On Sunday mornings I usually wake up by turning on the plethora of talk shows. But watching Fox News Sunday yesterday quickly shook the cobwebs out of my brain. It obviously pains Chris Wallace to bring up Newt Gingrich's personal life because he's a leading voice of conservative hypocrites and a fixture on Fox News, (who doesn't work for Fox News that's involved in election 2012?) but he knows he must, so he does it even if it feels like he's getting a tooth pulled with no anesthesia.
WALLACE: I want to talk about your personal life. I hate doing it. But you know it's going to be an issue in the campaign.
GINGRICH: Sure.
WALLACE: So, I'm going to go there. You were asked recently about the fact that you cheated on your first and your second wives. And here's how you responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRICH: There is no question that at times in my life partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard, and that things happened in my life that were not appropriate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Speaker, you've had more than a decade to come up with an answer. And in all honesty, there were a lot of people who thought that answer was kind of lame. I know it's heart-felt. But let me explain why. You love your country and you're working hard. And so you strayed. That wouldn't work with my wife.
GINGRICH: No, it didn't work in my life. I went on to say that I had to seek God's forgiveness and I had to seek reconciliation and I had to believe that being genuinely repentant mattered. As you know, first, I have a great marriage.
Gingrich explains away being a serial cheater on wives who were also very ill: it's because he loves his country so much! Wallace sees how heartfelt his response was, but reacted to it like someone who is married: That wouldn't work with my wife.
Newt has been on a monumental crazy-train roll of insane logic lately to justify his previous wretched behavior because he wants to be president now. That's one of the reasons why he's been playing the God card (he has God's forgiveness, y'see) so much. But his response to his role in Bill Clinton 's impeachment may have even surpassed some of Michelle Bachmann's mindless brain activity. And to Jennifer Rubin from the Washington Post I say that without a hint of sexism.
Transcript continues....
WALLACE: There's something else that bothers people. You were leading the charge to push Bill Clinton from office for lying about an affair and yes, he lied in a court proceeding, in a deposition, where he was sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, but nothing but the truth. At the same time, you were leading that charge, you were having an affair. Isn't that hypocrisy?
GINGRICH: No. Look, obviously, it's complex and, obviously, I wasn't doing things to be proud of. On the other hand, what I said, very clearly -- I knew this in part going through a divorce -- I had been in depositions. I had been in situations where you had to swear to tell the truth.
I understood that in a federal court, in a case in front of a federal judge, to commit a felony, which is what he did, perjury was a felony. The question I raise was very simple: should a president of the United States be above the law? I don't think the president of the United States can be above the law.
And it's not about personal behavior. It's about whether -- it's not about what he did in the Oval Office. You can condemn that. You can say it's totally inappropriate.
But it was about a much deeper and more profound thing, which is: does the president of the United States have to obey law? Or as long as he's popular or she is popular, can they flout the law and become a third world country where the leader gets to get away with anything they want to, but you and I obey the law?
I thought the notion -- I mean, I don't know what you would have had me do because I think the notion that the president of the United States committing perjury -- remember, he is a lawyer. This is not some accidental thing. And I thought the outcome was about right. The House indicted - in effect indicted him. That's what impeachment is.
He's using his own twisted behavior with his previous marital relationships to justify why he felt he wasn't being a hypocrite to Bill Clinton. You can't make this up.
WALLACE: But I'm just going to ask you man-to-man. Did you ever think to yourself "I'm living in a really glass house"? GINGRICH: Yes.
WALLACE: Maybe I shouldn't be throwing stones?
GINGRICH: No. I thought to myself if I cannot do what I have to do as a public leader, I would have resigned. Now, look, I think you have to look at whether or not people have to be perfect in order to be leaders. I don't think I'm perfect. I admitted I had problems. I admitted that I sought forgiveness. But I also think over time, if you look at my total record, I'm a pretty effective leader. I fight for this country and I fight for the changes we need with tenacity and I take a fairly tough beating, including from you and others, in order to stand in the arena and stand up for what I believe is really important.
And I think this country is worth that kind of a fight. And we'll find out six months or a year from now whether people are forgiving and whether we put in context events that are 15 and 10 years old. We'll see.
WALLACE: Thank you for being so forthright in answering that.
See, Wallace found an out. He turned Gingrich's hypocrisy into just Newt being "forthright' instead of a lying liar. Now that's called pulling a Houdini.
(h/t Heather for making the video from Video Cafe)
I know other blogs wrote about this yesterday like Think Progress: Gingrich: My Infidelities Helped Me Understand How To Impeach Clinton, Little Green Footballs, and Liberaland and many more. We don't always rush to get a story up first.
I hope he doesn't ever have to investigate terrorism. Or genocide.
This is so damn laughable and proves once and for all the utter ignorance and unintelligence of the Reslug-Teabagger-Birther Party.
The repukes have no conscience, no sense of guilt or shame.
... to attract sociopaths, doesn't it?
I could almost wish that a panel of mental-health professionals would evaluate all candidates for president and publish their opinions. I wouldn't want such a panel to become entrenched, though, or be limited to any one school of thought. But it would be great to educate the American masses about how sociopaths take advantage of them.
to read George Bush's psych. profile. Or scary.
No, thank you...
Surrealism is one thing... willfully subjecting oneself to abject lunacy and sociopathy is just not an attractive pastime.
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
Who am I kidding. The crazier he was the better the fit.
http://www.dlmweb.com/news98.html
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-storie...
If you have a great marriage, why did you and only you destroy two of them?
They weren't all THAT great.....bitches getting all sick and stuff, not being able to satusfy Ol Newty when he came home all full of um...patriotic fervor.
"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing." -- Robert E. Howard
It is best to assume that everything Newt says is a complete lie until otherwise proven to be true.
Newt was already cheating and banging his 4th wife even before the impeachment. He's a huge liar with absolutely NO morals like all Reslugs today.
Japan and sticking his limp little-Newt into the nuclear reactor, so he can tell us about that.
Then he'll come back telling nuclear power is fine.
Newt - feel the partiotism burn!!!
Ooops, looks like little-Newt fell off!
him should he have the good fortune of winning the Presidency? By the way, never in a million years.
How can anyone listen to his voice and not get the feeling they've just been dragged through a septic tank?
...Republicans don't have a sense of humor?
This fucking guy's funnier than Bill Hicks on a good day.
JP
http://giveusthisdayourdailtydread.blogspot.com
... wanted to get at.
"WALLACE: There's something else that bothers people. You were leading the charge to push Bill Clinton from office for lying about an affair and yes, he lied in a court proceeding,[ ... ]
GINGRICH: No. Look, obviously, it's complex and, obviously, I wasn't doing things to be proud of. On the other hand, what I said, very clearly -- I knew this in part going through a divorce -- I had been in depositions. I had been in situations where you had to swear to tell the truth.
I understood that in a federal court, in a case in front of a federal judge, to commit a felony, which is what he did, perjury was a felony."
I think Wallace wanted to know how he justified persecuting Clinton and not about the perjury part. Wallace let him get away with that. In other words, Clinton;s perjury had nothing to with Gingrich's persecution of Clinton getting a bj.
If you need funds to pay for essentials, you have a revenue problem
If you need funds to pay for frivolity, you have a spending problem
...was when Wallace said, "...That wouldn't work with my wife." And Newt replied, "No, it didn't work in my life."
As if he misheard the word "wife"...?
Wawa's interview.
TFR
I'm not really a dick because I'm actually an asshole.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
divorce the round one and screw the shoe box.
(See Amato, you can make this stuff up.)
TFR
Peter, that is hilarious -- thank you for a good laugh!
Request permission to use that in discussions with ITB's (idiot tea baggers)).
The people of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage." J.K. Galbraith
+++++
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
the hallmarks of a bad liar are the physical reactions to difficult questions. Newt's blinking like a bad turn signal. Another is a non-sequitir response to a direct question. But the best is projection, transference and deflection to the questioner. He said that we'll find out if the American people are fair-meaning that if he's rejected (as he will be) it's because he was unfairly judged by the American people as a flaming hypocrite. Why anyone gives this pompous butterball any credibility is beyond me.
but I happen to agree with the Newt. Just as Bill W founded Alcoholics Anonymous, the Newt should be able to head Hypocrites Acknowledged.
That leaders have special forgiveness because God put them in authority, best way to help the weak is to help the strong, the women in these situations just need to realize that whatever these guys want/need must be overlooked. I think it's telling that he asked one wife to just tolerate the affair. The Family keeps each others' secrets and as long as they are getting results for their social causes they overlook things like this.
The sad thing is Newt probably doesn't understand why the majority of the public doesn't like him discarding wives due to illness and having affairs, because his colleagues see no problem in it. I think politicians like Newt see wives as a sort of perk that you should be able to upgrade once in a while. They don't see their wives as real people, but as ornaments.
"politicians like Newt see wives as a sort of perk that you should be able to upgrade once in a while."
How many more miles did Newt need before he could have upgraded higher than platinum polished trailer trash?
TFR
Did I just hear Gingrich tell Wallace, 'Yes, you're right, I should have recused myself, I should have been the last person on earth to chime in on this matter . .'
NOT!!!
I think "T-Ball" is a much better metaphor. he sits the ball up on a pole where the cute little toddler can't possibly miss.
Coach Wallace knows you applaud and encourage the little tykes even when they whiff as many times as Newt has been married.
TFR
is the number of sheople willing to vote for this unprincipled fuck.
Some really fine choices for rethug presidential nominee crawling from the slime at the bottom of the festering cesspool collectively known as the Teabircher/GOP.
That anyone would actually vote for these execrable bastards speaks volumes to the mental infirmity of the North American Idiot (genus: Homo Moronicus)
"No one ever said these people were logically consistent."
- watchdog -
"It's complex..."
Which means, "There's no way I can possibly come up with any kind of excuse that could ever in a million years justify my own actions, so, instead, I'll accuse you of being too stupid to understand, and therefore I don't even have to attempt to come up with an excuse. It's no longer my problem, now it's your problem."
Mnich13 -- you got it exactly -- thank you for articulating something that I was kind of feeling, but couldn't put into words.
should have the authority to ask a President to attend any kind of Judical process. The separation and equality of powers should have prevented it. It should be obvious now that no one should be allowed to attack the Office of the Presidency using the court system. Its too easy a way for partisan political attacks to hamstrung the Presidency. The funny thing is that the Republicans will alway do it or threaten it and the Democrats will never every think about doing it. Right now they have a majority in the House and I expect them impeach Obama before his term is over. I generally think they will impeach every Democratic President from now on when they have the where withal to do so. And I do expect them to remove a few when they also have the majority in the Senate. They don't like losing elections.
flaming hypocrites like Gingrich can do whatever the fuck they want and convince people that everything's fine because, according to them, God has forgiven them.
I don't know who disgusts me more, Newt and his snake oil explanations, or the fools that would vote for him because the hate socialist, Kenyan n*****s so much.
The people of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage." J.K. Galbraith
Lying, Hypocritical, Apostate, Unrepentant, Equivocating sack, I did it because I love my country....puuleeze.
The first casualty of republicanism is the truth.
Party politics are not only undemocratic, they are antidemocratic.
I'm sure Newt is a Koch sucker as well.
me-oww!
You never saw Bush take the oath, let alone testify to anything he did.
Gingrich will never admit the whole Lewinsky affair was a witch hunt. The whole reason Clinton was put on the stand was for having an affair, the same thing Gingrich did. When Clinton did it, they tried to impeach him. Gingrich thinks all he has to do is say he's sorry and he can be President.
Fox News and Gingrich are two peas in the same pod. Fucking morally corrupt hypocrites.
He's not even trying to apologize. He's trying to spin this as him being so morally principled that he was obligated to go after Clinton for his affair even while he was doing effectively the same thing.
If his flip flop didn't kill his presidential aspirations than this surely did. Not even the low standards for today's voters will let him get away with this.
Maybe...just MAYBE if he had actually offered something even close to genuine remorse they might have let him fly....but that was just too much for him.
Penance, repentance, forgiveness...
For those whose spiritual path includes such concepts, it's predicated upon recognizing harm done and resolving to not cause that harm again...
So, Newt... your interpretation of your adopted faith is very much at odds with what your priest would counsel you, if he's truly a pastor and not just a ritualistic placeholder.
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
"You were asked recently about the fact that you cheated on your first and your second wives." He could have just said "past infidelities" and most FOX listeners would not have even know what that meant. Or not even brought this up at all. And with "You love your country and you're working hard. And so you strayed. That wouldn't work with my wife." Mabye Chris is calling BS as loudly as he can without getting smacked down by FOX and others. I actually detected a little animosity.
I've seen some stuff, man. And some thangs...
I've always said that Gingrich brings to mind what I used to find when I was a kid out in the woods. I'd turn over the old fallen log and there'd be these ugly white slugs under them. That is what he reminds me of - those disgusting fat white slugs hiding under the fallen logs out in the woods.
Comparing Newt to slugs?!! On behalf of the slugs I must say that was truly an offensive analogy....
Reality has a liberal bias
I think we should lay off Newt on his indiscretions people. He did have to sit down and talk to his "God" and ask for forgiveness for Christ's sake. Do you know how hard that is? Especially for an egomaniac. That could literally take 10 seconds, and it would mean he'd have to formulate a sentence or possibly two fragments and either say them out loud using his vocal cords or have to say it internally using his inner voice. That is seriously hard people!
Also, he's got so much integrity in standing up for the rule of the law and protecting the people of America against Bill Clinton abusing his powers. GWB torturing, spying on Americans, pre-emptive war, Guantanimo, rule by Presidential signing statements, Scotter Libby, Karl Rove, etc....., thank God we had Newt standing up for America and the rule of law.
Do you think Newt could go on a bender in Vegas and that would help with the crisis in Libya?
The first rule of holes is, stop digging. Every time you comment about this subject you only serve to make yourself appear as a bigger fool than the last time you did. We get it already-you're an idiot. Now go away.
ha ha.....hypocrites say they are not hypocrites 100% of the time...
He asks his God for forgiveness but not his understanding,..
and he loves and fights fights fights for his country....just not in Vietnam.
"As you know, first, I have a great marriage".
Because his latest wife is a chevrolet, whereas wife #2 was a jaguar.*
Would it be unfair to conjecture, then, that wife #1 was a broken down used car?
It would be unfair not to.
*(He actually said that).
If a man or woman will cheat on their spouse,once that's bad, but multiple times, he or she, regardless of title, or position in life, they would, given the opportunity would screw millions of people. Both Newt, and Clinton did just that.
Some politicans seem to be born without shame. The average person would hide for life, because their acts were so reprehensible, to be invisible would be the best thing, other than death.
Didn't you guys get the memo? Dirty nasty sex and extra marital affairs are only bad when Democrats do them.
Do as I SAY, NOT what I do!
Chris Wallace cleaned his lips after that blow job he gave Gingrich
This blathering fuck is utterly shameless. He just unhinges his jaw and takes a shit right past his teeth because that's all that ever comes out. In his entire long, boring career of publicly spewing droning nonsense, I've yet to hear one coherent, logical, and reasonable thought or argument on any subject.
This man is a repulsive slug of the lowest order. I can respect a classic conservative who will put forth a logical, reality based and morally defensible position even though I may disagree with it. This ass-hat is just plain duplicitous, venal, nasty, hypocritical, and revolting in his moral and political dishonesty.
...I CRAP bigger than you.
Puh- leeze layoff of the slugs.....
Reality has a liberal bias
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