Patterico's Pontifications

1/19/2012

Perry is out; Newt was open

Filed under: 2012 Election — Karl @ 12:05 pm



[Posted by Karl]

I’m trying to resolve some internet access issues, but the buzz is that Rick Perry will withdraw from the Republican presidential race today and endorse Newt Gingrich for the nomination on his way out.  Meanwhile, Gingrich in 1999 asked his second wife for an “open marriage” or a divorce at the same time he was giving speeches around the country on family and religious values, his former wife, Marianne, told The Washington Post on Thursday.

–Karl

224 Responses to “Perry is out; Newt was open”

  1. DING!

    Karl (f07e38)

  2. And Santorum won Iowa?!

    Was there any new newsy news in this interview with the scorned ex?

    JD (7f6bca)

  3. Again, I am suspicious.

    First, I’m not a big fan of Mr. Gingrich. But that doesn’t matter. This is nasty, dirty pool.

    Second, Marianne Gingrich has been shopping that she had “dirty laundry” on her ex-husband for well over a decade—bitter, bitter, bitter.

    Third, as Glenn Reynolds points out, can you name anyone else’s campaign who “leaked” private personal information to win elections? I can.

    Fourth: this might be an opportunity for Mr. Gingrich to show leadership and not lash out.

    What a mess.

    Simon Jester (ea9dff)

  4. Fourth: this might be an opportunity for Mr. Gingrich to show leadership and not lash out.

    Anyway, I don’t mind too much if Newt would indeed lash out against what you rightly call nasty and dirty.

    He’s supposed to be a leader, after all.

    Lashing out at Marianne, though… that probably wouldn’t work well. The press is so hostile to conservatives, and whoever is behind this attack clearly would rather we nominate Mitt Romney.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  5. I’m sure that Gingrich will simply refuse to answer questions about it. It should be interesting what happens at tonight’s debate when the CNN folks keep asking the question. Hopefully they get a standing boo.

    This is a classic smear to distort folks from the issues. What a dirty, dirty campaign, and we haven’t even got to Obama’s trolls yet.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  6. distort = divert. gah.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  7. The two separated in ’87 and reconciled in ’93 or ’94?

    May we suppose, this demand, that “she share him” came after, as Callista evidently was in the picture by that point?

    18 year’s of marriage, 12 or less under the same roof.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  8. And Santorum won Iowa?!

    Was there any new newsy news in this interview with the scorned ex?

    Comment by JD

    The only newsworthy aspect is that someone extremely sleazy (who knows who?) is very concerned that the GOP will nominate Newt. It’s a shameless attack too, so whoever that is… they are desperately invested in Newt not winning the nomination.

    Why would Obama do that? I thought Newt was less electable.

    Anyway, there has been some real nastiness towards a lot of conservatives since… oh I guess the 2008 primary. It cultivates bad blood and is selfish, if it’s coming from within the party (which it probably is).

    Dustin (7362cd)

  9. Lessee. Cain has a surge, Cain gets smeared. Gingrich has a surge, Gingrich gets smeared, Gingrich has another surge, Gingrich gets smeared harder, Santorum has a surge, Santorum’s wife gets smeared. Hmmm. Pretty soon there’ll be a pattern.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  10. 8. “someone extremely sleazy (who knows who?)”

    Well the names Bill Paxon and Susan Molinari, wed in 1994, current residents of Alexandria, VA, might bubble up.

    Jim Talent, former Sen. from MO, currently at Heritage, could, just possibly, be in the mix as well.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  11. Don’t forget the weird republicans sneering that Mitch Daniels is p****-whipped!!!!! har har har!!!!

    Very, very ugly.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  12. My first reaction to this story was that it isn’t exactly new. My second was that if John Kerry’s ex wife had trashed him in an interview in 2004, the news networks would have slapped her in a straightjacket and flown her to Siberia.

    Kaisersoze (298188)

  13. So Gingrich, Armey, DeLay, Boehner and Paxon are in a room.

    One emerges with a career. What do you suppose the nuclear sludge each holds on the next might be?

    Aren’t we comforted Boehner is just maybe the least corrupt?

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  14. Let’s see, ABC puts out negative stories about Mitt’s offshore banks accounts and Newt’s ex-wife on consecutive days but it is clear to conspiracy theorists that whoever is behind the media manipulators that Mitt is being pushed for president by these actions.

    Same brilliant conspiracy theorists still are pushing the Romney rigged the Virginia ballot access through the nonexistent “new” qualification rules.

    Too much tinfoil has been handed out this cycle.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  15. if John Kerry’s ex wife had trashed him in an interview in 2004, the news networks would have slapped her in a straightjacket

    It is a stunning example of media hypocrisy.

    These folks aren’t going to talk about Vera Baker or why she was, in fact, shipped off to other part of the world.

    They buried the Lewinksy scandal until Drudge found it.

    They basically cooperated with JFK’s love life.

    But here was are with a known bitter divorce, and the ex is brought out for no policy purpose at all.

    Drudge helpfully adds a link below Perry’s endorsement of Newt with Perry discussing adultery. Helpful indeed, if you think this attack is from establishment republicans trying to secure a nominee.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  16. Asking your wife for permission to maintain a mistress on the side seems like a good qualification for the presidency of the Republic of France, for the presidency of the U.S., not so much.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  17. Brian Ross said he conducted the interview last Friday.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  18. And let’s not pay attention to discredited trolls who whispered that Perry is gay. Shameless dirty weasels.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  19. Let’s not pay attention to commenters who deliberately Dowdify quotes, you know who you are.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  20. 14. Rush say’s Drudge broke the story that ABC was sitting on the interview. Imagines Rhoades was the source. They had scheduled the story for Monday eve.

    So no, Romany is not cleared.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  21. These folks aren’t going to talk about Vera Baker or why she was, in fact, shipped off to other part of the world.

    Comment by Dustin — 1/19/2012 @ 1:05 pm

    Totally agree. I would add to that list the LA Times circulating a memo that said any stories about John Edwards cheating on his dying wife were not news and should not be reported.

    Kaisersoze (298188)

  22. “…we haven’t even got to Obama’s trolls yet….”

    I’m not so such about that.

    Though it is true that the Right has not showered itself with glory.

    Simon Jester (ea9dff)

  23. And let’s not pay attention to those who whisper that Joe Biden is brain dead………..oh wait he is.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  24. And let’s not pay attention to discredited trolls who whispered that Perry is gay. Shameless dirty weasels.

    Cmon, Perry said in the last debate that he was a “bigtime hunter”!! Do we have to draw you a map??

    I kid, I kid…

    Kaisersoze (298188)

  25. I would add to that list the LA Times circulating a memo that said any stories about John Edwards cheating on his dying wife were not news and should not be reported.

    Comment by Kaisersoze

    Forgot all about that.

    What liberal media?

    Dustin (7362cd)

  26. And let’s not pay attention to those who whisper that Joe Biden is brain dead………..oh wait he is.

    If Joe Biden had an open marriage, he would get lost on his way out.

    Kaisersoze (298188)

  27. I kid, I kid…

    Comment by Kaisersoze

    LOL

    It’s not a big deal anymore. And really, if Perry couldn’t handle this, then it’s just vetting that he is out now.

    But it brings total discredit upon those who claimed they were sitting on evidence that Perry or his supporters are gay, or that Perry is “Chicago level corrupt” or that Mitch Daniels is “p$$$$-whipped”. Such people are trashy and I don’t respect them. They can say ‘oh, I guess Perry couldn’t handle my lies and jokes and nastiness’, but they are still jokes and liars and nasty.

    Folks who draw false equivalence between that and an honestly harsh appraisal of Romney’s liberal record are also a bit discredited, though they probably meant it in good faith.

    This is a serious concern moving forward. When the GOP has to compromise as much as it will, with either Romney or (to lesser extent) Newt, it’s going to lead to a lot of people honestly noting the problems these men have. Some will get upset because ‘hey, big picture is Obama!!!! so shut up!!!!’

    It is definitely going to get a lot worse. But the nastiness seems mainly meant to shut down conservatives, so maybe in some ways it will get better.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  28. “Rush say’s Drudge broke the story that ABC was sitting on the interview. Imagines Rhoades was the source. They had scheduled the story for Monday eve.”

    I just heard Brian Ross on Chicago’s ABC radio station. According to him the interview was Friday. Then he was on the Italian cruise boat story. They had two election stories to release, the Romney offshore accounts and the Marianne Gingrich interview. Neither was going to be released Friday because it would not give the candidates time to respond before the primary. They obviously did not want the stories to step on each other by releasing them the same day.

    Back into the scheduling yourselves.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  29. If Joe Biden saw the Duggers he’d ask if they could go dig for coal.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  30. 19. “Dowdify”

    Might that mean quotations without context, supplying implications to lead the reader.

    Not familiar with the term, but the practice knows only joins in Venn diagrams.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  31. 28. And a Chi-Town radiohead is granted assumption of veracity?

    My wallet!! I had it a second ago!

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  32. Folks who cannot debate Romney’s record without resorting to class warfare rhetoric, Dowdifying quotes, presenting misleading statistics, resorting to hyperbole and then turning into shrieking harpies when the slightest light is turned on their own candidate need to develop thicker skins.

    It just doesn’t matter though, I’ve learned automatically not trust comments from certain sources even though they claim to be made in good faith, a laughable claim when they continue to repeat debunked claims.

    It’s the internet, why should I care.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  33. I heard both of these pieces of news today, and also that Iowa has now been called for Santorum, and Romney even called up Santorum and conceded.

    Thew open marriage request was also in the 2010 Esquire article, but this is on camera.

    So now, instead of it being, they were saying it could be Romney winning the first three states and that would guarantee him the nomination, they wanted to say…now it will be, Santorum won one state, Romney won the second and it could be newt Gingrich will win the third.

    I heard Newt Gingrich was saying (I think yesterday) that he suspected that Romney’s internal polls showed him losing.

    That is more likely with Rick Perry out of it, since the smallest portion of the otherwise-Perry votes should go to Romney, a or at least less than go to the larger of Gingrich or Santorum.

    Maybe Romney’s people even knew this could happen.

    I heard speculation that ABC was going to broadcast this interview on Monday (as Drudge reported) but Drudge reporting it caused them to put it up today.

    I also heard, and I thought it was not so, that Florida is a winner take all state. By the way depending on how the delegates are apportioned I think Romeny could get more delegates if there are fewer candidates even if his percentage stayed the same, in states where the delgates are split among the leading candidates.

    In 2008 there were a number of winner take all states, for instance New York, and what gave McCain his lead in delegates is that the states where he was in the lead, the more liberal ones, were winner take all for the Republican party, but this year the ruiles were changed and the Republican Party would not allow winner take all primaries until April. Florida, by the way, loses half the delegates it would be entitled to because it is holding its primary on January 31, and not February 1 or later, but even so it’s the biggest pile of delegates so far, more than the total that will be gotten from Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina combined.

    Let me reason it out: Those states now have 6, 4 and 9 Electoral votes (Iowa lost one and South Carolina gained one) for a total of 19 or 13 Representatives, while Florida has 29, or 27 representatives and even half is more than those 3 other atates. Convention delegates are awarded to a slightly different formula which gives more weight to being a state, and also weight to whether the Republican candidate won previous elections.

    Sammy Finkelman (d3daeb)

  34. Might that mean quotations without context, supplying implications to lead the reader.

    That’s what it means.

    I again note that people who were part of the whisper campaign there about Perry are liars and have zero credibility. Anyone claiming they had proof Perry was “chicago level corrupt” and then presented no evidence has zero credibility. Anyone claims someone is a liar, and then admits they think that person is arguing in good faith but “unconscious” of their error has zero credibility.

    What’s hilarious is this kind of cretin will usually pretend they are being objective. The idea of just being honest never occurs to them.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  35. “Might that mean quotations without context, supplying implications to lead the reader.”

    gary – Yes, it can mean deleting words which would give a quotation a more complete and perhaps different meaning than the shortened quote provided.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  36. “NEEDLE OF SEX”

    = nasty

    “I was only joking”

    = you caught me saying something I don’t agree with with in the ugliest way I could

    Dustin (7362cd)

  37. To me, the Gingrich not-story seems more likely to be the MFM being the MFM as opposed to dirty campaigning. I have no doubt that some were pleased to see it, I just don’t see a conspiracy. The MFM is nothing if not predictable.

    JD (7f6bca)

  38. Maureen Dowd is a Palin hating pustule.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  39. To me, the Gingrich not-story seems more likely to be the MFM being the MFM as opposed to dirty campaigning. I have no doubt that some were pleased to see it, I just don’t see a conspiracy. The MFM is nothing if not predictable.

    Comment by JD

    Sober and reasonable. I hope you’re right. It’s hard for me to give Romney a fair shake after the Iowa campaign against Newt, or the “Perry will kill social security” (actual quote). But I can admit my bias.

    The timing is certainly something for some to be pleased with, but that doesn’t prove anything.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  40. 37. Well Rush’s thinking was that the Ministry of Truth saw Romany polling above 40 in SC, unity numbers and wanted to hurt him first.

    Then after Neut walked back into contention mess him over.

    But Rhoades, possibly in on the Talent-Molinari conference call, torpedoed the schedule.

    So a synergy of common interest.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  41. JD, let me add, Drudge is a big pusher of this story. Is he the MFM? I guess in some ways he is.

    So a synergy of common interest

    heh

    When folks start throwing Obama’s name out there because of how he’s run his campaigns in the past, naturally it makes sense to throw out the other, more likely benefactor.

    But all we know for sure is that ABC, Drudge, and Marianna wanted this story out there. Again, Drudge is actually putting Perry’s discussion of adultery next to his endorsement. It’s not news coverage… it’s news handling.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  42. Comment by JD — 1/19/2012 @ 12:09 pm

    And Santorum won Iowa?! ?

    I told you so. Comment number 160 in the Iowa Open Thread

    https://patterico.com/2012/01/04/iowa-open-thread/

    The latest news before this announcement was that the state party would withdraw its annnouncement that Romney had won and declare it more time was needed to come up with a winner.

    But instead they simply said Santorum was the winner by 34 votes, and didn’t count the missing eight precincts * but they awarded the victory to Santorum, and gave up on finding out the totals in the missing 8 precincts. Maybe they don’t want any more attention called to that.

    * They were reported by Nate Silver on January 6:

    http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/winner-of-iowa-caucus-still-in-doubt/?scp=1&sq=santorum%20lobby&st=cse

    In addition to Pleasant Franklin, there are seven other precincts throughout Iowa that are still being reported as having had no Republican turnout. These precincts are listed in the state party’s spreadsheet, but contain no votes.

    Sammy Finkelman (d3daeb)

  43. Helpfully, Schmidt is doing commentary for MSNBC, MacKinnon is working with Americans Elect, and Nicole Wallace is struting her wares on some dingy poorly lighted street.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  44. I would quibble with Drudge pushing it. ABsC and Ross saw fit to make it newsy and put her in front of a camera over a decade after the fact.

    JD (7f6bca)

  45. would quibble with Drudge pushing it. ABsC and Ross saw fit to make it newsy and put her in front of a camera over a decade after the fact.

    It would be unfair to give them all equal shares of responsibility.

    But Drudge pushed the hell out of it. Even claimed it was a Drudge exclusive story. Had that siren and the word bombshell for about an hour with no link, as blogs reported that there was some bombshell related to a presidential candidate. We didn’t even know which candidate.

    After Perry endorsed Newt, Drudge linked that and then linked a “flashback” story about Perry talking about how adulterers will cheat you in business (it’s still up there). That seems to be designed to undercut Perry endorsing Newt, pushing the importance of the claims of Newt’s ex.

    By my gauge, that’s pushing the story quite hard.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  46. I don’t question that Drudge is pushing it. But ABC is the primary culprit.

    JD (7f6bca)

  47. Ace has a post up on Brian Ross’s salesmanship:

    http://ace.mu.nu/archives/325813.php

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  48. I don’t question that Drudge is pushing it. But ABC is the primary culprit.

    Comment by JD

    You’re right.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  49. Gary, that’s just awful.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  50. I’m pretty sure that some SC voters will be horrified by the “open marriage” thing, but I think more will be upset at the trashy timing of this interview dredging up old dirt. And I think the Caymans thing will harm Romney.

    I expect Newt to win SC going away.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  51. Brian Ross seems to be just a partisan hack. That’s where the pushback should go: ending his career.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  52. Well ABC does stand for All Barack Channel.

    But Jeopardy and Wheel Of Fortune is good.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  53. Google’s shares are crashing, no profits.

    Must be me changing my default setting.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  54. Or it must be Bush’s fault.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  55. re Drudge’s culpability

    It would be naive to think that folks at the networks, the WaPo and NYT don’t give him a heads-up on coming stories. Indeed, the Politico dudes are on the record about how it worked before they started Politico.

    Karl (f07e38)

  56. You’re assuming everything that bitter ex said was true. Kind of foolish don’t you think?

    mare (e6060b)

  57. To Dowdify a quote means to replace internal words with an ellipsis, thus implying that the omitted words don’t change the meaning, when in fact they do radically change it. The word was coined after Maureen Dowd did a particularly nasty one to a Bush quote.

    Milhouse (d7842d)

  58. Did Ross call it a request for an open marriage first, or did the bitter mistress/wife/ex ?

    JD (7f6bca)

  59. Oh yeah… I think Milhouse’s definition is correct.

    Kinda forgot all about it. I mean, who gives a crap about Ms Dowd anymore? She’s with the NYT and is about as relevant as anyone else there.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  60. The lady is getting irritated:

    http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/19/palin-dumb-arses-in-media-overplayed-their-hand-with-gingrich/

    Oh, sorry, the slutty ignorant Wasilla populist has-been.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  61. You’re assuming everything that bitter ex said was true. Kind of foolish don’t you think?

    Comment by mare

    Yes, but maybe folks are beaten into submission on this stuff by how Cain handled the accusations he faced. They just don’t want to relive anything like that. Who knows what’s next (there probably is a next planned, btw).

    Not saying Cain did anything wrong. Not saying these comments have any merit.

    I just don’t even care. I actually find the biggest scandal in this to be that our media and our political class (insofar as they did) work this way. It’s a trend, it’s sick, it’s why our country is headed in the wrong direction.

    It’s been the worst primary. From sleaze to unconstitutional rules about how to rip candidates off ballots.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  62. 56. Laura reported they’re looking for palm grease but hadn’t found any by 11 AM.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  63. 59. The hot flashes seem to have moderated, but then I don’t do paywalls.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  64. I believe Palin is correct, Gary, that Marianne’s interview was presented as intended to destroy a campaign.

    Granted, if you think Newt is a horrible person, that is very relevant to whether he should be president, but with all the issues we face as a country, the internals of their divorce strike me as a very poor way to evaluate which agenda and candidate will lead us in the right direction.

    It’s hard to say that after the Swift Boaters righteously destroyed John Kerry. I wonder if I’m being hypocritical.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  65. 65. On the maligned ‘Swift Boaters’ her term for the practice was ‘Joe McGinnissed’. Put that in your vocabulary Neuter.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  66. No, I don’t think so. The Swift Boat Veterans had a legitimate and relevant issue. Kerry was campaigning on the basis of being a war hero, so they had to tell the world that he was anything but. They were the only ones who could tell this, because they were the ones who served with him and saw what really happened. They had no axe to grind; if he’d really been a hero why would they say otherwise? They were also people of proven honor, and there were many of them, so it wasn’t just a matter of he-said-she-said. None of that applies to Marianne Gingrich.

    Milhouse (d7842d)

  67. That’s a great argument, Milhouse. Appreciate it.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  68. On the maligned ‘Swift Boaters’ her term for the practice was ‘Joe McGinnissed’. Put that in your vocabulary Neuter.

    Comment by gary gulrud

    Can you imagine how he’d be faring today if he had thought of that?

    Damn.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  69. Marianne Ginther is a 53 year old scorned lover.

    By the way won’t Chuckie from LGF get a hard-on like he did with the smears against Cain.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  70. Take it under consideration – or don’t – but this goes to the “character” issue with Newt. He lacks discipline, he’s self-indulgent, has a chaotic leadership style and if you don’t think this will affect his electability or that these are serious liabilities, think again.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  71. You just described your boy Romney.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  72. Daley… Dustin says you lack credibility? I say wear that badge with honor and sin no more, good sir.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  73. Why would anyone think that the very sleaze that prompted Newt to leave office – caused by his undisciplined, hypocritical, semi-dissolute lifestyle – wouldn’t come back to haunt him?

    Get real.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  74. Brian Ross seems to be just a partisan hack. That’s where the pushback should go: ending his career.

    Comment by Kevin M

    Perhaps I missed it, as I was at work and don’t surf the web on my company’s dime, but have you walked back your baseless/slimy allegations against the Romney campaign, Kev?

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  75. Romney is Like Perez Hilton both whine about bigotry.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  76. DaleyKos lacks credibility just like all the romneybots.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  77. From the Wall Street Journal’s “Best of teh Web”

    Bye-Ku for Rick Perry

    Trounced in Iowa
    New Hampshire and–the third one
    I can’t. Sorry. Oops

    Sammy Finkelman (d3daeb)

  78. Now, if Newt can hold onto enough of the Republican base, he might take 20% of the Democrat vote with this. You know how this stuff is a resume enhancement in the Democrat Party. I wouldn’t make too many snap judgments here. I don’t understand why the media’s pretending to be so upset about these charges coming from Marianne. I mean, it’s all about sex and how many times are we told that somebody’s sex life, even if they’re president, doesn’t matter. It’s nobody’s business as long as it doesn’t affect the job.

    I haven’t seen any critical commentary laced with righteous indignation from conservatives regarding this…. nor any declarations that they can no longer vote for him. Anyone?

    Dana (4eca6e)

  79. Well gosh, I think Newt is a horrible person. That’s old.

    Sarahw (ca6b8d)

  80. “[The Swift-Boat Vets] were also people of proven honor”

    – Milhouse

    They were? Based on what?

    Leviticus (dd1d7b)

  81. Marianne Gingrich is just a scorned bytch.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  82. OMG, Newt was just awesome as he blistered the CNN moderator for bringing the Newt issue – stating that it shameful he chose that to bring up at the beginning of Presidential debate. He wouldn’t back down no matter how much John King tried to frame it.

    Dana (4eca6e)

  83. Perhaps I missed it, as I was at work and don’t surf the web on my company’s dime, but have you walked back your baseless/slimy allegations against the Romney campaign, Kev?

    No, I was busy re-reading all the baseless, slimy accusations you’ve made in support of Romney over the past few months. Except it seems my accusations weren’t baseless or slimy considering Brian Ross, who is a serial liar. Even today.

    I see that you seem to be out of touch with Republicans considering what’s happening in this debate, btw. Gingrich might end up winning SC with a majority.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  84. This seems more like Anita Hill than Swiftboat, btw.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  85. Jack Ryan, Newt Gingrich…

    You can either suppose that scorned exes make shit up, or that electable Republicans are human too. I’ll take the latter. At least his yearnings were of the heterosexual variety, unlike the wide stance evangelical hypocrite types.

    You just described your boy Romney.

    Yeah, but Romney has that underwear, so he can’t really cheat. I guess.

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    carlitos (f8d42e)

  86. This is Rick Perry’s strongest debate performance EVAH!!!!!!

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  87. I expect Newt to win SC going away.
    Comment by Kevin M — 1/19/2012 @ 2:17 pm

    — Put your wallet away.

    Icy (83a940)

  88. If you’re a fan of grandiosity, Newt is your man.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  89. 56. You’re assuming everything that bitter ex said was true. Kind of foolish don’t you think?
    Comment by mare — 1/19/2012 @ 2:48 pm

    — Your link to Newt refuting ANYTHING that she said, please?

    Icy (83a940)

  90. Except it seems my accusations weren’t baseless or slimy considering Brian Ross, who is a serial liar. Even today.

    Straw man much, Kev? Accusing Brian Ross is one thing, but you went a tad farther than that.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  91. The thoughts of Newt and “open marriage”… wash that taste out of your mouth… I dare ya.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  92. This is what Brian Ross did, putting the lives of
    CIA interrogators and their family in danger,

    http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=7471217&page=1

    He was also behind revealing the name of the secret
    prisons where we sequestered the likes of KSM,

    narciso (87e966)

  93. 80. Well gosh, I think Newt is a horrible person. That’s old.
    Comment by Sarahw — 1/19/2012 @ 4:58 pm

    — True. He has been a terrible person for a looooong time.

    Icy (83a940)

  94. Yes, someone who can be counted to be trustworthy;

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-ross/how-is-president-obama-re_b_708671.html

    narciso (87e966)

  95. Open marriage with Newt sounds like a win-win:
    All of the jewelry, none of the “eww, get off of me!”

    Icy (83a940)

  96. Newt is the smartest man in the room . . .

    Just ask him — he’ll tell you so.

    Icy (83a940)

  97. “[The Swift-Boat Vets] were also people of proven honor”

    They were? Based on what?

    Based on their honourable service, for one thing. Actual service, for their full time, not scurrying away as soon as they possibly could. How dare anyone question their word? Then there’s their behaviour when they came home, which as far as anyone knows has been without blemish, unlike Kerry’s. I also base it on Beldar’s personal testimony about John O’Neil’s integrity in circumstances where many would have been tempted to prevaricate.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  98. Anyone wanna bet if th eleft paid off Scaryanne?

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  99. the left*

    Awwww man.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  100. the left*

    Awwww man.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  101. Is anybody under the impression that Ross isn’t a scumbag?

    Newt is an undisciplined, grandiose, immoral, self-serving politician who is an excellent debater and a champion winker.

    He doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell of being elected to POTUS. Too much baggage and way too unlikable for a general election.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  102. What do you think he will do to your candidate,

    narciso (87e966)

  103. Posts 95 and 96… shoots, scores and you can put it in The Book.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  104. Notice the grandiosity flaring even in high school with the Newtster.

    Now… here’s a real American:

    http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/easel/images/galleries/064131_Mitt_Romney-Senior_Photo_2.jpg

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  105. Icy is smarter than you……….the arrogant tool said so.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  106. Will Colonel Haiku trash Palin next?

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  107. Gee, I wish I had the courage to call Newt’s ex-wife the b-word.

    Icy (83a940)

  108. All mitt can do is spend,spend,spend.
    And finish with a silver medal.

    sickofrinos (44de53)

  109. 99. Freudian slip, elefant.

    Freud: America is one big mistake.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  110. I don’t agree with Rep. Gingrich that asking him about his ex-wife’s open marriage claims is one of the most despicable things imaginable, but it was pretty despicable and obnoxious, it was an absurd and offensive way to start the debate, and (other than his claim that it was one of the most despicable things he could imagine, which i think was probably rhetorical exaggeration), his answer was right on.

    It was at the very least an embarassment to CNN that they opened the debate this way, and they deserved the anger they got in response.

    aphrael (1fc48e)

  111. Once again we see the big problem Romany faces in his march into history.

    Rove, Coulter, Lowry, Coburn, Rubin,.. His supporters are rectal pores. Present company unnamed.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  112. That was a gift to Gingrich, aphrael. King is stupid, but not that stupid.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  113. Newt’s b-slap on King was felt hard by the republican establishment.

    sickofrinos (44de53)

  114. So Newt was a hypocrite in terms of his private morality back then. Personally, I think this pales in comparison to the “ask for a divorce on her deathbed” meme (I’m calling it a meme to indicate that it’s not a true story) and that’s been old old news for a very long time. “I’m a changed man” should be more than enough of an answer, even if the story is true (and I’m not saying it is true).

    But may I suggest we consider the real problem here?
    With Perry out, the Republican Party now has on offer for its Presidential candidate
    –a proven liberal who comes rather close to being a Wall Street insider, thanks to his connections to Bain Capital
    –one of the ultimate in Washington insiders, who also has a claim to the world’s record on indiscipline and coming up with bad ideas, and who has a liking for big government ideas even when they’re good
    –a social conservative whose career in the Senate was one long advocacy of big government.
    And then there’s a certain congressman from Texas, whom y’all have declared off the reservation for reasons I don’t really grok, but who who is of the far far closer to the Tea Party ideals than any of the others.

    So for all the big wins in 2008, the Tea Party has come up rather dry in 2010 so far. Sounds to me like it’s time to regroup, rethink and retool.

    JBS (f580b6)

  115. JBS: oh, I dunno. I think, if his ex-wife’s claims are true, Rep. Gingrich’s behavior was despicable; if you want an open marriage, you negotiate it in advance, not after you’ve been cheating on your wife for six years.

    But it’s not the kind of despicable behavior which should be the opening salvo in a presidential debate.

    aphrael (1fc48e)

  116. Also: thank you for noticing that Sen. Santorum is a big-government conservative. This became really obvious during the debate with Rep. Paul about who was more pro life; Santorum’s body language showed that he really didn’t understand Paul’s argument at all.

    aphrael (1fc48e)

  117. Even Newt’s outrage at the questions that opened the debate was feigned. The guy is a phony.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  118. Just read his comments immediately following the debate. The guy is a Grade “A” phony.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  119. Muzzies backing the nut job Paul, says it all.
    And yes paulbot, regroup to the democratic party.

    sickofrinos (44de53)

  120. Like Mitt’s comments in the ’94 debates, or in that speaking tour in 2003, which part is true.

    narciso (87e966)

  121. Personally, I think this pales in comparison to the “ask for a divorce on her deathbed” meme (I’m calling it a meme to indicate that it’s not a true story) and that’s been old old news for a very long time

    That was after another affair and involves another ex-wife. This sort of crap is the way Democrats live their lives, not people who preach family values.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  122. 116. So none of these cretins are worth a tinker’s damn, time to think outside the box.

    Vote in a Senate majority, replace Boner and McCoward and shutdown government.

    Price for compromise is Impeachment and Trial on charges of Treason.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  123. What positive political or world event of the last three decades won’t Gingrich either take credit for or, at the very least, try to associate himself with?

    He’s like Zelig.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  124. After Dole, Hyde, Sanford, Ensign, and Vitter, to name a few, that kind of naivete is touching.

    narciso (87e966)

  125. Was mitty pro life tonight?

    sickofrinos (44de53)

  126. Personally, I think this pales in comparison to the “ask for a divorce on her deathbed” meme (I’m calling it a meme to indicate that it’s not a true story) and that’s been old old news for a very long time

    That was after another affair and involves another ex-wife. This sort of crap is the way Democrats live their lives, not people who preach family values.

    Comment by Colonel Haiku — 1/19/2012 @ 7:37 pm

    That, and it is not true. So, there is that.

    JD (318f81)

  127. Gingrich was asked about his ex-wife’s interview the very first question.

    I like the way he handled it.

    Chuck Bartowski (490c6f)

  128. I don’t agree with Rep. Gingrich that asking him about his ex-wife’s open marriage claims is one of the most despicable things imaginable,

    I don’t think he said that asking him about it was the most despicable thing imaginable, I took it as him saying that running his ex-wife’s gossipy interview two days before the primary was the despicable thing.

    Chuck Bartowski (490c6f)

  129. JBS: oh, I dunno. I think, if his ex-wife’s claims are true, Rep. Gingrich’s behavior was despicable; if you want an open marriage, you negotiate it in advance, not after you’ve been cheating on your wife for six years.

    I don’t think it’s anybody’s business what he asked of his wife at the time. At least that’s what some Democrats want us to believe about their candidates.

    And given how the press scrupulously ignored the John Edwards affair that was happening right under their noses until long after the election, I don’t see how anyone has any right to make an issue of Newt’s dalliance.

    Chuck Bartowski (490c6f)

  130. One of the most despicable …

    I didnt see the insincerity claimed above. I thought it was cute how John King kept calling him Sir while continuing to bring it up.

    JD (318f81)

  131. “That, and it is not true. So, there is that.”

    Comment by JD

    Yes, the deathbed stuff was courtesy of Georgie Steponpoupolus and wasn’t true. But it was just another affair and another ex-wife.

    He’s the only candidate that has this sort of crappy, immoral baggage. He’s done it to himself. Carrying on with a woman who was not the one he was married to, while leading the impeachment effort. This sordid stuff may not bother some folks, but it – coupled with his other character flaws – will bother enough to make it highly unlikely that he would ever win election to the office of POTUS.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  132. The left are the most vile pieces of shat.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  133. And given how the press scrupulously ignored the John Edwards affair that was happening right under their noses until long after the election, I don’t see how anyone has any right to make an issue of Newt’s dalliance.

    Not to mention that it was reported and documented by the Enquirer and then ignored AS A MATTER OF POLICY by the mainstream media.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  134. Newt thanked CNN after calling them “despicable” less than two hours earlier.

    He’s a phony.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  135. SO, let me get this straight. Of the two viable candidates, the has considerable personal baggage but a commitment to a deep and lasting reduction in the size and power of the federal government; the second has financial baggage and no perceivable wish to make any real change. The election hinges on financial and governmental concerns, with social issues a distant worry. And everyone is supposed to worry about Guy #1’s private life?

    I really don’t get it. We’re not marrying him, we’re electing him President. I want the guy who’s going to get the job done, not the corporate suit who’s going to manage the welfare state better.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  136. …the FIRST has considerable…

    Kevin M (563f77)

  137. It’s really amazing the number of commenters who mistake snark for thought. It’s like they are going for some kind of most-comments-in-a-day prize.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  138. Chuck at 130, fair point, but still … the most despicable thing *imagineable*? I mean, we live in a world in which coaches rape school children in locker rooms and in which angry mobs beat and kill people over religious differences. If running the interview right before the primary is really the most despicable thing Rep. Gingrich can imagine, then he’s got a very poor imagination.

    I don’t want to make too much of this, as I think it’s a forgivable rhetorical exaggeration.

    aphrael (1fc48e)

  139. Haiku – phony that does what ought to be done is better than sincere that does what ought not.

    Sarahw (ca6b8d)

  140. Chuck at 131, yes. I’m holding two viewpoints which don’t actually conflict: if the allegations are true, Rep. Gingrich’s behavior was despicable, and it is not the kind of behavior which should be at issue in a presidential election.

    But I don’t want my statement of the latter to be viewed as an endorsement of his behavior. I’m a social liberal; i’ve got friends who are quite happy in their open marriages, and I have no problem with that – but if you’re going to play the game, one of the fundamental rules is that everyone has to agree, and if that rule was broken, what you have is something quite different.

    aphrael (1fc48e)

  141. Ross has done much more reckless things in the past,
    as I illustrated before, he’s also done some good work, re Solyndra.

    narciso (87e966)

  142. Marianne would be sooo much more sympathetic and believable, and the whole thing would feel so much more scandalous had she herself not been the willing “other woman” with whom he committed adultery while he was still married to Carol. I don’t excuse what they did. Just pointing out that Marianne seems somewhat lacking in self awareness–no?

    elissa (28c05d)

  143. Did Ross use the phrase open marriage, or did she? I couldn’t tell if he introduced it and she agreed with him, or if se introduced the phrase.

    JD (318f81)

  144. lol… that’s a good point, elissa. In this case, what was good for the goose was good for the goose.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  145. Why is it that something that Gingrich did 30 years ago supposed to dash his presidental chances?

    But when a democrap has an extramarital affair 45 years ago it’s off limits.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  146. And by the way doesn’t this bytch feel any shame over the fact she herself committed adultery?

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  147. On someone who had cancer.

    Hypocritical pious idiotic wench she cheated on a man whose wife had cancer but she whines that he cheated on her while she Had MS.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  148. Heh.

    “Newt’s opening answer was very strong and will be replayed a lot. But I thought it was overstated and, as he kept going, it became clear he was trying to squelch the issue rather than express his true rage. When he was all lovey-dovey with John King after the debate, it underscored that it was as much performance as anything else.”

    – Jonah Goldberg

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  149. It takes a zany village.

    Just ask Hillary.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  150. philipaklein You’re just despicable! RT @RobGeorge: How can ANY third party “back up” a question that was said between two married people?

    JRubinBlogger @philipaklein @RobGeorge let me just say every woman in america could spot the phony indignation and fake anger

    philipaklein @JRubinBlogger I thought it was obnoxious. But have no idea how SC voters will react. Hatred of media runs deep.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  151. “Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. I wouldn’t give a hoot in Hell for a man who lost and laughed.” – George S. Patton

    All the candidates have more baggage than Samsonite, but Newt has one of the largest sets. He is the Vietnam of candidates – won in the early rounds, ultimately defeated. He led the 1994 Republican House victories, and won some early Contract With America provisions. But then he caved to Team Clinton and alienated his own House leadership (is it too late to draft Steve Largent in the 2012 primaries?), and nosedived like Leisure Suit Larry at a lesbian convention. He has some good ideas, but he is PR challenged, and has not given us any indication that he learned the leadership and managerial skills he lacked as House Speaker.

    Sadly, Mitt is the least of evils, and I am utterly terrified, because I fear Obama will spin Romneycare = Obamacare, and Romney won’t know how to counter. I hope Romney knows that Romneycare is the radioactive virulent albatross that it is, and that he faces a monumental challenge giving conservative voters hope.

    Alan K. Henderson (6725b5)

  152. newt and callista
    frog prince and the wicked witch
    that’s bumpin’ uglies

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  153. No, he doesn’t understand as you see from the debate, and John Goodman I mean Dennis Hastert was worse over the following 8 years.

    narciso (87e966)

  154. Hypocritical pious idiotic wench she cheated on a man whose wife never had cancer but she whines that he cheated on her while she Had MS, which got cured apparently.

    FIFY

    Kevin M (563f77)

  155. “RomneyCare” is for Massachusetts only and each of the viable candidates has repeatedly promised to rid America of ObamaCare. Obama is the issue and people had better stop fearing hypotheticals and get busy with defeating Obama and banishing the Democrats from any leadership if our country is to remain free and regain prosperity… whoever the candidate ends up being.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  156. #152: Yeah, JRubin is such an impartial observer. She’s only written, what, 113 columns favoring Romney.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  157. But I’ve been told I don’t get it.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  158. Masscare is on page 33, of the Obamacare brief,

    narciso (87e966)

  159. she’s right up there with who you quote, Kev.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  160. Looks to me like Gingrich fought slime with counter-slime. Seems fair enough. I think he did better with that than Romney has done with Bain’s history in SC.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  161. No, he doesn’t understand as you see from the debate, and John Goodman I mean Dennis Hastert was worse over the following 8 years.

    Hastert was nothing more than the referee at the feeding trough.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  162. ______________________________________________

    Meanwhile, Gingrich in 1999 asked his second wife for an “open marriage”

    With same-sex marriage being foisted onto the public — and one’s support of it sort of the new barometer to gauge people’s level of compassion and tolerance — polygamy is merely the next step. So Gingrich is just ahead of the game. Moreover, with Islamicism/Sharia Law and liberalism in the Western World (particularly emanating from ivory-tower intellectuals), this isn’t just a case of being flippant or sarcastic.

    Actually, and beyond that, with so many scandals occurring over the past few decades (eg, Monica and Bill!), is anything shocking to anyone any longer? Even more so by the standards of over 40 years ago — or even longer ago, when TV sets still used tubes and showed black-and-white images — we live in an increasingly dumbed-down, desensitized era.

    Mark (411533)

  163. …with Islamicism/Sharia Law and liberalism in the Western World becoming odd bedfellows

    Mark (411533)

  164. _______________________________________

    Hypocritical pious idiotic wench

    I notice the ex-wife is reported as describing herself as a “conservative Republican.” However, I wonder if her version (or definition) of that is similar to the version spun by Delaware’s Christine McDonnell? Then, too, with Marianne’s ex-husband dissing cultural conservatives several months ago, and with the tendency of like-minded people to attract one another, there’s a good possibility that Gingrich’s ex is no less two-faced (a woman who gets cheated on with a guy who she herself cheated with?!) and flaky than someone like Christine.

    Mark (411533)

  165. 163. Line of the evening.

    Hastert went ‘assault on separation of powers’ when Justice Dept. went after ‘ColdCash’ Jefferson.

    None of this matters in SC. The question rather is whether it will hurt a rebound in FL.

    With all the sinners nearer their Maker than? It isn’t entitlement reform.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  166. I suppose its possible the Marianne is vindictive and stwetching the truth.

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/01/gingrich-daughters-open-marriage-claim-is-simply-not-true/

    Looks cirrhotic to me, but then getting one’s favorite makeup by the TSA without a full cavity latex rape is a challenge.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  167. “Based on their honourable service, for one thing. Actual service, for their full time, not scurrying away as soon as they possibly could. How dare anyone question their word? Then there’s their behaviour when they came home, which as far as anyone knows has been without blemish, unlike Kerry’s. I also base it on Beldar’s personal testimony about John O’Neil’s integrity in circumstances where many would have been tempted to prevaricate.”

    – Milhouse

    “How dare anyone question their word?” he said huffily.

    Seriously?

    It’s funny, because you know exactly what I’m sneering about right now – the idea that these guys somehow magically get automatic respect for their military service but that Kerry somehow doesn’t because shut up. Actual service, or something. And (*whispers*) “I heard he shot that guy in the BACK. Can you BELIEVE that?”

    Whatever… I’m not gonna waste my time defending a politician like John Kerry, but it would save his detractors a great deal of mawkish effort and (frankly) outraged hypocrisy to leave his military service out of their criticisms. Particularly when all their candidates are spending precious debate minutes huffing and puffing about how their grandfather served in the military. Say what you will about John Kerry, but at least he was whoring his own resume when he “reported for duty” on that stage; he didn’t have to stoop to the level of whoring the courage of his grandfather.

    Leviticus (dd1d7b)

  168. From just about the reddest state in the Union:

    http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/kstu-corner-canyon-hs-mascot-corner-canyon-hs-has-a-mascot-colors-20120118,0,5030389.story

    That clinches it, this country is not salvagable.

    Go Sioux, go Warriors.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  169. SO, let me get this straight. Of the two viable candidates, the has considerable personal baggage but a commitment to a deep and lasting reduction in the size and power of the federal government; the second has financial baggage and no perceivable wish to make any real change.

    — No, you don’t quite have it straight yet.

    Icy (d7eedf)

  170. ‘Meanwhile, Gingrich in 1999 asked his second wife for an “open marriage”‘

    Looks more like he just went out an made it an open marriage, and then asked if it was o.k. years after the fact.

    Let’s face it…Newtie is a total scumbag and a fat hypocrite in the bargain.

    Maybe it’s too much to ask, but I’d really like to have a guy in the White House who doesn’t wipe his ass on the Ten Commandments every time he gets an itch in his pants.

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  171. If you want lib judges, and a person who is undecided on everything, Mitty is your home run hitter.
    I’ll take the smart ass who fights back. A little ball of hate, is what this country needs.

    sickofrinos (44de53)

  172. Mitt will not release his tax returns, because he made so damn much money in 2008-09. Betting against America, just like Soros.

    sickofrinos (44de53)

  173. 171. “Of the two viable candidates”

    I think the error is somewhere in here.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  174. 174. The Wrath of Sicko strikes the death blow.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  175. Gingrich could have chosen to respond with his statement that he had erred in the past, caused much pain to others while erring, but had asked for God’s forgiveness and moved on.

    But he couldn’t find it in himself to do it. He instead chose to double-down on his hypocrisy, act the swine, called his ex-wife a liar, etc. He is not of sound moral fiber or character. He is certainly not presidential material.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  176. 172. “every time he gets an itch in his pants”

    Bet Newt’s problem with wimmin has nothing to do with sex. They have a problem with being unloved.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  177. 177. “He instead chose to double-down on his hypocrisy, act the swine,”

    Project we much.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  178. “Newt always manages to be the victim, doesn’t he? When he says “destructive,” “vicious,” and “despicable,” he’s talking about what others are doing to him, never about what he does to, for example, someone to whom he has pledged his life and honor.”

    – Jay Nordlinger

    Ouch.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  179. He’s done it to himself. Carrying on with a woman who was not the one he was married to, while leading the impeachment effort.

    What has one thing got to do with the other? Why do you see an incongruity there? Unless, for short-term electoral advantage, you’re willing to repeat the Democrat false propaganda that Clinton was impeached for adultery. Shame on you.

    Milhouse (9a4c23)

  180. If running the interview right before the primary is really the most despicable thing Rep. Gingrich can imagine, then he’s got a very poor imagination.

    I think he meant it’s the most despicable thing he can imagine a purportedly journalistic enterprise doing.

    Milhouse (9a4c23)

  181. Hypocritical pious idiotic wench she cheated on a man whose wife had cancer but she whines that he cheated on her while she Had MS.

    1. She didn’t have cancer. 2. By the time she went to hospital to have the tumour out the marriage was already over.

    Milhouse (9a4c23)

  182. It’s funny, because you know exactly what I’m sneering about right now – the idea that these guys somehow magically get automatic respect for their military service but that Kerry somehow doesn’t because shut up.

    Because they’ve all got his only supposed credential, in spades. If he is to believed because he served, then how are they not to be believed? There’s also a lot more of them than of him.

    Actual service, or something.

    Yes. Kerry did the absolute minimum he could possibly do, got out as soon as he could, and immediately started doing the exact opposite. They did their duty, stayed for their full terms, and continued to behave honourably afterward.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  183. ‘Meanwhile, Gingrich in 1999 asked his second wife for an “open marriage”

    Dave – The Romney campaign was behind that.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  184. Haiku – fair chance his ex-wife IS a liar, although he didn’t call her that.

    sarahW (b0e533)

  185. Maybe it’s too much to ask, but I’d really like to have a guy in the White House who doesn’t wipe his ass on the Ten Commandments every time he gets an itch in his pants.

    To get absolutely technical, Gingrich didn’t violate the ten commandments. What he did wasn’t adultery, as the term is used in the seventh commandment, because the women he dallied with were not married. In Biblical law there’s no such thing as a “married man”; women are married to men, not the other way around. That’s why a man can have multiple wives married to him, but a woman cannot be simultaneously married to multiple husbands.

    Clinton violated not the seventh commandment but the third and ninth (false oaths and false testimony).

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  186. But you keep wasting time on this point. Marrianne is not new and not news.

    King forehead must be stopped – an only Newt can do it. He’s got his plusses, one of them being the capacity and inclination (even if motivated out of self interest) to make the case for checking the federal leviathan about to swallow what used to be America.

    sarahW (b0e533)

  187. “But you keep wasting time on this point. Marrianne is not new and not news.”

    sarahW – Actually, to a lot of younger voters and non-political junkies Marianne is not old news. Newt has never been vetted on the national stage.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  188. Hey! I’m younger than springtime. Almost

    sarahW (b0e533)

  189. The way the ex-wife described it she interpreted Newt’s meaning, and assumed the worst.

    How likely is it that the speaker of the house who was concurrently being given the Tom Delay/Sarah Palin treatment would open up a new front in his private life for those who wished him ill to beat him with?

    Look at the transcript:
    MARIANNE GINGRICH: I said to him, we’ve been married a long time. And he said, yes, but you want me all to yourself. Callista doesn’t care what I do.

    ROSS: What was he saying to you, do you think?

    MARIANNE GINGRICH: He was asking to have an open marriage, and I refused.

    Is Marianne’s the only interpretation?
    Wasn’t it common knowledge that Marianne and Newt were separated, had been separated for some time?

    In a PBS retrospective of Gingrich’s career from 1996, Kwame Holman asked about the chances of
    Gingrich running against Clinton for President.
    Gingrich answered; “After we finish reconciliation, we’ll frankly sit down probably during a Thanksgiving break, if there is one, and Mary and I will talk about it.”

    http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/congress/november96/newtb_11-20.html

    Four years before this incident describe by the disgruntled ex-wife, Newt and Mary were unreconciled about something.

    Sorry if this is old news for you. It’s a revelation for me, and apparently still undiscovered at Wikipedia.

    papertiger (e55ba0)

  190. President Zipper Problem, how would you grade the current crop of White House Interns? Have you met any possible Lewinskys?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  191. The humor was in Jerry Rivers being all indignant abotu Newt this morning.

    narciso (87e966)

  192. Papertiger – I think that’s a misreading. I would interpret “finish reconciliation” as a reference to the Congressional Reconciliation process. It seems substantially more likely that ‘reconciliation’ as a noun would be used with that meaning than the meaning you are inferring; the meaning you are inferring would more naturally be represetned as ‘after we finish reconciling’.

    aphrael (5d993c)

  193. Whatever… I’m not gonna waste my time defending a politician like John Kerry,

    Prudent.

    papertiger (e55ba0)

  194. I would interpret “finish reconciliation” as a reference to the Congressional Reconciliation process.

    Of course it means that. Anyone who follows politics would immediately recognise the term even now; but at the time when he said it the reconciliation was happening right then, and was therefore all over the news, so anyone hearing it would have instantly understood it.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  195. 191.Hey! I’m younger than springtime.

    Keep talking Happy Talk, sarah 🙂

    Chuck Bartowski (3bccbd)

  196. 192. Persuasive.

    Not so persuasive-Romany electable:

    http://www.gallup.com/poll/152114/Six-Voters-Obama-Romney-Matchup.aspx

    36% of Indies definitely will not vote for the Candidate. 31% of Republicans have not committed, and don’t regard themselves as likely to vote for the Candidate.

    About half, 15% of Republicans will not vote for Romany.

    That computes to about 41%. Spend it wisely suckas, don’t waste it on IL, NY, CA, NJ and other hopeless causes.

    gary gulrud (1de2db)

  197. Yes Newt Gingrich supposedly cheating on his wife is an act of terrorism.

    God I abhor lefties.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  198. And lefties calling Gingrich ugly is ironic to say the least I guess Pelosi is a sexy goddess of botox or something.

    Has anyone seen Pelosi pose naked for playboy?

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  199. From Legal Insurrection:

    “Robert Costa of National Review reported yesterday a news story from 1999 that Marianne was the one who broke the relationship years before the divorce by cleaning out the house of all furniture while Newt was away, and that they were separated for six years before briefly reconciling:”

    Again, Callista probably entered the picture during the separation. The excerpt from an interview with Marianne strains credulity to believe that an open marriage was considered.

    Indubitably, it was the coyote crunching thru his humerus and awaking his cohabitant, making his exit.

    grim reaper (1de2db)

  200. 201. Aiyeee, my eyes, thumb them out!!!

    grim reaper (1de2db)

  201. Oh, crap, first time listener, long time caller.

    gary gulrud (1de2db)

  202. Dohbiden, what’s the context for the ‘act of terrorism’ comment?

    aphrael (5d993c)

  203. I don’t believe that aphrael.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  204. You should see the comment God I abhor lefties.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  205. OK–here’re the key results of an informal poll of 9 fairly savvy and smart women at a coffee klatch meeting this morning:

    1. All believe Marianne is not telling the truth or at least not the whole truth.

    2. All feel she is probably being paid and that she looks embarrassingly pathetic and whiny still holding a grudge after all these years.

    3. No one can figure out why Newt seems to be so darn successful with women.

    This “survey” included women who lean both left and right politically and there was no discussion allowed on policy or debate performance–just impressions on the wife situation and the human condition.

    elissa (28c05d)

  206. “Marianne was the one who broke the relationship years before the divorce by cleaning out the house of all furniture while Newt was away, and that they were separated for six years before briefly reconciling:””

    The Romney campaign was behind this.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  207. Yes I would not kiss Mr. Newt. Not for all the Tiffany in the world.

    sarahW (b0e533)

  208. his former wife, Marianne, told The Washington Post on Thursday.

    Convenient timing on the release of this. Methinks someone has an axe to grind about being dumped.

    MreeeowRRR! Phhhttt! Phhht!!!

    Smock Puppet, Feline Herding Specialist (a88bfa)

  209. Maybe it’s too much to ask, but I’d really like to have a guy in the White House who doesn’t wipe his ass on the Ten Commandments every time he gets an itch in his pants.

    Yeah, one who, day after day, wipes his ass on The Constitution (but will resort to using the flag on a particularly messy day) is a lot less hypocritical and a much more suitable liberal politician…

    Smock Puppet, Feline Herding Specialist (a88bfa)

  210. 211. Neuter and Callista paid 31.5% on something north of $3 Million, something less than $100K to charity and just $20K in alimony.

    Deadbeat.

    gary gulrud (1de2db)

  211. “whiny still holding a grudge after all these years.”

    elissa – That is sooooo unlike a woman, and sooooo uncharacteristically judgmental for those klatch comrades, especially if they are from the North Shore, who certainly never act that way themselves.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  212. Yeppers daley. It takes one to know one!

    elissa (28c05d)

  213. Comment by Dohbiden — 1/20/2012 @ 8:32 am
    I need a dose of brain bleach to recover from the image that conjures up…

    JBS (437df2)

  214. Sorry.

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  215. elissa – Sometimes I think more baseball bats are used to assault the vehicles of cheating spouses on the North Shore than in Little League games, but it might just be my imagination.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  216. What If Nancy Pelosi had an open marriage?

    What if Nancy Pelosi’s husband had an interview and revealed Pelosi cheated on him with Dennis Kookiekuntcinich?

    What If Nancy Pelosi and George Soros had an sex tape?

    Dohbiden (ef98f0)

  217. “What has one thing got to do with the other? Why do you see an incongruity there? Unless, for short-term electoral advantage, you’re willing to repeat the Democrat false propaganda that Clinton was impeached for adultery. Shame on you.”

    Nice straw man, milhouse. I didn’t write that the impeachment was for adultery. If you think that what Gingrich and Bob Livingston were doing at the same time all of this was going down wasn’t a problem, you are welcome to your delusion.

    Colonel Haiku (b486eb)

  218. Why don’t you tell me why it was a problem. Why does what a congressman does in his bedroom with a consenting adult contradict his pursuing a perjurer in public?

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  219. 1. All believe Marianne is not telling the truth or at least not the whole truth.

    2. All feel she is probably being paid and that she looks embarrassingly pathetic and whiny still holding a grudge after all these years.

    3. No one can figure out why Newt seems to be so darn successful with women.

    LOL @ 3

    Maybe he’s a completely dork and sleaze in private… maybe he’s a charming worldly conversationalist with all kinds of romantic things to say and cool places to go, etc etc. I don’t know. The easier explanation is that Newt is more powerful than most people.

    I assume there’s more to the story, since Newt’s kids take his side and they probably wouldn’t if the ex’s version was the whole story. I hate to even dignify this kind of thing, though. Newt has admitted he’s made some mistakes a couple of decades ago with his marriage. He said he learned to be better and I assume that’s true.

    I also think the ego is an asset. Yeah, it’s also a curse… but Newt sees this as an opportunity to Be The Man who turned this country towards Reagan/Laffer/Kemp. He will fight for that even when it’s not easy politically. Romney sure won’t. He wants the Sununu/Bush 41/Romneycare path.

    Why does what a congressman does in his bedroom with a consenting adult contradict his pursuing a perjurer in public?

    the press will try to explain that there is no difference, so Newt is terrible. After all, I’m sure he noted that adultery is bad while noting that Clinton is a perjurer and abuser of office, so we’ll see the press pretend away what aspects don’t work for them.

    Sigh.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  220. I’m sure he noted that adultery is bad while noting that Clinton is a perjurer and abuser of office,

    I’m pretty sure he didn’t. I was keeping track of who dragged sex into it and who didn’t; very few Republicans did.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  221. the press will try to explain that there is no difference

    That’s not the point. The point is that only dishonest people, who are trying to whitewash Clinton’s crimes, pretend that he was impeached for his sex life. And only such people see a contradiction between Gingrich’s pursing the impeachment and his adultery. Colonel Haiku seems to be one of those people.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)


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