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Gingrich of Freddie Mac
Wall St. J ^ | December 17, 2011

Posted on 12/17/2011 8:44:22 PM PST by Steelfish

DECEMBER 17, 2011 Gingrich of Freddie Mac The Speaker's defense is hurting him as much as his $1.6 million payday.

Newt Gingrich's opponents aren't letting up in their criticism of his lucrative ties to the failed mortgage giant Freddie Mac after he resigned as House Speaker in the late 1990s. More damaging to his Presidential candidacy is that Mr. Gingrich doesn't seem to understand why anyone is offended.

In his first response after news broke that he'd made $300,000 working for Freddie, Mr. Gingrich claimed he had "offered them advice on precisely what they didn't do." As a "historian," he said during a November 9 debate, he had concluded last decade that "this is a bubble," and that Freddie and its sister Fannie Mae should stop making loans to people who have no credit history. He added that now they should be broken up.

A week later Bloomberg reported that Mr. Gingrich had made between $1.6 million and $1.8 million in two separate contracts with Freddie between 1999 and 2008. The former Speaker stuck to his line that "I was approached to offer strategic advice" and had warned the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) to stop lending to bad credit risks.

Then on December 2 our colleagues at the Journal reported that as late as April 2007 Mr. Gingrich had defended Fannie and Freddie as examples of conservative governance. "While we need to improve the regulation of the GSEs, I would be very cautious about fundamentally changing their role or the model itself," Mr. Gingrich said in an interview at the time.

Mr. Gingrich added in that interview that there are times "when you need government to help spur private enterprise and economic development."

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: fannie; freddie; gingrich; newt; rinoexcuses
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1 posted on 12/17/2011 8:44:24 PM PST by Steelfish
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To: Steelfish

Pimping for Mitt again?


2 posted on 12/17/2011 8:51:39 PM PST by P-Marlowe (LPFOKETT GAHCOEEP-w/o*)
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To: Steelfish
As a "historian,"...exactly what kind of economic advice would a historian be able to provide that anyone would much care about, let alone pay a million or so bucks for......
3 posted on 12/17/2011 8:51:42 PM PST by Intolerant in NJ
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To: Steelfish
Mr. Gingrich added in that interview that there are times "when you need government to help spur private enterprise and economic development."

Really? If he somehow got elected do you think he would ever stop surprising us with his off the plantation remarks and actions?

4 posted on 12/17/2011 8:51:50 PM PST by Nonstatist
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To: Steelfish

NooT is the devil, true... and knows the democrats better than they know themselves..

With a ring in his nose he can be used..


5 posted on 12/17/2011 8:55:23 PM PST by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole...)
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To: Steelfish

6 posted on 12/17/2011 8:59:54 PM PST by Revolting cat! (Let us prey!)
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To: hosepipe

GB says Newt is a progressive...


7 posted on 12/17/2011 8:59:54 PM PST by CIDKauf (No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.)
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To: Nonstatist

“Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem” - Ronald Reagan


8 posted on 12/17/2011 9:01:01 PM PST by Tai_Chung
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To: Nonstatist
Mr. Gingrich added in that interview that there are times "when you need government to help spur private enterprise and economic development."

Who wouldn't agree with that remark?

9 posted on 12/17/2011 9:01:01 PM PST by duckln
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To: Intolerant in NJ

Seriously? I mean, I’m not all huge on Newt, but of course a true historian could have valuable economic advice.


10 posted on 12/17/2011 9:01:16 PM PST by Flightdeck (If you hear me yell "Eject, Eject, Eject!" the last two will be echos...)
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To: Steelfish; ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas; stephenjohnbanker; DoughtyOne; calcowgirl; Gilbo_3; ...
Detailed history and analysis of Newt and Freddie/Fannie

Direct link:
Gingrich of Freddie Mac: The Speaker's defense is hurting him as much as his $1.6 million payday.

11 posted on 12/17/2011 9:01:46 PM PST by sickoflibs (You MUST support the lesser of two RINOs or we all die!)
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To: Steelfish

Lets say his Newts company was paid $1.7 million over the nine years. That comes out to $189,000 per year. With overhead and salaries to pay etc. I don’t see where Newt made any big money on the deal. It looks to me like he was paid for consulting not lobbying as the RINO’s are saying. If everything is on the up and up I don’t see the big deal. Newt was running a private enterprise. Go Newt.


12 posted on 12/17/2011 9:02:42 PM PST by Parley Baer
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To: Sidebar Moderator

nothing wrong with the article itself but can you fix the headline? Apparently it used an illuminated G for Gingrich which didn’t transcribe.


13 posted on 12/17/2011 9:04:41 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Sometimes progressives find their scripture in the penumbra of sacred bathroom stall writings (Tzar))
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To: Parley Baer

Lobbying raises questions but this looks like small potatoes as lobbying goes. Anyhow doesn’t Newt want to privatize this mess?


14 posted on 12/17/2011 9:05:50 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Sometimes progressives find their scripture in the penumbra of sacred bathroom stall writings (Tzar))
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To: Steelfish




15 posted on 12/17/2011 9:07:43 PM PST by TitansAFC (I will never, EVER, under any circumstance, EVER support Ron Paul over ANYBODY.)
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To: Parley Baer

Yes, and here’s Newt on stage with his accuser Bachmann in 2008 making the same explanations he’s making today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YiYWnA1_y8&feature=player_embedded

He wasn’t advising Freddie Mac on fiduciary matters.


16 posted on 12/17/2011 9:08:48 PM PST by Royal Wulff
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To: duckln
Government "spurs" private enterprise and economic development"? You kidding? Whenever it "spurs" one of its crony clients somebody else gets un spurred.

For "good" or bad, all government does is distort the free market and increase inefficiancies when it plays favorites. And Gingrich is a big fan of playing favorites; why else would he lobby for Freddie Mac?

But I guess youre a big Newtie fan so why should you care that half the crap that comes out of his mouth when he's not under control is liberal-lite inanities

17 posted on 12/17/2011 9:15:41 PM PST by Nonstatist
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To: Steelfish

I’d like to be paid a $100,000 per lobster lunch to consult about “history”, to Freddy, like Newt.

But I’d much more prefer to fly to Hawaii with my daughters for $200,000 so my husband could fly a few days later for another $300,000.

Which plane is Bo on? Or is that a third poopy plane?


18 posted on 12/17/2011 9:19:00 PM PST by Noob1999 (Loose Lips, Sink Ships)
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To: CIDKauf

[ GB says Newt is a progressive... ]

GB says........ NooT likes Prez’s Wilson and both Roosevelt’s who were Progressives..

And they were!.. like I said he is a devil.. Hes not NICE..
Bad news IF you want a nice President..

I don’t.. I want the meanest SOB I can vote for..
Could be Ron Paul as well.. probably can trust Ron.. got to keep an evil eye on Newt..


19 posted on 12/17/2011 9:21:52 PM PST by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole...)
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To: Tai_Chung

“Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem” - Ronald Reagan”

Yet he increased the size of Government significantly.

This is why historians (lie Newt at F&F) are needed. You can isolate a few quotes and a few facts and completely distort a total record.


20 posted on 12/17/2011 9:26:16 PM PST by jessduntno (The Republican elite hates him, Rove hates him, Boehner hates him, liberals hate him. It's Newt!)
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