Posted on 12/07/2011 8:16:15 PM PST by fightinJAG
The House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to reprimand House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and order him to pay an unprecedented $300,000 penalty, the first time in the House's 208-year history it has disciplined a speaker for ethical wrongdoing.
The ethics case and its resolution leave Gingrich with little leeway for future personal controversies, House Republicans said. Exactly one month before yesterday's vote, Gingrich admitted that he brought discredit to the House and broke its rules by failing to ensure that financing for two projects would not violate federal tax law and by giving the House ethics committee false information.
"Newt has done some things that have embarrassed House Republicans and embarrassed the House," said Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.). "If [the voters] see more of that, they will question our judgment."
[snip]
The 395 to 28 vote closes a tumultuous chapter that began Sept. 7, 1994, when former representative Ben Jones (D-Ga.), then running against Gingrich, filed an ethics complaint against the then-GOP whip. . . .
[snip]
House ethics committee members took pride in yesterday's bipartisan resolution of the case. "We have proved to the American people that no matter how rough the process is, we can police ourselves, we do know right from wrong," said Rep. Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.), who headed the investigative subcommittee that charged Gingrich.
[snip]
For Gingrich, it was another humbling event in a remarkable series of peaks and valleys since 1994.
[snip]
In a strongly worded report, special counsel James M. Cole concluded that Gingrich had violated tax law and lied to the investigating panel, but the subcommittee would not go that far. In exchange for the subcommittee agreeing to modify the charges against him, Gingrich agreed to the penalty Dec. 20 as part of a deal in which he admitted guilt.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Moving the goal posts, are we? Who said anything about the IRS. But then people who are completely innocent of all charges typically make a habit out of paying $300,000 fines and resigning their posts. Next, you will be telling me that Bill Clinton was innocent because the IRS said so. (In all-caps, of course)
It was a disgrace what was done to Gingrich. I remember it well and I was ashamed how the Republicans attacked one of their own for doing nothing more than helping the conservative cause. History repeats itself.
” Who said anything about the IRS”
The specific charges were that Newt had broken IRS laws. The fact that the IRS found Newt innocent shows how bogus the charges were especially in conjunction w/ all the other previous bogus charges.
Did you agree w/ what the dems did to Palin? Were all those legit too?
!Ella no esta culpable!
I missed the part where Palin paid a $300,000 fine.
After a long deliberation, I have decided that I will not vote for Gingrich in the primaries. You know all the reasons why, so no need to detail them here.
And I see no reason to rush into Newt’s arms before one vote has even been cast for the nomination. I am not influenced by polls and charts about who else is supporting him. That makes no difference to me as there is no need to jump on a bandwagon during the primaries.
At the least, conservatives going all in for Newt now are GIVING UP WHATEVER LEVERAGE they may have had on a President Gingrich. So many who were saying months ago they would never vote for Newt, and for good and longstanding reasons, nevertheless have flown to his support like moths to a candle — imo, showing the GOP elites nothing but a streak of desperation and impatience.
And showing Newt that he can do and say just about anything, now and in the past and, therefore, in the future, and apparently desperate conservatives will support him anyway. Some of them will give it all up just for the very short-term and ultimately politically meaningless thrill of — maybe — seeing Gingrich debate Obama.
Gingrich is treating conservatives like they’re stupid. He spends 20 years flakking for the individual mandate in healthcare, when it becomes a problem, he says oh, don’t worry, I’m not for that. And, off everyone goes, big smiles on their faces, singing Zippety-do=dah! And Gingrich must be saying to himself, GOD, THIS IS EASY.
Jim, you know this man is a phoney. And we are going to run fullspeed to latch on to him before the voting has even started rather than **at least giving him a run for his money and making him work to win the nomination** — thereby at least trying to send him the message that we don’t lap up his Barbara Streisand and he better understand our demands and understand them well.
No, the way things are going now, Gingrich must be saying to himself, “I thought I’d have trouble with those pesky conservatives trying to hold my feet to the fire on all my liberal crap over the years, but, GOD, THEY ARE EASY.”
Have you noticed that before Gingrich was the frontrunner, we were spending our time hotly debating MASSIVE TAX REFORM and GOVERNMENT SPENDING CUTS?
After, all the movement has talked about is Newt. And that’s how it’s always been with Newt: he always manages to make it all about him.
I for one am going to keep on him and try to raise the voice that lets him know he’s not doing a cakewalk with at least some conservatives.
If we end up with a President Gingrich (and I will vote for the GOP nominee), at this rate conservatives are doing nothing but MARGINALIZING themselves as an influence on him and his administration. If he’s going to win, it would actually be better for him to squeak through and know very well where his bread his buttered.
He is NOT principled, but he can be managed somewhat if he knows he must earn and earn our votes (conservatives) every day.
Only reason there was a fine, was because the GOP was WEENIES.
Grow a pair, GOP.
Stop attacking our own. Democrats are the opposition.
The IRS cleared the organizations involved and by implication cleared Gingrich. It was pure and complete politics that Newt took a way out of.
She avoided that potential outcome by resigning. Do you know what Newt was fined for? And does it even matter to you?
Yes, the point was that at the time the Republicans were the ones strongly behind getting Gingrich out. In fact, that’s why he resigned later. His own party couldn’t stand him.
Those who think Gingrich is going to go to Washington and do all these marvelous things must think his reputation within the party is all fixed now and he has become an inspiring, unifying leader rather than the trainwreck he became as Speaker.
Embarrassing isn’t it? The dems bought into this despicable tactic, & apparently so did a few republicans.
Look at how conservative the republicans became after Newt’s departure! /sarc
***** “We are all guilty of breaking some federal regulation - it’s just a matter of who wants to enforce it and why.” *****
Ii probably broke 20 - 30 Laws in my sleep last night, a dozen more while making Coffee this morning and an uncountable # during my day ... the Vast Majority of which go unnoticed ... unless I am driving and then a well armed “Revenue Enhancement Agent” will point them out and charge me accordingly ... in the end ... Enforcement is all about power and the ability to control other people. Most Laws were passed to protect ... many are not, these days it is all about Money (FOR GOVT) and those are the Laws that are enforced.
I can no longer recognize the Country that I was born in ... Freedom may as well be a foreign word or idea, Justice is no longer Blind, it is a Select Fire weapon or a WMD... depending on the Power that wields it.
TT
You mis-spelled “his own party were spineless twerps”.
I don’t care who you are, that’s funny!
Good grief, do you have no clue what it means when someone posts an article?
Do you think I wrote this piece or endorse each word in it?
That’s just weird.
What’s your take on the fact that it was members of Gingrich’s own party that were the strongest proponents of punishing him for his ethics violations and who later all but demanded he resign?
You apparently missed the part where she paid 100’s of thousands of dollars fighting the charges. Part of the reason she gave for leaving office was to stop the blood letting in court.
It’s a pay me now or pay me latter deal. Newt felt betrayed by his own & simply decided to move on. It’s really not that hard to comprehend.
At some point you decided to post this article.
Own it.
So who do you support please?
This isn’t just about violating laws.
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