Gingrich had affair during Clinton probe

[superconnected]

WASHINGTON - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich acknowledged he was having an extramarital affair even as he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair, he acknowledged in an interview with a conservative Christian group.

"The honest answer is yes," Gingrich, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said in an interview with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson to be aired Friday, according to a transcript provided to The Associated Press. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards."

Gingrich argued in the interview, however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity.

"The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge," the former Georgia congressman said of Clinton's 1998 House impeachment on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. "I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being, as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials."

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070309/ap_on_go_co/gingrich_affair

[truthisfreedom]

1. And there's been times when we (the public) had to say, YOU'RE A PIECE OF SHIT, NEWT!

But we're not angry. We're simply satisfied that you've cooked your own goose.

[geiger]

17. Not angry?

I'm plenty angry.

He uses the system and works against in only to get power and keep a job. He's already been thrown out once. Republicans should distance themselves from him the way they are finally doing with Ann Coulter. I think they think they are going to have to be "resigned" to him or something.

[donheld]

19. That's part of our problem

We have too many that aren't angry. We should all be livid!

[adigal]

40. I wonder if Hannity & Company will keep touting him

as a shoe-in for the Republican nominee if he runs??? Haha!!

[PurpleChez]

63. ARE they distancing themselves from Ann (gender-insensitive joke deleted) Coulter?

I haven't been paying enough attention. I didn't think the Pugs would turn on one of their homies even if he/she turned out to be a necrophiliac.

[Kikosexy2]

38. Well..

if Fat Newtie runs for President..more ammo for us to use against him...ahhh! the moral hypocrisy...

[lapfog_1]

2. Oh, hey there Newt,

do YOU remember the definition of "sexual intercourse" that was given to Bill by that same judge (drawn up by Scaife's lawyers)?

you know that if he answered YES, that THAT would have been perjury as well.

You folks set him up, knew he would try to wiggle out using a legal loophole that YOU provided, then you condemn him for telling the literal truth instead of what happened.

What an asshole.

[regnaD kciN]

3. "There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards"...

Yep, Newter, 100% definitely qualifies as "times." :eyes:

[Solly Mack]

4. LOLOLOLOL

"...and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being..."

LMAO

The lies people tell themselves...and others.

[superconnected]

5. When I saw it I had to look twice to make sure it wasn't the onion

[regnaD kciN]

6. Actually, sometime in the mid-'90s...

...a newly-resigned Gingrich aide wrote a "tell-all" article that was the talk of D.C. for awhile. Part of the article was that Newter had numerous affairs, but, instead of actually having sex with the woman, he would just have her give him a blow job so that, if he ever was asked if he had had sex with her, he could have honestly answered "no."

So, a few years later, when Monicagate hit the news, all I could think of was "there goes Bill, triangulating again -- taking another Republican idea and claiming it as his own, as usual." :evilgrin:

[xchrom]

7. Has Been.

[Divernan]

10. Not at all - Newt's high in the polls for GOP presidential campaign.

See my post below. "He remains wildly popular among conservatives."

[Eurobabe]

8. Right you can start illegal wars, but you can't have perjury

Slap me silly, its CONLOGIC 101!!

[Divernan]

9. He's using Dobson interview as opening salvo in his presidential campaign.

The truly significant aspects of this whole story are WHO interviewed Newt and to what purpose.
This interview was clearly set up with Focus-on-the-Family Dobson's collaboration to clear the air of Newt's scandalous history. Newt is very bright and he has seen that the only way to get beyond scandal with the religious extremists is to is to apologize and "come to Jesus". (Here he clearly differs with Senator Clinton, who has excommunicated the phrase "I made a mistake" from her vocabulary.)

If you read the WHOLE article (See the significant additional language/paragraphs below}, you will see that this "interview" was clearly staged with his buddy Dobson, as a public "mea culpa" to the conservatives to clear the way for Newt's presidential run. Hang on to your hat, Rudy - you're about to be left in the dust. "He has repeatedly placed near the top of the presidential polls, even though he has not formed a campaign."

(Additional Paragraphs from OP's link)
"Widely considered a mastermind of the Republican revolution that swept Congress in the 1994 elections, Gingrich remains wildly popular among many conservatives. He has repeatedly placed near the top of Republican presidential polls recently, even though he has not formed a campaign.
Gingrich has said he is waiting to see how the Republican field shapes up before deciding in the fall whether to run."

"Reports of extramarital affairs have dogged him for years as a result of two messy divorces, but he has refused to discuss them publicly.

Gingrich, who frequently campaigned on family values issues, divorced his second wife, Marianne, in 2000 after his attorneys acknowledged Gingrich's relationship with his current wife, Callista Bisek, a former congressional aide more than 20 years younger than he is.'
*****************
"Gingrich's congressional career ended in 1998 when he abruptly resigned from Congress after poor showings from Republicans in elections and after being reprimanded by the House ethics panel over charges that he used tax-exempt funding to advance his political goals."

___

[regnaD kciN]

12. Hypocrite, meet hypocrite...

Newter, I can somewhat understand. He's a sleaze and has always been such, at least since boinking his future second wife while his first was undergoing treatment for cancer.

But Dr. James "Dare to Discipline" Dobson? He's been the epitome of judgemental moralism since he first came onto the scene. But when his pal Newter needs political cover, he's there to listen understandingly to his "confession" and assure him he's forgiven. Can you what he would have done had it been a liberal Democrat who wanted to "come clean" with such an admission? I'm sure that, at the very least, he would have proclaimed that, even if forgiven now (and I wouldn't bet on it), said liberal Democrat had shown a weakness of will and poor character that should disqualify him from ever seeking public office, or even expressing an opinion on issues of the day, ever again. But give him a conservative Republican in the same situation, it's patch him up and get him back in the game as quickly as possible. Nice show, Dr. Dobson, but I have only one question for you: What shall we tell our children??? :eyes:

[hobbit709]

34. Actually. he's on #3 now

And he was just as chickenshit on how he served the papers to wife #2.

[xchrom]

13. his goal is to be drafted as the gop candidate.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

11. After reading Gingrich's tortured rationalization...

I feel as if he has sucked at least 10 IQ points out of my head, in perpetuity. At my age that's not at all helpful. I need all of them buggers I got.

When they write his biography, I suggest that the title should be: "Newt: Life as One Big Lie"

[salin]

14. John Dean's 'Conservatives without Conscience' (i think that was the title)

has Gingrich's number. Also lays out a rather tastey description of the disdain between Newt and DeLay which they briefly set aside when they were both in Leadership and going after Clinton. No surprise that it isn't til DeLay is discredited that Newtie tries to rehabilitate and grow to more power politically. If you haven't read the book - get it tomorrow - it will give you back those 10 IQ points plus another 10 or more points.

[geiger]

57. I was able to talk to Dean while he was writing this book; I think it's his best one yet

And he knew exactly how to write the book, and how to approach the subject matter. Very sharp and focused mind. At least there's one Republican at the national level with a conscience. Is he still a Republican, does anyone know? Or does he take the Bob Woodward "I" stance.

[tavalon]

36. I prefer the titleL

"Newt: Crawling Out of The Slime to Throw Slime on Everyone Else."

[geiger]

58. or Liar, Liar, Pants (Pants?) on Fire; Heavy Panting at the tho't of Image Rehabilitation

All of these guys should go into re-hab, and stay there.

[geiger]

15. NOW he wants to be honest?

What else does he want to be honest about?

The blood that is on his hands from inciting hate against our government which resulted in the Oklahoma bombings. The man has blood on his hands.

Yeah, let's get HONEST.

[geiger]

16. He denigrated and trivialized our way of govt to the point so he could be the one in power

What does he have in mind this time?

He personifies evil.

[itsmesgd]

18. Ahh, the smell of hypocracy in the morning

I'm not advocating violence, but I have a real neat baseball bat. I wonder if Ole' Newter is a baseball fan. I'd like to show him my bat.

You gotta love the depths of their depravity.

[Massachusetts]

20. REPUBLICAN CHRISTIAN HYPOCRITE!

Say goodnight newt.

[Renew Deal]

28. Christianity has nothing to do with the republicans or their hypocrisy

Their "ideology" is a hypocrisy.

[nolabels]

30. Yea, some of them so called thought much of it up long before republicans

A Darkened Age
http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h05eu1.htm

[Massachusetts]

51. Beg to differ.

He is a Christian HYPOCRITE, as well as a Republican HYPOCRITE (wears his religion on his sleeve).

Get It?

[Scooter24]

21. Getting his baggage out in the open early

as to not try and create scandal when he runs for President.

Nice try.

[AngryAmish]

22. He is a filthy degenerate

He took a solumn vow to his wife and pissed it away. All Rethuglikkkans are assholes.

[geiger]

59. Now, now, filthy degenerates need love, too.

[Chalco]

23. I thought this was common knowledge

I live in the DC area and sometime after the Clinton thing my husband and I went to a dinner party near Capital Hill which had a mix of repugs and dems, mostly repugs.

One of the repugs was talking about what a nice person Newt's new wife was, she knew her, and so then I commented "Well, I find it interesting that Newt was having an affair with her while he was married and at the same time going after Clinton for the same thing."

Total silence. We weren't invited back.

[bumblebee1]

37. Ah, to have a fly on the wall at that dinner party.

You could have heard a pin drop in that room. Talk about being the skunk at the garden party that evening.

[Shakespeare]

68. I lived in DC at the same time, and it WAS common knowledge.

One of the ickier/juicier rumors was that he and his paramour were caught by security guards steaming up the windows of one of their cars in the subterranean Capitol parking garage. On multiple occasions.

I'm pretty sure it was also noted in the Post--in the gossip column for sure, if not as a regular item. EVERYBODY knew about this.

[pookieblue]

24. seems this is a habit of his...

"His first marriage, to his former high school geometry teacher, Jackie Battley, ended in divorce in 1981. Although Gingrich has said he doesn't remember it, Battley has said Gingrich discussed divorce terms with her while she was recuperating in the hospital from cancer surgery."


" former House Speaker and his ex-wife, Marianne Gingrich, are in a bit of a dispute over whether Newt knew that she might have multiple sclerosis when he told her on Mother's Day 1999 that he wanted a divorce.

For the ham-handed Newtster, breakups are a touchy issue.

He notified his first wife, Jackie Battley, that he was divorcing her in 1981 after she was hospitalized with cancer.

Marianne's lawyer said Newt knew in September 1998 - eight months before he notified her that he was ditching her - that Marianne had been diagnosed with a neurological condition that might be a "forerunner of multiple sclerosis," according to the Atlanta neurosurgeon who treated her. "


http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/news/Jul2000/PWMSNewtsEx.html



family values my ass.

I hate this man...evil he is. trying to bring down Clinton for doing something that he himself was a master of...

[geiger]

60. he's perverse, nothing short of it.

[Hawaii Hiker]

81. I agree w/you

Newt is an evil piece of crap....He's was always preaching morals & values just like Bill "compulsive gambler" Bennett, & now he's just another shining example of religious right hypocrisy...

The guy he did the interview with, Dr. James Dobson is a complete piece of garbage..He's one of those Christian right types who thinks the world revolves around him & no one else.....Crazy Sam Brownback would be the ideal candiate of the religous right, but hopefully, his run will sink...It's a scary thought if someone like a Brownback, Gingrich, etc. is in the White House, I mean that is REALLY scary!!

[The Backlash Cometh]

25. Gingrich is duplicitous. Of course he's a hypocrite.

He played a big role in Clinton's impeachment. The Republicans have been playing reckless power games in order to knock the Democrats out of power, and that has proved to be very unwise. It's one thing to know the parameters of the law, it's another thing to have the wisdom to know when to push the envelope of those parameters, and Gingrich did it all for the wrong reason.

[BigDDem]

26. Typical GOP hypocrite

Does as I say, not as I do.

[Renew Deal]

27. lol, what an asshole?

:rofl:

[depakid]

29. "There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards."

Like the time you served one of your wives divorce papers when she was in the hospital fighting breast cancer?

Seems to me that falls short of ANY reasonable persons' standards. God has nothing to do with it.

[TankLV]

86. Not to mention when he left THAT one after he was cheating on HER with a THIRD one!

wonder who it cheating with NOW! THAT is the next logical question any reporter should ask him when he tries to wiggle out of his despicable life record...

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

31. IOIYAR

It's Okay If You're A Republican.

[swimmernsecretsea]

32. Oh, wait...we're still paying attention to Newt?

I thought he was ending up a history footnote. This isn't a ploy to get his name back in the papers, is it?

[Jacobin]

33. Was that when he was young and foolish?

Like in his 50's?

:rofl:

Oh man, these guys just never stop.

[louis-t]

39. My thought exactly.

If this ISN'T hypocrasy, when does it BECOME hypocrasy? What constitutes hypocrasy to these people?

[tavalon]

35. So, Newt, before you crawl back under the rock from which you slithered out ,

if it isn't hypocrisy, what is it? I mean really, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.............

How about we call you an infidelitous lying prick? Does that work better for you, Newty baby?

[Irishonly]

41. Why

I wish someone could explain the hypocrisy of republicans to me. I thought the rule was (at least for President Clinton) a lie is a lie is a lie and you must be punished. An affair is a sign of moral shortcomings and you should be branded. I remember all of them giving righteous speeches full of indignation at the horrors a president lying under oath about a bj.

Now, candidates with multiple marriages are tolerated even those who brought their mistresses to family gatherings. It's ok to condemn another while you are doing the same. You can lie about your sexuality and be "miraculously" cured and it doesn't matter if you lied to the FBI, Grand Jury and obstructed justice because you were the fall guy. I need another cup of coffee.:banghead:

[donkeyotay]

42. Oh, we'll forgive you, Newt. Hate the sin but love the sinner.

But you're claiming that Clinton's sin was lying:

"as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials."

No doubt then, you're itching to get to the bottom of the LIES told for war. No doubt then, you'll be willing to testify about your trips to the CIA on behalf of Cheney while as a consultant to the Defense Board chaired by Perle. I await your truthiness with bated breath.

[undeterred]

43. I'm just trying to imagine having an affair with a man named Newt.

And I just can't make myself do it. All I can see are fig bars.

[swimmernsecretsea]

47. LOL! Oh, that's hilarious! With that overgrown Keebler elf?

But it was brave of you to try imagining that sort of thing. I just wouldn't go there. Noooooooooo way.

[undeterred]

49. Oh Newt! Yes! Yes!

Sorry, I think the neighbors would be laughing... :evilgrin:

[livingonearth]

52. Good one!

:rofl:

[Penndems]

55. If you've ever seen Gingrich, he looks EXACTLY like one of those elves, too

Short, portly, pointed little ears, sidewall haircut, shit-eating grin.

He must be some BS artist to get these women to have an affair with him.
















(typo correction)

[PegDAC]

69. All I can see

is an amphibian somewhat like a salamander.

[adigal]

44. I checked for moral outrage over at free republic -

gee, no one there has mentioned it. Odd.

[Black Adder]

45. This can only mean one thing!!

He plans to run for POTUS..
There's nothing in for him to fess up to this sheit unless he
needs to get it in the open early in order to:
1. Determine if it bothers Conservatives sufficiently to not
support him.
2. To see if this bothers the big buck boys who are going to
fund his campaign.
3. To get any public and press bruhaha out of the way before
the campaign really gets going.
4. To ba able to say that this is old news if it comes up in
the campaign.
5. To polish his story about how he has changed his life since
those despicable events (ala GWB's "when I was young and
stupid, I was young and stupid - and now I'm older and
----------").

[orleans]

46. I HAVE SINNED

[TexasLawyer]

67. Such a man of God...

All is forgiven if you ask His forgiveness... unless you're the Clenis.

[Zorra]

48. *snarf*. Someone should do a documentary about conservatives.

They could call it "March of the Hypocrites".

[livingonearth]

50. It would have to be a very long documentary...

the title is good though. May I suggest "Endless March" be put in the title.

[MGKrebs]

53. I hope he runs because he evidently needs to be

humiliated again. And he should be hit hard this time so that he goes away forever. I do not wish these kinds of things on many people, but he really is a pox on civilized humanity. He's very much like Rove (and Norquist); he has no redeeming value, he only exists to create political gain for the Republick Party... although he would probably sell them out too if the price was right. He will say or do anything, sell anything or anyone, to further his own self-interest.

The proper job for him is tour guide at the creationism museum: He knows a little about history, he pretends to be religious, and he likes to talk bullshit. Scamming money out of sheeple is icing on the cake.

[Sapere aude]

54. He's true to conservative values, a hypocrite lying piece of shit

[Na Gael]

56. Why?

Why would you post this?

The mere title of this post:
A.) Gave me a scarring mental image,
Which as a result:
B.) Prompted me "throw-up" in my mouth.

[TommyPaine]

61. Another great example of RARS - Republican Alternate Reality Syndrome

RARS (Republican Alternate Reality Syndrome), as defined in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is "an untreatable, irreversible neurological disorder in which members of the Republican faith engage in magical thinking in order to perpetuate the creation of their own, alternate reality, separate from the actual reality as experienced by non-afflicted individuals. Features typically include megalomania (delusions of grandeur), pathological lying, antisocial behavior, and increased aggression. Also referred to as ‘sociopathic mass schizophrenia’.”

I recommend a straight jacket and a nice padded room for the Newtster.

[geiger]

62. I wondered what the name for this was....VERY good post.

Welcome to DU:yourock:

[regnaD kciN]

65. Another name is the "Doesn't Apply to Me" (DAM) Syndrome...

...as in "it's the moral duty of every officeholder to be faithful to their spouse, but DAM!, I can just go to Dr. Dobson and everything will be forgotten."

:spank:

[Wetzelbill]

64. but hypocrisy in Newt's case is forgiven

Why? Because he used the word "God." Oh and he's a Republican. Talking about values all the time, even when you have none yourself makes the media gush about how moral a person you are.

[Alcibiades]

66. Run Newt, run

I would be very happy with a Gingrich nomination. At least this way we can pose the question of which party has superior moral values.

[Megahurtz]

70. Oh Please Run, Newt!

:spray::woohoo::rofl:

:sarcasm:

:popcorn:

[Deja Q]

71. Uh, I don't see how Gingrich isn't a hypocrite... he cheated around when Bill cheated around.

Seems a straightforward pot'n'kettle scenario to me.

And who cares what Clinton has to do with it; Republicans say cheating is wrong. Why is little lizard Newt trying to spin and get away with it? And where are his Christian buddies denouncing him?

Sorry Newt, you and the party you stick to say infidelity is wrong. Shut up, shove it, and sod off. Your party doesn't deserve you and may your association with it hurt them, just as Ann Coulter's does.

Like I say to the Dems, if you want to win, get someone without much of a checkered past. Fortunately, neither side listens so we all know politics isn't about character.

I'm going off to the nudie bar... I also happen to be single; spin that. :eyes: (BTW: I'm going to the computer store. I could care less for nekkid people dancing money out of my pocket.)

[Beartracks]

73. Because, GOP law says...

... yer not a hypocrite unless yer caught.

[Beartracks]

72. Not surprised, and yet... surprised!

Oh, it definitely doesn't surprise me that a hard-charging leader of the GOPack is a hypocrite. It DOES, however, surprise me that anyone would have an affair with him. :evilgrin:

[Raine]

74. Hypocrisy

is the norm for rethugs, I'm not surprised by it only the audacity of the scum to sit in judgment of someone else...REPULSIVE!:grr:

[hasssan1]

75. PIECE OF SHIT Hypocrite

that's what 95% of right wing ass holes are.

[Endangered Specie]

76. Question: WHY would ANYONE want to have an affair with him?

I mean... ew!

[superconnected]

78. That was my thought, ewww. Someone was desperate.

[calimary]

77. Now, that's hilarious - can't accept perjury in your highest officials!?!?

"I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials."

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Well, then, I'm sure he thinks scooter libby got what he deserved, now, doesn't he?

[Zambero]

79. "Falling short of my own standards". Ha!!

To whom exactly do these standards apply Mr. Gingrich? The answer is, they apply to your political opponents, to be unearthed whenever convenient as the basis for personal attacks. They never have and never will apply to yourself. As for Bill Clinton being MUCH worse on account of his Monica fibs, the crime of lying in the face of questions that should have never been asked to begin with pales in comparison to living a lie. And countless pious two-faced stone-throwing conservatives are convinced that they can go on living a lie with impunity as long as they unearth the right buzz-words ("traditional Judeo-Christian values", et al, blah-blah) in order to posture for the religious right in the face of their own hypocrisy.

[mitchum]

80. I don't know who is more loathsome..Gingrich or a woman who would fuck that...

tub of shit?

[Dollface]

82. Don't know whether to laugh or cry...

Falwell invites Gingrich to give address
3/10/2007, 10:11 a.m. ET
The Associated Press    


LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Newt Gingrich's admission of an
extramarital affair as he pursued President Clinton's
impeachment in the Monica Lewinsky scandal has won praise from
another conservative Christian leader: the Rev. Jerry Falwell.

It's also helped to gain Gingrich an invitation to deliver the
commencement address at Falwell's Liberty University. Gingrich
is considered a possible Republican presidential contender,
although he has not announced any intention to run.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2939828

[stonebone]

83. This basically guarantees that he won't be running for President.

[TankLV]

84. And this is NEWS?!?! WE all knew about it AS IT WAS HAPPENING

BACK IN 1998 - along with "youthful indescretion at 45 years old) henry hyde and all the other repuke hypocrits.

What I want to know is, WHERE THE FUCK WAS THE WHORE MEDIA TO PUBLICIZE THIS IMPORTANT FACTOID WHEN THE WITCH HUNT FOR THE CLINTONS WAS OCCURING!!!!

And, newtie - you ARE a HYPOCRIT - YOU were DOING exactly what you tried to punish Clinton for doing - it was the ACT, not your (false) claim of alleged LYING - and - remember - CLINTON was found NOT GUILTY of lying or perjury or any other FRIVOLOUS charges you fucking HYPOCRITICAL repukes tried to bring up...

[rocktivity]

85. HAVE an affair? Wasn't it ten years old? And wasn't it at least his second?

He's trying to reduce it to a brief fling? And he's trying to suggest that lying to Congress about it is worse than acutally doing it? Two wrongs don't make a right, Newt--but neither does one.

:headbang:
rocknation

[happydreams]

87. Neuter Gingrich !

:evilgrin:

[bjobotts]

88. Okay To Sin, Just Always Repent Loudly

Cracks me up...what a racket these Christian leaders have. Everybody sins, so just loudly repent and all is forgiven. Catch-22. Really they can do whatever and then publicly(if found out that is) proclaim your sin and repent and ask God for forgiveness and He has to give it right? At least He can't publicly refuse can He? Too bad Dobson doesn't say, "He forgives you but your penance is you can never hold public office again...if you want forgiveness that is". Hahahahahahaha. Same with sinning ministers and politicians etc. That would end all this public confession crap. Hell, Falwell wouldn't even have a job, nor most of the GOP candidates. (Even God smiled at that one)O8)

[erpowers]

89. Didn't We Already Know

Didn't everyone already know about this affair? I thought Gringrich had been exposed back in the 90s.