Posted on 09/29/2008 2:50:42 PM PDT by Iron Munro
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said the Wall Street bailout plan pushed by President Bush signaled the “final collapse” of the current administration.
“The Bush administration has now provided three case studies in arrogance, isolation and destructiveness: Michael Brown during Hurricane Katrina, Ambassador Jerry Bremer in Baghdad and Secretary [Henry] Paulson at Treasury,” Gingrich said. “It is a tragic and very expensive legacy. No conservative and no Republican should doubt how much it has hurt our cause and our party.”
The former Speaker reiterated his call for the resignation of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
“As long as Secretary Paulson is in charge, it is impossible to get a creative or significantly better solution,” Gingrich stated, adding that the Treasury chief was “an even greater obstacle to a good bill than the liberal Democrats who run the House and Senate.”
Despite his objections, the former Speaker changed his position on the measure and said he “would reluctantly and sadly vote for the bailout were I still in office.” However, he added that he “understand[s] and sympathize[s] with any member who votes ‘no.' ”
His statement was issued before the bill was defeated in the House.
Gingrich predicted that the economy would “limp along and there will be a grave danger of yet another bailout next year,” unless Congress passes an economic growth and an energy bill.
Newt forgot to mention the Kennedy/Bush/McCain Shamnesty plan.
Remind me why Newt didn’t run?
Three wives...only acceptable for Democrats.
Because he couldn’t win?
Let the Newt genuflectors have at me.
I respect the historian, author and House revolutionary Newt Gingrich.
I do not respect his recent comments.
Considering that Newt would have ‘reluctantly’ voted FOR this bill, and considering that Newt is far left of GWB on the fraud known as global warming, and considering that Newt worked to undercut Duncan Hunter’s get tough on illegals efforts while speaker of the House, Newt has no standing to dis GWB.
I am with Newt, He is the only one with solutions. I am for the market to correct itself. Take the pain and move forward. No Jigering. I think the market will bottom tommorrow when the hedge funds reort. Keep the government the hell out of it. I can not believe the tv people in a PANIC about the damn government. The people spoke today. Now they will do their best to silence us.
I made the same points, albeit less eloquently, this morning after Bush's lame-o remarks prior to the vote.
And Newt buying into the MSM’s meme about Katrina aide being such a disaster is beyond pathetic.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich reversed course on Monday, issuing a statement saying that if he were still in office he would "reluctantly and sadly" support the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill.
Not sure who to believe on Newt's stance.
Paulsen SHOULD resign.
Best idea I heard all day.
Never mind. I’ve lost my mind, apparently (not that there’s much to lose).
I'm with you. Newt is a thinker. I was just talking to my husband about McCain's prepared remarks addressing the failed bill. I noted how Newt can speak without teleprompter or notes because he knows how things work and is able to speak intelligently and with passion.
Newt is right; Bush has done damage to our party not seen since Watergate.
Newt is in favor of American Solutions For Winning The Future (TM) - the lamest and weirdest concatenation of focus-grouped BS words ever strung together in a single lunatic phrase.
Newt’s main cause is Newt.
He has a talent for flamboyant rhetoric, especially in ridicule. But his test for the validity of an idea is if it polls at 80%.
Paulson resign? Yeah, that that would do wonders for the situation. What an idiot.
Newt has his problems, but he’s right about this. Bush does not have a good record on appointments. And there’s no doubt that Paulson is not only a Democrat player, who is working hand in glove with Obama and Pelosi, but that he is working for Goldman Sachs rather than the U.S. taxpayer.
Paulson basically ignored the Republicans and worked with Pelosi, Reid, and Obama to produce this plan.
But Obama, Pelosi, Frank, and the rest got too greedy and too polemical, spent too much time blaming the Republicans instead of trying to work with them, or Paulson’s plan probably would have passed. It’s said that Bush was bushwacked at the White House meeting when what was supposed to be a compromise meeting to hammer out a bipartisan plan suddenly turned into an ambush, when Pelosi and Reid handed the gavel over to Obama, who presented Paulson’s Plan which had been slipped to him behind the scenes, and said take it or leave it.
And of course all the while they were telling McCain to get lost and blaming the Republicans for causing the problem.
Paulson has been right in the middle of that. Bush was suckered by him. He knew that Paulson was an expert on financial matters, but he forgot that he was a big-time supporter of the Democrats, who share pork with him.
I’m done with Newt for good.
The Katrina aid was a pathetic disaster. Bush appointed a horse jockey to a job that should be held by a retired Army infantry general. [food, shelter, medical care, constrution work, transportation, water, sanitation to remote hostile environments]. The guy was worse than a Harriet Miers.
Newt must know some inside information that the media or the WH is not telling us to say such a thing.
I trust Newt insights far more about 95 % of the DC movers and shakers
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.