hears about, or draws direct connections to, the large retainers law firms are able to charge clients and interest groups for the access and “advice” of the ex-legislator stars they add to their letterhead. Newt didn’t play it that way and join a law firm or a consulting firm; he did it directly and openly by himself.

 

(Snip)

 

Rush was asking a question yesterday...Where was the outrage about this money 4 months ago?

[Valin]

Townhall Tipsheet: Newt Plays Defense: 'I'm No Bill Clinton'

Kate Hicks

11/19/11

 

With his recent surge in the polls, Newt Gingrich’s campaign has begun to issue statements defending his past indiscretions -- including his extramarital affair.

 

In a candid and unconventional move, Newt’s website addresses the recent comparisons between his and Bill Clinton’s infidelity, noting that Newt pursued Clinton’s impeachment not for his wandering eye, but for committing perjury.

 

(Snip)

 

The site also addresses the rumors that Newt served his first wife divorce papers while she was in the hospital seeking treatment for life-threatening cancer -- a story their daughter Jackie Gingrich Cushman addresses here-- and a number of questions pertaining to policy issues, such as health care and his involvement with Freddie Mac.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

Washington Post: Newt Gingrich’s marriages: Should they matter?

Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake

11/21/11

 

The (re)rise of former House speaker Newt Gingrich in the 2012 Republican presidential race has re-started a debate over his at-times-tumultuous personal life and how much it could — or should — impact his chances of winning the nomination.

 

(Snip)

 

He and his first wife, Jackie, divorced in 1981. (The circumstances surrounding the split up — including a debate about whether Gingrich informed his wife of his plans during a time when she was hospitalized — remain a point of debate.)

 

Gingrich’s marriage to his second wife, Marianne, ended in divorce in 1999 after he acknowledged an extramarital affair with a congressional staffer named Callista Bisek, who is now Gingrich’s third wife.

 

What’s less clear is just how much Gingrich’s turbulent — and very public — personal life will mean to the socially conservative voters he is trying to court in Iowa and beyond.

(Snip)

 

 

The real question is, or at least should be, is the Newt Gingrich of today (since his marriage to Callista Gingrich and conversion to Catholicism) the same Newt Gingrich of 10/20 years ago?

[Valin]

DRAT! the secret is out.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGHD1d_V2ZE

[Evad]

"The real question is, or at least should be, is the Newt Gingrich of today (since his marriage to Callista Gingrich and conversion to Catholicism) the same Newt Gingrich of 10/20 years ago? "

 

I'll take either one.

[Valin]

"The real question is, or at least should be, is the Newt Gingrich of today (since his marriage to Callista Gingrich and conversion to Catholicism) the same Newt Gingrich of 10/20 years ago? "

 

I'll take either one.

 

I just think he has changed for the better, in his personal life.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Gingrich calls for private retirement accounts

 

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich on Monday proposed allowing younger workers still decades away from retirement to bypass Social Security and instead choose private investment accounts that would be subject to stock market gyrations.

 

The former House speaker, who has risen in the polls, would allow younger workers to take their share of the payroll tax that funds Social Security and put it in a private account.

 

Employers would still pay their share of the tax, which would be used to pay benefits for current retirees. But it would create a funding shortfall that Gingrich brushed off.

 

"That gap is more than covered by the savings" that would come from giving states control of 185 social welfare programs, Gingrich told reporters after a speech that laid out broad concepts but lacked key details.

 

Gingrich's plan would cover the near-term deficits by giving to states responsibility for such programs as AmeriCorps volunteers, Section 8 public housing and Pell Grants for college students. He said states were better suited to administer those programs.

 

Gingrich said his retirement proposal, an idea floated by Republicans before him, would empower voters.

 

"Wouldn't you rather control your account?" Gingrich asked an audience of students at St. Anselm College.

 

An idea whose time has come?

[Valin]

Gingrich calls for private retirement accounts

 

 

"Wouldn't you rather control your account?" Gingrich asked an audience of students at St. Anselm College.

 

 

But what if they make the wrong choice!!! No better to leave it in the highly capable hands of the Federal Government.

[Valin]

Gingrich calls for private retirement accounts

 

[Valin]

Contentions: Gingrich Has Thoughtful and Nuanced Stand on Immigration

Peter Wehner

11.23.2011

 

I’ve had some critical things to say about Newt Gingrich in the past, but I thought his answer on immigration at last night’s GOP debate was excellent. He put forth a series of steps that would curtail illegal immigration, even as he said this: “I don’t see how the party that says it’s the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here a quarter-century. And I’m prepared to take the heat for saying let’s be humane in enforcing the law without giving them citizenship but by finding a way to create legality so that they are not separated from their families.”

 

In response, Romney adviser and spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom leaped in for the kill: “Newt Gingrich supported the 1986 amnesty act, and even though he conceded that was a mistake, he said he was willing to repeat that mistake, by extending amnesty to immigrants who are illegally in the country today. Mitt Romney is against amnesty, and Newt Gingrich made it very clear he was for amnesty.”

 

In fact, Governor Romney, a reasonable man, refused to say he would deport someone who has been in this country for a quarter-century, has raised a family here, and who has not gone afoul of the law. For his campaign to jump on Gingrich about “amnesty” is silly. Gingrich made an entirely reasonable distinction between categories of illegal immigrants. No matter; the Romney campaign is now using the Scarlet A (as in amnesty) against the former speaker.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

DRAT! the secret is out.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGHD1d_V2ZE

 

 

More TRUTH about Newt!

[Evad]

"The real question is, or at least should be, is the Newt Gingrich of today (since his marriage to Callista Gingrich and conversion to Catholicism) the same Newt Gingrich of 10/20 years ago? "

 

I'll take either one.

 

I just think he has changed for the better, in his personal life.

Possibly..

but the question is, Does Hillary still have his files???

..and is she prepared to use them??

[Valin]

"The real question is, or at least should be, is the Newt Gingrich of today (since his marriage to Callista Gingrich and conversion to Catholicism) the same Newt Gingrich of 10/20 years ago? "

 

I'll take either one.

 

I just think he has changed for the better, in his personal life.

Possibly..

but the question is, Does Hillary still have his files???

..and is she prepared to use them??

 

 

The thing is, it's all old news.

[Valin]

NRO The Corner: Gingrich Says He Opposes Amnesty, Wants ‘Path to Legality’ for Some Illegal Immigrants

Katrina Trinko

11/26/11

 

At a campaign event in Naples, Fla. yesterday, Newt Gingrich stressed that he was opposed to granting citizenship to current illegal immigrants, even if he favored giving some a way to achieve legal status in the United States.

 

“I am not for amnesty for anyone,” Gingrich said, according to NBC News. “I am not for a path to citizenship for anybody who got here illegally. But I am for a path to legality for those people whose ties are so deeply into America that it would truly be tragic to try and rip their family apart.”

 

He said that the “vast majority” of illegal immigrants would need to return to their country of origin and then apply to return to the United States. If any illegal immigrants wanted to become citizens, they would need to return to their home country, and “apply through the regular procedures back home and get in line behind everybody else who has obeyed the law and stayed back there.”

 

(Snip)

 

More Here

Gingrich and the Red Card

[Valin]

New Hampshire Union Leader: An Editorial: For President, Newt Gingrich

JOSEPH W. McQUAID

New Hampshire Union Leader Publisher

Published Nov 27, 2011

 

This newspaper endorses Newt Gingrich in the New Hampshire Presidential Primary.

 

America is at a crucial crossroads. It is not going to be enough to merely replace Barack Obama next year. We are in critical need of the innovative, forward-looking strategy and positive leadership that Gingrich has shown he is capable of providing.

 

He did so with the Contract with America. He did it in bringing in the first Republican House in 40 years and by forging balanced budgets and even a surplus despite the political challenge of dealing with a Democratic President. A lot of candidates say they're going to improve Washington. Newt Gingrich has actually done that, and in this race he offers the best shot of doing it again.

 

(Snip)

 

Bad News for Mitt.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Newt Gingrich To Obama: Let's Debate, You Can Use Your Teleprompter

 

"I already said that if he wants to use a teleprompter, then it would be fine with me. It has to be fair. If you [were] to defend ObamaCare, wouldn't you want a teleprompter?" Gingrich asked.

 

"Now, just for a second I'm going to go in the detour and I'll try to explain why I've been and he'll say yes. There are two reasons. The first, is ego. Can you imagine him looking in the mirror? Graduate from Columbia, Harvard Law, editor of the Law Review journal. [Against] the greatest articulator in a Democratic book?"

 

"How is he going to say that he's afraid to be on the same podium as a West Georgia College student?"

 

[Valin]

Newt Gingrich To Obama: Let's Debate, You Can Use Your Teleprompter

 

"I already said that if he wants to use a teleprompter, then it would be fine with me. It has to be fair. If you [were] to defend ObamaCare, wouldn't you want a teleprompter?" Gingrich asked.

 

"Now, just for a second I'm going to go in the detour and I'll try to explain why I've been and he'll say yes. There are two reasons. The first, is ego. Can you imagine him looking in the mirror? Graduate from Columbia, Harvard Law, editor of the Law Review journal. [Against] the greatest articulator in a Democratic book?"

 

"How is he going to say that he's afraid to be on the same podium as a West Georgia College student?"

 

 

 

[Valin]

Hot Air: Florida: Gingrich 47, Romney 17, Cain 15, Paul 5

Allahpundit

11/30/11

 

I know what you’re thinking: “Didn’t Jazz already blog the new giant-lead-for-Gingrich-in-Florida poll?” Actually, no — that was a different poll, conducted by Insider Advantage. This new one comes from PPP. We’ve now got two separate surveys showing Newt Gingrich — Newt Gingrich — above 40 percent in a key battleground state with Romney 20+ points behind.

 

(Snip)

 

 

(Snip)

 

Now, serious question: How is it we’ve landed on Newt instead of taking a second look at Perry? Perry’s last few debates have been fine and he’s spent months groveling to make amends for calling his immigration critics heartless. And of course he’s still got that glamorous Texas jobs record to wield against Obama in the general if he makes it that far. He’s down to almost an asterisk in PPP’s Florida poll, though — just two percent, a point behind Huntsman, after peaking at 24 percent there just two months ago. His favorable rating is an almost unimaginable 27/55, which is right in line with other recent eyepopping surveys. How did we arrive in a universe where there’s an almost 50-point spread in likability between Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich?

(Snip)

 

Allahpundit is not a happy camper!

[saveliberty]

Legal Insurrection

Newt “goes there” on Obama/Alinsky

Posted by William A. Jacobson Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 8:26pm

 

 

Ron Paul released a very professionally done hit job on Newt. It’s all over at Drudge, HotAir, etc. Not really surprising, since Paul and Newt apparently have some bad blood going far back, and Newt

at the national security debate.

 

While it would be easy to whine about these things, it’s all fair game and something Newt will have to survive if he is to be the nominee. I think he will survive the attacks because it’s dredging up stuff that already is known.

[Valin]

Legal Insurrection

Newt “goes there” on Obama/Alinsky

Posted by William A. Jacobson Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 8:26pm

 

 

Ron Paul released a very professionally done hit job on Newt. It’s all over at Drudge, HotAir, etc. Not really surprising, since Paul and Newt apparently have some bad blood going far back, and Newt

at the national security debate.

 

While it would be easy to whine about these things, it’s all fair game and something Newt will have to survive if he is to be the nominee. I think he will survive the attacks because it’s dredging up stuff that already is known.

 

 

Could not agree more.

 

 

The Armada of Attack Pieces Headed Newt's Way

Hugh Hewitt

 

 

In my interview yesterday with the former House Speaker, I asked Newt if he thought he could survive the Chicago gang's relentless exploitation of his long and very public career. (The full transcript and audio of yesterday's conversation is here.)

 

This morning Conor Williams tweeted a link to Grist.org's David Roberts' big knock on Newt for a familiar sin --his couch ad with Nancy Pelosi. The post is titled "Newt Gingrich will never be president; I will never stop loving this video."

 

Old ground, right? And the Speaker yesterday told me he has his "There you go again" rebuttal ready.

(Snip)

[Valin]

NRO: Gingrich to Do Lincoln/Douglas Debate with Huntsman

Katrina Trinko

12/2/11

 

Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman will do a Lincoln/Douglas style debate in New Hampshire on December 12, reports the Associated Press.

 

(Snip)

 

According to RealClearPolitics, the Romney campaign turned down the Gingrich camp’s invitation to do a Lincoln/Douglas style debate.

 

Cross posted on John Huntsman thread

[WestVirginiaRebel]

The Comeback Kid of 2012

 

On Newt Gingrich: If you’ve seen this week’s poll numbers from Iowa, Florida and South Caroline you know it doesn’t look like an increase in his support but an eruption. It is as if something that had been kept down had quietly been gathering energy, and suddenly burst through its bonds. The entire Washington journo-political complex has been taken by surprise by something that not only wasn’t predicted but couldn’t have been. Newt had no steady movement in the polls. He was regularly dressed down by the base. His staff had fled en masse when he left the campaign for an Aegean cruise with his wife.

 

What happened is a better story than the establishment didn’t know what the base was thinking. It’s that the base didn’t know what the base was thinking.

 

All it knew was it was only moderately enthusiastic about Mitt Romney. There were a lot of debates—they were history-changing this year, whatever happens. Six, seven or eight million people would watch them and talk about them afterwards, at work or in comment boxes and email groups. And after they said, “Romney held his own,” and, “Perry’s kind of a disappointment,” they’d come to agreement on this: “I really liked what Newt said when he said they shouldn’t bash each other and re-elect Obama.” “I liked when Newt confronted the moderator.” It was always at the end of the conversation that this got said. Because the base knew Mr. Gingrich couldn’t win, so why waste the breath or bandwidth?

 

“He’s incredibly lucky,” said a friend of his. “Bachmann, Cain, Perry went away. But Newt didn’t go away.” The friend said part of the reason for his rise is that “he’s been there forever. He’s spoken at every GOP dinner. People say, ‘I liked him back in ‘83!’ It all accrued.” He compared Gingrich to IBM. “He had more equity than we gave him credit for.”

[Argyle58]

I watched FOX's Republican Forum that featured debate style, but solo delivered, comments by the top six Republican Presidential Candidates. It was a good program, equal to the best of the debates so far. But, I was struck more by Newt's closing statement than any other argument of the program.....paraphrased:

 

"I don't so much ask you to vote for me, but, considering the importance of this election, to vote with me. Changing the context of our current government is far more important than the one office of President".

 

How do you argue against that?