Newt Gingrich's inanity knows no bounds
By Steve Benen Tuesday Aug 19, 2008 7:30amBelieve it or not, Newt Gingrich and Sean Hannity are still, even now, laughing like school children over the notion of properly-inflated tires.
A lot of Republicans have said a lot of stupid things about energy policy in recent weeks, but this may very well be the single most inane comment any of them have uttered publicly. (Worse than a House Republican from Texas exclaiming, “Let’s bring up the Paris Hilton plan”? Yes, even worse than that.)
Ben at TP valiantly goes to the trouble of pointing out why Gingrich’s argument is demonstrably ridiculous — explaining why tire maintenance is a good idea, and wouldn’t “enrich Big Oil” — but I’d just add that it’s worth remembering just how idiotic Newt Gingrich’s worldview can be.
About a year ago, the WaPo’s David Broder said the former House Speaker has “earned the label ‘visionary.’” That’s absurd; Gingrich is a little more than pseudo-scholarly nut.
I’m not just talking about his nutty behavior. Gingrich, as Speaker, shut down the government (twice) and he pursued presidential impeachment over an adulterous affair (while carrying on an affair of his own), which certainly sounds nutty, but I’m talking more about his bizarre worldview.
We talked recently about some of his greatest hits, including Gingrich’s sincere arguments such as the notion that the homeless should get laptops and that women shouldn’t be permitted to serve in combat roles because “males are biologically driven to go out and hunt giraffes.”
But poking around a bit the other day, I was also reminded of Gingrich’s habit for blaming liberals, government, and liberal government for just about every societal ill he can identify.
* In 1994, after Susan Smith drowned her two young sons, Newt Gingrich, just three days before the midterm elections, equated her crime with the values of the Democratic Party. Gingrich told the AP, “The mother killing her two children in South Carolina vividly reminds every American how sick the society is getting and how much we have to have change. I think people want to change and the only way you get change is to vote Republican. That’s the message for the last three days.”
* In 1999, shortly after the Columbine massacre, Gingrich argued that American “elites” bear responsibility. “I want to say to the elite of this country - the elite news media, the liberal academic elite, the liberal political elite: I accuse you in Littleton…of being afraid to talk about the mess you have made,” Gingrich said, “and being afraid to take responsibility for things you have done, and instead foisting upon the rest of us pathetic banalities because you don’t have the courage to look at the world you have created.”
* Last year, after the shootings at Virginia Tech, Gingrich blamed liberals for supporting “situation ethics,” adding, “Yes, I think the fact is, if you look at the amount of violence we have in games that young people play at 7, 8, 10, 12, 15 years of age, if you look at the dehumanization, if you look at the fact that we refuse to say that we are, in fact, endowed by our creator, that our rights come from God, that if you kill somebody, you’re committing an act of evil.” Gingrich, explaining the VT tragedy, went on to condemn Halloween costumes and the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law.
Broder may think this clown is a “visionary,” and the DC establishment may perceive him as some kind of “big thinker,” but I look at Gingrich and see a strange partisan hack with a PhD.
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I wish they would let Newt stay under whatever rock he chooses.
Advising people to take personal responsibility for anything attacks the Republican position that the American public have a right to act like toddlers having a temper tantrum.
You have to bear in mind that Newt suffers from manic-depressive disorder. His behavior and strange ideas are indicative of his bi-polar illness. When he goes completely off the rails, they tweak his meds.
Wow. Newt just told us NOT to inflate our tires, because it only helps Big Oil?? Priceless.
My Citgo dealer up the road provides free air. It must be part of Chavez's diabolical plot to win over hearts and minds.
brilliant point Noot!
I regularly check my own tire pressure without the expertise of a service tech. fixed that for ya!
Einstein reminds us that "we cannot solve problems from the same level of consciousness that created the problems."
this silly belief that domestic drilling will solve a problem is preposterous.
we need to have a collective belief that moves beyond petroleum-based energy.
burn the ships like Cortez.
Newt is a perfect example of the total lack of intelligence necessary to become a politician. You can name virtually every one of the Congressmen and they are as a group dumber than mud. The only thing necessary for election seems to be having money or friends with money. Please point out to me, anyone, who in the last 15 years as a congressman or representative has stood tall and pushed a piece of legislation that was good for the people not the corporations. I can't name a single one. Corporations write the legislation as we know from Dodd's bill to help foreclosed homes. It was written by Citibank and UBS. These elected officials like to hear themselves speak. Add that to Sean Hannity who refuses to engage anyone in an actual conversation without shouting them down for fear his stupidity might become apparent and you have a recipe for a network called fox.
These children need a time out. All Hannity/Limbaugh/Gingrich/Coulter-conservatives are to immediately report to the SW corner of Texas, nose in the corner. We'll let you know when time's up.
Newt Gringich? He was some kind of politician once wasn't he? Didn't he shut down the government or something? And he divorced his wife when she was sick...right?
Didn't Sean say last week something to the effect that he couldn't trust someone (like John Edwards) who couldn't stick to his marriage vows. Well what about Newty? Why should we believe a thing he says because he obviously has a problem with marriage vows too.
Shows how elitst they are.
Properly inflated tires is about saving a little here and there, over days, weeks, months and years to establish the barest liquidty needed, because our economy was wrecked by these neotards.
The encouragement to poke Russia was from Bush and Rice. They signed a deal today with Poland to provide a missle defence system. They had Russia scare the shit out the former soviet bloc and now they get to help their buddies sell missle systems that don't work but make lots of money for their friends.
My i's aren't workng right.
Has Hannity asked the disgraced, former House Speaker Gingrich how he feels about how closely his marital infidelities mirror those of John Edwards? Both cheated on ailing wives. That Gingrich even appears in public at all--let alone to chastise others shows he has no conscience or soul--the perfect personality to be a Hannity guest.
"About a year ago, the WaPo’s David Broder said the former House Speaker has “earned the label ‘visionary.’” That’s absurd; Gingrich is a little more than pseudo-scholarly nut."
Well, of course. Broder is a pseudo-journalist. What else could one expect?
Grandpa '08 - Dependable Change
If you really want a laugh try watching one of those twits change a blow out tire. I bet they call AAA and have a guy come out and change it for them or have their wives do it.
Newt is some visionary alright. Just what we need a Social Dominator visionary with no conscience. Goes to show how bright Broder is. It's amazing these people don't get what they are dealing with.
Newt is a total embarrassment. The TV and press should be a 'Newt-free zone'. Utter douchebag.
What makes Newt's stupidity regarding Susan Smith even more ludicrous is that it later turned out that Susan Smith was a born-again Christian. So going by his argument, fundamentalist Christianity makes you drown your own children.
What do you expect from two fucktards? Totally childish, schoolyard behavior from two of the stupidest idiots to walk on two feet.
chele @ 3:
sounds like he might need some tweaking now then...
Just ignore him. Eventually he'll go away.
And btw, I also thought the Paris Hilton plan sounded pretty good!
It's hilarious but true
Pill head McCain Will Kill Us All
He's got a point. America would do better to invade an oil-rich country to snatch the oil we could save by properly inflating our tires.
We can laugh and scoff, but the fact is that this clown and his little friends have the ears of millions of listeners every day (and night), and that those folks actually believe this crap. In our town, the biggest commercial radio station carries Smerconish, Beck, Limbaugh, and Hannity all in a row. That's TWELVE hours of right-wing garbage every day. With no rebuttals or alternative voices.
And many of those people will vote.
Two hate saturated bigots trying to out hypocrite each other. Our nation is filled with evil people like these two losers.
Shouldn't it start with "a lot of stupid republicans have said things that show their stupidity?"
Don't laugh this off. It works. People really are that stupid.
Obama needs to get off the high road and get in the mud immediately after the convention. Leave nothing off the table. Anything that reflects badly on McSame is fair game. The wingnuts will whine and howl. Let them. If we don't play rough right now, we lose.
Has ANYONE here ever been to a service station that charges for air more then a quarter? I've seen some where you put a quarter in the machine to turn it on, but most still have free air.
And where on planet earth do service stations have real humans who actually fill your tires for you? I've never seen it.
At most gas stations the money from air sales goes to the franchise owner, not big oil. If Obama said something like this, these guys would be all over him for dumping on small businesses.
Of course neither Newt nor Sean have a clue about this, since neither of them have ever actually worked for a living.
I keep thinking it says Newt Gingrich’s insanity knows no bounds.
Vote Republican? Vote for the conservative religious party that is doing the nasty with hookers, children, other men and farm animals? I'd rather be dead than vote Republican.
23 right on! Says: chele @ 3:
You have to bear in mind that Newt suffers from manic-depressive disorder. His behavior and strange ideas are indicative of his bi-polar illness. When he goes completely off the rails, they tweak his meds.
sounds like he might need some tweaking now then…
I like tweaking people.
34 SadNation Says: Vote Republican? Vote for the conservative religious party that is doing the nasty with hookers, children, other men and farm animals? I’d rather be dead than vote Republican.
republicans aren't into necrophilia?
The thing about Newt is that he is like catnip for the republican base but, he has absolutely zero chance of ever holding elected office again. As does Hannity. Zero. They can only preach to the already converted.
Dire Lobo @ 31:
Most of the gas stations in my area give you free air if you are a customer. Nobody comes out and checks it for you. And there's a gauge built into the air line. And this is true of service stations all across the "heartland" which I have spent many a day driving in unlike Limousine Newt.
Newt would know this if he ever, you know, lived on the planet Earth or in the United States of America with the rest of us slobs. Do the Faux News audience actually fall for this shit? Are they that goddamned stupid?
Yeah, Newt, Professor at NE Central Georgia State is one of the great minds of the right wing. F--kin' Blowhard!
Shit for brains Hannity is sure impressed with Newt's great intellect.
In CA I've seen air as high as 75 cents for 5 minutes.
#36 ysbaddaden:
Too early in the morning for that word, but sadly, I am sure there are a few dead bodies floating around for the Repigs to enjoy. Okay. I need to throw up now. After looking at Hannity's face, reading Newt's idiocy, and discussing Republican fetishes, I need my rolaids.
Liberal AND Proud @ 9:
Hey! So did John McLiar!! His then wife, Carol, had been in a car accident while he was in Nam that left her four inches shorter, on crutches, and a good deal heavier. McLiar engaged in extra-marital affairs, a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice rules against adultery and against fraternization with subordinates. His adulterous behavior led to a divorce of Carol and a marriage to his current wife, Cindy Hensley, who is 17 years his junior and heiress to a beer fortune.
http://www.usvetdsp.com/mcaindiv.htm
Republicans seem to have a lot in common: Adultery, divorce, and marrying and living off rich women to further their political careers.
Newt Gingrich’s inanity knows no bounds
Please don't make me think of newt's anus.
I tried to watch fox news the other day, whilst inside, weathering the tropical storm creeping by...and after 2 minutes of total bullshit propaganda against Obama...stuff that's ALREADY been debunked btw...I had to go back to video game...it was more real than fox news.
As for newt and hannity....fuck them. They're assholes, and we all know what comes out of one of those, right?
Newt also forgot to mention that after you pay for your gas do not be tempted to buy slurpees or hot dogs. Oscar Mayer is funneling money to big oil and is just a front.
41 SadNation
Whether you be chucking cookies due to a hangover or a mild case of pregnancy, here's something to sooth your nerves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEVMfG8z490
This makes more sense than shammty and newtie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpcUxwpOQ_A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob6TTU1knUM&feature=related
Just another signal for Obama to take the campaign into ugly territory.
He needs to get as nasty as he can because that's what the average citizen responds to.
I'm so tired of seeing these assholes win and subsequently empower their asshole base.
News sounds reasonable for about the first two or three minutes, but the realization soon creeps up on you that he's batshit.
Every time I see Hannity's face, I can't help thinking how perfect he would be in the role of the Joker. He would have given Heath a run for his money.
I just heard an ad on the radio reminding me to keep my tires properly inflated. It was from General Motors.
Have the Dirty F**ing Hippies taken over Corporate America!??!!
BoilThemInTheirOil @ 5:
I also thought that was a funny comment. As far as I remember in Florida all gas stations provided free air. Here in Europe it's free aswell.
Oh, the energy that could be saved if Clannity and the Salamander would just shut the f*ck up!
Rob @ 50:
Hmm. that's funny..every time I see his fat face, I can't help thinkin how gratifying it would be to punch it repeatedly.
Newt's a nut all right, but this kind of stuff is going to have the wingnuts laughing all the way back to the whitehouse if Obama doesn't wake up soon:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26308429/
IndridCold @ 52:
Sadly, the days of free air here in Florida, as well as most of the US, are long over.
I guess they still have service station attendants and air hoses at the pumps in Washington DC. I haven't seen a service station attendant or an air hose at the pump for maybe 20 years. If the station does have an air hose it is usually at the side or the back of the building. And it cost a quarter to operate it.
Good morning everyone!
I got up late today, but I see I haven't missed anything, same old Republican stupidity going round.
Ever watch a soap opera? You can miss a show for weeks but for some reason when you go back the show is exactly were you left it.
Unless of course the truth comes out that liberal Edwards forced McCain by gun to cheat and leave his first wife.
*Newt Gingrich just called to see if I have evidence, I said no, he said well that doesn't matter since the liberals are obviously hiding the evidence. Then I heard him say the liberals dare to setup McCain to cheat on his wife, he's a God Damn POW. He thanked me for reporting this matter and called me a true patriot.
The Truth:
Of course properly inflating your tires and changing light bulbs will have a dramatic impact on energy consumption in this country. But guess what? To the hunk of voters IT COMES OFF SOUNDING SMALL AND INANE! The idiot "independent voters" (only an idiot would be undecided at this point), will fall for the GOP slams on this one. Just as they did the swift boating of Kerry and the "he invented the internet/he's a stiff" of Gore. The only way to fight this is with the same inane tactics. The problem with us Dems over the years, mostly in the Presidential elections, has been the smug assumption that most voters will reject idiotic campaign tactics so we'll stay above the fray and appeal to their smarts. Don't, they're stupid. Appeal to their stupidity. Sadly below the fray is what wins elections.
Bottom line: Either Barack's people start fighting stupidity with stupidity or Hillary's getting should get the nod in Denver.
Don't believe me? Check out the new Zogby poll. McCain has opened up a 5 point lead. That's a shift of a whopping 12 points in one month. Most Obamatologists don't believe polls or anything negative said about their messiah, so go ahead and enjoy Mr. McCain for 4 years and then Mr. Romney for 8 more.
We picked the wrong guy.
49 Lonny Says: News sounds reasonable for about the first two or three minutes, but the realization soon creeps up on you that he’s batshit.
Sounds like a great marketing tie-in between the Dark Knight movie and a laxative.
Inflating our tires may not fix the problem too fast, but inflation is what caused the problems in the first place. Inflating minds across america with hot air, Hanity, hot air inflator. Sometimes you get a bonus with smoke up your ass. :P
50 Rob Says: Every time I see Hannity’s face, I can’t help thinking how perfect he would be in the role of the Joker. He would have given Heath a run for his money.
Who inspired the Joker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La2wjN0Fps8
Dire Lobo @ 31:
Most here in Florida are fifty to seventy-five cents.
When I bought new tires, they GAVE me a tire a gage, and told me to check the pressure regularly. Helps wear and tear, and increases mileage.
But what do they know? Its not like they are brilliant neocon's, the people that gave us our current excellent economy and mission accomplished.
Why must MSM bring on the old dinosaurs of the Repug Party? Delay, Gringrich, all these dudes who's corruption and sleazy dealings ceaused them to crash and burn? Chris Matthews salivates everytime Delay is on HardBall. He follows him like a giddy schoolgirl. Makes me want puke.
Newt and Sean are the scarecrows on their way to Oz.
As my late, great father used to say, "They haven't got brain one."
It may seem idiotic and inane but it works and keeps the sheep asleep-hypnotized while the real business of looting America continues.
If my rights come from god then what society wants doesn't matter. Whatever god tells me to do, no matter how repulsive to rational people, is acceptable.
yea but it takes a "visionary" pseudo-scholarly nut to see how funny it is to laugh at this
Gingrinch's comment regarding the "very funny" email he received from a retired military man demonstrates how bassackwards these guys really are.
The reason why most inflation is performed at autoshops (not gas stations, but autoshops, which includes dealership service, tire outlets, brake places, etc.), is because automotive technicians automatically check the tires on every car they service for other problems, and add air for free to the extent its necessary. On the rare occasion someone actually takes his or her car to a service station affiliated with an oil company where there are not 50 cent air pumps (a miniscule price to pay for making sure your tires are inflated properly), the service technicians add air for free. Heck, I take my whip to a TiresPlus around the corner from where I live, and they add air to my tires for free all the time. I get my oil changed at an OilExpress, and they add air, check my wiper fluid, my water, my antifreeze, and add all these items in addition to the oil for free. So there's no big oil benefit.
Gingrinch's argument only underscores the reasons why America should ignore this crew.
PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE...when will we learn that the inanity is what gets swallowed WHOLE! It's the sound bites that grab the non critical thinking voters we're saddled with...it's the POW stories that make them tear up and then believe they'll be SAFER AND MORE PROTECTED by the angry military guy! We could have had a bulldog and a BIG DOG in this race but had to vilify THE CLINTONS and now sit back (as LIEberman would say) and just enjoy it!!!
I guess that once you decide to put that R beside your name it wipe out evey brain cell that allows you to think.
I have never understood why people think newt is an intellectual?
I don't get it I have never seen or heard him say or do anything that could be misconstrued as intelligent. He is a has been that never was.
Dire Lobo @ 31:
here in southern california. Union 76 offers free air with purchase of gas. also most tire stores offer yearly balancing, and tire pressure checks whenever you need it.
a few other people stated it....and its true. As silly and stupid their ideas may sound, there's a nation of sheep that hang on their every word. we're doomed!
smitherssocal @ 72:
I see macho posturing of two scared little men.
L.A. Confidential @ 73:
A respectable profession. Pump gas, check oil, wash windows, collect money.
jolene @ 74:
As long as the big cash rolls in they'll keep on posturing.
Wheres the next shift here?
Off Topic. AP: 72 million people have trouble paying medical bills. I wonder how many are planning on voting for McCain. Zogby has Mccain up 5 points. I truly think my faith in my fellow Americans is gone. Americans, many of them, are brainless sheep.
P.D. @ 78:
Imagine in the past 5000 years there has only bee 299 years when there wasn't a war going on somewhere.
Hey cobsjo on posting #12.
Neocon puppet Saakashvili may very well have called Warren. He is out of his friggin mind.
video of Saakashvili eating his tie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kid379OjuC0&feature=related
Plus if cures were actually developed Doctors would be out of a job.
Condi Inks Missile Deal!
LA@79, Bankruptcies are up 50% in the last couple of years. You don't think it coincides with Bush signing the Bankruptcy Bill in 2004? Many people are filing for bankruptcy BECAUSE of medical bills. If McCain gets in, were screwed. War with Iran, Cold War with Russia, meanwhile Americans are to busy with American Idol and their inane lives while Rome burns. Truly desvastaing.
P.D. @ 82:
Russia also exerts substantial financial leverage over the US in all the dollars and securitized US debt paper it holds. In effect, Russia can shake the US banking system at will now by threatening to dump its dollar holdings.
We may not even need a shove from Russia or Japan or China to fall on our face.
I just wonder how long it has been since either Hannity or Gingrich actually had to pump fuel, or check a tire. Don't their chauffeurs and private jet pilots do all that for them now?
No elites to see here, move along...
LA@81. MSM isn't reporting on Condi's deal. The only article I saw was on Huffington Post. You would think the media is trying to hide it. Nothing like saber rattling to get the sheeple to rally behind McCain.
August 2000 20lb bag bird seed. $2.99
August 2008 20lb bag bird seed. $8.99
P.D. @ 85:
The good news is that, at the present rate of progress, reliable missile defense is only 50 years away. The bad news is that it has been 50 years away for the past six decades.
Missile defense is so expensive and the measures required to evade it so cheap that if the US government were serious about making the system work it would bankrupt the country.
I've said it once; I'll say it a million times: I cannot stand hannity. I don't know how anyone can like that guy.
As for Newt, he gives salamanders the world over a really, really bad name.
the pharmacy must have mixed up the Gingrich and Limbaugh prescriptions!
[Please quit changing your name. You're now using one that belongs to another poster-Sitemonitor]
Check the link C&L provided where Broder says that Newt is a visionary. Some of Newt's visions:
- The GOP nomination will be a long struggle
- The Feb. 5 primaries would not produce a clear winner (Mitt quit Feb. 7; Rudi was long gone)
- Could result in 'chaos' and a brokered convention
- Hillary "faces few obstacles to winning the Democratic nomination"
There's some vision for you.
I'm glad my TV isn't equipped with the new AromaVision feature from Roadrunner because Hannity+Newt on fox always smells like shit.
fastfeat @ 63:
I haven't seen one for less than 75 cents around here. And FYI, it's actually quite safe to inflate your tires 7-10 lbs OVER the max listed on your tires. They've built in extra safety space there, the ride will be harder, but you'll see a serious jump in your mpg.
P.D., L.A. Confidential
Funny you should say that.
Has anybody gotten this email? I've gotten 2 Emails already.
Summary: People are fed up with MSM and covering for McCain (probably why he's up 5 points). They are asking everyone to protest by not watching the MSM for a week starting Aug 29 (McCain’s VP announcement day) to Sep 5 (just in time to see Maddow start on the 8)
It's basically a sit out; they want ratings to drop and to send a msg that were not going to listen to lies.
I guess if you support, they ask to spread this msg
I don't think it will work but I’ll give it a try because can we really afford to have McCain elected. I see outrage on the blogs all the time but people hardly donate or get active enough to change anything but this even the laziest person can do.
smitherssocal @ 72:
Air at gas stations is FREE by law in California (with purchase of 8 gals).
US exporting record amount of oil
While the U.S. oil industry wants access to more federal lands to help reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, American-based companies are shipping record amounts of gasoline and diesel fuel to other countries.
A record 1.6 million barrels a day in U.S. refined petroleum products were exported during the first four months of this year, up 33 percent from 1.2 million barrels a day over the same period in 2007. Shipments this February topped 1.8 million barrels a day for the first time during any month, according to final numbers from the Energy Department.
The surge in exports appears to contradict the pleas from the U.S. oil industry and the Bush administration for Congress to open more offshore waters and Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN0325640920080703